Friday, April 3, 2015

Background To My Fitness

Background To My Fitness
5.25 months postpartum with my second son Hyram. pic taken Feb 5th 2015 Weight approx 120lbs.

Where do I begin?
Growing up I was an avid athlete. Much joy was found in anything active including: basketball, soccer, softball, snowboarding, wake boarding, water skiing, knee boarding, track in middle school, hiking, repelling, biking, and I ventured with my parents on a few snowmobiling trips! You could bet if it had anything to do with being active I wanted to be a part of it.

The team sports like basketball, soccer, track, ans softball really picked up pace for me once I hit 5th grade.Growing up, there were not any weekends where I didn't have traveling league soccer or AAU basketball. High School got even more busy in a school district that took basketball very seriously. We had camps all summer long and pre-season ball always started in October which made for a long stretch when most seasons we made it into the playoffs March! That is 6 months of intense ball! Soccer season followed basketball. Soccer was what I excelled at but our team was never very good. I was honored to receive a few opportunities to play college soccer but I decided that I was a little burnt out with sports and declined the chance to play at the college level.

Once high school was over I found that I really missed being so active. Summer came and I took on some city league softball which lasted a season. As I headed to college I was nearing the end of my freshman year in college when I was asked to walk-on for a community college basketball team. For about a month I trained and practiced with the team until summer break started. Over the summer I decided to transfer from Colorado up to Laramie Wyoming thus making my walk-on decision a definite No.

Sophomore year started and at a fast and busy pace. I was not involved in any sort of extracurricular sports and it was showing! The college junk food and partying was taking a hold of me. The freshman 15 was not exactly weight gain, rather muscle turning to flab! I was not unhappy with my weight rather with the way the weight was starting to appear. Most of my muscle mass had decreased due to the lack of physical activity. That is when I realized I needed to get into the gym. As a student I had free access to the Laramie County Recreation Center so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.My knowledge of how to use equipment stemmed from the weight training I did in high school during basketball and soccer so I was familiar with how to use most of the equipment which made for an easy transition.

With the decision to hit the rec center daily, came the decision to shape up on the nutrition end of things. This meant a commitment to cut back on the party food, party drinks, and the late night snacking (yes I went through a party stage). It also meant purchasing foods that I would have to prepare rather than relying on the microwave to do the work. At first all of these changes took my friends by surprise and they wondered what had gotten into me but I must tell you that once I started this lifestyle I began to see immediate results.
 Over the span of about 2 months I was able to lose a good 8lbs. The definition in my abs and arms came back very quickly. I felt more energized and wanted to be in the gym ever second I could.

Approximately 4 months into the lifestyle changes I met Dan (now my husband). He too was into weightlifting and  had an active lifestyle attitude. We found common ground very quickly. The gym became somewhere we went often. Working out was our hobby together. His knowledge and experience with lifting was helpful and motivating. God knew I needed this! I still do!
Once Dan and I got to know each other better we found out that both of us have a passion for health and fitness. Both of us wanted to someday own a gym and start fitness programs for people.

It came time to say goodbye to Laramie Wyoming and head back to Colorado where I would study Dental Hygiene in Rangely, CO for 2 years.  Over that period of time the gym became our second home. I'd hit the rec center in Rangely and Dan would hit the gym back at home in Craig, CO. We'd try to make it together on the weekends when I was home to visit him. We were busy with Dan working at the mine on rotating shifts, me in school with 18+ credit hours per semester where anything below a 75%  on any paper or test was failing! You can imagine how stressed we were from being so busy and so far a away from each other. Lifting became a stress outlet. Discipline became second nature.

Dan and I got engaged in December of 2010 and were married in August of 2011. Preparing for a wedding meant getting in shape! Although we were already in decent shape, we wanted to look our best for the big day! The honeymoon is what I wanted to look good for because we went to Antigua! A swimsuit body was a must!

It seems that all of the above was just yesterday! A lot has happened since then. Reasons for working out have changed. Motivations have changed. The lifestyle it takes is one thing that has stayed the same. Since we got married we have had two baby boys. David is 2 and Hyram is 7.5 months old. As I've talked about before we became gym owners just shy of David's one year birthday and we had Hyram within eight months of owning a gym!

The motivation now is we are gym owners! We are parents! Our parents are aging! God created this body!
Although, I still miss sports, lifting/working out has filled that void. My hobbies still include shooting some hoop, wake boarding, snow boarding, hiking, and water skiing, but the gym has had a significant impact on my life.

For the most part I am at a reasonable body figure but would love to gain about 10lbs of pure muscle. This has been hard for me as I nursed both of my babies and I'm still nursing our 7.5 month old. A lot of the information I got from the doctor suggested that nursing would strip away the weigh gain from the pregnancy. That it has! 500+ calories per day is needed to maintain my body so that I am not dropping below the weight I should be at. Weight gain has actually been hard for me as I have a very busy day to day life and the nursing pulls it out of me, especially since I didn't gain a whole lot of weight with either of my pregnancies!

Although I feel more defined than ever I feel like I need to gain weight. Thus being another reason why I've grown to love weight training! It builds muscle!  Strength as a mother is important to me. With strength comes the physical, mental, and emotional aspects. To gain all three of these is huge for me as a woman. There is an example I want to set for my sons and for my husband. It also comes down to honoring God with the body HE blessed me with. Healthy choices and exercise promote His work! It is my responsibility to take care of myself for Him and for my family.

Praise God for this avenue He has so graciously blessed me with. Gym ownership with my husband, two boys to set examples for, and a temple (my body) to take care of, and the ministry He provides through all of that. Ultimately it is all HIS!


 Above pic taken Dec 31st 2014 with my handsome husband New Year's Eve. approx. weight 120lbs
The above photo was taken in the middle of my sophomore year of college approx. 137lbs.  in Jan 2009

The above photo was taken on Easter Sunday 2009. approx. 132lbs April 2009

Above is August 27th 2011. approx. 125lbs\

Above is 6 months postpartum with my son David. August 2013 approx. 127lbs


Above tow pics were taken 3 weeks postpartum with my second son Hyram. September 2014 approx. 127lbs

Above is 3 months postpartum (Hyram) this was taken Thanksgiving Day 2014 approx.121lbs





















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