Bodybuilding prep update (11 weeks out?)

I appear to be wishing my life away! Every time I mention my comp on Facebook etc I say I’m 10 weeks out. I’m not… it’s 11 weeks.

I suppose it’s a good mistake to make – better that way round than thinking I’ve got longer than I really do have.

So – 11 weeks out tomorrow (unless deemed not ready in which case I’ll do a later qualifier).

I’m still training really heavy and low (for me) reps – for example, today’s session:

Conventional deadlifts: 100kgs (8 reps), 110kgs (6 reps, 3 reps), 100kgs (6 reps)
Sumo deadlifts: 80kgs (10 reps), 90kgs (10 reps, 10 reps)
Glute bridges: 60kgs (3×10 reps)
Pulls ups
Standing calf raises

Heavy, compound lifts will remain for another three weeks or so, and then I think things will change to higher reps, more volume and probably more supersets etc to bring in a bit of a cardio/conditioning element (since I don’t do any actual cardio, other than twice-daily powerwalks with the dog).

In terms of diet, I’m carb-cycling, with my high carb days seeing me eat more carbs than I did at any stage last year (including – gasp – a bowl of porridge just before bed, yep carbs well after 6pm ) There’s loads of variety, from oily fish to red meat, whole eggs, white potatoes, nuts, poulty and game. About the only thing missing from the diet which might surprise you is dairy. We took it out a few weeks ago and I don’t miss it.

I’ve got a good weekend of bodybuilding-related events planned: I trained this morning with my friend Sophie, who’s a powerlifter (and fellow journalist), I’m seeing a lot of fellow competitors tomorrow, and then on Bank Holiday Monday I’m seeing a load of local bodybuilder girlfriends for a bit of posing and routine practice (and probably a good chat over a coffee, too).

Tomorrow is BNBF posing club/meet at Body Bionic gym in Thatcham – these are held every month (and there are others held across the country too) – a great resource for posing practice, feedback, support, Q&As and advice from other competitors and BNBF Pro bodybuilders. It’s brilliant to catch up with everyone every four weeks and so useful to be able to get regular responses from people who only see me at “club” – four weeks is a long time in prep, so I’m always hopefully that people will have positive and constructive feedback about my progress between meets.

Bodybuilding prep update (11 weeks out?) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

So, I deadlifted 140kgs. No biggie.

Hi! Just a quick one from me today. I’ve got an exciting thing to tell you and my neighbour isn’t in, the guys in the shop aren’t really into lifting, and I think the dog is sick of hearing about it.

DEADLIFT PB all up in your face!

I hardly ever post about training and that’s largely because I don’t have performance-goals at the moment. I train for physique reasons and with a long-term end goal in mind: the bodybuilding stage.

I’ve never done 1 rep max attempts on any lift and really only know what I lift for 6-8 reps at a minimum. That’s just how I train.

Yesterday, I was down at The Training Lab (thefitdog’s favourite gym) to cover a workshop run by Andy McKenzie of IronMac Fitness and Andy Bolton of… well, of the first bloke to deadlift over 1000lbs (does he need a label?)

Andy Mc and Andy B have joined forces to deliver a series of workshops called “Brutal Strength and Explosive Power” (maaaaaan). Muscle & Fitness sent me along so I could write an article about it for the magazine.

After a lot of movement preparation to mobilise the shoulders, activate the hips and glutes and improve speed and movement across the entire body, we had a chance to be coached through the squat, deadlift and bench. When you have the opportunity to be coached and spotted by Andy Bolton on deadlift, you take it, am I right?

We warmed up with 60kgs, 70kgs, 80kgs and 90kgs and then Andy Mc and Andy B looked at me and told me to stop messing around.

They slapped a few extra bits of iron on the bar. I avoided the temptation to look at how much was on there and chalked my hands up, took hold of the bar and pulled.

It moved to about knee height and then I felt some peculiar sensations emanating somewhere deep within my soul (or bowels perhaps) and thought “nope”. End of a full-on day, plenty of reps already done, I trained deadlifts two days ago, today is a low carb day. Leave it.

The rest of the group got on with their deadlifts. Some PBs were smashed. I eyed up my bar. Andy Mc looked at me quizzically.

“I want to get it,” I said. So, I chalked up my hands, stepped up, grabbed the bar and pulled.

It went up.

