Shelley Munro Blog

Today’s guest is Lise Fuller who writes wonderful contemporaries for Cerridwen Press. On Danger’s Edge is one of my favorites and was a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice nominee. Lise is talking about bodybuilding and the romance writer. She’ll also be giving away a download of one of her Cerridwen Press releases - On Danger’s Edge, Cutting Loose or Intimate Deceptions. (Just leave a comment to enter the contest. Winner will be posted in the comments the following day.)

Bodybuilding & the Romance Writer??? (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

Hey, a romance writer loves stories with a hero that’s fit, and…well, hunky, right? A bunch of bulging muscles. YUM! But what does it take to get and stay that way?

As it turns out – a lot. Building a body that most of us would die for is a lifetime dedication and this writer has mucho respect for those that do. I’ve done it. I do it. I do it because I love it, but I also do it to stay in shape. (If you’re interested in THAT story then check out my website at my fitness tab).

Anyway, I was asked about what it took to compete as a bodybuilder. I’ve done it three times on a TOTALLY amateur status. Every time I get better and at my young age of 52, that’s saying something! But I have to tell you, the process is not for the faint of heart, and it takes a lot of dedication and commitment. It isn’t only the hours you spend in the gym working out—pumping weights, doing cardio, etc.—and it isn’t just the severe diet you go on, although any bodybuilder will tell you this is at least 80% of being successful at a show. It’s also the time, the money (oh, yeah – those skimpy bath suits are expensive, not to include the supplements, training and posing coaching, etc. you pay for as well as the show costs, lodging etc.) AND the very weird things you end up doing to your body.

Lise Fuller’s abs at competition =>

I think most of you can guess at the hours of dedication in the exercise arena. I mean, for one, I got sick of wearing workout gear. After a while, none of it is cute. Plus, as a woman, you always focus on your faults not your strengths. I got tired of stressing over my stubborn cellulite and my lost breasts (yes, when you get down this lean, you lose most of that which is why many very lean woman end up getting breast enhancements—but that’s another story.) So, what I’d like to share today is the other weird stuff. The “getting ready for competition” part. Now, it’s bad enough that you’re about starved.

Lise Fuller at Competition

The diet is heinous at this point and certainly not healthy for any person, but in the last couple of weeks it’s needed to shave off those extra layers of fat. (A lot of bodybuilders get their fat percentages to below 10%–some to as low as 2%. Unreal? Yeah, and not healthy for the long run but needed for competition.) But forget about that. Instead, let’s talk about the days leading up to the “big day” and something about the big day itself.

Preparation—a few days before: First, as a women, you want to look beautiful. You’ve been tanning, or at least getting the spray on stuff, for weeks now. (The darker you are the better your muscle definition stands out under the stage lights.) And you’ve been practicing those poses, trying to get your muscles to pop out. This is much harder than you might think. In order to do some of these, you really have to stand in strange ways and tense your muscles and smile! Trust me, my back was so torque’d after some these poses it took me a while to straighten up. And it gets so ingrained in you that it becomes automatic. In fact, even now my back arches and my butt goes up every time I get photographed. Anyway, the whole point of this is to make your posing look effortless—which it is anything but. And then, I learned how to smile properly…uh, yeah, show teeth but not all the molars. Good lord, let me tell you, posing, smiling, walking tall, all while being weak from the diet. (Yep, most bodybuilders are the weakest around competition because of all this.)

Then to top that off, you might run around just to shave a few pounds to make your weight class. Now, you’ve also been drinking a ton of water. Your body has been great about flushing this out. The day before, and keep in mind each competitor does this a bit differently, you stop drinking altogether—mini sips – about an ounce maybe at each of your six meals. That’s six ounces, less than a cup when before you were drinking over a gallon. Why? Because you don’t want water bloating you. (Wanna see those muscles, remember?)

After that, you want to make sure you get your nails done, have your outfit cut properly as you’ve lost more weight since you last had it cut, and make sure you have the stuff to do your hair, makeup and final color coats (skin) for the competition—or that someone does (like a hair dresser that will be there.)

Registration: This often happens the day before. Depending if you’re doing actual bodybuilding or figure (a category for women where what matters is not your weight class but your height), you go to register. You have to show them your bath suits (You will have a bikini and a one piece if you’re doing figure) for approval. They want to make sure they cover the right things. And depending on whether you do bodybuilding or figure you either get weighed in or your height measured. This is the official thing. Sometimes after this, or sometimes just before the competition, they’ll have a meeting to discuss the ins and outs of what the stage procedures are, etc.

Preparation—the day/night of: At this point, everything you’ve done to date should be starting to pay off. However, there’s still more to do. For one, you have to make sure you shave. I don’t just mean your legs. EVERYTHING must come off. With as tight as those bathing suits are, you need to remove every strand of hair, even the ones you think won’t show. They will—on stage. So if you haven’t had a full body hair removal, now is the time. (The guys do this too.) You’ll also be putting on more coats of a tanning solution. You’ll be building this up right until competition. Then you try to get as much rest as you can.

Day of Competition: You meet, you greet, you get your hair done. You make sure you have your suits on, you wear ugly loose clothing. You check out other competitors. You compare notes with others. And before you go on stage (you do a morning show first where the judges actually do the judging), you put more coats of different tanning stuff on (this makes you shinier) and you pump up a few minutes before going on-stage so your muscles look bigger.

Once on stage, you pray. And do the best job you can. My mindset at this point is, it’s my stage. They’re looking at me. And whether I win or not, it’s my show. I’ve worked hard to be there. And I look good enough to at least be onstage.

The one thing I have to say about doing these shows is one – you really get in touch with your physical plane and two—it’s amazing how many nice people can be. Yeah, you’re always going to have some, but the others you meet can be amazing.

And for a writer, there’s where the story is at.

Many blessings,
Lise

You can visit Lise at her website or at MySpace