Rene Campbell article in The Sun

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4097686/Mum-of-two-is-a-bigorexic.html

Looks fantastic....Fair play to her....

Just wish these girls, the likes of Lisa Cross, Wendy McCready and Rene Campbell would share their secrets!  Some women do actually want to achieve what they have but every article or discussion shys away from the core issues of diet, training and supplementation.  I've given up reading Muscle and Fitness, Flex etc as it's all bikini and fitness girls and tits and ass.  No thanks.  By that, I don't mean to undermine the achievements of the bikini/fitness girls but it would be great to see articles about female bodybuilders and powerlifters/strong women now and again.

Peanuts


Just wish these girls, the likes of Lisa Cross, Wendy McCready and Rene Campbell would share their secrets!  Some women do actually want to achieve what they have but every article or discussion shys away from the core issues of diet, training and supplementation.  I've given up reading Muscle and Fitness, Flex etc as it's all bikini and fitness girls and tits and ass.  No thanks.  By that, I don't mean to undermine the achievements of the bikini/fitness girls but it would be great to see articles about female bodybuilders and powerlifters/strong women now and again.

Its very simple, CONSISTENCY in EVERYTHING you do....DIET, TRAINING REST and then lastly genetics mixed with a little GEAR.
Lou X

Well said Lou - there's no secret! The sooner you get over that one the better Peanuts  It's all about how far you're prepared to go to get the body you want.
 

Write in to the magazines and tell them so! Some of them do listen.... though it is a slow process...
 
I think part of the problem with reading articles about ladies such as you mention is that no magazine would be prepared to do a box out called "So and so's pro hormone protocol" or whatever. Even if we all know they're doing gear, the magazine just isn't going to print it. They'll print their diet, their training, their favourite ab exercise, what they like as a cheat meal. It's the elephant in the room and mainstream, advertiser-supported publications aren't going to be the ones to talk about it.

I saw the article about Renee and i also briefly spoke to her about it. i felt that the heading "Bigorexic" was totally sensational and purely intended to grab attention. Obviously it is not my place to speak on behalf of Renee but i think she will tell you herself that she never stated that she wanted to be 20 stone!
 
That is the problem with speaking to the main stream media. I totally get what Peanuts and Nic chip are saying. It would be great in an ideal world if women who trained were given a platform to promote the sport they love but i am afraid the media is just looking to sensationalise and sell their newspapers or magazines. I was approached by the same media company and just refused. I was also approached to do the Jodie Marsh programme and am now very glad that i turned that down as well.
 
To Peanuts - there are no secrets but there is a lot to learn regarding nutrition and training but that is the beauty of the sport. I get emailed daily by women wanting advice and i am more than happy to give whatever advice and help i can. I would be more than happy to help you too Peanuts. Failing hopefully soon there will be another women's seminar being held which would be great. Hopefully then we can all get together and share our experiences and expertise.
 
xxxx

Good comment, Lisa.  The mainstream media must miss out on a lot of great stories you to the fact that they can't be trusted to report sensibly.
 

We in the game know that to get to the size of the top physique girls, a little chemical assistance is needed. It's accepted. If mags aren't prepared to print this (and to some extent I understand why they wouldn't want to nor why the girls involved in that side of the sport would want it publishing in main stream mags either), it gives the impression that weight training will make any woman that developed. It's no wonder based on that, that many women shy away from the weights.......I'm not having a go at any of the girls who are assisted for this impression before I get shouted at

Peanuts


Just wish these girls, the likes of Lisa Cross, Wendy McCready and Rene Campbell would share their secrets!  Some women do actually want to achieve what they have but every article or discussion shys away from the core issues of diet, training and supplementation.  I've given up reading Muscle and Fitness, Flex etc as it's all bikini and fitness girls and tits and ass.  No thanks.  By that, I don't mean to undermine the achievements of the bikini/fitness girls but it would be great to see articles about female bodybuilders and powerlifters/strong women now and again.