140kgs.
(308lbs for my American friends)

HAVE IT.

No photos, sorry, but plenty of witnesses.

The online info for the workshop series does say “Who knows, it could be PB time”. Thanks, Andy Mc and Andy B!

I’ll leave you with a photo of thefitdog’s latest addition to his paw-tograph book (groan)

So, I deadlifted 140kgs. No biggie. is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Bodybuilding prep update (16 weeks out?)

Morning! I thought it was about time for a contest prep update

I had a face-to-face catch up with coach Vicky Bradley yesterday – she hadn’t seen me for a few weeks and was delighted with the changes. We speak (text/whatsapp/tweet/instagram/facebook – haha!) most days but of course seeing me in the flesh is different.

I’m currently either 16 or 18 weeks out from my first show, depending on which qualifier I do. I’ve had my wibbles and wobbles (of confidence, as well as glute-fat ) but I’m starting to think I’ll be in good shape for the earlier of the two.

Vicky calipered me again yesterday, and I do my measurements: in 12 weeks of working with her, I’m down approx:

6kgs
We think about 7% body fat from Vicky’s calipering.
5.1cms hips
8.2cms waist
5.9cms chest/back

Here are comparison pics two weeks apart (although the most recent of these was taken three weeks ago now)

I’m still training the same split
Saturday – deadlifts, hamstrings, glutes, back and calves
Sunday – chest and triceps
Tuesday – back and shoulders
Wednesday – squats, quads and calves

And doing posing practice, stretching, foam rolling and postural/remedial work a couple of times a week at home. Still no cardio (other than two fast dog walks every day – which are getting longer now there are more daylight hours).

My training has changed (at least once) since I last blogged about prep – still low reps (or what I call low reps anyway!) but with a bit of a conditioning element in there now, supersets, walking lunges, weighted steps ups etc. Every time my programme changes, the specific exercises I do aim to correct an imbalance, fill out a slightly lacking area or bring an area up so the final “package” I reveal on stage is as complete and as “Physique category” as possible.

My shoulders seem to have taken on a life of their own

Diet has changed a little bit: we are now carb cycling and we’re about to really go for it, with much more carbs than I’m used to on training days. This is partly as a result of a total diet-wobble I had a couple of weeks ago, where I careered off-piste without Vicky’s blessing (or knowledge). Not good, but (there’s always a positive!) we did discover than I’m pretty carb-tolerant. After two days of over-eating, one of which involved a family party, and undisclosed amounts of cake, brownies and mini-scones (very nice they were too), I put on…. 0.5kgs. So, we’re going to be playing with more carbs, and different sources of them. Now’s the time to do it – if it’s doesn’t work, we can change again.

As I said to Vicky today, I feel as if the next 2-3 weeks will see some exciting changes in both my fatloss and my shape. I don’t know why I feel that way but I do! It’s exciting. This period of prep – when there’s months and months to go, but you know you’ll wake up one day soon and only have 4 weeks left – is a funny time. But I’m definitely seeing very good changes and I’m really excited to get closer and closer to competition condition!

A couple of pics from a week ago: posing in the gym with Figure competitor Karen (right of the pic) and Physique competitor Kathy (left). I love this pic, we’re so smiley! We’d just had an awesome deadlift session together – I’d never met either lady before but have emailed and chatted to them both online for over a year now. Brilliant training partners!

And lastly, Karen and I did a bit of posing practice after training and I borrowed her Figure shoes for a bit. Once I’d got myself upright (and stayed there!), I tried out a few Figure poses. What do you think? Shall I switch divisions?

Anything in particular you want to know? Let me know & I’ll attempt to answer!

Bodybuilding prep update (16 weeks out?) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Where you’ll find my byline this month (Feb 2013)

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a “where you’ll find my byline this month” post – I tend to mention things as and when they’re published, either on my Facebook or by snapping photos of the pages and Instagramming them (<— latest addiction).

But it's good to round things up once in a while, so here – with my journalist hat on – is the Feb/March 2013 edition of "where you'll find my byline". (It's a lot trickier to do the same for my copywriting work, since some clients don’t want the world to know that it’s me, not them, writing their stuff.)

