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.