Female

39

Sep, 2003

When I was little I was lousy at sports and therefore didn´t like it a lot either. At 18 I started "Work Out" classes at the gym and really enjoyed it as it didn´t include competing, but was something you do to improve yourself. I was also running a little and trained with weights, but I never really like it a lot as I didn´t se much changes in my body. I never really seemed to get stronger arms etc with the tipical "femail programs" 3x25...My husband and I did weight lifting the gym app. 3 days a week for a couple of years just to get rid of the stress from work and so on, but we didn´t take nutrition all that serious. It was better than to sit at home watching TV of course, but there wasn´t a great progress either. I was pretty much stuck with the same body shape as always. Then we met an incredibly inspiring personal trainer and we started to get more and more serious about an overall healthier lifestyle. It was suddenly more fun to train and as we started to eat well I also noted a remarcable progress and slowly beginning to have muscles that I had never had before! That is when I really started to enjoy this sport.

It not only makes you look better but it also helps you in every day life. You get stronger and you feel better about yourself. I even got rid of some neck and back pains that I had due to my sentedary work by the computer 8 hours a day. It also reduces your stress levels, you sleep better and it charges you with energy!

Days when I didn´t feel like training it was enough just to pull myself together and drag myself to the gym. Once there the motivation was back again! I then remember that it is fun to train and the more you go to the gym on a regular basis, the stronger you get and the better your results will be. If you are not 100% motivated one day, it doesn´t matter because (at an amateur level as I am) the important thing is to do your exercises, even though it is not a personal weight record that day, but at least you are following your routine and do not loose the muscles you have gained. A year ago I had to change my routine drastically when I found out I was pregnant. But I kept on training (with caution of course, and very light) until I was 8 months pregnant. Now my son is almost 3 months old, and I haven´t started to train in the gym yet, but I try to train with him at home and while going out "power walking" with him every day. Right now I got motivated just reading the website BodyBuilding.com and I very much want to get into shape again. I am just waiting until I stop to breastfeed and then I will change my diet and find time to start with a heavier 3 days a week program!

A little more than a year ago, just before I got pregnant, I was training 5 days a week and was in the best shape of my life. Considering that I didn´t like sports when I was younger, and that I have always seen myself as a little chubby, I consider my main accomplishment to be really happy with eating well and getting into shape at 36 years of age!