One other thing about the media in our sport - they don't want the 'big girls' in their mags because they are not very marketable and take up valuable advertising revenue space.....sad but true.

kitty


We in the game know that to get to the size of the top physique girls, a little chemical assistance is needed.

 
We know that but your average person, or even first time female competitors don't. I remember 'enlightening' a girl I know who was competing in UKFBB that some girls may be assisted and she had no idea!
I don't care in the slightest, it's just a bummer it's not talked about at all. The flipside of thhat is that there can be an assumption that being assisted got you to X position, which I know isn't true either. I think for that reason, if I was assisted, I wouldn't openly talk about it either... 

Flick, that's exactly what I mean. I don't care either but because it's not discussed in the main stream it remains accepted that anyone can grow big! The female seminars at Olympic have at least opened the doors within ourselves to talk openly about side effects etc. Those discussions were very enlightening.

We all seem to be saying the same thing most probably because we have all had similar experiences. We will all have gotten into conversations with women (lets just call them general gym goers) who think that as soon as they start training with weights they will pack on the muscle and as such they stay away from weight training.
 
Obviously we all want to bring more women into the sport and it would seem advantageous to use the mass media to promote the sport and to highlight the fact there are different federations and that there are different classes for women wanting to achieve differing looks. 
 
There are the odd positive articles but in general when talking about bodybuilding, the mass media just wants to focus on steroids. Whereas body builders, or most body builders i know, try to be responsible and when advising people new to the sport they stress the importance of nutrition and training, it is the media who portrays the image that all you need to do is take shed loads of gear in order to get big. That is why i dont think the mass media is the place to promote our sport because they will never do it responsibly. 
 
I do agree that women seminars are invaluable. A place where we can all get together and talk openly and share knowledge and experience. I personally believe that because using chemical assistance is such specialised advise it needs to be spoken about on a one to one level. it needs to be tailored to individual requirements and as such giving general advice which can be misconstrued is not going to be beneficial to anyone. 
 
 
 
 

Speaking of which, I've seen a great new CNP poster with you on it in my gym Lisa - I look at it when I go down the stairs everyday and want to look amazing in my bikini too.
 
Dawn that seminar was amazing, I learnt a LOT. It was nice as well that there were competitors there being really open, total hats off to them for it.

Lisa Cross


We all seem to be saying the same thing most probably because we have all had similar experiences. We will all have gotten into conversations with women (lets just call them general gym goers) who think that as soon as they start training with weights they will pack on the muscle and as such they stay away from weight training.

Obviously we all want to bring more women into the sport and it would seem advantageous to use the mass media to promote the sport and to highlight the fact there are different federations and that there are different classes for women wanting to achieve differing looks. 

There are the odd positive articles but in general when talking about bodybuilding, the mass media just wants to focus on steroids. Whereas body builders, or most body builders i know, try to be responsible and when advising people new to the sport they stress the importance of nutrition and training, it is the media who portrays the image that all you need to do is take shed loads of gear in order to get big. That is why i dont think the mass media is the place to promote our sport because they will never do it responsibly. 

I do agree that women seminars are invaluable. A place where we can all get together and talk openly and share knowledge and experience. I personally believe that because using chemical assistance is such specialised advise it needs to be spoken about on a one to one level. it needs to be tailored to individual requirements and as such giving general advice which can be misconstrued is not going to be beneficial to anyone. 

I agree your comments, responsible reporting on our sport is rarely seen however it is also our responsibility as athletes when put in the position by the media of being questioned about the use of steroids that we are not drawn into that conversation. I recently did a Q&A style article for Chat magazine and was questioned about steroids, my answer simply put was that it would irresponsible of me to comment on such a wide ranging complex topic and the information released to the general public, and I would prefer that this topic was not mentioned in the article. The journalist complied with my request.
 
I have long maintained that open discussion about steroid use amongst women should no longer be tabboo and thankfully more women are opening up about their own personal experiences with steroids on all levels. We all know steroid use is prevelant amongst women in our sport and that discussion takes place in a 'safe' environment/forum without fear of reprisal is a positive start.
 
