My Bodybuilding Experience
Ahhh really not sure where to start this but let's give it a whirl and hopefully it will give you some insight into what you can expect if you ever choose a road of bodybuilding and doing a body building show. For context the first picture is me on holiday going to the gym regularly and not having much muscle just felt good! Second picture is starting to follow my body building program and how the bulk was coming through. The third picture is where I am more dieted down and much much leaner!
When I first decided to do this show this was down to me feeling really inspired by female body builders on Instagram and how amazing these muscly women really were! I have been going to the gym for over 10 years and only in my time training for body building did I really understand the true work, commitment and dedication that truly goes into the muscle building process, stepping on stage and the results that come with it!
It's important to note on this journey I learnt so much about myself such as resilience, discipline and ultimately hard work. It wasn't always perfect some days I didn't always stay on track with my plan and it was a real discipline of being on a very strict diet that ultimately became mundane, boring and borderline starving hungry near the end of the line. No one can really prepare you for how eating extra food and calories to bulk up can be tremendously difficult and then you have to then start cutting all your food and calories and this was definitely the most difficult part. No sugar, no fruit, no chocolate and no red meat.
Hiring your coach; this one is a really important one I went through a recommendation however, this coach was very blazay and didn't really have my health in his priority list. So please make sure you hire someone who is continuously body building, research and research until you are satisfied this person is the right fit for you. By putting your full trust in a body building coach you are literally putting your health in their hands.
Training & program; remember bodybuilding training has a completely different approach to generic staying in shape so be prepared for extra sore muscles, extreme fatigue and spending your life in the gym along with constantly prepping meals in the kitchen all the time. Yep, seriously my life was eat, prep, gym workouts and sleep.
Some coaches have different approaches; my coach wanted me to bulk up first so that's what I did and I listened because I believed this was the right approach as I din't have a lot of muscle at the time. This was back in 2019 and I didn't have the experience behind me like I do now and I don't actually think a bulk is the right approach for most people because you can build muscle without bulking. Same as you don't have to drop severe weight before a muscle building process! The reason for this was all I was doing was just gaining more and more extra body fat which only became harder to loose as the competition approached. After the bulk we moved on to cutting which meant reducing calories for a prolonged period of time, extra fasted cardio sessions without making any changes to the program. This meant the program, cardio and workouts stayed the same intensity with a lack of calories, this was the toughest part of the journey. Being consistently hungry all the time, having to drink about 5 litres of water everyday and really not enjoying the process really took a toll but I stayed committed as stepping on stage was an experience I had always wanted to experience. Once I commit to something I very rarely give up because it's too hard. I was proving to myself I could do it.
I remember it got to Sept 2019 and I had lost a drastic amount of weight I ended up losing 5kg in one month. This was extremely concerning and I ended up losing my menstrual cycle. This was a horrendous time, I was super concerned about my health and when broaching it with my coach he didn't care to much and just reassured me it would come back. Not exactly reassuring but as I got an insight into the bodybuilding world on show day you realise every woman barely has a cycle (because it is not being done properly with an optimum focus on women's menstrual health). Naturally in this process you drop a certain body fat percentage and this can affect women's menstrual cycle/fat hormones.
What I will say is come show day I loved the fact I could see all the hard work I had put in. I could see huge definition in my shoulders, legs, abs, back everywhere I was in a great shape aesthetically that I never thought I could ever achieve in my wildest dreams! This is still one of my biggest achievements in my life but I would never do it again. This is because it all came at a price; no menstrual cycle, severe dieting and starvation.
If you are inspired by bodybuilders remember to ask yourself do you just appreciate their physique or do you truly have the work ethic to be a body builder. There is a huge difference between doing the journey yourself and most generic people can't reach these ideals because it is such hard work and it can really mess with your health if it isn't done in the right way. People have really glorified body building and stepping on stage. We see the sparkly bikinis, heels, make-up and hair but beneath all that is someone who has put in the hard work, commitment and going through such a gruelling journey behind the scenes.
Here are some shots below of me on my show day, to be honest these pictures still take me back and remind me that I still have the capabilities to do it again but I wouldn't want to. This process wasn't enjoyable it was a hard, gruelling and testing journey. But with all that being said I am still proud of the look I achieved to get in shape and step on stage! I achieved a dream and that for me will always mean so much more than a trophy.
When I first decided to do this show this was down to me feeling really inspired by female body builders on Instagram and how amazing these muscly women really were! I have been going to the gym for over 10 years and only in my time training for body building did I really understand the true work, commitment and dedication that truly goes into the muscle building process, stepping on stage and the results that come with it!
It's important to note on this journey I learnt so much about myself such as resilience, discipline and ultimately hard work. It wasn't always perfect some days I didn't always stay on track with my plan and it was a real discipline of being on a very strict diet that ultimately became mundane, boring and borderline starving hungry near the end of the line. No one can really prepare you for how eating extra food and calories to bulk up can be tremendously difficult and then you have to then start cutting all your food and calories and this was definitely the most difficult part. No sugar, no fruit, no chocolate and no red meat.
