Strong Woman Training

I have always admired power, and strength. To me, the human body in motion, performing amazing feats of strength is beautiful. Perhaps that is why I have taken so quickly to training for strong woman events. As many of you may already know, I have been honing the skill of overhead pressing, both barbells and people. Remember in the old days, maybe a few hundred years ago, you would see the old strongmen and women doing these one armed feats of strength with either barbells, dumbells, kettlebells, or people? The true hallmark of the strength of a man was how much weight he could put up overhead. And, still, to this day, it is still a good indication for several reasons. First of all, one must have the joint mobility in the shoulders and incredible upper back, trapezius, and shoulder strength, as well as very strong abdominals, and lower back muscles. The legs come into play, as in a push press, a fast, dynamic start allows the lifter to get more weight up effectively overhead. It can prove to be a dangerous lift, if one does not immediately stabilize the weight, whether it is a barbell or human, as the back could get misaligned. And, the wrists, hands and elbows must be both flexible and strong to handle the weight. As you can see, I have studied the movement and many great lifters, and look to hone my skill every time I go to the gym to train.

My most recent strength skill I am developing are working with the Atlas stones. Now, there are varying circumferences for both men and women in both competition and training. Most beginners and women will start with the 18" stone, which, are shown in this recent video. On my first attempt at lifting stones, I was able to lift the 195 lbs to 55", 235 lbs to 50", and the 280 lbs to 41". I felt as though they were natural to lift, and I enjoyed the learning process. I then attempted the 20" (typically the men's competition girth) 310 lb stone. I struggled to even move it off the ground initially. After a couple more tries, I was able to "lap it", meaning, set it into my lap, which is the hardest part of the movement. From there, it's all hip thrust in getting it to the desired platform. I was so happy to even move that stone! I have found it takes extremely deep concentration, technique, and some anger to conquer any stone. And, I also learned that you must respect any stone, whether it is 5 lbs or 500 pounds, your technique should always be consistent, and never assume that, just because a stone is lighter, it does not deserve to be respected. That is how injuries occur. So, getting it the proper mindset is of crucial importance. Oherwise, you should just quit and go home if you do not have "it" that day. There will be other days, and sometimes there is no sense in trying so hard you may harm yourself in the process.

For now, I find that strong woman training has put the passion back into my lifts. It has given me the focus, drive, and passion to get into the gym and push/pull heavy weight. The fact that I have always had an innate desire just to be strong, is an internal flame that will always burn inside of me.

Stay tuned for more videos of my feats of strength and gym clips! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Monday--Leg Day

I am beginning my new four day a week routine. Last summer, I was on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine, eating what I want, and resting as much as possible. While that worked quite well, it is time for me to step up my game. Particularly if I am going to perform my Amazon Medley for you all! So, I am back to basics, eating a Paelo diet comprised mostly of wild game, which includes bison, ostrich, venison and elk. I am lucky to have friends that are hunters, so one of my training partners is going to give me some elk and my favorite, oryx! Yay. Since I am American Indian, I am going to see what I can do to get on a hunt this year, hopefully before the winter. All of the wild game from my suppliers has sky rocketed, so what's a hungry Amazon to do? Send her tribe of men out, or go get it herself? Well, either way, it will get accomplished.

I met Branch Warren, Arnold Classic Champion, and Mr. Olympia runner up to Jay Cutler, at our local Max Muscle here in Albuquerque this past weekend. He told me he is a big time game hunter, and gets a bison every year up in Wyoming, and also hunts a lot of deer on his land in Texas. He pretty much diets on all wild game, which I found interesting. I find that if you do not provide your body with the most wholesome, wild food sources, your body will not really perform or look optimal, and you will not feel as good. The quality of protein/fat ratio of wild game literally blows the barn doors off of USDA cattle, which often is marbled with intramuscular fat, which, in my opinion, is the worst kind, because you can only cut the white part off that you see is fat. Now, every once in a while, I go out to a big name steak house franchise, but really only as a treat.

