Episode 2 - The Hater Strikes Back!

Before I start on my packing, I decided to check my Reader before I got stuck into things (yeah, I procrastinate). Imagine my delight to see another post from my "hater" mate in my comments this morning. Again, whoever my new best mate is, I thought I'd copy and paste because there's a little more stuff in there that should be addressed and worthwhile reading if you're aspiring to the Figure stage.

Hi Liz ! Liberator again here!
Wow that reply to sparte was some major back peddling wasn't it!
I was over at the lowest common denominators site today & i see a least she's got some titles for all that showboat training, what do you have? Big fat ZERO! you must be so proud! How do you know about her training videos anyway? Maybe it's like the other ladies Facebook you just can"t help you self can you??
Maybe I should call the LCM the Guru next time as she has something to show for it! All you have is a big fat jealous chip on you shoulder that you can't shake off!!!! ps i see your moving, Overseas i hope :)

Hi Anonymous,

I'm really concerned about you. You're over at your LCD's site and you notice she's won some Figure Titles, awesome stuff. However by calling me a big fat ZERO because I haven't won any titles is disturbing, especially for any person that wants to give competing in Figure a go, because most would be competitors want to improve their self confidence , see how far they can push themselves and set themselves a goal. If you and anyone who is reading who is not familiar with the judging of Figure Comps, the judging criteria involve that of symmetry (balance in the body, between muscle groups, upper and lower body conditioning etc) and muscularity (also bringing low body fat into consideration here). There is a lot of debate that rages about what makes an excellent Figure Competitor - how much muscularity there should be etc etc and the requirements seem to vary between all the federations. The person you compare me with has outstanding symmetry which has a strongly genetic component to it. In fairness to her, I will also say that of course she has put a lot of hard work into it as well. This is her career. My career is as an exercise physiologist and a pharmacist. I don't have to have fantastic symmetry to dispense your next lot of medication or teach you about cycling efficiency - for that I need to be suitably qualified - and that is what I have in abundance.

To call me a big FAT zero for not being able to add that string to my bow tells me that your expectations are unreasonably high. I have gleaned from your comments that perhaps you have yet to compete and don't realize the level ofwork that you put into preparing for a show to be at your personal best. I have no qualms in saying I came dead last in my last comp outing, but felt that for me, I presented my best physique ever. You don't know what is going to happen until the day. If I based my self worth on what some bloke thought of my body on the day, it would be an extremely sad outcome. I really hope that you base your self worth on something other than looks or what somebody else thinks of you.

My blog is my story and my journey. If you're basing someone's fitness expertise on their looks, then go for it. It's a common mistake and easy to make.

In the end, Anonymous, I still think you need to get real. You may think I'm back pedalling (this is how you spell the word BTW), but many people find manaical self stroking of the ego (read THE BEHAVIOUR, not the PERSON) irritating...and after awhile, yes this does lead you to become very fatigued with it and hence start to begin to have a lower opinion of that person.

The same goes for me posting about Juice Plus and Helen Frost's website. This is nothing to do with personality or jealousy or what ever you wish to call it . It's an issue of credibility for me - no formal qualifications in the field and the heavy push towards pyramid marketing. It's a shame because there's a lot of good stuff written there - which I thought was great - she got on the right train but off at the wrong station. As for Juice Plus - I'd be wary of taking it if you're on any prescription medication, especially if you have high blood pressure or take anticoagulants. I did check out the site but the ingredients aren't listed and the 'studies' that have been done have been funded by the manufacturer which may implicate bias. I'd also be wary of it if has extremely high doses of Vitamin C which can interact with several medications as well.

I'm sure, Anonymous, you've read some of Craig Harper's work. Sometimes I don't agree with the way Craig says things, but he's a qualified exercise physiologist and life coach and for that he earns my respect.

I know you wish that I was moving overseas, I am sorry to have disappointed you.

Cheers
Liz N

PS - gotta go now, boxes to pack, cheerio!
PPS -" your" should actually be written "you're" as in "you are moving" - my next career is as a grammar Nazi...

Got my first hater!

