Author: Gloria

It’s been just over four years since I last posted here depression-free. Hard to believe. Yes, four years is a pretty long time. But believe me, it feels much longer. In fact, it feels like it was a lifetime ago. And in a way, it quite literally was. So much has happened in my life over that time. So, so much. Four years ago, my world inexplicably descended into a blackness that I could see no conceivable way out of. For the longest time, I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined that I would ever be back. Back…

It’s been almost 16 months since I last stood on the Figure stage. It was actually the 2017 Arnold Classic Australia, and it seems like such a long time ago now. A long time, because so much has happened in my life since then. Things that, for the first time in about six years, have resulted in competing no longer being my major passion in life. In fact, I would go as far as to say that right at this moment, I really have no desire to compete at all. The darkness begins . . . It started in April…

It’s not at all uncommon for us to be asked by women why it is that they can’t lose weight, even though they believe they’re eating well and even exercising regularly. In a number of cases, they might even have quite a low calorie intake, and yet still their body fat doesn’t budge. This situation is actually more common than you might think. And it’s pretty frustrating, I’m sure you’ll agree. To be doing everything right, putting in all the hard work, and yet not getting any results. What’s going on? So how and why does this happen? Well, the…

Health and fitness is one of those problematic areas that’s cursed by persistent myths, misunderstandings and misinformation. Whether you’re just a beginner to working out or have been at it for a while, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re affected by at least some of them right now, as we speak. Below are 26 important things you should know about working out that may be holding you back or sabotaging your results in some way. By correcting them you’ll find yourself progressing far more smoothly and rapidly towards your physical fitness goals. 1. Expecting too much of yourself will…

The gym can be a pretty intimidating and confusing place for a newbie. Like many people, you probably know what it’s like to suffer from that ever-present fear of embarrassing yourself or of looking bad in some way. You shouldn’t let that bother you too much, though. Everyone looks bad at first, it’s to be expected, and we all go through it. What you should really be concerned about is making the kind of mistakes that will actually undermine your progress and cause you to fail to get to your goals. I’m sure you’ll agree, that’s a much bigger deal,…

“Cheating” with your exercise form is something that’s generally frowned upon by many weight training enthusiasts and purists. There are two main arguments they make against it. The first is that it’s dangerous, since it involves breaking from perfect form. They feel that cheating either means reducing the amount of control you have over the weight or introducing momentum into the movement, so you therefore risk hurting yourself. And the second is that it reduces the effectiveness of the exercise by removing some or most of the focus from the muscle group being targeted. There’s actually some element of truth…

Of all the people who are struggling to lose fat or to prevent gaining fat, the vast majority are doing so because they’re falling into one or more common nutrition pitfalls. Diet is an extremely powerful factor that affects your body weight and composition, so any mistakes made in this area will tend to have a very negative impact on your results. As the saying goes, “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet”. Detailed below are 9 very common nutrition pitfalls that you should be aware of. Avoid these at all costs if your goal is to lose body fat 1.…

This author of this beautiful passage is not known, we didn’t create it but we’re just reproducing it here. Please feel free to share it to as many of your friends and acquaintances as you like . . . A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?” “Because I’m a woman”, she told him. “I don’t understand”, he said. His mum just hugged him and said, “And you never will”. Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?” “All women cry for no reason” was all his dad could say.…

Fitness is different things to different people. Some embrace and enjoy it, some are driven to obsession with it, and others hate it and only do it because they have to. Well, if your fitness lifestyle is making you or your life miserable then as the saying goes, “you’re doing it wrong”. There’s really no reason for this to happen, fitness should be positive in every sense. Below are 24 commandments of fitness. These will help you not only enjoy your fitness lifestyle more, they’ll make it easier, less frustrating, and above all, healthier and more effective for you. 1.…

Bethany Hamilton is a young lady that epitomizes the strength of the human spirit. A born surfer who fell in love with the sport at the tender age of four, her world was brought to a crashing halt in 2003 when, at the age of 14, a shark took her entire left arm. Bethany lost about sixty percent of her blood and was in hypovolemic shock following the attack, which almost cost her her life. After surviving the ordeal, Bethany’s main concern was whether she would ever be able to surf again. Amazingly, that question was answered just three weeks…

Self-discipline isn’t something that we’re necessarily born with or inherently have. It’s something that can be up one day and down the next, and it can also depend heavily on the situation. It is, however, an attribute that can be generally strengthened and improved. Below are 9 extremely effective self-discipline tips to help you do just that, so that you can consistently make positive progress on a daily basis towards your goals: 1. Set specific goals Self-discipline is the attribute that keeps us making sacrifices in life, putting forward effort, and doing what needs to be done, regardless of how…

