Pre-training

I've been promising my friends that I would post pictures of my progress toward my best shot at the figure competition in April 2013.  Here's the first picture.
My hangups about my figure are: 1) my pregnancy stretch marks that circumnavigate my whole mid-section and down the tops of my thighs; 2) a touch of cellulite that won't go away, but I hope it will by competition; 3) lots of padding needed on top to achieve the look of not being small-chested.

Regardless, I'm going to show off this 35-year-old mother-of-two body that I've been training and working so hard to achieve.  A friend of mine said that I'm an inspiration, but I really just want to inspire healthy living, happiness about oneself and one's body and finding strength to overcome challenges.

Here's me in pre-training:

My official 12-week training will begin by mid-January.  I'll learn posing, stage make-up, pick out a suit, stick to a strict, clean diet and workout plan.  Sound fun?  I'll let you know!

What are you training for again?

Last time I posted with the title, "What are you training for," my answer was "life".  I didn't have an agenda.  Somewhere in between that post and now, I've decided that I NEED an agenda to keep me motivated to be the athlete that I want to be.

In the gym this morning, my buddy, who is always an encouragement, asked me how I stay motivated.  He has gained some weight recently, and he needs to stay slimmer for his career on the small screen.  I told him that I have decided to train for a figure competition -- yes, body building.  He said if a 35 year-old mom of two (he added, "a hot one") could compete by April, he could drop 20 pounds by then.  We have a challenge now!

I've already gained a lot of new muscle and leaned down the fat, and now I want to keep going.  I don't plan on adding too much more muscle.  I just plan on being a bit more cut on my lower body.  I hope to be ready for an amateur competition in April 2013.  I am getting a coach, who has won the top prize for her class 3 years running, and she looks awesome.  I can't wait to get started on her plan, but for now I'm going strong on my own.

Wish me luck!






Strength Training for Women

I have a few new clients who really love their Zumba and "spinning" classes, but they are experiencing either a plateau or very slow weight loss.  I truly believe, and research shows, that this is because they have not built strength training into their exercise routine.  That's why they've come to see me -- to learn new ways to maximize their weight loss success. 

Since I have emphasized weight lifting/strength training in my weekly regimen, I have neither plateaued nor slowed down my progress toward a firmer, more fit body.  I'm also not as tired after strength training as I am after a cardio class.  Sure, I haven't burned as many calories after an hour of lifting/body weight exercises as compared to the cardio class.  However, my muscles chew up the fat and excess water weight for a prolonged period of time after my strength training than they do after an hour of running or dancing around.  Plus, I get to target the areas I want to target, and I'm in control of my shape.

Believe me, those classes can be fun.  So can running, taking long walks, going dancing, hiking, etc.  Exercise is the one of the spices of life.  I hope I always look for new ways to get my heart pumping every single day.

I have linked an article that I think is a quick, comprehensive introduction to why strength training is important.  As a personal trainer, I try to teach my clients the principles outlined in the article and those that I have learned through my classes, textbooks and personal experience. 

Read up, and get stronger!  
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-training-tips

My first and last 5K

The title of this post is misleading, "My first and last 5K."  I know that sounds negative, but the experience was so positive that I will never repeat it.  I did so well on the 5K that I will never run a 5K race again.  I will only run 10K's from now on. 

Honestly (and aren't I always honest here?), the day before the race I was so nervous that I had bowel issues.  I thought I was surely NOT going to finish.  I was so happy that I was feeling sick because at least I would have an excuse if I actually didn't finish the race.  I pictured myself telling people when they asked how it went, "Well, I was getting over a stomach bug, so I did my best."

I felt ill-prepared.  After all, I hadn't made proper time to train for this race.  I was busy sticking to my weight lifting regimen and having fun in boxing bootcamp and a new class at Crunch called "ass & abs".  The most I could handle running on any given day over the past 4 months was about 1.5 miles, just under half the distance of my impending 5K.  Also, I was not regulating my asthma very well because I was being cocky and not taking my maintenance medication -- each week I felt fine when I was doing my workouts, so I stopped taking my meds, and then about a week later I had to get back on them and also take my rescue inhaler.  Needless to say, the race was on my schedule, but training for and being physically prepared for it was not.

Thankfully, I ran it with my sister-in-law, who had been taking training seriously, and who enjoys running.  This being the first race for both of us, we stood excited and nervous at the starting line together.  We hugged, jumped up and down a little bit, wiggled our way as close to the front as possible (just behind the 9-year-olds who intended to smoke all of us and run 6-minute miles or less), and got each other pumped.

As we made the first turn, I was so glad to have a running partner to help me at least finish the race.  As we made the last turn, I think we were both kind of sad that the finish line was approaching.  We ran across, got better times than we thought we would, and turned to each other and said, "I wish we had signed up for the 10K!  Next year we'll go for it."  We hugged, we jumped up and down a little bit, wound our way to the coffee truck, and felt very, very good about ourselves.

Been a little busy

Wow!  I just realized it's been about a month since I last reported in.  I must admit that I've been doing a lot more "doing" than "thinking about doing", which is a very good thing.  My transformation has required a lot of pondering and musing, and now it is simply time to get out there and hit it hard.

For example, I'm running late for a training session with a friend, so I have to go.  But I just want to say one thing before I go, for the 2 people who are reading this: writing things out, making a plan and sticking to a schedule has taken a bit of time and brainpower, but it has been the best thing I've done for myself in a very long time.

Talk to you soon.  Gotta run!!