New Progress Pics

For anyone who is interested in seeing my progress, here are photos taken of me last Tuesday, the 23rd of February, 2010.

My hair and makeup are not done and I still have a LOT to learn about posing (basically, my posing sucks!) but these give a bit of an idea about my progress.

A triceps shot. That is NOT fat on my arms! I'm quite proud of the muscle thickness in my upper arms- I'm not genetically predisposed to have big upper body muscles, so I've worked hard for it!


Full side view, flexed (the flash washed out quite a bit of muscle definition in these pics)


Rear view. Don't really like this one, but since you got a rear view before, I thought it was only fair to put an updated one in (my lower body is always the last thing to come around):


And here I am, not flexing:


If I'd have pumped weights before the pics were taken I'd look more "ripped" (I actually have really nice definition in my upper body when I'm pumped), but there are two points I want to continue to drive home with these photos:

1.) I'm 43 and have had four babies, so it is NEVER too late to improve yourself.

And B.) Eating well and exercising really can reap big dividends. Not only in appearance, but in length and quality of ones life. Please believe me: I am not athletic. Were it not for lack of coordination, speed, and agility, I'd have been a GREAT athlete. :-) I've always shied away from team sports and NO ONE in my family is athletic. It's not like genetics were on my side. Consequently, I know for sure that this is attainable for ANYone. No kidding! You (yes, you- sitting there reading this!) can vastly improve your health and appearance, too. This isn't unique to me.

It's all a choice.

Getting started with exercise at home.

Here is my list, in what I feel is order of importance, of things someone who is new (or just coming back after a break of years) to exercise would need to start an at-home exercise program:

1.) An instructional book on weight lifting. I don't care if it's designed for men or women because we all lift weights the same way, but it needs to have a good description of many different weight-lifting exercises for all body parts, because eventually you're gonna get bored with doing the same stuff and want to change it up. Plus, change is good for muscle growth and symmetry.

It is better to lift correctly with no weights than incorrectly with weights, so pay close attention to the technique instruction in the book!

2.) Dumbbells. If you are a woman I'd recommend starting with two each of 1 lb, 3 lb, 5 lb, 7 lb (if you can find them), 8 lb, and 10 lb. For a man I'd recommend starting with two each 5 lb, 8 lb, 10 lb, 15 lb, 18 lb (if you can find them), and 20 lb. The cheapest iron ones will do. That's what I have. As you grow stronger you can go out and buy two dumbbells in the next size up. This keeps the cost in check, as well.

If you cannot get dumbbells, don't despair! I worked out when my children were small and we were flat broke with cans of food!

3.) An adjustable (you can make it taller) step aerobics bench. This not only works for it's obvious purpose, but it doubles as a weight lifting bench for most exercises requiring a bench. And it's usually cheaper.

4.) A step or other kind of cardio DVD. I like step best because it gets my heart rate going in a small amount of square footage. This is great for getting in cardio on those days that you can't get outside for a walk or rualk (run-walk). I have a bunch of aerobics DVDs because the same one over and over gets monotonous.

5.) An exercise ball appropriate for your height. Between this and the step bench, my need for a traditional weight lifting bench at home is pretty much gone.

Next blog, I'll talk about getting started on a program. But I'll bet you can already figure out a lot of things on your own, just from reading this list. :-)

Pictures of my progression.....

I'm very serious when I say if you don't want to see pics of me in a bikini, don't view this blog! I don't want to offend anyone without warning. :-)

This blog is going to be different than my others. Instead of sharing my insights on different aspects of fitness, I am going to share some before and after photos of myself in my fitness journey. I am by no means done, but I want to give people a realistic look at what can (and cannot) be accomplished when one applies ones self to living a fit life style.

I don't look at these pics as sexual, I look at them as a photo documentary of one helluva lot of hard work. And I'm not trying to brag, so please don't think ill of me. My only motivation truly is to help others with these photos. And yes, my husband knows about this.... He's the one who put the photos side by side for me, and he subscribes to my blog. So don't worry about that! :-)

Okay, first photo:


The left pic was taken September 2nd, 2005. I believe I was very close to my heaviest weight in this photo of about 197 pounds. I did NOT like having my pic taken for this, which is apparent by my stance. I was almost to a point of self-loathing for what I had let myself become. But I never did completely give up. The right was taken January 13th, 2010. In this one, I am about 160 pounds. I know the bike shorts are dorky, but I was trying to replicate the first photo as much as possible.