Pre-workout supplements have become a favorite among fitness fans looking to get themselves mentally “into the zone” for a killer gym workout. But how effective would simple, chemical-free workout motivation strategies be by comparison? I have personally never used pre-workouts, for two reasons. Firstly, because I worry about the side-effects of putting some of those dubious chemicals into my body. And secondly, because I’m a firm believer in the vast power of the mind over your body. Pre-workouts only charge up your nervous system. Workout motivation techniques, on the other hand, charge up your mind, which has power over all…

18 year old Kayla Montgomery is one of the best young distance runners in the US. Although she’s always had an interest in sports, she’s not exactly naturally gifted as a runner. As a matter of fact, when she started running about four years ago, her coach described her as average at best. All of her achievements on the track, she’s had to work for and earn the hard way. But in Kayla’s case, it’s been harder than most. A lot harder, in fact. That’s because when she was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) after a…

It’s always a bit frustrating for us to see people constantly searching for the perfect workout routine. And it’s something that we come across quite frequently, especially online but offline as well. We often hear comments such as “I wish I knew what her shoulder routine was” or “Wow, what amazing abs, I wonder what her ab program looks like”, or “She’s so shredded, I’d love to know what kind of cardio she does”, and so on. The media and the fitness industry has to bear a lot of the blame for this kind of thinking among people trying to…

The importance of living a balanced life is something that we become very accustomed to hearing about. It’s OK to be dedicated to your job and career, as long as it doesn’t keep you away from your family too much. It’s OK to have some interest or pursuit that you’re passionate about, as long as doesn’t take away your social life. It’s OK to be into a lifestyle of health and fitness, as long as it doesn’t become an obsession. And so on. Anything you want to do in your life is fine, as long as it still allows you…

A great physique is built on three pillars – resistance training, diet, and cardio.  And while each is just as important as the others, the one that most people seem to have the strongest feelings about is cardio. Part of the reason for people either loving it or hating it is the fact that on the one hand, cardio can be mind-numbingly boring. And on the other hand, it can be brutally challenging, both physically and mentally. Just as people’s feelings about cardio can vary between extremes, so too can their opinions about how much needs to be done. Even…

Talent, skill, natural ability, intelligence, opportunities, luck – these are all great attributes to have in our life. But there’s nothing quite so important and influential to our level of success in life than a positive, optimistic attitude. Whether our attitude is positive or negative however, we’re not born with it. It’s something that’s gradually shaped over time, largely through our life experiences and through the influence of the people around us. The good news for those whose attitude perhaps isn’t the very best is that it can actually be changed. While most of us go through life letting our…

It’s a sad reality that excuses for skipping a workout are always in plentiful supply. That’s because life itself is unpredictable. It rarely goes as planned and each day brings new surprises. As a result, there’s never a shortage of obstacles that can lead to reasons for your planned daily workout to be in jeopardy. That’s precisely why it’s so important to prepare yourself for these eventualities, because they will come sooner or later. If you allow the excuses to start getting the better of you, chances are you’re not going to get to your goals, so you just can’t…

It’s not uncommon to hear about women who have been regular gym-goers for years, and yet they’re still struggling with their weight, or struggling to get other results that they’re striving for. How can that be? Well unfortunately, simply going to the gym, even on a regular basis, doesn’t guarantee you an awesome physique. It depends entirely on what you do there, as well as your diet and lifestyle in general, as to what kind of results you ultimately get. Below are 9 reasons why you may not be seeing any progress in the gym. They’ll give you a great…

Metabolic damage is quite a buzz topic in fitness and weight loss circles these days, as more and more people are beginning to understand it, its effects, and how to overcome it. The term, “metabolic damage” is perhaps not all that appropriate though since nothing is actually damaged per se, and it’s quite reversible as well. A far more accurate description would be metabolic adaptation. Whatever you wish to call it however, it’s basically a condition whereby your body intentionally slows down your metabolism for one or a number of reasons, causing your weight loss to plateau. Here are 7…

We’ve often heard people throwing around the statement that “age is nothing but a number”, but 77 year old grandmother, Ernestine Shepherd, actually lives her life by this motto. In March 2010, at the age of 73, she was awarded the title of World’s Oldest Performing Female Bodybuilder by the Guinness Book of Records. Ernestine didn’t come from an athletic or sporting background at all. In fact, it wasn’t until she was 56 years of age that she and her sister decided that they needed to start exercising, when the pair decided that they didn’t like the way they looked…

(Header photo model: Cassandra Martin) Reaching Alpha status in the gym is no mean feat, and quite frankly, it’s not for everyone. You need to have “the right stuff”. And if you don’t have the right stuff, you need to get it, if you ever want to earn the position of Alpha Fitness Chick. So what exactly does it mean to be an Alpha Fitness Chick? Well, as you’ve probably figured, Alpha is the top of the heap. The Alpha Chick has 5 defining attributes when it comes to fitness, and life in general for that matter: She’s a legit…