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 By: Rachael Franklin
Name: Rachael Franklin
Before: May 15, 2007
After: October 6, 2007
Growing up, I was moderately active, but gained a lot of weight in high school (got up to around 140 pounds) due to a sedentary lifestyle and working at a fast food restaurant. In college, I took up snowboarding, even becoming a snowboard instructor, and the weight naturally came off. So, I've been at around 120 pounds (give or take five pounds) for the past ten years or so...
  Click Image To Enlarge.Rachael Franklin's Progress. I've never had what I would consider to be a "bikini body" since I had a large body fat percentage, and my genetics built a very pear-shaped body, as you can see from the before pictures; very heavy on the hips.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Rachael Franklin Before And After It started going downhill when my husband and I moved to New York, where my regular stops to the bagel cart on the way to my Wall St. job began to take a toll. I gained 7 lbs in 7 months, which doesn't SEEM too bad, except for the fact that I had not only gained fat but LOST a LOT of muscle tone. I didn't step into the gym for months. My suits all started to get really SNUG, and I started buying a couple of new ones and started to retire the "tight" ones. The way things were going; gaining a pound a month, in 30 months; this was going to be a scary picture!
After going to the doctor for a routine checkup and weighing in at 127, with a resting heart rate over 70, I decided to make a change. I hired a trainer who started me on the right path with boot-camp type training. Doing a lot of research on my own, I read articles written by Jamie Eason and Tom Venuto, who both talked about the importance of proper nutrition to get results.  Click Image To Enlarge.Fitness America Pagent October '07. Reading what these two had to say was really inspiring! After I incorporated the nutrition plan of 5-6 small meals per day; cutting out starchy carbs in the last few meals and incorporating 1-1.5 g of protein per lb body weight; the fat really started melting off.
I really started enjoying this and even got inspired to train for a competition. I met with competition coach Sheri Newton of face4fitness.com. She not only reinforced what Tom Venuto had to say about nutrition, but she told me I had to start hitting the weights HARD and told me the importance of supplementation.
 Click Image To Enlarge.FAP Sportswear October '07. The circuit type training I had been doing with my trainer had taken me to a point, but I was not pushing my muscle to grow. So, by adopting a proper nutrition plan, plus hitting the weights HARD, I began to see sweeping changes - I have much more energy than I used to and my resting heart rate is now below 50.
 Hydroxycut Hardcore.
steel cut oatmeal 1 scoop protein powder
protein shake
steamed broccoli lentil pilaf
mixed greens 1/2 c. brown rice or chickpeas and salsa
1 cup green vegetable For snacks, I like XS protein puddings, green apples, celery, cucumbers, and almonds.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Fitness America Pagent October '07. Now that I've gotten down to a lean body fat%, I intend to incorporate a cheat meal a week. I love middle eastern food and Carvel Cake Mix ice cream!
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Leading up to my competition, I was hitting body parts 2x per week:
Monday:
Leg Extension 3 X 8-12 Walking DB Lunges 3 X 8-12 Stiff-leg Deadlifts 3 X 8-12 Standing Leg Curls 3 X 8-12
Reverse Crunch 3 X 20
Tuesday:
Seated Cable Row 3 X 8-12 Back Extensions 3 X 15-20 Assisted Pull-ups 3 X 8-12
DB Press 3 X 20
Wednesday:
Incline DB Press 3 X 8-12 Pec-deck Flye 3 X 15-20
Standing BB Curls 3 X 8-12
Tricep Pushdown 3 X 8-12
Thursday:
Donkey Calf 3 X 8-12 Laying Leg Curls 3 X 8-12 Stiff-leg Deadlifts 3 X 8-12 Seated Calf Raises 3 X 15 -20
Hanging Leg Raises 3 X 20
Friday:
Flat BB Press 3 X 8-12 Flat DB Flye 3 X 8-12
Assisted Chin-ups 3 X 8-12
Hanging Curls 3 X 20
Saturday:
Cable Lateral Raises 3 X 8-12 Reverse Pec-Flyes 3 X 8-12 BB Upright Rows 3 X 8-12
BB Curls 3 X 8-12
Tricep Rope Extension 3 X 8-12
Sunday:
Cardio: 45-60 minutes moderate intensity (brisk walk/run across the Brooklyn Bridge with my dog) every morning before breakfast.
 Click Image To Enlarge.FAP Sportswear October '07. After competition, for maintenance, I will work each body part 1x per week, cut cardio back to 3 or 4 times per week, and add in a functional training day (plyos/sprints/kettle bells, boxing class, spin).
Setting goals, writing them down, and sharing them with others will definitely put you closer to achieving them. Of course there will always be people who will try to sabotage or belittle your efforts, but you will be surprised how they will come around if they see that you are persevering.
Once they see the changes in you, they will be asking for your advice - believe me, I know from experience! Also, surrounding yourself with a network of positive like-minded individuals (like those on Bodybuilding.com) is essential for motivation and staying on track!
 Click Image To Enlarge.Surround Yourself With Positive Minded People. 
Rachael Franklin Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
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