In the above left pic it is October 26th, 2006, and I weigh 181 pounds. Of course, the one on the right is January 13th 2010, and I am 160 pounds. That might give you some idea of the difference a 21 pound fat loss and added muscle can make on a woman.

The next two photos I am really excited about! By my wearing a bikini they but show better what can be accomplished in just 3 1/2 months of really applying oneself with eating right and exercising hard:




The ones on the right were taken on October 5th 2009. I weighed 171 pounds. The ones on the left were taken two days ago, January 20th 2010, at 159.4 pounds. Look at the difference just 11 1/2 pound can make!

I share these because I know there are television progams and product promotions out there that show dramatic changes in 12 weeks or less. It is easy to get discouraged when you see people go from flabby to fit so quickly, yet despite your best efforts it's not happening to you. Comparitively, this is what I did through seriously applying myself (did have a few "off" days during the holidays), over the course of 3 & 1/2 months. Can you make a change for the better? You bet! Will you look like Arnold or Beyonce when you get done? Er..... Probably not.

Also, I'd like to point out that you can make these kinds of changes despite circumstances. During the past 3 1/2 months I have been working on my body intensely a lot has happened, to include a death in the family and me getting braces on my mouth. Never mind the holidays, having six of the seven kids here, 6 immediate family birthdays (Yes, SIX between the times the bikini before and after pics were taken) and making two major holiday meals.

My point? You CAN overcome obstacles and work through them. It's just a matter of making up your mind you will do it, and not giving up when you fall behind.

Hey, life is going to happen, but fat doesn't have to!

Let me know what you think! I realize this post is probably going to raise some eyebrows, but if it inspires or helps someone else, I don't care!

Oh, and I am not done. Far from it! I'll NEVER be done improving and challenging myself. I hope you never are, either.

Exercise- Your non-negotiable appointment with yourself.

How do I manage to keep up a 5-day-a-week exercise schedule? I make it a non-negotiable appointment with myself. If I didn't, I'd find every excuse in the book to not do it.

Exercise and self-care don't happen by accident. You have to be purposeful.

If necessary (and it probably is), write it down on the calendar, or your day-timer, or wherever you keep your appointments. And then make it non-negotiable. I mean, aside from an emergency (and by emergency, I mean an-ambulance-has-to-be-called-emergency), nothing is going to stop you from getting your workout.

There have been a few days when things happened and I couldn't get to the gym. For instance, we had a very unexpected snow storm here in Texas (THAT was weird!). Not only was the gym closed, but driving there was treacherous on untreated roads. So, I got up early before the family was awake and did step aerobics with a DVD in the living room and lifted weights with my dumbbells in the bathroom. (In case that sounds weird, my workout equipment is in a closet in the master bath.) If I wouldn't have had dumbbells at home, I'd of made it work with body-weight exercises. But I sure wouldn't have done nothing.

The point is, I made it happen, anyway.

It's a difficult way to start thinking at first, but eventually it's a habit and something you can't imagine not doing. Your family gets used to it being important to you... it all starts to fall into place.

But you have to take the first step: You have to schedule your exercise.

Squatting Re-learned

The biggest difference to my body since I've started working with a personal trainer is my hips. I'm convinced that it's because the man has me squatting so much. Just about every single time we work lower body he has me doing some kind of squat. I keep telling him that he's squatting me to death!

I'll be the first to admit that I don't really like squats. Never have. They're hard, and I've always been afraid of injuring myself. The first time I did squats I did them too many times with too much weight and employed bad technique. I literally hurt my whole body. I could barely walk for a week or so. I probably should have gone to the hospital. Ever since then I've been leery of squats. But knowing what I do now, I think squatting should always be included in a lower body workout. Even when you dislike them like I do.

As mentioned in my last blog, my trainer is a power lifter. Therefore, the man knows about squats! Here are some things I've learned from him that might help you:

1. Take a wider stance than you think you need to (shoulder-width apart is usually a little wider than you think it is), and turn your toes slightly OUT. The way most of us learned, with toes pointing forward, isn't necessarily best. After doing some research I discovered that the toes-pointed-out version of the squat is a power-lifting stance. I'd had problems with my knees when I did squats with my toes pointed forward before, but haven't since I've started doing them with my toes out. My guess? The risk of injury to the knees is lessened in this position. I think power lifters, bearing those huge amounts of weight, discovered this long ago.