You’ll find my words in the current issue of:

Bodyfit (page 40-41) – an article on the benefits of swimming, including an interview with ex-GB swimmer Karen Pickering

Careers in Sport (page 23-25) – advice from leading Personal Trainers for those looking for a career in the industry

Muscle and Fitness (page 100-108) – an in-depth profile of Figure Pro athlete Nina Simone Ross

Careers in Sport (page 4-5) – an article on why 2013 is the year to get involved in the sport and leisure industries

And – if they’re still available where you are:
- Women’s Walking issue 1 – a real-life profile of walking and weight-loss
- Alpha Fit issue 6 – a run-down of the essential sports supplements you need in your gym bag.

Coming soon (for my Stateside friends)
A book review in The Washington Post (I’ve no idea what page number as it’s not out til Sunday)

Then there’s also the new Muscle and Fitness books – my words are in the sports supplements one, and my photos are in the HIIT one.

Where you’ll find my byline this month is a post from the Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

NPA British Final 2012 report

Hello! I owe you a show report – Sunday was the NPA British Final, my last comp of the year.

Well, guys, I don’t really know what to say because… I came last. Yup! 6 in my class (Ladies Physique 55kg+) and I came 6th.

There it is. There’s no point sugar-coating it, or giving it all the “yes I came last but think of all the people who didn’t even compete!” or any of that balls. 6 of us in my class, and I placed 6th.

Obviously it wasn’t what I wanted, hoped for or (honestly) expected even right up until the moment my name was called (perhaps I’ve got reverse body dysmorphia, where I think I look OK when really I look shit haha!) But hey, it is what it is, and if this “annus horribilis” of mine has convinced me of anything, it’s that, really, it’s not a big deal. Not a bodybuilding result, not anything really! Has anyone died? No. Then we’re OK.

Despite a disappointing and upsetting result, I had a great day, and I’m happy to tell you a bit about it. I’ll also post some of the pro photographer’s pics (Fivos Photography) when I get them (regardless of what I looked like, the photos will still be fantastic because Fivos is the man!)

As with all my comps this year, my sister joined me for the weekend, making it a wonderful weekend away. The hotel we’d been recommended by the NPA was lovely! We hunkered down for the evening, sis with her room-service dinner and me with my tin foil parcels of cold turkey breast, and she popped a couple of coats of tan on me during Strictly Come Dancing.

I slept pretty well and was very pleased with how I was looking in the morning. I know I didn’t write much during the weeks between the UKDFBA comp and this one but that’s partly because I dieted SO hard and did a lot of extra training (mostly cardio) in a bid to come in with better conditioning. I didn’t have the time or energy to blog much and didn’t have a lot to say. Anyway, I really felt as though those two weeks of hell, fish and cardio had paid off: I looked tight and lean and was drying out nicely. I was really happy with how I was looking and felt I’d continue to improve throughout the day of the comp, too.

At the venue I checked in, weighing in a smidgen heavier than at last year’s NPA Final (57.1kgs, and they split Ladies Physique into under 55kg and 55kg+). There were 5 of us (and 4 in the lightweights) and the other 4 ladies were imposing names. I knew it would be a fantastic contest – as it should be, this being a British Final!

Then came the news that one of the favourites had weighed in a smidge over the cut-off, so – joy of joys! – she and her washboard abs would now be in our class. One more competitor, and what a competitor! I knew this would make our class even tougher, but I didn’t feel outclassed, I knew I probably wasn’t challenging for top 3 (I’d had so much to do getting condition back on track), but felt quite happy at the idea of battling it out for the other spots. And nothing would stop me from giving it 100%, after all, first place is there to be taken and nothing’s decided until they call the results!

A happy twist of fate happened when I found myself in a little dressing room with 7 times NPA British Champion, Carol Streeter. There was only room for one other person and I got lucky when I knocked on the door before anyone else. So, for the rest of the day, I shared the company of this lovely and inspirational woman who was a joy to be around. Thank you Carol for the chat, the posing tips and the feedback

On we went for “prejudging”, the bit in plain bikinis where you do your quarter turns (symmetry) and compulsory poses. I’d had a sneaky look at the other ladies, of course, and realised that I wasn’t the leanest (but also didn’t think I was the un-leanest), nor was I the biggest (but I wasn’t convinced I was the smallest either), and I felt happy about my symmetry and balance. In short, I still felt that I probably wouldn’t be troubling the top ladies but that the bottom half of the placings were all to play for.

