Beauty? What on earth is that.....

Beauty as a product of Geography

It is fascinating being in different countries and cultures for many different reasons but one particular reason intrigues me and that is how beauty seems to be a product of geographical location. There is no doubt "beauty" is more of a philosophical question and it is certainly in the eye of the beholder but what becomes evident is the contribution culture plays in creating that aesthetic ideal.

I was prompted to write this post because I was asked by a Thai lady why foreigners like tanned skin. She really could't understand why pale skinned "farang" as we're called spend hours in the sun, because here in Thailand pale skin is revered. There is an abundance of skin whitening creams and procedures available, which by all accounts seem rather dangerous. These can include: mercury, hydroquinone, steroids (clobetasol), kojic and azeliac acid; none of which are particularly good for the skin long term.

The list of what constitutes beauty in different countries is endless. In Mauritania, amongst the white Moor Arab population, obesity is encouraged through the use of fat farms. This is considered a sign of beauty and wealth. A generation ago, a third of young girls and women would be force fed to gain unhealthy amounts of fat - they would then be deemed in an eligible state for marriage. Luckily, this trend is dying out.

We then have the famous Brazilian bottom, the abdominal scars of the Karo tribe in Ethiopia, stretched ear lobes of the Masai, rhinoplasty surgical bandages in Iran....all considered beautiful.

Abdominal scars of Karo tribe

Post surgical bandages of a nose job in Iran (considered a status symbol) 

There was an interesting project done by a journalist called Esther Honig, who asked graphic designers in 25 different countries to photoshop what they best thought represented the countries ideal. It's fascinating and these are just faces! not even bodies.  Below are a couple of examples and the link shows all 25 images.

http://www.demilked.com/global-women-beauty-standards-before-and-after-esther-honig/

Original

Argentina

Germany

It just goes to show, beauty is such a complex issue; a combination of culture, geography, wealth, timing, personal choice, unconscious thought....the list goes on. What would our beliefs about beauty be without cultural conditioning I wonder?

The subjective nature of Bodybuilding across the Globe

This question of beauty interested me because of competing in an aesthetic sport, which depending on the category will certainly involve an element of "beauty pageant" and this subjective nature of judging may also be different in different countries. In addition, what is considered attractive changes with time, like fashion.  Lets take the male "bodybuilding" category as an example; the 212 category at Mr. Olympia (the biggest/ leanest category). The male bodybuilder from the 1970's was a very different breed from that today. Access to better training methods, knowledge and steroids means what is possible today is different from 40 years ago and there is an element of entertainment now involved in the sport, where it almost transitions into a freak show. The 212 bodybuilding physique is about pushing the limits of muscular growth and finding out what that limit is....which goes beyond aesthetics.

A personal perspective

I'm pretty simple when it comes to my concept of beauty. I don't have a physical check list - it is something ethereal which is so much more than the sum of the parts. I find people that are natural, comfortable in their own skin, and authentic very beautiful - a face does't need to be symmetrical or a 6-pack doesn't have to be present. In fact...the below picture is my idea of beauty! A very rough skinned baby elephant called Ida, with cuts and warts. She has the most bizarre "voice" I have ever heard - which sounds like a cat being strangled, but she kisses (suckers) my sweaty face every day after a run and that to me is true beauty because I'm not sure anyone else would do it!

Does this seem contradictory to the sport I compete in? Not really....when I have to go on stage, you play the game, act - this is a part of sport. The same is true for martial artists. Do athletes competing in boxing and other combat sports mean a person is of a violent temperament? Perhaps..but in many cases I have  found the opposite to be true. Outside of a competitive environment, it couldn't be further from the truth. Humans are many things at many times and this complexity and contradiction is part of human nature.

Not a fan of the foot chains...but my idea of beauty...warts and all!

The art of recovery - Thai style

Rest and recovery - the building blocks of training

The importance of rest and recovery for anybody is vital. Days and periods of rest and reflection are necessary for wellbeing and entropy and inertia seem to be deeply wired into human nature to make sure we get it.

I can definitely tell you what rest is NOT - and that is getting lost on a 50cc moped for 3 hours in the heat of the midday sun. Quite how my eye balls are not burnt to a crisp I'm not entirely sure but thank goodness for eyelashes and the human defence mechanisms!

As I get a little older (35 years wise!), I have to get smarter about training and also prioritising recovery and rest. The big one for me is sleep; an absolutely essential requirement without which I can barely assume the foetal position. Here in Thailand, I have been afforded the luxury of time; to play and experiment a bit with training and recovery.