Today's blog reminds me of the unknown wait that occurs when you begin to date someone that you really fancy - when that beautiful first kiss is going to happen. Today, after long years of waiting (I'm now blogging into my fifth year), I got my first "hater" comment today.

Because it's so complimentary, I've decided I'm going to share it with you and my thoughts on the subject. And, to think that I was resigned to "being boring" today now that my PMS has left the building....

Here is a copy of my wall plaque worthy first ever Hater Comment:

Liz you obviously are not far behind this person if you have taken the time to sit down & write this rubbish, who do you think you are to judge people on what they put on face book, aren't you supposed to be some guru trainer that supports people, the only thing you have is this blog, which gets more & more looking like it's author needs more help herself, how about you get off your butt & get outside & live your lean life instead of sitting front of your computer screen & watching face book to see if someone posts something you don't like :)

Here's my reply:

"Hi Anonymous,
Welcome to my blog (finally!) and thank you for your compliments. I never knew that in the whole time that I've been blogging and coaching others that I am regarded as a "guru trainer". I've always considered myself someone who has used their extensive University background to help make fitness and health accessible to anyone who wants to better their health and better themselves.

You're absolutely correct in saying that a nice coach will support people - a good coach will provide a dose of tough love. The clients that grow and achieve are the ones that take what they didn't want to hear, consider the information and go from there and do more than they ever imagined! There is tough love in my post and in real life I know this person I called out to be top notch. If anyone ever sees me Facebook between teaching tracks in RPM, I'd like you, especially to blog about it. I may be taking an unpopular line, but if you want to improve, you need to get off the phone and back on task. The status updates I mentioned all occurred within a thirty minute period - that's annoying in most people's eyes. Then to film it all (which I refrained from mentioning) is a little over the top, don't you think?

Anonymous, thank you so much for picking up that life has been a struggle over the past few months. Now that you know that I'm not a guru, and just an normal human being like everyone else, you'll understand that I have my ups and downs and ins and outs. And that the last year has been a bit of a downer for me.

Now Anonymous, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that you just may be part of my former subject's BFF brigade and probably have no idea about why I'm not a fan of her said BFF or why I'm tiring of self promoting Facebook posts, videos and the like. I was also friends with the BFF once. I supported the BFF as her star rose and she became the Editor for a well known fitness publication. I was really pleased for her, however these warm and fuzzy feelings quickly evaporated when I saw the first edition under her direction. Imagine my horror when I saw one of my "sorting fact from fiction" posts on her forum (written, like you said, to help and encourage others), plagiarized and presented as "Letters to the Editor - Ask the Expert". To say that I was gutted and felt betrayed by my supposed friend was the understatement of the century. Then there was the promise of including my photos in an article that I had written for the mag's sister publication. The photos that were being included are in this link.

Not only was the article published in the Sister Publication in my ex-friend's name, I was told by the publisher of the magazine that I "really wasn't looking my best that day". Gotta admit that it hurts a bit, when you think you look pretty darn good.

I did seek legal advice and got the right resolution out of this and a piss weak apology from the Publisher in his last Editorial about how I had "worked alongside" Ex Friend (the more accurate description being wrote and submitted pics for the entire article).

Yes, Anonymous, I have to admit the whole shebang has left a rather sour taste in my mouth and had me feeling down and out for awhile. I have had the internal debate raging within me for months about whether I should post my story and bits and pieces have slipped out over the months rather like an octopus falling out of a string bag.

To sum up Anonymous, I want to thank you for setting me free. I know it was your intention to give me a serve and put me back into my box, but that isn't ever going to happen. I've set the truth free now and I've released the monkey off my back and I can now go forward and keep doing what I do well - post user friendly and real fitness and health info for real people. And creep in some of my RPM exploits in there as well.

Thanks a million mate, you've made my day!
Cheers
Liz N


PS

It should be noted that any post you make on a forum remains yours under Copyright Protection and protection of your moral rights, no matter what the forum disclaimer says. And it's always good form to seek permission from the author if you wish to republish material. My unfortunate situation could have been avoided with the offending party simply asking permission to publish the works with credit going to the author. You know the story, credit where credit is due and nothing else....


PPS - beauty fades, dumb is forever...