Prejudge went well, I felt as if I hit my poses just fine and was certainly posing very hard! I’m told we were onstage posing for 15 minutes, which if true is ages! I was sweating and aching and shaking – a good workout!

We were all sent to the back of the stage, before the judges called us forward in turn for our “call out”. Everyone was called forward and arranged around the woman in the middle (first to be called out). Name after name was called… and then mine. Last. Now, people say it doesn’t matter where you are in the call out but I think it does. If the judges want to see you, they’ll call you first/second/third so you’re right there in the middle being compared side by side with the others. Then they stick the ones they’re not so fussed about out on the end. I was out on the end. I felt gutted, but knew there was no point acting defeated whilst I still had time on stage. Besides, I was enjoying myself! So I continued to pose as hard as before – harder, in fact. I don’t think I’ve ever posed that hard! Someone should set up a camera in the back of the stage sometime because I’m sure the faces we pull when we’re facing the back, doing our rear poses, are hilarious (mine certainly must be!)

We were sent off and I felt… I don’t know. In some ways I felt deflated because I gathered from my call out (and the fact that I’d tried to make eye contact with the judges and hadn’t noticed their gaze lingering on me at all) that I hadn’t made an impression. But I’d felt so good up there, and was personally pleased with how I was looking. Perhaps I’m deluded! Oh well.

I watched some of the show with my family and friends, chatted more with Carol and her husband and enjoyed the show, before it was time to get ready for the night show (sparkly bikinis and individual posing routines).

My routine went by in a flash and I was worried I hadn’t done it justice, because it seemed to be over before it had begun, but I got some great feedback on it and people said they really enjoyed it. Phew, cos I really enjoy it too!

We were asked to do a couple of poses (not the whole lot as we’re sometimes asked to do at the nightshow) before the fun of the posedown – always a laugh and no different this time! I was still feeling great and dared to think I might be in 4th or 5th place, although to be perfectly honest I had no idea at all.

We lined up at the back of the stage and 6th place was called.

Me.

Oh, hi! I came last!

Hey ho. I can’t tell you how I felt, not shocked or upset but just… sad, really. I haven’t yet asked for judges’ feedback (if any of you are reading, I’d welcome it!) but will do so because I would love to know where I went wrong. I’d like to think that I was just the “worst of a good bunch” – it was certainly a very strong line up of fantastic women, and perhaps I was just the weakest of a very good bunch. But, of course, I’d love have some detailed feedback so I can improve. It’s the only way!

How do I feel now? Well, I move house/office/life in three days time and have work to finish up, a house and office to pack, and an awful lot of emotional goodbyes to do. I don’t feel that I have the time or emotional “space” to think much about how I’m feeling about the result of the comp. I feel tired, very very tired. This year has sucked a lot from me, and I do feel that competition prep has taken, and taken, and given very little. I’m hoping that once I’ve moved, and settled, and drawn breath, I’ll be able to look back and assess where I went wrong, what I could have done differently (if indeed I could have done anything differently!) and what I could change for next time. And, of course, what I can learn from it all. Because there’s a lesson in everything. I just need to find it.

Thanks for reading. Photos to come!

(Puppy says he doesn’t care that it says 6th place. He can’t read anyway!)


NPA British Final 2012 report is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Random thoughts on show-eve-eve

Dum de dum.

The night-before the night-before a comp is weird. Kind of boring. But sort of exciting! Drags on f-o-r-e-v-e-r and then OMG it’s 9pm how did that happen?

In fact, it’s a bit like Christmas-Eve-Eve (don’t tell me we’re the only family to call it that?) Just like the 23rd December, the day before the day-before-a-comp:

- is boring
- but actually quite exciting
- makes you anxious to just get on with it (yes even the eating exciting treats aspect!) but can’t yet and if you do you’ll ruin the main day so you just need to get a grip and wait a bit longer
- starts off with you waking up and think “oh this day will go on forever”, then all of a sudden it’s 8pm and you haven’t wrapped presents/made canapes/shaved yourself all over and put a base coat of tan on*

(*delete as applicable)

So, an update on me. Well, I’m sitting here with my base coat of tan on – done by my good self. I never was much good at art or painting, and nothing’s changed. All I can say is, thank goodness this is a kind of “stain” base coat, which I’ll lightly shower off tomorrow. And thank goodness I have my sister, aka this year’s bodybuilding-comp support crew wunderkind, who stepped up to the plate without so much as a twitch of hesitation. She’s a master tanner, unflappable chauffeur and wonderful room-mate for hotel stays. Love you, sis!