I purposely imposed quite a hefty training schedule because 1) I have the time and 2) I was curious to see what my training capacity is and what would constitute adequate rest and recovery. I am delighted to see that my recovery is actually very good; but there is a lot of resting! I have trained twice daily; 60mins fasted state hill run (AM) and weight session (60mins) + 30mins cardio (PM), nine days on the trot for the first phase. Muscle soreness and tiredness is certainly present but for the most part I feel very good.

Rest days

I'm slightly intuitive about the way I rest now, where I'll integrate rest days as and when I need them. I changed to this format about 2 years ago, because formulaic training programs and pre planned rest didn't always coincide when I needed and vice versa. I may wake up on a rest day feeling great so it seemed a shame to waste energy and vitality if at all possible.
Weeks of reduced training usually ties in with PMS week and this seems to be a fairly consistent rule, as this has the greatest impact on energy, motivation, diet, water retention etc. I also up my carbohydrate level at this point to prevent the "horned devil" coming out to play. Being able to spot the signs in personal energy levels; when, and when not to push is a really useful skill and has kept me motivated and completely injury free for 2 years throughout some very tough training schedules

Diet

Diet here in Thailand is 1850kcal: 50% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 20% fat (no carbohydrate after 6pm, only lean mean and vegetables).  This is different to the two macronutrient splits I cycled during my last prep in the UK which seemed to work well i) 40%carb:30% protein:30% fat and ii) 30% carb:50%protein:20% fat.

I impose slightly more carbohydrate here (plain boiled white rice) because I'm doing much more cardio (at different intensities) both am and pm, earlier in the prep phase when I have more energy. I also find I can retain muscle on 30% of protein which is great as I really don't enjoy eating a high protein diet. It also means I can get all my protein needs from food. I do however drink BCAA's (branched chain amino acids)(10g) and glutamine (5g) before and after morning fasted cardio. It tastes like chalk and has artificial sweeteners in it but that is the only supplement I take; no protein shakes or vitamin, mineral supplements.

Mental recovery

I am a strong believer in managing stress levels and enjoyment is a huge part of this process. Having fun on rest days, doing something different that takes your mind off training, laughing - it's all really important. I meditate daily, which helps me no end and there are endless Buddhist temples to source out here so it is the perfect environment for cultivating that mind set. Just as some people impose a "cheat" meal into the diet phase, days of mental rest serve the same purpose and it works both physiologically and psychologically to allow an athlete clean focus for the next week of training.

Having a "giggle" with my new imaginary friend - she laughed at my jokes! 

Thai massage 

Gosh...where do I start with this. My last massage was with a lady who can't have been more than 3 foot tall, weighing in about about 20kg but it was like being mounted by a pack of rhinos and I left feeling battered. Thailand is not exactly renowned for its health and safety rules so pretty much anything goes whilst you're on that massage table. My neck and back got adjusted and I got manoeuvred into positions I'm sure I only could have managed when I was 1 yr old, without a fully formed musculoskeletal system. That night, I slept better than I have in years and one of these every other day has proved invaluable in allowing me to train consistently.

Thai/Oil hybrid massage - this may look relaxing....it's NOT 

Tiger Balm and Thai Boxing liniment

Occasionally I opt for an oil massage and the "oil" is usually a coconut oil base with both tiger balm and Thai boxing liniment thrown in, which works remarkably well for easing muscle soreness.
The active ingredient in the latter is basically methyl salicylate (31%), of which there is both evidence for and against it as a pain and anti-inflammatory agent. This is an interesting one because I expect efficacy is all about the dosing here. Methyl salicylate is also called wintergreen oil and is found in Deep Heat (12.8%), so it doesn't take much imagination to create a picture of what an oil with 31% active ingredient feels like on the skin.

When I was preparing for a Boxing fight in Thailand 10 years ago...the modus operandi was to literally smother the whole body in a 250ml bottle of this oil and wait it out under a fan for 30 mins.
Other than feeling like a spatch-cooked chicken roasting at 2000C, I did feel pretty good the next day and win my fight. Like all these ergogenic aids in sport - who really knows? Sometimes these things do work, just not in the way we think they do and there is certainly an argument for the placebo effect, which we know works very well!

Thai Boxing Oil: 31% methyl salicylate and 1% menthol - I have no idea what the other 68% is!