The other advantage to turning toes out is that it more recruits the inner thigh muscles. This not only involves more muscle in the exercise, therefore giving you more power, but also tones up this area faster than anything else I've tried for inner thigh to date.

2. Stay in your heels! Ross has had to work to drill it through my head to stay far, far back on my heels all the way through the move. This helps to keep the knee from jutting too far out over the toe and puts the emphasis where it needs to be- on the quads and glutes. Lean back hard on your heels on the way down and drive up through them on the way up. I'm so far back on my heels when I squat that my toes are almost lifted off the floor, and Ross often STILL tells me that I'm too much on the front of my foot. He harps on me about heels more than anything else. Evidently, it's a pretty important point to squatting.

3. You aren't going down low enough! I'm sure you've heard of the hard and fast "Don't let your thighs go below parallel to the ground" rule. This is a very valid rule, and you should follow it. However, parallel to the ground is MUCH lower than you think it is! When I finally got myself low enough that Ross approved, I felt like my butt was going to hit the backs of my shins. When I watched Ross do it, I thought it looked like HIS butt was going to hit the backs of his shins! But here's the thing- it's the FRONT of your thigh you are wanting to have parallel to the ground, not the back. If you have thick thighs like me, parallel is a very different thing when you are considering the front of your thighs as opposed to the back. I'll be honest: Coming down low like this is uncomfortable and awkward- especially at first! But it's recruiting more muscle, and therefore giving you a much better workout.

4. Your knees aren't out as far as you think they are. Another thing that I worried about with squatting in the past is the position of my knee over my toe. It's a widely known fact that when doing any kind of exercise your knees should not project past your toes. However, the execution of your heels as described in point #2 above prevents your knees from coming out too far and causing damage. So.... if you employ point #2(heels), it will ensure you don't hurt yourself with point #3(thighs parallel). Make sense?

5. Look strait ahead! This has probably been the hardest habit for Ross to break with me. I thought constantly looking down at my knees to ensure they weren't jutting past my toes was a good thing. But it was throwing me out of alignment, raising my risk of injuring myself. When you look to the side while squatting you subconsciously swing ever so slightly to one side, putting uneven stress on your joints, especially your knees. Pretend your neck is in a brace and look strait ahead!

6. If you are a woman, don't be afraid of squats! They do GREAT things for a woman's rear view!

After a hard squatting workout I always find it interesting that some part of my upper body (usually shoulders) is more sore and feels better worked than it did when I work that same body part specifically. That's because, while generally targeted for the quadricep (front of thigh) and glute (butt) muscles, squats literally involve the whole body, making muscles work in ways they've never been challenged before. And THAT'S a whole lot of bang for your exercise buck!

Hire a personal trainer....

I know I'm a certified personal trainer myself, but I'd hit a rut. I needed ideas and my body was not progressing at the rate it should have been, given the amount of time and effort I was putting into my diet and exercise.

After some time of getting honest with myself, I finally admitted that I needed help. The trainer needed a trainer. So I went searching for one.

I knew I'd need a male, because with my personality I figured I'd take a man more seriously. And I needed someone I felt would treat me with dignity but also challenge me and not be afraid to call me out when I wasn't giving 100%. I wasn't sure such a person existed, but I looked for him and finally found him at Gold's Gym here in Wichita Falls.

Ross has challenged me in ways it would never occur to me to challenge myself. He listened to what I wanted to accomplish, and in a few short weeks I'm seeing a positive and notable change in my body that is in line with my goals and desires. He's actually got me doing some light power lifting moves! Don't tell me an old dog can't learn new tricks- this old dog is learning them daily from a trainer 16 years her junior. And I am loving the results- I couldn't be progressing like I am without Ross' help.

But here's the thing: You have to show actually show up for the sessions (no backing out on the trainer!), and then submit to their plan for you. That was the hard part for me and I struggled with it in the beginning. I like to be in control. And I'm bossy. [I know that's hard to imagine! :-)]

AND you have to give it your all. Hey- if you want results, you gotta put in the hard work. The trainer can give you the tools, but he can't give you the motivation or drive to work your hardest. That part has to come from you.