Sunday is the NPA British Finals (click here for my report on last year’s Finals, where I placed 3rd in the Ladies Physique heavyweight (55kg+) category). How do I feel? Exhausted. Since my less-than-stellar performance at the UKDFBA British Open (5th out of 6! Reprazent!) two weeks ago, I have been dieting, cardioing and training myself harder than I thought possible. Normally, I’d have started my carb-up by now (Friday morning). Not this time. This time I’m taking it right up to the line, preferring to come in “a bit flat” than “a bit fat”. We know I pump up well, anyway. But this does mean that I’m still – still! – eating white fish (and that’s about it).

However, to keep the Christmas analogy going, only 48 more hours and I can delve into the box of Roses and plate of mince pies (so to speak).

It’s OK, really, I can do it. But man am I exhausted!

Those of you friends with me on Facebook will remember my update the other day where I said I cried three times that day. Yeah, that’s carb depletion for you! Once was when my dog ran off, rather than coming back to me, during our walk, and I had to walk oooooh about 3 minutes extra to retrieve him. I just could barely do it. And cried! The second was when I went for a sports massage and realised it was to be the last time I’d see my friend Diksha who does the massage. Yep, I cried! The third time is a bit personal and highly embarrassing but suffice to say I was walking through the centre of the town where I live… crying.

Oh dear! I have also had moments of fun and happiness – “carb-deplete euphoria” I call them – most notably whilst on the stepper at 6:40am. Why? Who knows.

To conclude this ramble of a post, I’ll just give you a top tip I learned by experience this week. Yes, it’s great to do your final cardio session. And, yes, it’s only polite to finally take your weighted vest home from the gym (where the gym manager has kindly allowed you to store it all year). After all… er… it possibly needs a wash. However, it’s not so great to unload the 10x1kg weights, put them at various locations about your person in your coat pockets, and then stagger home loaded down with 10kg extra plus your bag, all whilst severely depleted.

I almost cried… but not quite

As always, I’ll be tweeting from the comp on Sunday from thefitwriter Twitter, if there’s a connection. Otherwise, I’ll see you on the other side! Then we’ll get talking off-season, goals and 2013!

Random thoughts on show-eve-eve is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

UKDFBA – 5th place

You can’t win ‘em all, as they say. Indeed you can’t place 2nd, 3rd or even 4th at ‘em all.

I owe you a show report, but it’s going to be a very short one because I am disappointed both with the result and with my own performance at last weekend’s UKDFBA bodybuilding show in Rugby.

The show itself was fantastic – very well organised, extremely friendly and with a phenomenal level of competitors (not just in my class – each and every class was amazing).

But I wasn’t so fantastic. I placed 5th in a class of 6. I know, not great. Not great at all. On the plus side (because there’s always got to be a plus side), I have a shiny medal, which is kind of fun. It’s hanging at the top of my stairs with the side which says “5th” turned outwards, so I see it several times a day. Yep, it stings. It needs to.

(There were other plus sides, of course: lots of fun and banter backstage with the other ladies in my class, and with various other friends, a weekend away with my fabulous sister having some quality sister-time, the fun and excitement of competing, which I love regardless of my placing.)

I know what went wrong but I don’t know why… For something which is judged purely on the physical, bodybuilding is one hell of a psychological sport. I have a lot to think about, a lot of coping strategies to develop and also a bit of kindness to find for myself somewhere along the way I’ve had one hell of a year, none of it particularly conducive to a lonely prep and consistent dieting. I’ve done my best but at times that hasn’t been enough, and Saturday was one of those times.

I feel I need to apologise to those friends and family who came so far to watch me give such a below-par performance (some of you getting stuck on the M1 for two hours for the pleasure!)

What’s next? I wrestled with the concept of doing the NPA British Finals in (less than) two weeks. I asked advice, feedback and honest opinions. I took them all on board and spent a tearful evening asking myself if I could, should and wanted to go through two more weeks of prep (and they’d need to be extremely tough two weeks) in order to get on stage again.

The answer is yes. I like to finish things I’ve started, and I know I can be better than I was on Saturday. Whether or not two weeks is enough time to make enough changes remains to be seen, but I’m going to give it my all.