A casual word of warning.....

I did however do a little research on the anti-inflammatory properties of topical methyl salicylate and find out that over-application can be very toxic. It isn't clear what the toxic load of this topical analgesic is in adults, but perhaps use sparingly at first!

Hot and cold therapies

I thought in the spirit of experimentation I would indulge in some contrast bathing; sauna and ice bath. I did three rounds of sauna (5mins) and ice bath (3mins), however the ice was more like icy water. I'm really not too sure what to make of this one; it seems a really good way of having a heart attack! and I certainly didn't train well the next morning! My usual run was a walk, which then transitioned into a potter and then a complete stalling of action. For myself, it probably has the same efficacy as rubbing on a nice smelling body lotion; it feels vaguely nice afterwards but that's about it. I was however freezing for about 6 hours afterwards even walking around in 320C heat and got some very strange looks for wearing a hoodie!

 Icy water therapy, and that is an expression of terror, delirium and shock! 

The efficacy of hot and cold therapies is still very much a grey area as there aren't enough robust randomised controlled trials on the effects of recovery and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Having performed a very quick scan of recent studies on this area, the whole thing is very ambivalent. Firstly, how do you quantify recovery? Performance, reduction in muscle soreness, inflammatory blood markers? Subjective measures? Secondly, methodology for interventions differ significantly.

Some of the proposed physiological effects of cold therapy include a reduction in:

•  pain
•  blood flow
•  swelling and inflammation
•  muscle spasm 
•  metabolic demand

There is limited evidence that immersion in ice baths (20mins at 5C) is effective as a recovery strategy, but cryotherapy sauna's at -1100C with 3mins of exposure...well apparently there maybe something in that. I had to YouTube this as I couldn't really imagine that scenario but it is very funny. Think walking around in a VERY cold room with a face mask on. Recovery measures vary but one study looked at: anterior thigh muscle thickness, isometric peak torque, and muscle soreness of knee extensors pre training and several time points post training, with positive results.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25556301

Thoughts on Fat Camp Thailand 

For me, this environment is the ultimate for competition prep. It is a very low stress environment with people in this particular location all training with a similar agenda, so it is a great location for creating motivation. High volume and training intensity is possible because recovery is also possible. I can verify I am fully heat acclimated now; it took about 10 days in total but I can now talk without spontaneously erupting into a waterfall and dripping over everything and everyone I see.
So... a big thumbs up for Bodybuilding prep camp Thailand!

Thai eating habits for weight loss

There are many good things about travelling alone; one of which is complete anonymity. I get to ride a moped covered in Snoopy cartoons and there is nobody to laugh. The downside is solitary eating in  this country usually goes very much noticed because it is not the norm. This was further brought to my attention when I inhaled a chilli seed in a busy restaurant (obviously by accident, I'm not that experimental)! Trying to remain cool, calm and collected whilst trying to pretend to read a book was like trying to run a 2hr marathon in a pair of high heels and unfortunately the little dignity I thought I had retained, has most definitely gone now.

Solitude and Observation

But...on the positive of being alone is the opportunity to really absorb one's surroundings! One of things I love to do is observe; people, things, animals....in fact anything and everything. Its fascinating, I could do it for hours and it's also something best done alone. It doesn't however take complete introversion to realise that Thai eating habits are not the same as British ones but there are some interesting things about the way they approach eating that I really like. There are many intricacies about Thai diet and culture which could make up a book, but the few things I noticed which may have use for weight management were:

1. Sharing food and portion size

Now this may lead to some serious "fisticuffs" at a typical British dinner setting, from those that would rather take ownership of their dinner plate but I absolutely love this about the culture. Often, multiple dishes will be ordered and people can pick and choose a little of several different dishes. Of what I have seen, it is customary to only take a few spoonfuls at a time and always finishing what you have before helping yourself to more. Portion control is therefore taught from a young age and it is also a really good way of introducing food variety.

2. Breakfast is a proper meal

Thai breakfast is generally a normal meal; this could be rice with meat or omelette but it is not sugary cereal or pastry and it seems to always be eaten. I don't think people here skip meals!

