Putting on muscle, losing the flab…

Training is going well for this 50+ mum down here in New Zealand. I’m dropping flab nice and steadily, and I’m getting quite muscular.

My shoulders are really coming along, and I’m even putting on bulk on my legs…which is very hard for me to do as I’m very tall and long-legged, so I have to work really hard to make it look like there’s any muscle at all on my legs!

My tummy is trimming down and, while I’ve still got a long way to go, I’m fairly confident I’ll be stage-ready a year from now.

Then all I’ve got to do is summon up the nerve to do it. Those teeny tiny sparkly bikinis scare the crap out of me! (If you’re a 50+ mum reading this, you’ll know exactly what I mean!)

Bodybuilding is an odd sport. The amount of effort that goes into preparation is unbelievable…and it’s a lot harder when you’re an old chick like me.

But I figure that everything I’m doing is improving my health, my strength and my wellbeing…and that’s why I’m doing this.

You see, I want to prove what an older woman can do in this sport, completely drug-free. I believe women’s bodybuilding can really benefit the women who do it, we just need to embrace the work ethic and push through the challenge of fine-tuning an older female body.

So yes, give me a year and we’ll see where I’m at. Hopefully I’ll be winning on stage in a lot of tan and a sparkly bikini! 🙂

Planning to compete in physique – at age 52? I must be crazy!!

I think I’ve gone crazy. I’ve decided to compete.

The class?: Women’s physique.

The competition?: Women who are all likely 20 years younger than me.

The reason?: Probable insanity.

I’ve a lot of work ahead of me. From this point on, now I’ve made my decision, I’ll be aiming to shed 1% of my body weight until I’m down closer to competition weight, which for me is probably around 70 kgs. I’m nowhere near that at present.

I’ve also got to put a lot of muscle on, particularly on my legs. Luckily I’m someone who grows muscle easily, but there’s still a lot of work in my future.

Then, because this is women’s bodybuilding, there will be things like hairstyles, manicures, pedicures, hair removal, makeup, tanning and sparkly bikinis to think about (men have it much easier – they just have to prance about in a very small Speedo). Thankfully there are no stripper heels in the physique class, or I’d be sure to trip and break my neck. Thankfully!

I haven’t mentioned this to my OA sponsor yet, but I think she’ll be supportive. She’s a marathon runner, so she understands what goals are – even impossible ones. I think she – and the rest of the OA gang – will absolutely cheer me on and be supportive of me doing this. They’ve seen the changes in me since I started at OA. They know how transformed I am, both inside and out.

My husband and family will support me too. I know they will. My husband was a bodybuilder for a long time – we met through the gym – so he understands the process. He’s thinking of going on stage too, so it’s possible we may even do this together.

Part of me is very scared now I’ve decided to take this leap. Mainly I’m scared I’m simply too old. I’m scared of injury, and of hurting myself.

But I won’t know if I never try. There are older women than me who have done this and succeeded. And I can’t make myself younger, no matter how much I might want to, to make things easier.

It’s not going to be easy. But it will make me a better person. Which is what I want to be.

What’s my goal? Physique bodybuilding? Maybe?

As time is going on, I’m starting to question what my goal is.

When I started this journey, I just wanted to become more healthy and lose weight. I’m doing that, and I’m feeling so much better and healthier than I did.

Then I started gymming, and that has made me happier still. I love spending time at the gym, and now my husband and stepdaughter have joined me with memberships of their own. It’s becoming a family thing.

I’ve been back at the gym since the start of October, and it feels wrong when I miss a day with no good reason.

People are beginning to notice me too. I put on muscle crazy easily, and already I’m starting to look like “someone who works out” rather than “someone who eats out”!

But with all of this, I feel like I want a more solid goal to aim for. I don’t want to do competitive lifting, as I have an old back injury that makes me wary of squats in particular. But competitive bodybuilding… maybe…?

I thought about going on stage a few years ago. I didn’t, because of my stomach. I felt like no matter what I did, I couldn’t get around the loose skin issue from having had kids.

But now I think I’m ready to push past that and go screw it! I’m a mum, I had kids, this is my body and I think it’s okay.

I’m not at that point – yet – but I think I might be able to get there.

So I’m starting to think I’m going to do it. Aim for stage. An old woman, 50+, throwing caution to the wind and giving life a go.

Because why not?

If I do make that decision – and I’m pretty sure I will – I’ll blog it here.

Because I think more old women should challenge ourselves and face our fears instead of sitting at home crocheting booties. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not me.

I’m scared that I really think I’m going to do this. Excited and scared. In a good way 🙂

The thing I’m happiest about, oddly enough, is that at least I know I’d be in Physique class, so I wouldn’t have to wear stripper heels!