It was great to "chew the fat", literally and figuratively, with Branch at Texas Land and Cattle (which my filet was disgustingly marbled), as he talked about his early beginnings in his bodybuilding career. He won the Nationals in 2001 to get his pro card, and trains at the famous Metroflex in Arlington, Texas, where Ronnie Coleman trains. He told us some good stories about his travels before he headed off to the airport. All in all, I got the feeling, that Branch is a hard working guy, with an inspirational work ethic in his professional career and personal life. It is not surprising to see he leads the path of a true and honorable warrior, and I think it will not be long before he is crowned the kind of men's bodybuilding.

It was great to reunite with old comrades in the bodybuilding industry here in New Mexico. I remember my first show, back in 2003, where I won the Mid-USAs as a heavyweight, and I had no idea what a career changing event bodybuilding would have on my life! All the amazing people I have met, both fans and friends, and loyal supporters of Goddess of Fetish, which I am extremely grateful for.

The nice, long restful weekend, while meeting some inspirational people, fueled my workout for the day. I took a few weeks off from my normal routine to help a good friend of mine in San Diego, with some back surgery. After nearly a month off from training, I have not lost any strength, and I am highly motivated. Sometimes, after a layoff from training, you feel a little rusty. I did not allow any of these weak thoughts to permeate my mind, and kept a positive mental attitude before a very late night to start legs. I even used my training bands tonight. I put the green bands on and had four plates on each side. The bands actually help you "out of the hole", (the bottom) but, nonetheless, it was still good to take the weight on my meaty traps just to get used to the feeling. More video workout journals, I believe they are called "vlogs" now, to come this week! Stay tuned.

Funny One-Liners at the Gym

Summer is officially here in both Vegas and Albuquerque, and I am feeling the desert heat. I love the desert, no matter what city. From the high plains of New Mexico, to even Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Nevada, I feel at home. The winds have kicked up a bit, and there was a forest fire in Flagstaff, and we got the smoke! I thought for a moment, the Sandia mountain range was on fire.

I have been a busy bee producing content for Goddess of Fetish. The latter part of 2010 and early 2011, I have met with many videographers/editors in the industry. I am focusing on stepping up my quality of productions, and updating on a more frequent basis. From the beginning, I self filmed and recruited friends to be my models. That works in the beginning, but, I owe it to my loyal fans a better quality product, and it's my passion, so I owe it to myself, too.

I have found that honing my Amazonian strength and body is a serious craft, that comes first and foremost, and then, finally, the rest of my business. And, ultimately, it comes down to proper time management, and, being the free spirit that I am, sometimes, I just go with the wind! So, I had to examine critically what I am doing, both in my personal and business life, and see if I can make some adjustments to improve everything. Ultimately, the end result will be good, I know that.

One great achievement for me is that I have been getting stronger and I have been producing more content on a regular basis, which, as I stated, are my two primary functions in my craft. So, if you check out my website, you will begin to see better quality footage, editing, and style.

My overhead pressing has increased quite a bit over the past year. About six weeks ago, I overhead push pressed 225, and I can do 185x5x3 on a regular basis. I could probably grind out 10 reps at 185, but that's a bit too high volume for me! Who knows, for the sake of capturing it on film, I may just do that. Maybe I will do that with benching 225 for reps, and squats, maybe something like 300. And, deadlifting, perhaps 315 for reps. Would you like to see that? In fact, what I will do, is develop what I call an "Amazon Medley", where I will put together 10 events or maximum reps and film it for you. That way, I have a goal for myself, to always top my last effort. I could test myself on a monthly basis. Hmmmmm. Sounds like I am cutting out a lot of fun for myself!

So, the funny quotes of the day in the gym go something like this. I met a couple guys in my gym here at Defined Fitness in Albuquerque, and one guy said, "So, you used to be like a quarter horse, now you are a Clydesdale?" And, another member told me as I flexed my lats and he felt them, "I have never felt anything like that on a woman before!" I laughed my ass off, but replied, "I have a lot of things on my body you have probably never felt on a woman!" Of course, I was talking about the rest of my massive feminine muscles that ordinary women do not have. It was a great day in the gym! It's always good when you can laugh, and get a great reaction out of people, mostly inspirational, but sometimes intimidating. It's all in a day's work in the Steel Universe!