And, just so the Universe knows: next year, I intend to have a more peaceful, balanced, settled background for my prep, thank you very much!

Wish me luck as I put my hood up and my headphones on, heading off into two weeks of fish, greens and cardio…

UKDFBA – 5th place is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Advice for small businesses: how (and why) you should write in an authentic voice

I do a lot of business networking. Today, one of the groups I belong to (Athena Reading) asked me to talk to the group about making an impact through writing.

I don’t talk a lot about my job on the blog, but I’ve been a freelance writer since 2004 – I write features for magazines (mainly sport and fitness titles) and I also write content for businesses. It’s with my copywriter’s hat on that I attend local networking meetings.

Various people have asked for notes from my talk so I thought I’d pop them up here. If you work for yourself, are thinking of starting up in business or are part of a small team with no external marketing assistance, I hope you find them useful.

How to write in an authentic voice which engages readers and builds trust, encourages recommendations and ultimately leads to more business.

Writing is a crucial part of your marketing strategy – even if you don’t think you have a one! If you’ve got anything “out there” in writing which is promoting your company, then you have got a marketing strategy!

As a copywriter, every word I write needs to make an impact and, more than that, it must make the correct impact.

First impressions count. If the first contact your customer has with you is your website, your Linkedin profile, or even a message on social media, those words need to convey your message, your brand and your character.

Those of us who run our own business – sole traders, one-(wo)man bands, franchisees, entrepreneurs and start-ups – are in a unique position. We are our business. That presents us with a great opportunity. If you always write with authenticity and honesty, you can’t go far wrong. Your character and your values will always come through your writing, and this will only serve to strengthen your brand or product offering.

Wording can – and should – convey your brand’s “voice”. So why is it important to be authentic with your writing?

People like to work with and buy from people and brands they trust. It will soon become clear whether or not you are being authentic with your writing, and this is important whether you’re writing a more informal piece of copy (like this blog post) or more technical or sales-driven content. Everything you write builds up to become part of your business and it needs to support and strengthen your brand, not contradict or confuse it.

How can you find your voice?

You’ll know when you haven’t! And you’ll know when you’re attempting to write in a voice which doesn’t serve you or your business. Obviously a chatty, informal tone won’t be suitable for every type of content. A technical document, or a press release will need a different tone of voice than your Tweets, blog posts and customer newsletter articles. But there should be something running through the centre of all of them which is authentic to you, your brand and your business’s identity.

If you don’t yet know what that is, then you need to take a step back and do some groundwork on branding and corporate identity. This is a really important exercise which will feed in to your marketing and networking (on- and off-line).

Think about what impact you want to make. What is the purpose behind the piece of writing you are about to to? Do you want it to drive sales, create more business, to encourage business partners to work with you? How do you want to be seen: as an expert, the go-to person in your field, an educator, an information hub/curator? Or as a place to get great service, fantastic products, or a unique business offering?

How to use your voice to connect with readers and make an impact

It’s never been more important to think about the quality of your content and the voice behind your words. Not so long ago, you might have needed content for a brochure, maybe flyers for special events, and probably a website. These days, most companies will have content on:

- websites
- brochures or other paper/leave behinds
- press releases
- editorial and articles
- adverts
- email marketing and customer newsletters
- blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, Linkedin
- etc!

What’s great about all these newer platforms for content is that they give you the opportunity to create a community and a following for your brand, products or business. But you have you get it right. When writing for social media or any new and regularly updated content (website news pages, customer newsletters and emails), consistency is key.

Think consistency rather than frequency.

Stop worrying about how much, how often and even how good! Sometimes perfectionism can overwhelm the writing process and stop us from doing anything at all. Write consistently, get your message out there regularly, create a following of readers who look forward to what you’ve got to say. Don’t think that everything you write has to be ground-breaking, or very long, or painstakingly researched. If you are writing for a news section of your own website, your own blog/Facebook/Twitter, or your own business newsletter, then it’s far more important to write regularly and consistently.

How authenticity breeds trust and recommendations

The bottom line is that being authentic builds trust. This is true for the written word as much as it is true for what you say, your body language and how you treat people. In business, the words we write do a job for us, so make sure your words are working for you and not against you.

