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| AGE 41 HEIGHT 5'4" WEIGHT 163 lbs BODY FAT 30.5% WAIST 36" |
AGE 41 HEIGHT 5'4" WEIGHT 137 lbs BODY FAT 13% WAIST 28" |
Why I Got Started
I have been in the fitness and wellness industry for almost 20 years as a personal trainer, college athletics coach and licensed massage therapist.
In late 2009, I took a long break from fitness and starting working mostly in massage. Over a period of a year and a half, I had managed to gain considerable body fat and lost a lot of lean muscle.
I simply got busy with my massage career, started eating on the run and making bad nutrition choices.
This, coupled with much less exercise than I was accustomed to lead to the weight gain. It was easy to go unnoticed since I wore scrubs most of the time.
The wake-up call was when I had to put on jeans and I couldn't remotely fit into anything in my closet.
For me, I had no excuse … I knew better.
How I Did It
I have always been goal-orientated and quite competitive, so I chose to enter my first figure competition as a way to get myself back into shape. Contest preparation is an area of fitness that I was not too familiar with, so I hired a figure coach.
My coach structured my diet and helped me with the particulars on contest preparation (e.g. suits, shoes, posing and all the little details required for stage presence). I created my own physical training program and asked for any sport specific suggestions from my coach.
My fitness background is in weight/medical issue management, sports conditioning and endurance sports. I was an avid competitive marathoner and coach for years.
As an endurance athlete, carbs were not always an issue for me and encouraged. Not true for bodybuilding, which at times was a huge culture shock.
The pressure to get on stage motivates anyone to change.
Suggestions For Others
Bottom line: If you want something bad enough you will always find the time, money, etc. to get it. All things truly worthwhile take effort and commitment.
The only thing stopping you from achieving your goals is you. If you need help staying on track or to become educated on how to do it, then seek a credible professional.