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 About Me I have not always been a competitive athlete but I have always had drive, focus and determination - three attributes belonging to competitive athletes. In addition to being a wife and mother, I am the co-founder of the Business BreakThrough Institute which is a coaching, consulting and training company specializing in business development and marketing. My journey into fitness began when I was in my early 40’s, although competing was the farthest thing from my mind at the time. I had just remarried and after years of raising my children almost entirely on my own, I was desirous of doing something for me - for my health and for my happiness. Mind you, I wasn’t what many people would consider over-weight. I am 5’5” and at the time weighed 134 pounds. I wore a size 6. Not too bad, right? Well, my body fat was 34%, which was too high, and I had not exercised in years. I was - how shall I put it? Doughy. I didn’t like it at all. So, my new husband and I joined a gym and, being that I was so enthusiastic about it all, I immediately signed us both up for 20 personal training sessions each! I managed to finish my very first training session with a young trainer who apparently thought I needed a bootcamp type of training. I thought I was going to die. I was shaking and felt nauseous. I was cold and clammy and thought I might faint. I didn’t want him to know, though, so I huddled quietly in a chair while my husband chatted it up with the trainers, talking about fitness and nutrition. We finally left and I thought the fresh, night time air would make me feel better. It didn’t. By the time we got home all I could do is huddle in a fetal position on the Lazy-Boy chair with my little gym towel covering me. My husband got me some crackers and something to drink. I must’ve stayed in that chair, shivering and nauseous for a good 30 minutes. And then I felt better. Whew! I guess I wasn’t going to die after all. Although I seriously wondered how I would make it through another session, much less 20 of them, I was determined to give it another try. Luckily, I didn’t experience another incident like the first and I soon grew to love my training sessions as well as the nutrition plan I was following. Six months later I weighed 118 pounds, my body fat was 18% and I had a six-pack! My current trainer became my workout buddy and my husband became a certified personal trainer himself. When I was 46 I decided to kick it up a notch. Always intrigued with body building but not wanting that extreme of a look, I was thrilled to hear about a physique sculpting sport called Figure. Figure athletes are feminine, muscular with some separation, but not extreme at all. It’s the perfect competition sport for women who train but who do not want to gain huge muscle size and vascularity. I decided to enter a figure competition and hired the renowned trainer/nutritionist, Kim Oddo,to help me prepare. Twelve weeks later I competed in the 2006 NPC Tournament of Champions and came away with two tophies. I was hooked.  Since then I have competed in eight competitions and have won 11 trophies, including three first place wins. At age 50 + I am now entering a new stage in my competition career – competing in national level competitions and am striving to win my masters pro card. I know it’ll take a lot of work but that’s okay. I’m used to it. Just like I tell my clients: set your goal, choose a course of action, surround yourself with the best team possible, and take baby step after baby step until you realize the prize. I hope you’ll enjoy the journey with me. |
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