Fit Over 50 – Fun Fit & Fabulous!

After high school I did some running, sand volleyball, mild weight lifting; and always since childhood, swimming was an activity I loved, too.  After marriage and raising children, I continued fitness through walking, doing aerobics and Zumba classes, staying physically active a lot of the time.  Don’t get me wrong-I did all this in spite of the fact that I was a smoker, and battled “emotional eating” on and off for a long time.  I would gain weight, then lose it, depending on what good, or not-so-good circumstance was happening in my life at the time.  I loved to bake, too, so when I was really happy, I’d bake cookies all the time, and eat them like Cookie Monster!  Still to this day I have a weakness for cookies!

In 2001, I injured my knee, and part of the remedy for healing and strengthening it, was weightlifting.  My true fitness journey began then.  I quit smoking a few years after that, and I became very interested in health and wellness products.  By this time, I was working out with certified personal trainers for periods of time, to get in better shape and live a more fit life.  Although I loved working out with trainers, and on my own, I don’t recall too much emphasis on good nutrition or adopting a plan to follow.  So I was getting healthier and stronger, but there were inconsistencies in the overall effectiveness of what I was doing.

About that time, “Welcome to Fifty” came along, with lots of changes, physically and emotionally, and mentally.  It seemed as if fat just appeared, and stacked up thick in my mid-section, my arms, legs, and everywhere.  It didn’t just “shake off” when I went to the gym, either.  I didn’t like the way I felt, the way I looked, the way my clothes fit, really anything.  It was depressing.  There were days when I thought, “I shouldn’t even leave the house, because who knows what kinds of ugly things I might say or do.”  I was miserable with myself.

Then a beautiful thing happened!  A friend asked me if I wanted to go to Hitch Fit Gym with her!  I thought about it very seriously.  I went to the website and looked at the transformations, the trainers, the stories, the real-life stories of people just like me.  I decided that Hitch Fit was a commitment I wanted to make, although I had no idea what to expect, and I was afraid to start the journey.

It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.  I learned about nutrition, and came to appreciate food as I never had before.  When you eat correctly, you feel good; your aches and pains are minimized, or they vanish, your mood is more calm and level, you have more energy!  I became stronger in every way, healthier, more confident and happy as my transformation progressed.  What I learned at Hitch Fit is invaluable.  That was in the spring of 2013.  My transformation changed my life, and I never wanted to leave Hitch Fit!

In 2014 I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and Micah and Diana LaCerte welcomed me into the Hitch Fit team of transformers.  I love helping people change their lives for the better!  It is very rewarding!

Recently I took a big step outside my comfort zone, and competed in the WBFF Central Fitness Competition, at the age of 59, as a Bikini Competitor.  It took a great deal of dedication and focus.  I may not have won a trophy, but in the big picture it was a victory!–a victory over self-doubt and fear, over the obstacles that life throws at you (injury, illness, etc.), a victory of belief, of confidence, of courage!

What are you waiting for?  What’s holding you back from making the decision to get out of your comfort zone, create your own change, and claim your victory?  It’s never too late to step up, say you will, decide to be fit and healthy, at fifty, or fifteen or any age!  I did, and I believe YOU CAN too!