Make it easy for people to use your words to help you in business. You will spend precious time writing, so make your words easy to forward on, share, retweet or pass from hand to hand. Make your content something which people want to pass on, whether that’s to their friends and family (if you’re B2C) or to business contacts, clients or partners (if your business is B2B). So think about your content being useful and interesting, something people want to read and then want their most valuable contacts to read, too. Get the most out of everything you write.

Practical tips for producing quality content on a regular basis

- brainstorm – don’t wait to get started
- create an editorial schedule
- treat writing as a job
- remember, it’s part of your marketing, not a fluffy extra
- set aside and schedule regular time, then commit to it
- get it done. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike.
- don’t be a perfectionist
- remember, something is better than nothing to get started

Ideas and resources which might help (they help me!)

- WordPress for blogging
- Hootsuite for social media management
- Teuxdeux for to-do lists
- Google tasks for keeping notes
- Draft an email, save it and add to it over time (useful if you work with a copywriter or marketeer)
- Good old fashioned pen and notebook! Carry pen and paper with you at all times and jot down any ideas for writing, no matter how small or random. Chances are they’ll turn into one of your most popular and successful pieces of content.

If you’ve found this post useful, you might also like:
- How to engage with fitness journalists and bloggers
- The importance of quality content for fitness professionals
- How I became a freelance writer (and other FAQs)
- A few fitness copywriting examples
- And a few more here.

Advice for small businesses: how (and why) you should write in an authentic voice is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

NPA South East championships 2012 – show report part 2

Last Sunday, I competed in the NPA (Natural Physique Association) South East Championships, a qualifier for the NPA’s British Final. Part 1 of the report is here.

“Oh sh*t”, I believe I said to my sister. Because over there was Chiara, the lady who placed 1st at the BNBF Finals last year (winning her BNBF Pro Card in the process) when I placed 2nd. The last person I expected to see, and pretty much top of my “competitors likely to make me say “oh sh*t” when I’m not in my best condition” list. ;D

However, that’s the nature of this sport: you never know who’s going to turn up on the day, and you never know what they’ll be looking like, either. I reminded myself that, even though I wasn’t as lean as I wanted to be, I’d improved a lot since last year, that the class was anyone’s to win, and that my main goal was to qualify and move through to the Final.

Backstage, I found myself a corner and popped my feet up. My Mum came to find me, and told me that loads of friends and family had arrived. I had a massive support crew, most of whom had never been to a bodybuilding competition before.

My sister was flying back and forth tanning me up, taking pics of me posing so I could see how I was looking, and generally keeping me smiling. We were giggling like mad when she was doing my Dream Tan: you have to slap it on, almost smacking the competitor with your palms. She’d smack my tan on (“slap! slap slap slap! slap! slap slap!”) and pause for breath, at which point we could hear Fran next door being Dream Tanned up by her trainer Ian (“slap slap! slap slap! slap slap slap!”) It sounded like two woodpeckers trying to out-peck each other in the woods. My sister started taking her tanning responsibilities very seriously. “Ian is slapping a lot more slowly than me!” she fretted. “Am I doing it wrong?” “He’s got more people than you to tan up,” I told her. “He’s just conserving his energy. Plus he’s dieting for the Worlds. Don’t worry, you’re doing a great job.”

Before long I was tanned, in my bikini and ready to go and pump up.

On stage, I found myself in the middle thanks to my number – a great place to be. I felt really good, confident and very happy. I just love being on stage, and the fact that I had so many supporters made it even easier for me to smile. The judges put us through our 1/4 turns, then our compulsory poses. The head judge reminded the crowd that you don’t need a big class for it to be a tough one. I got the impression that things were pretty close, and I worked as hard as I could. I’d forgotten how much posing “for real” hurts! My lower back was aching and my legs were shaking even before the judges asked us to go through the poses a second time.

We got shuffled around (so the judges could compare us as they wanted to) and went through everything one more time. I was working as hard as I could and trying to remember everything, but found it very hard to tell how I was doing. Although the three of us were competing with each other, there was a really friendly atmosphere on stage. It’s hard to explain, but you know it when you experience it! Chiara bumped elbows with me during a double bicep pose and whispered “I’m sorry!” At one point, when we turned to the back of the stage, we all started huffing and puffing with the effort, caught each others eye, and smiled.

