Patricia: First of all; it’s great to have a known female bodybuilder posting! I’ve enjoyed your post! On to the question.
A few years ago, I sent some Certified letters to the Editors of the major muscle Mags concerning Christa Bauch. An amazing lady. At the time, 48 years old, beating women half her age, and always hard and ripped. I essentially said “Look…people are always whining about “gentics this and genetics that” impeding their progress. We have some things we can LEARN from this woman!” (My thought being 1)she’s female (battling all kinds of endocrine issues and genetics) 2) she’s 48 years old (battling age) and 3)despite it all, she’s hard, ripped and kickin’ butt.(And still is in her fifties).
To make an already long story short, it was all ignored. I think we lost out on some VALUBLE information. (I think she’s into the wrestling/schmoe scene now; hey…a person has to put food on the table. What a shame…)
Anyway…Pat…what do YOU see as the unique barriers that the female musclehead has to overcome to keep a hard, ripped physique? Anything different with workouts? Diet? Cardio? Any thoughts on Christa? (Oh…for all you cynics that say “it was the juice”; even if you accept that as “a” factor, it certainly wasn’t the major one that has lead to such a phenomenal physique at her age).If SHE can overcome “genetics” and age, I think we all have something to learn, both female AND male.
Thanks, Pat! Can’t wait to read your thoughts!
Overcome? Well, I began lifting in 1984. I’ll tell ya what - it’s WAY more acceptable now than back then (for a muscular woman). However it was and is still that much more acceptable if you’re a ATTRACTIVE woman that works out and is muscular. More so than a man. But no matter if you’re female or male, you have to break through the usual stereotypical barriers (“muscle head”, “gym rat”…etc). I’m an artist and have always treated my bodybuilding as an extension of my creativity (I have a button that says “I AM my Art”). But YES, I remember Christa - she had very good symmetry. Although she obviously did take 'roids - what people have to realize is this: “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”. Christa had also the genetics and work ethic in the gym. I don’t know if I’d be a good person to ask the question you are asking - I have never believed there were barriers (from outside forces) holding me back. The only barrier that holds anyone back is themself. When I was getting into the school band (back in the 6th grade), I tried out on the drums. I passed. However, my dad felt the drums were not suitable for a girl - so I had to either choose the clarinet or the flute. I chose the flute, because my sister played the clarinet. Ever since, I decided that no matter what , I would do what I wanted to do - screw the whole “girl”, “boy” thing. So, I began playing in sports - soccer (played on a boys team first and then a co-ed), softball, etc. What I’m trying to say, while like being a woman - I have never drawn a gender line. I work out along with my boyfriend. We do the same thing. I have either trained by myself or with a guy for awhile now. It’s not that I don’t think other women can’t train as hard, but I find most women encumbered by the stereotypes of weight training and what it could do to a woman’s body. There’s also upbringing - the difference between a boy and girl when growing up. What they’re told they can do or can’t and so on. I hear more from women than men “I could never do that”. THAT’S a factor. There’s a few other women bodybuilders to consider on your question: Cory Everson, Rachel McLish, Carla Dunlap, Marjo Selin. Still beautiful into their forties. And still training. I was fortunate to meet Marjo in 1988. Photos do not do that woman justice! I think if you were to ask any of these women if they train any different than a man, they would all say “nope”. The same with Christa. Man or woman, you have the same muscle structure - only a slight difference in frame. There are other obvious differences - women naturally carry a little more bodyfat, etc. I have noticed a need for a higher volume in training for my legs than my boyfriend. Diet-wise, I eat what I want. You read in my post to Vain what I do for pre-contest. Probably not that much different than most guys. As for cardio, I really don’t do much. If at all. I had a trainer , whom I had admired as a competitor (National level), help me get ready for some big shows in '95. He had me running, eating really low to zero carbs, doing high reps - everything you would do for a “female” (ahem). I placed 2nd and third. In '96, I decided to do it all “my way”. I ate steak (and did not do low-carbs) up until the day of the show, I didn’t do ANY cardio. I started training hard and heavy on deadlifts, squats, and benches. Trained only 4-days a week - 30-minutes each day. I got down to 5% and won my class - convincingly. I had won my class before - but this was the best I had EVER looked (at 30-years old, no less). I have made some modifications in my training and diet since. But nothing drastic. I believe in training that is individual specific - NOT gender specific. The same with diet. Mufasa, I’ve also enjoyed reading your posts on T-Mag. Thank you for asking my opinion. I hope my “long winded” post answered some your question!
Do you do any interval training or do you just stick to lifting weights? I ask this because it seems that any amount of cardio I do seems to eat away at my muscles. I used to do 30 minutes of cardio three times a week but was experiencing too much muscle loss from it. I have been doing 15 minutes of cardio four times a week but it didn’t take long for it to seriously interfere with my weight training.
Wow, glad this morning has been slow at work…well, interval training. I have trained in the martial arts (karate, some kickboxing) and boxing. While I don’t do aerobic-type exercises I do mostly anaerobic such as the boxing, heavy bag training and drills. I also have a fitball at home and I have a tendency to do ab work and stretch while watching my favorite TV shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). Molsonman, I have the same prob as you; alot of cardio work makes me flatten out and lose way too much muscle. So, I stick to what has worked for me. When I was doing karate 3-4 days a week and weight training 3-days a week - I got hard and man, was I lean. Lean, mean, fighting machine! And still drinkin’ the beer…oops. In no way did I lose muscle. So, if the cardio has not worked for you there are other options.
Pat trains right along with me so i know for a fact , that whats good for guy is is good for the gals. For her last show, I did not really have to do much to her diet, just reduced the fats, and carbs a little bit, nothing radical. If I emember right she even had a couple of beers two weeks out. Keeping the intensity up with the weights made all the difference in the world. She came in shredded, way more ripped than the other competitors who were doing the carb deplete then carb up, and do hours of cardio routine.