Vital Stats
Name: Elena Aguilar
Email: [email protected]
Bodyspace: deadliftmomma
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Before: |
After: |
Why I Got Started
I've struggled with being fit for most of my life, when I was younger my love for dancing kept me from being too overweight but I was never what one would consider a "skinny" girl. After graduating high school, the dancing stopped and by the time I met my husband I had gone from a normal 120 pounds to an unhealthy 135 pounds in just a few years.
Soon after getting married I had my first child and like most new moms I ended up with more weight than what I started out with due to a lack of activity and overeating. Luckily, my husband was supportive and convinced me to start a workout program. He used to send me links to these same bodybuilding.com female transformations to help motivate me, within 6 months I found myself in better shape than before I got pregnant.
My husband must have also been happy with the results since not long after that we got pregnant with our second child. Seeing the weight pack back on during my second pregnancy was hard, I tried keeping to a workout schedule, but was afraid to push myself since I was at high risk for delivering early as I did with my son.
After my daughter was born I found it nearly impossible to find the time or motivation to get back into a program. Being a stay-at-home mom of two small children I didn't really see a reason to be fit. When I would try and workout I felt guilty using the time for myself and not for my kids.
When I would start working out, I'd do well for a few weeks or a month and then fall back into my old habits. I was stuck in this yo-yo pattern of weight gain for over two years during which time my weight dropped to 119 lbs at its lowest point and then back up to 127 pounds at my heaviest (definitely not a healthy way to live).
Last November I saw the Bodybuilding.com and ErgoGenix QBM 90 Day Body Transformation Challenge on Facebook, I entered the challenge on the advice of my husband.
Click To Enlarge. My husband used to send me links to these same bodybuilding.com
female transformations to help motivate me.
How I Did It
Lucky for me my husband Casey Claunch is an A.C.E. certified personal trainer/powerlifter/and overall fitness fanatic. He created a workout program for me based on powerlifting movements and a diet of "clean" eating. Even with all of his expertise and help it wasn't easy to get me going, my lack of self confidence made it hard for me to push myself in the beginning.
I started my transformation by having to completely change the way I thought, since they way I was living obviously wasn't getting me the body I wanted. The diet was the first thing I had to change, eating small light meals, plenty of snacks, controlling my portions, cutting out the "icky" foods and drinking what seemed at the time to be an insane amount of water (100oz/day) was no easy task.
I actually liked working out, so hitting the weights 3-4 days per week wasn't hard for me to handle. My weight training consisted of basic power movements using free weights; I don't think I touched a machine the whole time.
My reps stayed low with heavy weights, and every few weeks I would work toward increasing my 1 rep max on major lifts like deadlift, bench press and squat. The daily sessions of morning fasted cardio was the hardest for me to get use to.
My husband had previously bought me a weight vest to use during cardio so I dusted it off and started running up and down the stairs in my home. Initially I started out with only 12 pounds in the vest 30 min/day, 5 times per week in addition to the 3-4 days of weight training. After the first week I increased my cardio to average 45min/day, 6 days/week.
Click To Enlarge. I actually liked working out so hitting the weights 3-4 days
per week wasn't hard for me to handle.
I continued trying to increase my cardio until I hit a maximum average of 66 minutes per day, 6 days per week. During the second month of my transformation challenge I reduced my cardio, removed the vest and started doing split training days 2 times per week with a short cardio session in the morning followed immediately by a light toning upper body workout session, then in the evening I'd do my normal heavy weight training workout.
On the days I didn't weight train I'd do 2 daily cardio sessions of 30 minutes each. During the final 30 days I increased my cardio to an average of 60 minutes-plus per day and gradually increased the weight in my vest to 22 pounds.
My transformation was a gradual one, I averaged about a 1 pound per week weight-loss and took progress pictures every few weeks to keep me on track.
My gains in strength were the most motivating for me, the sense of empowerment, the ability to see my progress played out in the increased weight gave me the confidence I always lacked. On the final day of my 90-day transformation I tallied my results, 16 pounds lost, 4 jean sizes dropped, 3640 mins of cardio completed and 44 hours of weight training.