3. Inclusion of a lot of green branch like things

Most meals are served with an accompaniment of what really looks like foliage but these "salad" like leaves/branches/twigs are really good. After a very quick Pubmed search, the antioxidant properties of Basil, just for starters is well documented. It is rich in phenols, flavenoids and tannins as well as volatile oils, which contribute anti-proliferative (implications for cancer prevention), anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. When it comes to the pharmacology of herbs and spices I'm at a loss it's so complex but I would say inclusion is an extremely important and health giving component of the human diet, not to mention the numerous types of polysaccharides and prebiotics they provide - good for gut health. The Thai's seem to understand this, as mealtime includes a huge variety of these herbs, some of which are so bitter it's like drinking a vat of denatonium (used in toxic substances to prevent accidental ingestion!).

sweet basil

Left to right: cucumber, a type of morning glory and green beans

What's not on the menu.....

4. Lack of alcohol 

Thai people do drink, but it is certainly not the same binge drinking culture as the UK. I have seen a few episodic moments involving Sangsom (the local beer) and Thai women may enjoy a local beer. On asking a few locals here, their subjective statistic seems to deviate around 60% as the proportion of Thai's that do drink alcohol. I have no idea what their definition of drinking is and of course I can't verify it. It will differ according to demographic and location but you do get a sense it isn't top priority - food is though! Having said this...when I walked into a hair salon, the first thing I got offered was a brandy on a Monday afternoon in the heat of the day; but I think it must have been more that I looked like I needed it because everyone else was drinking water!

5. Lack of consumption of artificial sweeteners and protein shakes

In the UK and generally western cultures, artificial sweeteners are found everywhere; in sports nutrition drinks, protein shakes, diet sodas, chewing gum, no-sugar beverages and that's just the start. Thai people love sweet things and they love sugar; so no surprise that artificial sweeteners haven't really taken off here - the local red bull is literally like cough syrup it is so full of sugar and I have yet to find a local sugar free version; it would probably be banned! They do drink soda's and sweetened beverages, but again not the diet variety. Protein shakes for reasons of expense are not consumed by Thai's where I am, but even within middle class Thai culture I don't know whether that is something that will catch on.

What's interesting is for the last 4 weeks, I haven't been drinking protein shakes in any form. I have experimented with every type of protein under the sun including pea and beef protein; the former is just plain wrong and the latter is like drinking liquid socks - HORRID! I'm opting for lean meat and fish to top up my daily protein intake and I have to say the lack of these and/or artificial sweeteners has really improved the appearance of my belly. I had this very stubborn distended part to my lower abdomen which has completely gone now. Cause and effect I couldn't say but I am very happy to leave the protein in the cupboard for now. Again this is one to experiment with because everybody is different but the marketing push for these products is huge - so it's no surprise they form the staple for  most gym goers at any level of fitness. They can work well, depending on the goal but at the same time they don't need to be a necessity. There are other ways nutritionally to get enough protein to match training needs.

So there we have it..the most basic of weight loss, thai style - and essentially it always seems to come down to the same thing! Eat natural, unadulterated food with an abundance of green leafy vegetables and control portion size...

Running and Bodybuilding? - To be or not to be

The contentious issue of running and bodybuilding!

My answer to this is - if you can justify why you want to do something and the answer is good! then anything and everything has a place.

My relationship with running started about 15 years ago when I first trained at a Muay Thai gym in rural Bangkok. I was the only female and one of two foreigners. Our morning run was a 14km loop paced by a Thai on a moped, smoking and drinking Red Bull, although it could have been Sang Som whisky, hard to tell. I was always last, which I guess gets me the Thai equivalent of the laterne rouge but I'm not sure that is bragging rights.

Was it the best possible way of training?

Probably not. The runs were fast and they absolutely knackered me, all before the actual training started! They did however build a mental resilience that has really stood me well for training and for life. I'm grateful for that Thai trainer; everytime I would stop and throw up in the bushes or stop because of cramp, he would pull over and wait for me. There were no words of encouragement; in fact there were no words at all, but we always made it back to camp. Over time, I never got faster but I did get tougher. The ability to turn on "grit" when you need to is a very useful skill and I expect it has roots on those 5am Bangkok mornings.

Cultivating a positive mindset

So,  I stuck with running over the years. It is great for general fitness but I have a mental association with it, where it always gets me through the rough patches of life and it is therefore invaluable for cultivating a positive mindset. To me, running means more than fitness, it represents gratitude and courage, and these emotions are extremely important to nurture.

