Crac! Boum! Aiee! How not to bust yourself up
I’ve always loved the above quaint Quebecois notation for disaster, the onomatopoeic yet distinctively Gallic words that make catastrophes fun to discuss. To me, it’s become an all-purpose expression for any kind of unpleasant event involving personal injury, and a way to make light of an otherwise nasty occurrence.
What do you know now?
Learning from your own screwups is good.
Learning from other peoples’ screwups is better, because you maximize your knowledge pool, and avoid the inconvenience of being an idjit yourself.
We hate her
“Oh my god, Becky, look at her butt. It is soooo big. She looks like one of those rap guys’ girlfriends… They only talk to her because she looks like a total prostitute, OK? I mean her butt — It’s just so big. I can’t believe it’s so round. It’s just out there. I mean, it’s gross.” –Sir Mix-A-Lot, Baby Got Back
When a woman attacks another woman, all she really proves is that she hates herself. –Erica Jong
Staying motivated
You get up in the morning all ready to head to the gym and CRAP! it’s raining or snowing or windy or another one of those damn pestilences of locusts outside. Arrgghh… gym… so… far… away… well, back to bed! What is the secret to leaping energetically out of the house and into the gym? If you find anything foolproof do let me know. Usually the secret to us doing something is that we want to get it done. So we’re “too busy” to scrub out the toilets or balance our chequebooks but never too busy to read the comics. It’s a question of where we choose to direct our efforts.
Setting goals
I see a lot of folks get into the gym with the best intentions and a bit of knowledge, and even some smashing gym outfits and nice little navel rings, and either make no progress or make so little progress it’s discouraging.
Honesty is the best policy
I often get emails or see trainees who are frustrated and pissed off. They aren’t achieving their goals and they tell me they have “tried everything”. They’re about ready to throw in the towel on exercise and nutrition. They feel that nothing is working. They start to buy into the idea that “diets don’t work so there’s no point in trying”. I was that person… once. Like everyone else I had a gift for massive self delusion.
In over a decade of experience as a trainer and someone on the journey of physical culture what I have discovered is that human perception has only a loose connection to reality. We do not see ourselves — or others — as we really are.
Butch up!
Butch up. (verb) To develop a backbone or stiff upper lip; to quit whining and get on with life.
Allright possums, it’s tough love time. If you don’t like being nagged by a complete stranger, quit reading now. If you are comfortable still complaining about your body and making excuses for your life, then step away from the computer, and go sit in your own filth somewhere. I’m waiting.
Working out and reproductive health
Normal female bodily functions have been pathologized as “conditions” or “diseases”, which affects the way we think about them. The truth is, these functions and processes have been around for quite some time and are showing no signs of disappearing. While some, like pregnancy, may require a little extra planning and exercise modification, in general there is no reason whatsoever to believe that weight training and other exercise, done in moderation, are problematic.
Weight training during pregnancy
Now that women are weight training seriously in ever-greater numbers, it is inevitable that many will become pregnant and worry about how best to adapt their training to its demands. The general good news is that active women with normal, low-risk pregnancies do not have to give up their beloved weight training in order to keep themselves and baby healthy.
Butch up even while ballooning up and throwing up!