I now had a new body and a new life ahead of me. I went on to win the ErgoGenix body transformation challenge and I'm now preparing for my first NPC Bikini competition on June 4th in Denver, Colo.
Click To Enlarge. I now had a new body and a new life ahead of me.
Supplements
Snack or Quick Lunch Replacement:
- CytoSport Complete Whey: ½ scoop / 1 scoop
Morning:
- ErgoGenix ErgoBurn: 2 caps
Post Workout:
- Optimum Nutrition BCAA 1000 Caps: 2 caps
Diet
Meal 1:
- 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg
- 1 serving broccoli or spinach
- 1/2 cup low-fat cheese
- 1 piece toast with butter or jelly
- 12 oz coffee
Meal 2:
- ½ scoop CytoSport Complete Whey in 6 oz water
or
- 1 cheese stick
Meal 3:
- 1 slice whole-wheat toast or 1 rice cake
- 8g natural peanut butter
Meal 4:
- 4 oz tilapia, chicken breast, or tuna
- 3 oz brown rice
- 3 oz veggies
or
- 1 scoop CytoSport Complete Whey
Meal 5:
- 1 apple or banana
Meal 6:
- ½ scoop CytoSport Complete Whey in 6 oz water
Meal 7:
- Varied but always included a salad, lean meat, low-glycemic index carbohydrates and controlled portions.
Meal 8:
- 113g cottage cheese
- 1/3 cup low-fat yogurt w/ fruit
or
- ½ scoop CytoSport Complete Whey in 5 oz milk
Training
Day 1: Back/Biceps
Rope Jumping5 min
Stairmaster25 min
with weighted vest
Pullups2 sets of 6-8 reps
Bent Over Barbell Row3 add sets of 10, 8, 6 reps
Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadlift2 add sets of 10, 8 reps
Wide-Grip Standing Barbell Curl3 add sets of 7, 6, 6 reps
2 sets of 6 reps
Dumbbell Alternate Bicep Curl3 pyramid sets of 8, 6, 9, reps
Pullups2 sets of 11 reps
Day 2: Cardio/Abs
Rope Jumping5 min
Stairmaster45 min
with weighted vest
Stairmaster25 min
with weighted vest
Jackknife Sit-Up3 sets to failure
Dumbbell Side Bend2 add sets of 8-10 reps
Day 3: Shoulders/Triceps
Rope Jumping5 min
Stairmaster25 min
with weighted vest
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternating)2 warm-up sets of 12, 13 reps
2 add sets of 8, 6, reps
Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension3 add sets of 18, 15, 13, reps
Side Lateral Raise2 sets of 10-12 reps
Lying Dumbbell Tricep Extension2 sets of 14 reps
Dumbbell Shrug3 sets of 18 reps
Day 4: Cardio/Abs
Rope Jumping5 min
Stairmaster45 min
with weighted vest
Stairmaster15-20 min
with weighted vest
Hanging Leg Raise3 sets to failure
Crunches2 sets to failure
Day 5: Chest
Rope Jumping5 min
Stairmaster25 min
with weighted vest
Barbell Bench Press - Medium GripBarbell Bench Press:
Dumbbell Bench Press4 add sets of 7, 7, 6, 5 reps
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press2 sets of 8-10 reps
Pushups2 sets to failure
Day 6: Cardio Only
- 1hr Latin Funk Cardio Class
Day 7: Legs
Barbell Full Squat4 pyramid sets of 12, 6, 11, 6 reps
Barbell Deadlift4 heavy add sets of 5, 4, 3, 2 reps
Suggestions for Others
Take personal responsibility for your health and fitness, you deserve to feel good about your body and your health. Don't put off making changes in your life, the sooner you start them the faster you'll reach your goals.
No matter what, be consistent, it doesn't matter what type of training you do it only matters that you continue to do it. So get off the computer and get to work!
Thank you to my wonderful husband who without your constant nagging I wouldn't be the woman I am today. I'd also like to thank ErgoGenix and Bodybuilding.com for providing me with this opportunity.
Most of all I want to thank God for giving me the ability to accomplish all that I have done.