"Striving to be 1% better everyday" - Generation Iron

That was a very long winded way of saying, if an activity generates a positive, peaceful mindset, that is an excellent reason to do it and it is worth prioritising. If it aligns with physical goals, then even better. For my category "figure", running seems to work well for my body type and metabolism - it creates better proportions, downsizing quads and improving conditioning. For this reason I have teamed 60 minute "fasted state" running with a route that suits my temperament. It takes the form of a very beautiful 12km there and back route to a Buddhist temple which sits at the top of a very steep winding road. The first time I did this, I started off walking! and even then I had to lie down in the bushes at one point. 
But...with all things there is progression; sometimes backwards! but mostly lateral and forwards! There is a great quote (Phil Heath I think) in "Generation Iron" the modern bodybuilding documentary, that says "I strive to be 1% better everyday". Of course, this is a metaphor but it resonated with me because it is a great way to set small, realistic, daily, achievable goals and it is the little things done well everyday that contribute to the grand goals. It can also apply to anything; character, mental or physical goals. So, everyday I try and run a bit more of this route. I am always met by the most beautiful and compassionate of smiles (possibly sympathy!) from the pick up truck full of monks returning from their morning alms (this is their morning walk where they collect food) - it really keeps me going.

Ultimately, I wanted to see if I could train for bodybuilding in a way that aligned with my values about training and living life; I wanted a way that builds strength of character and physicality. There are infinite possibilities for this and running is part of that for me. I think the trick to consistency, progress, enjoyment and happiness is just to find your own way! It is also amazing what you can see when you choose to actually open your eyes to the world outside (see below!) and note to self..I must apply this to pounding the streets of South East London, rather than switching off into the land of iTunes. 

Beats running on a treadmill

A beaker of black coffee - an absolute requirement for morning runs!

Hill training!!

Bodybuilding and hot weather training

I have been in Thailand for one week; and it is hot - everyday. The usual tropical variations of this exist; hot with a bit of rain, hot with some cloud, hot with sun... you get the picture. 30C with about 70% humidity seems to be the norm for this time of year.

There's been some interesting studies on heat acclimation in trained athletes and results suggest that hot weather training can improve both submaximal and maximal aerobic performance in some sports; notably swimming, cycling and running and this is one reason for implementing warm weather training camps and post training sauna interventions. It usually occurs within 4-14 days; fit people acclimatising faster, with a whole plethora of cardiovascular, fluid and metabolic adaptions which may or may not occur.

I haven't however seen any studies on bodybuilding and hot weather training - where aesthetics is more of the issue and there doesn't seem to be much on the capacity of skeletal muscle to generate force during heat stress. Possibly the reason for this is most gyms are air conditioned and any normal person would most likely prefer to train in air conditioning if given choice. This is therefore quite an unusual experiment in which I am both living and training in the heat (gym is not air-conditioned), so exposure to hot humid air is pretty much full time and above and beyond the recommended 100 minutes of (daily) exposure time.

Through science, we have some idea of the physiology and the process of heat acclimatisation, but what does the body look like going through the process?

Thank goodness this blog is not going to be dedicated to lots of gym selfies and I'm keeping any photographic evidence well away from my brothers, as there would most likely be raucous laughter at the fact I looked like a puffer fish for the first 4 days of training here! What with my eyelash allopecia, I'm really going for it and taking full advantage of no Skype and having nobody I know around me for extended time!

Week 1 progress photo

Some observations

1. Afternoon gym sessions
Training volume and intensity is unaltered with no change to perceived exertion. I still like to train with circuit style training, supersets, drop sets etc with minimal rest and don't find I need to take extra recovery.

2. Morning 6 am runs (Yes I do run, I will write about this)
It is usually dark on starting and much cooler, so fairly pleasant for training. In fact these runs have increased in speed for the same perceived effort, but I also find I can train at a much higher intensity than my usual London attempt. There maybe physiological reasons, but I am also without doubt more motivated training here.

This last point about running speed is a most welcome addition, as usually -5C (jogs) in London are more tortoise like. Out here I can sense a pep in my step and although I may not be "hare" like, it does at least look and feel like running. Interestingly this ties in nicely with a swedish intervention study that looked at the effect of 12 post training 30 min sauna sessions over 3 weeks in distance runners. This correlated with a 7% in blood volume and a increase + 2mins to time to exhaustion in a 5km time trial. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=sauna+post+training%3B+Scoon+et+al

3. Decrease in appetite, must be the heat and chilli!

4. I found an ab! As in 1 extra portion of rectus abdominis - found only in a certain light, at certain times of the day, in certain positions!...but good news for leanness.

