hi, im cathleen.
i started out with a zumba class a little over a year ago when i was...mmmm 199- 209....my instructor was training for the northwest bodybuilding, fitness and figure show and talked about it a lot in class. i didnt have a gym, but got the new rules of lifting for women (NROLW) and after reading the first few chapters, went to her gym and signed up. got a couple sessions with a trainer, mainly to have him show me what all the machines did and he put me on a generic diet plan. so...i did the NROL and did increase my strength. i was deadlifting 145 pounds and really liked it. my instructor took 2nd in her height division and i started thinking about this years show. i got to stage 3 in the NROLW and didnt see the purpose in some of the moves, so i hired my old instructor as a personal trainer 3 days a week and we also did up a nutrition plan. when i told her i wanted to do this years show its this saturday!), we kicked it into high gear....5 days a week training and a serious cutting diet. i will compete in the figure D (over 5'7") division at 146 pounds....with LOTS of lovely definition....so a loss of over 60 pounds in over a year (and almost 100 in a year and a half). i love to lift...and i understand so much more of what is happening, what muscles move what and how and he nutrition part of it was invaluable.
we use free weights and machines. currently i am on a 5-day circuit:
mondays: back
tuesdays (ugh) legs
wednesdays: shoulders
thursdays: arms
fridays: abs and whatever else needs focusing on.
i do 6 days of cardio, 45 minutes, but that is because of the show. in maintenance ill probably do 3 days a week with a 3-day strength split til the end of january, when ill start to gear up for the spring show season.

I'm Carl. 33 years old, from Derbyshire, UK.

I try to be as active as I can, day to day. I play rugby union, am a keen badminton player, run a fair bit and have a black belt in taekwon-do.

More recently, I've decided that, as I got fitter at rugby, I needed a little more strength, so I started training at my local gym. It's a proper spit-and-sawdust gym; perfect for my needs. If I want to do cardio, then I have a bike and running shoes.

I generally try to work my way around a core of exercises, such as bench press, shoulder press, squat, deadlift, dips and ab work.

At the minute, I have a broken finger due to a rugby injury, so I'm limited in terms of pulling exercises, but I'm hoping to get back to those shortly.

Hello My Name is Kyle and I'm an alcoholic! Ooops! Wrong group! :-)
Let's try again,

Hello my name is Kyle, I live near Montreal, Quebec, Canada ; I am 46 years old and I do not want to die before I turned 50!

3 years ago, while grocery shopping with my teenage daughter, I passed the public bulletin board and saw one of those home made ads where the bottom portion has several copies of the phone number with a cut between each one. This ad caught mt eye as it was on yellow paper. It was an ad for a new martial art class starting just down the street from my home. The martial art was Capoeira! My daughter and I had been talking over the course of the winter about how we needed to start exercising and eating better. I had suggested martial arts but my daughter was hesitant as she was nervous about the physical contact.

I took one of the phone number slips and we went home to check out Capoeira videos on-line. It looked so cool that both my daughter and I decided to give it a try.

Well, she hated it and I loved it!

Since this beginning, I have gradually increased my weekly workouts to the point where last winter I was working out 4 - 5 times per week. 2 -3 Capoeira classes + 2 Jeet Kune Do classes at a newer gym even closer to my home!

I thought that all this exercise was my magic potion! I was slowly getting stronger and better at each class. However, I was not watching what I ate!

Last March, my insurance policy needed to be re-rewed and a physical was required. As I was a gym rat, I had no trepidation as I meet with the nurse for my exam! Then, BAM! High Blood pressure! And seriously high!

WTF! I work out all the time! Yes, I am over weight but, I work out!

The Doctor told me to lose weight and try to keep my sodium around 1200 mg per day.

Since that appointment I started seriously using MFP and have lost 60 lbs with another 15 - 20 to go to get to my initial goal.

With this weight loss everything is improving. I am advancing much faster in Capoeira and this past summer I passed my green belt test at JKD.

Now that I see what is possible. I want more! So, I have decided to start working on strength training. (I also want to make disappear some of the flabby skin left over from my previous life)

My JKD instructor gave me a small routine to tryout and I have enjoyed. Now, one of the other students in my JKD class, who is a certified trainer, is going to help me develop a routine that will help me improve my strength and muscle tone.

I have high hopes and big expectations!

My apologies for the verbal diarrhea of an introduction!