You also have to feel you can communicate well with the trainer. Not only is there a lot of "dead" time that gets filled with talking while you recover between sets (would be awkward if Ross and I didn't get along well), but sometimes sticky issues come up that need to be discussed. For instance, Ross and I had a talk after a few sessions when I felt like he was underestimating my ability. He listened...... and then he upped the anti the next time. Wow! Did he bring it! And has consistently done so ever since.

One of the many things I really like about working with Ross is that I can progress farther than I was able to on my own. I was afraid to add to my weight load because I feared injuring myself. I know Ross is not going to let me get hurt: He's an excellent spotter and I really believe he'd let a weight fall on himself before he'd let it land on me. It's a huge safety net for me knowing I have a skilled and knowledgeable person right there to rescue me if I need it.

I was able to get a good discount on the regular rate because I paid Ross for a lot of sessions ahead. Most trainers offer this. It's an advantage to the trainer because they don't have to worry about getting paid, and it's an advantage to you not only for the monetary savings, but also because you have the trainers time booked and paid for well in advance and don't have to worry about someone else taking up their available time.

Having said that, here's a tip: At first, just pay the trainer for a few sessions. See how you mesh. You don't want to fork out a lot of money at the start just to find out that your personalities don't click.

And here's a head's up- Usually if you cancel a session, you just lost your money. Ross and I have an understanding that if he cancels (he had to do this once), he makes it up to me. But if I cancel? It's not right I expect him to make it up, because he carved out that time for me and last-minute cancellations are simply impossible to fill. Ross, like any good trainer, gets frustrated when people pay for sessions and then cancel. He has a desire to use his training and education to help others.

My original intent was to just have him through the end of January to get me through the holidays and to my weight goal. But he's done me so much good that now I'm thinking, if he'll have me, that I'd like to keep him around longer. I do better with Ross there. That's a hard thing for this very independent woman to admit.

Yes, I know it's expensive, but if you can at all afford it and want to meet your goals sooner, hire a personal trainer! The rewards are more than worth it.

It's never too late!

If you think you are too old to change your physique, think again. It's never too late to make a drastic change for the better.

One of the things I love about the human body is that there are many things we can change about our appearances, and I'm not talking hair color. I' fascinated with the fact that we can drastically alter our bodies to be more of what we'd like them to be: A too-big body can be made smaller, a too-small body can be made bigger, and muscle can be added to change body overall body contours.

The wonderful news is that body you have is not the body you are stuck with. You can change it.

Weight lifting has added size to my shoulders and fat loss has deducted size from my hips. Both exercise and fat reduction have given me a small waistline. This combination has converted my bowling-pin shaped body to an hourglass. This is all by choice and design, friends. I have a very slight build through the upper body without muscle, but with it I look much more proportionate and feminine.

I'm not saying it's easy or quick, but YOU have the power to change yourself, too. You just have to claim it.

You know the old saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"? It's just not true. Us old dogs CAN learn new tricks. I'm 43, and I'm still learning new things...... and unlearning old, bad things. (Ask my trainer)

I think it's more that old dogs choose to be set in their ways than that they are not able to learn new tricks. If you want to be set in your ways, that's your business and choice. But don't blame the way you look on an inability to change. Areas of our bodies that are less than perfect are largely the result of our own choices.

The sooner you own the roll of your choices in your appearance, the sooner you'll be ready to start making changes to help yourself out. That's what I'm hoping to accomplish with this blog post: Moving people towards the right place mentally to start becoming healthier.

Not only can you change the shape of your body, but exercise helps to reverse the aging process. As I discussed in an earlier post, weight bearing exercise makes bone more dense, dramatically reducing the risk of broken bones as we age. It helps to keep one's height from shrinking so much with time. Exercise, to include gentle stretching, keeps our muscles and ligaments supple and therefore less prone to injury. And it actually helps us LOOK younger. People see a fit body and they automatically associate it with youth.

And, as I found out a few months ago, it helps you to recover from surgeries and other traumatic things that happen to your body more quickly. (As any woman who's nursed babies knows, there are some things exercise CAN'T fix- for those you need a good surgeon! ) Ask any doctor- the better shape you are in and the better your diet, the faster you heal.

Look, I don't necessarily want to look younger than 43- I just want to look like a really GOOD 43. And the best way to do that is to take care of myself from the inside out.

I don't care if you are 20 or 70, weigh 700 pounds or 115- YOU have the power to change your own body. Your physique is not destiny: It is a choice.