5.  Fluid retention and weight gain, therefore....

6. Huge increase to sweat volume and rate - I'm losing anywhere between 2-4L of very "unsalty" sweat per 90 min session, (Sorry to be graphic) but I am usually a "salty" sweater so this is quite interesting.



....and the reasons 


The last couple of points are interesting because doing an aesthetic sport, this kind of thing matters. Hot weather acclimatization the week before a contest is probably not an excellent idea where the objective is to reduce total body water to really show off muscle definition.
This increase in water retention can be from both an increase in blood plasma volume and total body water. Anywhere between 0-3L (1kg per L) for an average build is not uncommon, but this doesn't factor in bodybuilding physiques, so weight gain can be much more. It is also a necessary adaptation to allow the body to dissipate heat more effectively and this is coupled with a more efficient sweat response - consisting of: i) earlier onset of sweating ii) total volume of sweat increases iii) ability to sustain sweating increases. I can vouch for all of these and my usual gym towel has upgraded to a full on beach towel.

One of the hormones instrumental in this is aldosterone, which allows the body to conserve sodium, which in turn promotes fluid retention.  Add in some VERY salty Thai food and the result is one very puffy looking human. I usually don't add salt to my food back in the UK, so there are quite a lot of changes going on to my diet as well as the heat. I have since trialled a plain boiled egg and rice diet for a couple of days and my pufferfish look has since subsided a little so adaptations are calming down a bit and perhaps I may have been a bit overzealous with the fish sauce.

Self - Motivation and Gratitude

How does one self-motivate? 

This question of motivation consumes a huge amount of my mental energy, for three main reasons: 

1.  My MSc research project centred around the physiological effects of motivation, looking at the link between testosterone, motivation and sports performance. Evidence suggests in trained athletes (both males and females), there is a correlation between testosterone and motivation to train - but what causes what?

2. The ability to self-motivate is just a really excellent skill in training and in life. It gets things done with intensity and focus, with minimal procrastination and angst. 

3. My brother asked me if you could train the "killer instinct"; I thought it was an interesting question and I really didn't have the answer, but I suspect you can by training the right mental skills.

Cultivating Gratitude

What motivates a person is very complex; it is situational, temporal and very unique to that person. There is however a fundamental building block of motivation - and that I believe is gratitude.

My thoughts about this was prompted after my morning run ended up at the foot of a giant 45m Buddha at the top of a hilltop, and of course gratitude is one of the staples of buddhism. It got me thinking about my recently acquired relationship with this, which happened after recovering from two years of illness after a head injury.

The Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha 

Any athlete that has ever been ill or injured however briefly, understands the upset at not being able to do the thing you love. There is a well documented psychological effect of illness, so depression unfortunately is a usual (and unsurprising) accompaniment to any illness - all in all, not great times and one I refer to as the "dark night of the soul"! On the upside, when I was able to resume physical activity and integrate back into life again, I swore I would never take anything for granted again and I have stayed true to that. Being able to train, feels like a huge privilege. No matter how bad the session or how tired I am, I feel very lucky and I am very grateful to my body for both recovering and letting me push it (although I do it a bit more carefully these days). I believe it is this mind set that has helped keep my enjoyment of training (no matter how hard); this in turn creates more motivation and a snowball effect for progress. 

I have found gratitude can usually come about in two ways 1) from having a sense of perspective from varied experience 2) cultivating it by practice and repetition. 

It is refreshing to realise that gratitude like any other skill can be acquired. In fact, I like to think happiness is also an acquired skill because it is based on perception not reality, just like most fear. That knowledge is therefore incredibly empowering, because you have quite a fair amount of control over your state of being.

The power of 3,  journaling and practice what you preach!

I am a huge fan of the journal. I tend to write any moment of reflection or idea down, as it consolidates thoughts really well. To "train" gratitude, I find writing down three things at the end of everyday that went well for you and three things that you are grateful for, works a treat. There is always something..even if you have to get creative! The trick however, with building good habits is consistency and repetition, so it does have to be done everyday.

I had to come back to my own advice after experimenting with a set of enormous false eyelashes, which was like having two pigeons sat on my eyes. Good for a drag queen look, not so good for vision or training.  My rather careless removal technique culminated in ripping out about 70% of my natural ones. Eyelash allopecia is certainly an interesting and different look but all I could think of was...thank god for volumising mascara. 

Dieting and Som Tam

Som Tam  (Green Papaya salad). One of my daily staples. 

If that's not enough chilli, try adding more....

