Michigan Muscle Boy

Nancy Arnold

It is with sadness that I inform you that Nancy's mother in law, Virginia, has died.  I met Virginia at Nancy's last bodybuilding show.  She was a vivacious woman who you might think was in her early sixties though she was substantially older than that. 

What I remember about Virginia is that at the dinner after Nancy's show, she chastised me for a story about teasing one of my two sons.  I think she thought I was taking advantage, which in fact I was.  She wasn't mean about it, but she had caught me.  You had to watch yourself with her.  She was sharp.

I'm really sad for Nancy and Jim.  Nancy had been in Ohio visiting her sister, and Jim was having a bachelor's weekend.  There had been no hint of anything wrong.  Then, Virginia had a massive strong, passing on just today.

In these situations, it's really hard for the families.  Their loved one just suddenly disappears, and they have a hard time figuring out what just happened.

I'm sure Nancy would appreciate it if you dropped her a note.  Her blog has her email address in the upper left corner.

Video from Nancy Arnold's Bodybuilding Show

We're a little over a month after Nancy's show, and it seemed like we ought to post some of our materials.  So, earlier this week, I posted a compilation of all of Nancy's appearances show day.  If you've never seen a show, it's really quite something else. 

It's also very demanding on competitors as Nancy and I discussed during our series on her preparations leading up to the competition.

A little later this week, I'm going to close out the series on Nancy's show with a podcast showing the evolution of Nancy's posing routines as she got ripped in the last two weeks before the show.

Nancy Wins Open Heavy Weight Bodybuilding Title

I've posted some photos on Nancy's site of the celebration dinner after she won the women's open heavy weight title at her bodybuilding competition in Flint, MI yesterday.  Flint is an hour north of Ann Arbor.  Nancy's site has more details on her placements and immediate future plans.

As she reveals over on our podcast site, she was feeling a little tense the day before, and so was I.  It was good to do it and have her succeed.  I can't imagine what it would be like to go through that much preparation and get nothing.  I was so happy for her.

Scott Bird and I have been having some discussion regarding the future of female bodybuilding.  My wife and I both enjoyed the show (her first time at one of those), but there were some issues.  I'll have more to say on those in a future post here.

The Big Girl Rising

Click the picture at left to go see an update I put on The Big Girl's site concerning her upcoming competition.  It's this Saturday in Flint, MI, about an hour from here.  As you can see in the larger photo available on her site, she's peaking for her competition.  She's expecting a good show but has hit a few obstacles as I describe on her site.

Changes afoot for my pairing with The Big Girl

So, Nancy and I had a chance to go over her great news from yesterday.  There's no doubt she's made a lot of progress over the year we have trained together, and it's great to see that coming to a head as the bodybuilding competition she has been prepping for since last August approaches. 

There's still a ways to go to the competition date in April.  I'm just proud of where she is now and know she can make it the rest of the way.

Since The Big Girl started prepping for the competition, we've never been sure exactly how much further we would make it as partners.  Bodybuilding requires individual preparation based on physique, and as you might note from our videos, we have close to opposite physiques.  Given Nancy's needs, we've had to make three major changes in training strategy: one in August from super high rep to strength building, one in January to mass building, and one starting Monday which begins the quest toward shaping.  The questions at each transition have typically been whether the changes will work for both of us and whether the workouts can even be done with two people.

I think what we have noticed through these transitions is that, each time, we become more effective at working together and raise the level above what either could achieve in a workout alone.  As a result, I feel I've gotten a ton out of our training partnership, and I know she feels the same way.

Well, in keeping with this theme, I'm glad to say that we appear to have worked out this latest transition in record time.  We'll be hitting 60 second rest intervals on Monday, a la John Yeo these days.  We'll also be moving from a four day to a three day rotation.  Plenty of fun ahead.

Stop by and leave a note of encouragement on The Big Girl's site.  She's moderating comments now because of a recent deluge of SPAM, but the comments will keep her spirits high, even if you don't see them immediately.

Wishing Health to Nancy Arnold's Husband Jim

[Update:  Jim feels 100%, and there seems to be no cardiac involvement, so that's good.]

I received a message from Nancy today via our trainer Mary.  Nancy's husband Jim woke today with significant chest pain, and she convinced him to go to the Emergency Room.  He's apparently OK, but they are running more tests.

When you see Jim and Nancy together, their love is apparent.  Recently, Nancy has made it her mission to get Jim off cigarettes and into a healthier lifestyle, all with some good early results.  Jim has been off cigarettes for two weeks and has started working out. 

I'm hoping today is only an unwelcome wake-up reminder.

I'm hoping the best for my friend Nancy and her husband Jim.