I am looking forward to sharing with the group as I learn and learning from the group as I go.

Best of luck for us all!

Hi, my name is Donna and I'm 43 years old living in Minnesota. I got serious about strength training in August 2011. I'm following a 6-month program called The New Rules of Lifting for Women and I'm about half-way through. I lift 3x per week at the gym plus I'll workout to a cardio DVD at home 1-2 times per week.

My goals are to increase (then maintain) my strength and power. As I get older I understand the importance of maintaining strength, bone density, connective tissues, etc. Of course I'm delighted with the added benefits of higher metabolism, losing weight, looking and feeling great, buying smaller sized clothes, being able to perform everyday tasks with ease, the list goes on and on.

Thank you for forming this group, I'm happy to be here!

hey there, really glad i found a group like this on mfp. I have just finished p90x, and have had great results. However, now that i have shed the fat im craving muscle mass. Ive been doing alot of studying online (mainly bodybuilding.com) and have found that the one programme that gets mentioned over and over is 'ripptoes starting strength', which should get my lifting weights up sufficiently, so that once i have finished it i can move on to something more hypertrophy based and gain some serious size. I am 100% commited to this and have my target of looking buff set for this coming summer, so i have plenty of time perfecting my workouts. Please feel free to add me as a friend and check out my progress photos so far, i will update them on a monthly basis to keep a good log of how i am progressing on this new phase of my 'journey' (that sounds so corny.lol) i am also a green belt in shotokan karate (i see a few others above do martial arts). i work a full time job, so fitting the workouts in is going to be tough, but i have no problem in sacrificing tv time in the evening. good luck to you all

I just started Starting Strength as well, after 6 months losing weight on MFP and training for a marathon. I have a log on BB.com if you want to check in on my progress: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=139629253&p=780080863

My name is Michael. I'm 31 and live in Washington, DC. I'm looking to build strength and muscle, continuing to use MFP to track my diet carefully (now at a 250 daily surplus).

hello

i'm clare and i'm 26 from Northampton in the UK. I recently hit my goal weight at the same time as having a lapse in motivation for exercise. I run three times a week but am a bit sick of it as its so dark and cold out in these evenings. Want to try and do some more stuff at home as I cant afford a gym membership. Was reccommended this group from my other post which was asking for advice now i've hit the goal weight.

I'm going to wade through all the info and hopefully buy a few DVDs to get me started. any reccommendations would be great. thanks guys x

Hi,I'm Lisa and I'm 47 years young. I live in North Carolina. I am currently doing a beginner program of weights 3X a week and cardio 2X week. As a beginner, I joined this group to gather as much information as possible from everyone to assist me in my goals (loose fat,gain muscle,tone, etc). I've been driving everybody I know nuts asking questions to assist me with information as I tried to get a program going that was right for me.

Anywhooo, Looking forward to getting to know everyone and sharing our experiences.

hi my name is martina, i live in LA... i joined fitness pal to lose those 5 extra "winter pounds" that never came off after turning 30. i've realized its really about portion control for me. i eat health and i work out, i do a ton of cardio, actually thats all i do.. dance, zumba, salsa, samba about 4x a week but i want muscle definition. i have no clue about weights and how to start using them w/out bulking up. im thinking maybe there's a workout i can do 2x a week, and still maintain cardio 3-4x

thanks & good luck to everyone!! i think this is such and amazing website and i applaud everyone who is here, making their health a top priority

Hey, been using a gym for a year and a half prior to signing up and although I didn't really change weight in that time, my body composition shifted and I have a tonne of muscle mass now compared to what I had. Hoping to really improve through this year, upping my lifts and leaning down to a 10-12% bodyfat.

I'm 48 and I've been training pretty aggressively at a "bootcamp" for the past two years. My training culminated with a Spartan race last November, and I've attained a level of strength and endurance I wish I had in my 20s. Since starting bootcamp I've dropped from 164 lbs and 19% bodyfat to 150 lbs at 9.4% bf (I'm 5' 9"). Now I'm looking to add muscle weight and will begin more targeted strength training. My trainer has recommended piling on the calories and lo and behold in the last three weeks I've put on 4 lbs already... (whoa partner, that ain't all muscle!). I'm using MFP now to choose my calories a little more wisely to gain slow muscle as opposed to fast fat. My goal is to be a lean (8.5%-9% bf) 160 lbs. Hopefully I'll be able to post an update with my goal stats by May.