Seeing as I am in Thailand I thought I would go native and try diet prep Thai style. It is a good opportunity to learn the language, although every time I try and communicate something it is usually met with looks of either horror, confusion or hysteria as I have most likely ordered a "cow" instead of rice... the joy of tonal languages. Just as well my dignity got left behind at the age of about 5. 

I have however rediscovered an old favourite of mine - Som Tam, which is a VERY spicy green papaya salad. Thai people have a genetic "spicy level" threshold which must be set at about 10 (10 being highest); mine is probably minus 5. Needless to say, the whole process of eating is usually quite a laboured process - I think it must rank about 9/10 on the Borg scale of perceived exertion, but it's a great way to get my water requirement in for the day. I also need a serious rest afterwards, which suggests it is like the equivalent of doing 10 minutes of high intensity training, without actually moving.

This got me thinking about it from a weight loss perspective, because that is the goal for the next 15.5 weeks. Certainly one is going to perspire in the process and lose water, I can attest to about 1kg in 15 minutes, but what about from a fat loss perspective?

The main ingredients are: (altered to taste)

• Green shredded papaya 
• Sugar 
• Salt 
• Lime or Tamarind 
• Green Beans 
• Garlic 
• Chilli peppers 
• Fish sauce 
• Tomatos 
• Peanuts
• Fresh coriander

I'm not a huge fan of nutritional science as I believe a reductionist approach is not the best way to represent how nutrients work 1) within a food and 2) in a human system. 
I am however interested in the capsaicin which is found in chilli. It gets a fair amount of attention as a weight loss supplement, but it's not clear exactly how it works - one suggested reason is it suppresses appetite.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24246368) 
I expect it is dose dependent; I also expect Thai style Som Tam contains 10-fold the recommended daily allowance and would probably be illegal in the UK!

Fresh lime juice, garlic, coriander all make this a really delicious and very nutritious little meal, if not a slight onslaught to the senses.
It did make me wonder if you can learn to tolerate chilli? Maybe I should implement a chilli "cycle" into my training! The study of epigenetics is an interesting area; it allows us to understand that our environment can control gene function. It is a complicated field and like most things in science, we know more about what we don't know. We do however know that the human body is very good at adapting, but we'll see - I don't think my genetic spicy level threshold is going to budge. 

The joy of discovery - the ultimate motivator

I originally started bodybuilding because I wanted to see if I could make something that doesn't appeal into something fun. When it comes to sport, I'm a real generalist. I will try everything and anything, but bodybuilding I left off the bucket list because it never really resonated with me. The idea of doing a very subjective, aesthetic sport seemed quite frankly really weird, so it was both a psychological and physiological experiment. When you do something you enjoy, it becomes autotelic. You do..for the sake of doing, rather than a means to an end and that is one of the keys to intrinsic motivation and consistency - two important building blocks of successful training. To turn something you hate into something  you love is therefore a crucial skill and in the end I have come to love bodybuilding with a passion. 

The question is therefore - How do you make something fun? 

Of course, the answer is very individual but the trick is to start with what you "can" do rather than what you can't (I'll use bodybuilding as the example). This entails compiling a list of all the training that is acceptable for 1) your chosen category and 2) your body type/metabolism. As a "Figure" competitor (less muscular and lean than a bodybuilder), my freedom of choice for exercise was remarkably high. It is then a question of choosing methods that you enjoy and that is exactly what I did. Variation was key for me because I get bored; I also like to design training - in fact no two training sessions were ever the same.

I believe it's important to do what you like, because it creates motivation. Passion and a fire in one's belly have a funny way of turning an unrealistic expectation into something achievable. There will be times for just knuckling down but they should make up a smaller proportion of training time. In those instances, you just have to crack on!

The "how" therefore is really much more important than the "what". For the same activity or goal there are endless possibilities for how you can go about it. You can make it miserable or fun or anything in between. 
I get huge enjoyment out of discovery and I don't think I'm unique in that. Finding solutions to training problems, whether thats tweaking a training system or changing a mind set is a huge motivator for me. Sets, reps, rest, exercise choice, hand position, foot position, diet..it is all to be played with. It is also the reason why I prep myself, it is a much slower journey but ultimately it is one that is much more rewarding for me. Everybody has different reasons for doing things but perhaps it is useful to stop and ask every now and again..what drives you? It needn't change the outcome it's just maybe it will make the ride a little more joyful. This is something I have only recently learnt but I will never look back now I know there is a different way of doing things. I just wished I had learnt it 20 years ago!