Hiring your coach; this one is a really important one I went through a recommendation however, this coach was very blazay and didn't really have my health in his priority list. So please make sure you hire someone who is continuously body building, research and research until you are satisfied this person is the right fit for you. By putting your full trust in a body building coach you are literally putting your health in their hands.
Training & program; remember bodybuilding training has a completely different approach to generic staying in shape so be prepared for extra sore muscles, extreme fatigue and spending your life in the gym along with constantly prepping meals in the kitchen all the time. Yep, seriously my life was eat, prep, gym workouts and sleep.
Some coaches have different approaches; my coach wanted me to bulk up first so that's what I did and I listened because I believed this was the right approach as I din't have a lot of muscle at the time. This was back in 2019 and I didn't have the experience behind me like I do now and I don't actually think a bulk is the right approach for most people because you can build muscle without bulking. Same as you don't have to drop severe weight before a muscle building process! The reason for this was all I was doing was just gaining more and more extra body fat which only became harder to loose as the competition approached. After the bulk we moved on to cutting which meant reducing calories for a prolonged period of time, extra fasted cardio sessions without making any changes to the program. This meant the program, cardio and workouts stayed the same intensity with a lack of calories, this was the toughest part of the journey. Being consistently hungry all the time, having to drink about 5 litres of water everyday and really not enjoying the process really took a toll but I stayed committed as stepping on stage was an experience I had always wanted to experience. Once I commit to something I very rarely give up because it's too hard. I was proving to myself I could do it.
I remember it got to Sept 2019 and I had lost a drastic amount of weight I ended up losing 5kg in one month. This was extremely concerning and I ended up losing my menstrual cycle. This was a horrendous time, I was super concerned about my health and when broaching it with my coach he didn't care to much and just reassured me it would come back. Not exactly reassuring but as I got an insight into the bodybuilding world on show day you realise every woman barely has a cycle (because it is not being done properly with an optimum focus on women's menstrual health). Naturally in this process you drop a certain body fat percentage and this can affect women's menstrual cycle/fat hormones.
What I will say is come show day I loved the fact I could see all the hard work I had put in. I could see huge definition in my shoulders, legs, abs, back everywhere I was in a great shape aesthetically that I never thought I could ever achieve in my wildest dreams! This is still one of my biggest achievements in my life but I would never do it again. This is because it all came at a price; no menstrual cycle, severe dieting and starvation.
If you are inspired by bodybuilders remember to ask yourself do you just appreciate their physique or do you truly have the work ethic to be a body builder. There is a huge difference between doing the journey yourself and most generic people can't reach these ideals because it is such hard work and it can really mess with your health if it isn't done in the right way. People have really glorified body building and stepping on stage. We see the sparkly bikinis, heels, make-up and hair but beneath all that is someone who has put in the hard work, commitment and going through such a gruelling journey behind the scenes.
Here are some shots below of me on my show day, to be honest these pictures still take me back and remind me that I still have the capabilities to do it again but I wouldn't want to. This process wasn't enjoyable it was a hard, gruelling and testing journey. But with all that being said I am still proud of the look I achieved to get in shape and step on stage! I achieved a dream and that for me will always mean so much more than a trophy.
The rebound of show; After doing such a severe diet one thing to be really weary of is the rebound you will be hit with when you start eating normally again. The third picture is me from a couple years after the show and working with a coach who truly cared about nursing me back to optimum health and I still got in a really good shape after gaining back 2 stone from the orange pic. People see skin, bones and abs and think that is the epitome of health when in reality my health had never been worse. I had a really distorted image of my body, felt fat and inflamed, was binge eating and nearly ended up with an eating disorder. Luckily, I have come out the other side and by 2021 you are looking at a much more healed, healthy Zoe thriving with her menstrual cycle back to normal. Severe dieting and calorie cutting do have benefits don't get me wrong but it all has to depend on your goals, what you are doing it for and it is imperative to be working with a coach who is going to ensure you are healthy and cares for you throughout the process; before, during and after!!!!
This post isn't to put any of you off but to help you understand the reality of having gone through a journey like this. Explaining how hard the journey is to show and stepping on stage; just because someone you see on Instagram or a body builder that looks slim, muscular and amazing it doesn't mean we should all be looking like that and that our health should have to suffer as a result or outcome just for the sake of "looking good". One thing I have learned over the years is striving to look like anyone else just isn't going to serve you in the long-run and looking good or being in shape looks different for every single person.
If you can stand in the mirror, love what you see and wear those beautiful clothes in your wardrobe then you are always WINNING!!!!
If you can stand in the mirror, love what you see and wear those beautiful clothes in your wardrobe then you are always WINNING!!!!