We were sent off stage to prepare for our individual posing routines, and chatted to each other, cheered each other on and shared water. It was nice! I’ve met and competed with both ladies before and it was genuinely a pleasure to be on stage with them.

My routine went well – I remembered it all for a start! – and people seemed to enjoy it. I stood backstage watching the others, shaking a bit with effort, excitement and nerves, and wondering how I’d place. I really had no idea at all. I knew Chiara looked good: she carries more muscle than I do, and it’s thicker, denser muscle. She’s shorter than I am, too, so all that muscle is packed down onto a more compact frame. And of course she’s shown how good she is by winning a Pro Card with another federation. But… I felt good. By no means did I feel sure I’d won, but I dared to think that I could have done.

After we’d all done our routines, we were called back on stage to go through the poses one more time and then do a posedown. I got a sense that the judges were having a bit of a tough time coming to a decision, but before long we were told to line up to hear the results.

Third place was lovely Fran.

This is it… this is it… have I won?

Second place… Nicola Joyce. I’d taken second to Chiara again, and I felt disappointed but not surprised. I could see why she’d won, and was happy to take second place to such an accomplished competitor.

We posed for our group photo and then Fran and I left the stage whilst Chiara had her winner’s photo. I felt OK. I would have loved to have won but, honestly, as soon as I knew Chiara was in the class I knew it would be a big ask. Just one question remained: had I qualified for the Final?

I sought out the head judge and he told me that yes, I certainly had. Phew! Mission accomplished, then, even if it wasn’t quite in the most decisive way!

The rest of the day was great fun: chatting at length with Fran and Chiara backstage, cheering on the Figure ladies who competed a little later, sitting with family, friends and my bodybuilding buddies and watching the rest of the show.

I ended up the night going out for dinner with my sister, something we haven’t done in a long time. I felt good: I’d made it on to the stage after a very difficult period in my life and, whilst I hadn’t won, I’d placed 2nd and qualified for the Finals. Done, and done.

The professional photos in this post are from official show photographer Fivos Averkiou photographer.

Thank you so much to my sister for everything (not just the excellent tanning) and to everyone else who came to watch – I really appreciate it!

NPA South East championships 2012 – show report part 2 is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

NPA South East championships 2012 – show report part 1

Last Sunday, I competed in the NPA (Natural Physique Association) South East Championships, a qualifier for the NPA’s British Final. I did this show last year (the report of the NPA South East 2011 is here) and have very happy memories of that day: I won, and loads of my family came along to support, and it was a great day all in all!

My goal for this year was to qualify, whether or not that meant winning (usually the judges will put 1st and 2nd place in each class through to the Final). Obviously (and not so secretly!) I really wanted to win, but – as ever in this sport – I simply couldn’t predict what would happen. For one thing, I had no idea who else was in my class. I didn’t even know if anyone else was in my class at all! In fact, I had a horrible feeling I was going to be the only one… ! And for another thing, I was very aware that I wasn’t in the kind of condition I’d intended on achieving way back when I started dieting for the season. Prep hadn’t gone as smoothly as I’d expected and, as a result, I could have done with a good few extra weeks dieting. Such is life.

I pulled it together really well in the final three weeks, but couldn’t catch up and, as a result, knew I was going in to this show carrying more body fat than I wanted to.

Having said that, I was pleased with how I was looking: bigger than last year (in the right way!), fuller and with a much nicer shape. My posing had improved a lot, and I had a great new routine which I couldn’t wait to perform. I had a new (to me) bikini and a lovely bit of bling for my hair (made by my clever friend Lizzie – see her website for bodybuilding stage jewellery here).

My weekend started with a panic when the salon tan I’d booked went tits up. Long story but suffice to say I ended up driving to Kent ghostly-white and hoping my lovely sister would be willing and able to tan me up. She sure was! We spent a somewhat hilarious evening which gave new meaning to the question “are you close to your sister?” ;D

As an aside, I found this photo earlier. Seems my little sister was getting her practice in as my stage tanner as far back as 1985!

Compared to the view I had of her tanning me up this weekend. Tee hee!

As always, I slept pretty badly the night before the comp: nervous, excited, ready to get it done and eager to step on stage! But soon the rest of the household were up and we were on the road.

We turned up at the venue and that’s when I saw her…

(to be continued)

NPA South East championships 2012 – show report part 1 is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.