Female Body Builder with a Disability Stuns Fitness World

To say her disability made her stronger would be an understatement. On her website, Fitness Unarmed, Barbie Thomas writes about how, at the age of two, she lost both of her arms when she climbed up on a transformer and touched the wires. The electric current surged through her and left both arms useless, charred to bone.

"They were like charcoal," she writes. "They were completely dead and had to be amputated at the shoulders." Many who suffered this sort of experience would have given up, or, at best, learned to live a life approximating normalcy as they adapted to their disability.

However, like so many heroes who live with disabilities, Barbie did not let the freak accident that robbed her of her arms stop her in life, nor did she simply adapt nor overcome her disability. Rather, she has exceled and gone on to become a model and a competitive body builder. Barbie credits a very positive upbringing with providing her the attitude and personality to excel in such a physical profession. "I was not allowed to be negative and say I can't do something," she said. "I was always taught to focus on what I can do, not what I can't do."

She says that her mother prayed for her recovery after doctors said she might end up in a vegetative state for the rest of her life, and that her mother promised God that if Barbie survived, she would make something of her life. "The doctors were boggled by my recovery," Barbie said, "They decided I must have survived because of the rubber soles on my tennis shoes. True, they may have played their part, but I believe I survived because God saw the bigger picture and had plans for me."

It took years of physical therapy and modifications in the way she accomplished simple tasks—things like learning to use her feet to open doors and manipulate objects—but Barbie has learned to thrive despite her disability. She regularly participates in fitness competitions that require dancing, cheerleading, gymnastics, or another display of acrobatic prowess.

In August, she won fifth place in the North American Nationals after she performed an incredibly athletic routine that involved high kicks, splits, and even a kip up from a prone position. In addition, she was given the first-ever Inspiration Award by the International Federation of Body Builders' amateur division, the National Physique Committee (NPC).

Says Miles Nuessle, Arizona chairman of the NPC, "We were thinking, 'How can she do that routine?' but she blew our minds." He goes on to say "she was absolutely beautiful. She was on the floor jumping up and doing splits. I don’t know what half the moves were called. She was rolling all over the place and shaking it—sexy, athletic, fun and emotional. The crowd went nuts. You can't use the word handicapped with her or she may punch you in the face." Despite the intense pressure and grueling routine of physical training five days a week and cardio routines for seven, Barbie says she thrives on the competitive nature of the industry, and credits the competition with keeping her at the top of her game.

Married with children, Thomas encourages us to "Follow your dreams and keep pushing, and where there is a will, there is a way," she says. "We all have our own stuff to deal with and our own limitations and handicaps. Mine are just more visible. There's always someone else out there who has it worse." The videos below show Thomas in an interview, then preparing for competition, and finally, her introduction on the competitive stage, with her family cheering her on!

Source: voiceofrussia.com/2013_09_23/Armless-female-bodybuilder-shakes-up-fitness-world Video Sources: youtube.com/watch?v=DeLR5moI1JE youtube.com/watch?v=j5viAm6jXWg youtube.com/watch?v=4fN8yLDh2Xc Image Sources: brantfordexpositor.ca ibtimes.com vikingstrength.com dailymail.co.uk myfoxhouston.com english2cari.com.my akustressgiler.blogspot.com news.yahoo.com