Firstly, I want to start off by dedicating this post to all of the females who are afraid of "lifting too much" because they "will be too bulky".
Here are my before and after: http://ift.tt/1UaCTB2
Stats: 37 y/o. 5'0". My starting weight was only 119lb but (as you can see) I was not in good shape at all. My show date weight was 109lb and my maintenance weight is 111lb. The before pic was 9/21/2015, show date was 3/13/16.
You can clearly see that I am much leaner despite the muscle I put on. I want to be clear that I lift AS HEAVY AS POSSIBLE. In fact, my coach sometimes loads the bar or machine over my normal weight and he spots me while I do the negative. In those cases, I am lifting 25-50lb than I would on my own. I cannot stress enough that you will not get big and bulky from weights. My increased muscle mass actually helps me burn more fat. So anyone (especially female) who is afraid of weights, Please please don't be!
My background: prior to training with a coach, I was your average gym goer. I went about 3 times a week, not really focusing on much, did a few random exercises I had learned over time. Did a little cardio. I was afraid of doing leg exercises because I didn't want big thighs. I had literally never done a squat in my life. But even though I wasn't in bad shape, I wasn't in good shape either. I got tired easily and didn't have the energy or desire to do much outside going to work and hanging out with my kids. I knew my diet wasn't helping. Even though we don't have "junk food" in the house, I was a very mindless eater and never kept track of what I ate. I would often eat out of boredom. I knew I needed a change. My personality is very extreme, so I made a goal of competing in a bikini competition and set out to find a coach.
After meeting my coach and him creating a diet and workout plan, I made such rapid progress that we decided I would compete in Figure and Fitbody instead. I genetically seem to grow and show muscle. I spent 5 months working to get on stage. The photos above were literally taken right before I started training and the others are the day of the show. I won 2nd place Fitbody as a novice in an open class. I plan to compete again as I learned a lot about myself in the process. I want to share those here:
1.) Don't be afraid of weights! I explained that above.
2.) Food is fuel. Yes, it is sometimes fun to eat stuff that tastes good, or splurge on occasion. But after measuring and writing my food for 5 months, I can't even imagine going back to just putting a random amount of food on my plate or just grabbing handfuls of stuff and eating it.
3.) Eating right and being physically fit has given me more energy in other areas of my life. Yes! Even when I'm physically exhausted from training, I still have the energy to play and do activities with my kids, go for a hike, try something new like cross-country skiing. Things I would not have had the energy to do before, I want to try. My mind is more energized for work and school. It has permeated all aspects of my life.
4.) No excuses. For a long time I felt I didn't have the time, resources, etc. to get into shape. Yes, I had the luxury of hiring a coach, but I now know all of the things I need to do to continue without him (if I choose). I know I can do this on my own, but I needed him to kickstart my journey. I also blamed genetics for a long time as to why I couldn't achieve a certain look. Again, no excuses, now I know that hard work is all it takes.
Diet: my coach created a plan from day 1 after reviewing what I ate normally. He bases his diets on macros, so for the last 5 months I literally have had no idea what I was eating calorie-wise. This really works for me because in the past I have obsessed about calories which isn't good. I started at: Protein:171g Carbs:177g Fat:30g.
Over time my carbs were cut so I could continue to lose body fat and grow/retain muscle. The week before show I was at 3 low carb days Protein: 190g, Carbs: 86, Fat: 35g, to one high carb day (to keep my metabolism going) Protein: 172g, Carbs: 175g, Fat: 31g.
Suffice to say I ate a lot of chicken, broccoli, Greek yogurt, fish, green beans, rice cakes, brown rice and drank 2 protein shakes a day.
Workout: Cardio started at 5 hours a week. After a couple months I was losing weight too quickly so we cut it back to 2.5hours a week. Close to show date we picked it back up to 5 hours. I hate traditional cardio, like a lot of you, so I would mix it up. Running outside or treadmill, Bike, elliptical. On top of that, we stay active as a family: ice skating, hiking, trampoline parks, Ariel park (where you get strapped in and climb in the trees), are only a few examples.
On top of cardio, I lift 4-5 times a week for about an hour. I see my coach twice a week to do one lower body day and one upper body. On my own I would usually do one leg day, shoulders/ back day, chest/arms day. We focused a LOT on my butt/hammies and back/shoulders. I have learned dozens of new exercises that target different muscles in each body part. If you want to see an actual list of exercises, I can post that in the comments. (If anyone is wondering, I work on-call nights. I have my days free. I get on average 6-8 hours of unbroken sleep a night even with my job.)
In conclusion: It was a lot of hard work and without the support of my husband and kids, as well as my coach, I would not have been able to do it. I don't want to discourage people and have them point out "But you had the time, money, resources to do it". Yes, that is true. Working out 10 hours a week isn't feasible for everyone. Not everyone can hire a coach. I can't deny that. But you can make diet changes and improve your workouts on your own. You can make changes that will benefit you for a lifetime. Your health and fitness goals aren't a race. I still had to wake up one day and decide I was going to change my life. There is plenty of great inspiration and advice right here on /r/fitness!
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