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.
Average Days Happen On Average.
Nerves and anxiety on competition day are entirely normal. Wanting to PB your total on the platform — also entirely normal. While heading in to a competition with big goals and dreams and plenty of nerves to accompany those are almost entirely universal experiences, our ability manage and channel those emotions vary a stack. It can be the difference between a stellar performance and shitting the bed.
I talk about competition day psychology with my team a lot. And while each lifter experiences competition day differently and comes to sporting competition with their own lived experiences, many of the challenges they experience are much the same. Many I have lived before too.
Why I Compete in Powerlifting.
This year will be my eighth year competing in powerlifting. Eight years of this niche sport. I’m not elite, I don’t get paid, I compete entirely recreationally. And still, I see so much value in pouring a stack of my time, effort and energy in to participating. I derive a huge amount of enjoyment and fulfilment from powerlifting, which has only increased over my years of involvement.
So here are four reasons why I still compete in powerlifting after all these years (and admittedly after numerous claims of retirement).
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.
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.
Trade Offs: You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
For every decision we make, there is an alternate decision we could have made but didn’t. When I choose to read at night, I am choosing not to watch Sex and the City. When I choose to train for 90 minutes in the arvo, I am choosing not to go to the beach. When I choose to compete in an ambitious weight class, I am choosing to forgo dessert for a few months in the lead up.
Similarly, when you make the decision to lose fat, get stronger or pursue any other health/fitness goal (or any goal!) there are trade offs that you will be required to make in order to be successful.
The problem that many people run in to, is that they are either unaware of the trade offs required of them, or they are not willing to make them, resulting in immense frustration when they think they are doing enough, but still aren’t seeing the desired amount of progress.
The solution? Read on.
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?
"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.
So You're Thinking of Entering a Powerlifting Competition?
I never set out to coach powerlifting. I just love training with a barbell and I share that with my team. But naturally, training in a powerlifting gym, watching powerlifting competitions and generally being surrounded by the sport, you start to get curious. And now, a number of my team are getting ready for the competition debuts.
They have a lot of questions though. A powerlifting competition is not the same as maxing out in the gym. Powerlifting is a sport and has rules that govern it. What are the rules? What do I need to wear? How much does it cost? What does the belt do? What’s with the suit?
This is not a comprehensive guide, nor is it designed to replace the role of your coach in educating you on how to prepare and what to expect. Rather, my hope is that this article will give you a little more insight in to how competitions run, and some things to consider in preparation.
Diet Tips
We can yell “calorie deficit” at the people til the cows come home, but along with the psychological component (which is way deeper than is given credit), weight manipulation is a skill. There are however, plenty of tips and tricks we can employ to make losing fat or building muscle easier for ourselves.
Training on Holiday
Whether or not to train on holidays is a decision that seems to plague a lot of people.
I personally have been on holidays where I’ve trained everyday. I’ve been on holidays where I’ve hiked everyday. I’ve been on holidays where everyone else has gone to the gym and I’ve been like '“yeah nah I’m not doing that.” I’ve been on holidays where I’ve done a bunch of incidental activity just exploring — and all options have been amazing because they have considered my unique circumstances at the time.
There are no hard and fast rules for training and eating while travelling. As with many questions regarding health and fitness, the answer to “should I train on holiday” is “it depends.” But to make that answer a little more useful for you, it largely depends on the factors that I explore in this article [among others] that I encourage you to unpack next time you find yourself asking the same question.