Thailand to me represents the land of possibility. If you had asked me if you could fit a family of 7 on a 50cc scooter I would probably have said no...but now I know you can. 
This is just one example of creative solutions I have seen within 3 days of bring here, so there seems no better place to be for training inspiration. 

Slight poetic licence from "google images" as this family looks like they maybe from Uzbekistan, but you get the idea and it's better than the 7 people I saw!

Day 1

I decided to start my 16 week bodybuilding prep for my second contest, alone, in a Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Although the main response to this was 1) why? 2) Is this a mid life crisis? My initial thoughts about it were...why not!? It seemed the perfect place to prep; sunshine, buddhism and other people training full time for competitions...ok perhaps not bodybuilding, but competition is competition and I find this kind of setting excellent for morale and motivation; and motivation I believe is key to almost everything. Passion has a funny way of trumping logic. 

My rather long flight was uneventful except for the gentleman next to me who offered up his batch of sleeping pills, which I only too readily accepted after the cacophony of snoring males was sending me slowly insane. He kindly let me know after taking one that it was indeed a prescription pill with a heady mix of opium thrown in - Great. Fortified by Eva Air coffee which I think was water and a major sleep hangover, somehow I made it to boxing camp to find my room was literally IN the boxing ring.

What is really interesting is the street the camp is on is about 1km in length and there must be about 8-10 different Muay Thai, MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms within a 500m radius, thus creating this huge community of very fit, motivated individuals. The social experiment in this set-up is fascinating. It's similar to what I saw training in the rift valley in Kenya amongst the great distance runners (I was not one of them!). Sports scientists, anthropologists, geneticists etc are constantly trying to arrive at the answer to what makes this particular group of kalenjin runners so great and of course there isn't one single answer but group cohesion, and group training is thought to be a big part of the success.
I wonder if this may be the case in this little pocket in Phuket? I expect not to be honest as the camps are run very commercially now. It is a very different set up to when I first trained in a Muay Thai gym 15 years ago but I am intrigued to observe the group learning effect in this sort of environment.

This brings me nicely to my next point where I realise I am the only female bodybuilder amongst what looks to be literally hundreds of martial art athletes...except for my fellow comrade Peter...a Thai bodybuilder who runs the gym. I didn't think bodybuilding even existed in Thailand but it seems it does! so I'm excited to learn more. 

My morning run started at 4am because of jet lag and consisted of a canine assault course through dead, stray, tame and really big dogs because I managed to get lost without map, phone, coffee or watch. I used it as an opportunity to explore but it was so dark and I was trying not to get run over or molested by drunk Thai men, that really it was more tactical survival than exploration. The great thing about wanderlust is however, sometimes you discover dead stray dogs but other times you discover something that takes your breath away (top image). 

Christ...what time do you call this!!!!!!!!!!

A change is at good as a rest

It's only day 1 of training here but it is amazing how a change of scenery can really refresh the mind. Bodybuilding is conventionally thought of as a sport for the obsessive compulsive who thrive on routine and control. I am like the diametrical opposite of a bodybuilder so I have to say I feel very invigorated to surrender to control and head boldly forth into uncertainty. It is amazing how lack of choice can inspire creativity and it makes me really interested to try and address the question vital to all bodybuilders during prep - how to maintain muscle and lose body fat in this environment. I emphasise the last point, because the tropical weather (and sunlight!) will more than likely add a little variation into the hormonal system that controls all things anabolic and catabolic. I can attest to this as I got cramp for the first time in about 10 years. It was a really undignified display of rigor mortis but none the less - a school girl error for not hydrating well enough. Thank god for fresh coconuts.

The gym - Space, dumbbells, an MMA cage and er not much else

The power of observation

I am fascinated by the human body and it is one of the main reasons for all of this. Training well involves a huge amount of awareness and the ability to make good observations. Sometimes this adds to understanding but for the most part it actually subtracts from understanding because humans adapt...to their environment. We are different people both physically and mentally in a range of different situations. Perhaps observing oneself is not the best science but it allows connecting the dots between mental state and physiology which I now believe to be absolutely vital. 


The main training issues are; it is very hot and humid (which I LOVE) and there is limited equipment. I also haven't figured out how to source food yet with my appalling Thai, but there are infinite possibilities for how to prep..I'm excited to learn and try new things and see how my body responds.