Whilst I agree with your comment that steroid use is a specialised field that requires a tailored approach, I feel that with open discussion women are in a better position to make an informed choice not a misinformed one about their use. We all know the subject matter and the way it is talked about as a dirty little secret is akin to how children talk about sex in the playground:- exagerated, misinformed and wholy inaccurate.
 
 
  

Lisa Cross


We all seem to be saying the same thing most probably because we have all had similar experiences. We will all have gotten into conversations with women (lets just call them general gym goers) who think that as soon as they start training with weights they will pack on the muscle and as such they stay away from weight training.

Obviously we all want to bring more women into the sport and it would seem advantageous to use the mass media to promote the sport and to highlight the fact there are different federations and that there are different classes for women wanting to achieve differing looks. 

There are the odd positive articles but in general when talking about bodybuilding, the mass media just wants to focus on steroids. Whereas body builders, or most body builders i know, try to be responsible and when advising people new to the sport they stress the importance of nutrition and training, it is the media who portrays the image that all you need to do is take shed loads of gear in order to get big. That is why i dont think the mass media is the place to promote our sport because they will never do it responsibly. 

I do agree that women seminars are invaluable. A place where we can all get together and talk openly and share knowledge and experience. I personally believe that because using chemical assistance is such specialised advise it needs to be spoken about on a one to one level. it needs to be tailored to individual requirements and as such giving general advice which can be misconstrued is not going to be beneficial to anyone. 

 
I want to 5 star this post but I can't

Good posts Lisa and Lou. I'm pleased we do have women talking about it more openly now. It was certainly one of the comments at the seminar from one of the females that she only had men to help her when she stated out and they didn't have experiences of dosages for women nor the type of product they should avoid or minimise for certain side effects. I was particular intrigued by her openness to how she is still currently affected on a daily basis as well as the lady check ups at the Docs we have to endure.

Of course I an understand the reasons why in an interview situation it would not be responsible for anyone to comment from a personal situation but surely there could be a way of an article being done in a general media publication that can differentiate the types of female physiques and what is more realistic without assistance. Bodybuilding, yes promote that in relevant mags but I'd love to see weight training promoted better in general and unless we can get it across about these differences then many women will still fear it.

Great thread, yes that seminar was AMAZING, I'm one of those innocents that's abit clueless as to who potentially uses and doesn't, everyone was soOo open, was awesome.
Well done Tan for giving us that forum.
xx

kitty


Good posts Lisa and Lou. I'm pleased we do have women talking about it more openly now. It was certainly one of the comments at the seminar from one of the females that she only had men to help her when she stated out and they didn't have experiences of dosages for women nor the type of product they should avoid or minimise for certain side effects. I was particular intrigued by her openness to how she is still currently affected on a daily basis as well as the lady check ups at the Docs we have to endure.

Of course I an understand the reasons why in an interview situation it would not be responsible for anyone to comment from a personal situation but surely there could be a way of an article being done in a general media publication that can differentiate the types of female physiques and what is more realistic without assistance. Bodybuilding, yes promote that in relevant mags but I'd love to see weight training promoted better in general and unless we can get it across about these differences then many women will still fear it.

I feel one of the problems is that female bb'ers are compared to males, and those who are negative about women in the sport concentrate on how 'masculine' a participant looks. Thus women who have used steriods can become very defensive and wish to hide the side effects which they may or may not have as a result of AS use, for fear of their sex being questioned or being accused of no longer being a woman.
 
On the other hand men talk more openly about their 'bitch tits', and discuss the drugs they can use to minimise these side effects without their masculinity being threatened. You'd only usually ever hear comments questioning a guy's sex if they didn't train.
 
Hope this all makes sense. Women do suffer side effects and do feel ashamed of them.  Add to that some(luckily only a few I may add) people considering you a cheat if you've ever used anything, and you are not going to admit to anything if you can help it.