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.

Hi guys, I'm Jen, I'm 23, 5'9" from Melbourne Australia. Here's my crazy story!

I was a little overweight (80kgs) from the age of 18-21. I got into cardio at Fernwood women's gyms and got down to a healthy weight of 65kg.

Unfortunately from the age of 21-22 had an abusive ex boyfriend and I got into the drug scene.

By Dec 2010 I was seriously underweight at 53.5kg. I'm 5"9 so I looked like a junkie. I developed depression & anxiety and knew I was sick.
I decided to quit drugs (very heavy marijuana use, occasional speed & acid use). I took myself to the doctor for medication.

Thankfully, Ive always been a self motivator and have been able to realize where I'm at & what I need to do.
I dug myself out of that hole and sorted my life out. I worked in a nursing home for a few months and realized how important health is.
If you don't have your health, you have nothing.


Now, about 14 months after quitting drugs, I am the happiest & healthiest I have ever been!
I'm engaged to my high school love and getting married this November.
He is an ex strongman & power lifter and trains me at our gym.


I've been back into fitness since Jan 2011 and have recently switched from Fernwood to a weights gym, Apollo. It's basically a warehouse full of weights

1 month ago I switched from bodybuilder to strength style training. Amazing results! Now my fiancé is training me, my max weights have gone up drastically. (max for one rep)
I am currently using the 5/3/1 program as a template.

Squats: prev max 35kg, current max 65kg
Bench press: prev max 15kg, current max 35kg

I am more motivated than ever and am weight training min 4 times a week for 1-2hrs. I throw in cardio after weights, and walk our dogs for 30min every day. I am currently 68.5 kg and am looking more buff each week

I use a pre workout shake, follow my workouts with whey protein isolate mixed with waxy maize starch. At night I drink a milk protein concentrate for slow release.


My goals for this year are to increase my cardio and drop my body fat level a little. I want to squat 80kg by mid year and bench 50kg.

My motto, "Balls up and get it done"

STRONG IS THE NEW SEXY


I hope my story inspires some of you ladies to lift heavy

Hi. I'm a 40 yo mom of two who loves to lift weights. I was a previous cardio junkie but as I got a little older, my body wasn't responding the way it used to. Cardio started to backfire and left me underweight and feeling faint most of the time. I decided to pick up the weights in September '11 and haven't looked back since.

I'm happier, healthier and look the best I've ever looked in my adult life. Strength training has also helped my self-confidence as well as energy levels. I'm sorry I didn't start sooner.

And no, I didn't "bulk" up. Hardly... :laugh:

Hi everyone ~ I'm Heather, 38, mom of 2 very active daughters, and 70lbs overweight.

I did some strength training for about 3 months a year and a half ago, but that was in a gym with a personal trainer. Have had many obstacles since then and no longer have the gym membership. I have a very weak lumbar region, herniated discs and hypertrophied facets from L3-S1. Even walking hurts for days afterwards. :grumble: I am looking for tips on how to lift at home, safely! I need to strengthen my back, that is my main priority, but without injuring it more. I have been sedentary for over a year waiting for it to heal and its not, so I am trying something new!

I have a yoga mat, large balance ball, and hand weights and resistance bands, but am willing to purchase more to get this started. I also hang upside down a few times a week on my inversion table, which helps with the pressure and pain in my back.

Taking any suggestions! Thanks ~ :flowerforyou:

get a pilates dvd for home ,i had a back injury which was stopping my lifting .did a course of pilates and found it very helpful.got me back lifting and now when i feel a tweak i add it back to my routine

I am 46 weighing at 158.3. Just lost close to 20 lbs. I have always been a casual exerciser, off and on again. I am really looking to get into shape and start toning. I own a bowflex and have access to many free gym membership with my job. Just looking for guidance to get started and get fairly serious about this before I get any older!