blog
Welcome to my blog. Thanks for being here.
I like to write a lot. Mostly about powerlifting, strength training, body image + women in sport. They’re kinda my things.
If you ever have questions or want to learn more, please reach out. I would love to hear from you.
Billie x
Training & Long Term Travel
I received a message on Instagram the other day about navigating training and travel — specifically, navigating less predictable training set ups and the psychology around the fear of losing gains. Yes yes, hugely luxe problems. But certainly problems that can plague us when we have passions that are largely at odds.
I love training, I love routine, I love consistency, I love being in control. But I also like everything that opposes that — having no idea what I’m doing tomorrow, what hour I’ll get in tonight (tomorrow morning?), where I’ll sleep tonight. I’m willing to trade off on gains in order to enjoy this side of my personality, but certainly I am constantly engaged with ongoing problem solving to give me the best possible enjoyment of both of my loves.
In this article I talk about both the practical and the emotional aspects of training and long-term travel. I’ll offer personal experience and practical advice on how to best manage training while also letting your hair down af.
Should I Cut Weight For My First Competition?
Anytime anyone considers their first powerlifting competition one of the questions they are most plagued with early on is which weight class to enter. At a local level (which is what your first competition will be), the weight class you register for literally does not matter. IE, if I register for the 67.5kg weight class, but on the day I weigh in at 68.0kg, it bears no implication. I will simply be entered in to the weight class above (75kg).
But Billie, won’t you be less competitive in that weight class? Well yeah, but also, not important. Or at least, this is much less important than a stack of other factors that I consider in the context of a first competition.
So should I cut weight for my first competition? My answer to this question will almost always be no. Here’s why.
It took me five years to add 2.5kg to my total. Here’s what I learned.
In 2015, I put up a 347.5kg total. It was my first year of powerlifting and my second competition. Five years later in 2020, I finally registered a new PB total of 350kg. There were significant ups and downs across that five year period: great training blocks, horrendous ones, weight gain and loss, success in some lifts, major regression in others, injury and recovery, breaks from competition and breaks from structured powerlifting training altogether.
I am in hindsight appreciative of this experience: I’ve matured considerably as a lifter and just in general; powerlifting has taken up a really nice spot in my life among numerous other activities and pursuits that are meaningful to me; I’m a more compassionate coach and training partner. I’ve learned a number of lessons that I believe are immensely valuable for anyone experiencing their own seemingly endless training plateau.
So, on top of that whopping 2.5kg that I slapped on my total, here are some valuable insights I gained over this recent five year period.
How To Get The Most Out Of A Coach
The relationship between coach and client can be a pretty damn special one. I’m fortunate to work with some damn wonderful people among my team with whom I have really beautiful connections and achieve some pretty awesome outcomes. I also have a wonderful relationship with my own coach. He is a great friend to me and has and continues to play a huge role in shuttling me towards my own goals. But none of this has happened by accident or without significant effort from both parties. It takes a lot from both coach and client to move towards the desired outcome in a way that is enjoyable and at a rate that is deemed acceptable.
Which raises the question — as a client, how do you get the most out of a coach?
Quit Majoring in the Minors. What Actually Matters for Strength Development?
If there is one thing that gym-goers do really well, it’s major in the minors. You know, have a $500 supplement stack but squat high. Have carbs and protein within 15 minutes of every training session but eat nothing more than a tall latte and a sushi roll outside of that. Wear blue light glasses before bed every night because #recovery but also take a week off training every month for the same reason.
So much time, money and effort is wasted on misguided training and nutrition interventions.
I Want To Build Muscle Without Gaining Fat...
Attempting to build muscle and drop fat at the same time is a pretty inefficient pursuit. So then, if you can’t do both at the same time, how can you at least build muscle without gaining fat?
In short, it’s still gonna be a damn inefficient pursuit, probably not worth pursuing.
Promoting Obesity Is Not A Thing & And Other Things The Internet Gets Wrong About Body Positivity
The body positivity and Health At Every Size movements are largely misunderstood. Viewed by thin people as “promoting obesity,” their messages of empowerment and self-acceptance (both extremely valuable in contributing to improving physical, mental and social health) are often completely misconstrued and contorted. Both movements have extremely positive missions and outcomes that are very worthwhile understanding.
Willpower & How To Get More Of It
Willpower is poorly understood. The term is thrown around a lot, typically when we talk about what is holding us back from achieving some goal. “I just need more willpower” is repeated like a battle cry. But how many of us actually know how to get more? Without some plan for how to increase your willpower, your cries for more are null, void, and sub in as an accidental excuse for addressing what is actually holding you back.
So what is willpower, actually?
Moral Licensing - Why Telling Yourself You've Been Good Is F*cking You Up
Anything you moralise is fair game for moral licensing. So when you refer to your diet as good or praise yourself for being good because you’ve consistently hit the gym, you are fair game for moral licensing. If your diet has been good, you’re entitled to a little bad. And if you’ve been good with the gym, baby girl, you deserve a day off. But isn’t this just balance you say? Hear me out.
"Physically Attractive People Have It All" And Other BS We Tell Ourselves
“My worth as a person depends on how I look,” “physically attractive people have it all,” “if people knew how I really look, they probably wouldn’t like me so much,” “my life would be happier if I looked a certain way,” “I don’t need to change my body image; I need to change my body.”
Chances are, you’ve had some of these thoughts before. These are common assumptions we make about our appearance in order to protect ourselves. The problem is that these assumptions that we make to protect ourselves end up having the exact opposite effect — they are self deprecating and promote self rejection.
Overhauling long-standing appearance assumptions is a big job. It’s one thing to question them lightly; it’s another thing to challenge your deepest held beliefs and wrestle with the discomfort for as long as it takes to take the f*cker down.
How to Warm Up for Barbell Training
There aren’t really any hard rules when it comes to warming up for barbell training, which is why it can be hard to understand at times. There are however considerations and guiding principles which can help you to make better decisions when it comes to warming up and improving your preparedness for the session ahead.
Powerlifting - More Than Just Lifting Heavy Things?
Last Sunday, I competed in a powerlifting competition. It was the first time in a long time [over two years] for me. A whole bunch of my team came to watch which was incredibly beautiful. It was the first competition they had been to. When they rolled in the door for training on Monday morning, their energy was absolutely phenomenal. They had so many questions about the rules, the timer, why the lifters did certain things and so on. They were amped. But one comment really stuck with me.
“What a world! The competition really made me feel like I’m part of something. I can see my training becoming more of a hobby now.”
Fucking YES! That is exactly why I do it and exactly why I’m elated by the opportunity to rope everyone in that I can.
Training (or rather, exercising) in our culture is so often just seen as a reluctant but necessary means for weight loss or maintenance and oddly to a lesser extent, health. And with that comes the comments of “why are you here [at the gym]? You’re already in great shape” and associated dare I say, ignorance. But what if training was so much more than that — a means of self development, a personal challenge, a hobby, a place for social connection and self expression.
Navigating Health and Body Image - My Story.
I’ve shared my story and battles with my body image and body weight in varying depths on varying different platforms, but I’ve never dived super deep in to the nitty gritty of each stage of the journey. I feel called to share the finest details because all too often I see nutrition and exercise viewed in isolation from all other elements of an individual’s life. Your relationships, work, hobbies, education, family, sleep, sex life - all of these play a factor in determining your behaviours around food and exercise and the perceptions you hold of yourself. I hope that by breaking down every little bit of this story, you can come to recognise how so many things interplayed in my journey and perhaps help you recognise anything in your life that may be indirectly adversely affecting your physical or mental health, that you may not have otherwise considered.