IHow do you stay motivated to train and meet a fitness goal?  I can’t speak for all, but I would say that most women over 40, such as myself, train to: keep the extra  pounds off,  keep the muscles toned, have higher energy levels and to try to “recapture’” the slim, toned, figure that we had when we were in our 20’s. We all fondly remember those days when we “hung out” at the beach wearing nothing but a small bikini and perhaps some suntan oil. (Yea, we were hot!)  Well, one of the main differences for me was that“then”, I could eat or drink pretty much whatever I wanted and it didn’t seem to adversely affect me! Ever since high school I have always been athletic and involved in some type of sport. But, a funny thing happened to me-I started to get older!  I gave birth to my son at 28 then 30 approached then-the dreaded 4-zero! All of a sudden, staying in shape just wasn’t as easy as it used to be!   It suddenly occurred to me that if I wanted to get in shape and stay that way, I was going to have to put forth some effort and do it consistently.

In August 2000, I began running with my local running club the Loma Linda Lopers. I figured that I would have no problem getting back into shape and losing a few extra pounds of “middle-aged fat”.  At that time, I was running about 35 miles a week. Although I was making some improvements and felt stronger; I began getting discouraged because I wasn’t losing any weight. Actually, surprisingly, I was putting some extra pounds on.

I met Karla Adams in October 2003 and explained my frustration to her. At that time, I was also trying to improve my running time with hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon by the time I reached 50.  At the start, Karla took some measurements, got some history and immediately “diagnosed” my major problem as the high carb “runner’s diet”  I was eating.  As I trained with Karla for about a month, she made changes to my diet. She did this by cutting out the “processed” carbs and increasing my daily protein intake. She also had me lifting weights in a structured format. This was something that I had trouble doing on my own.  Suddenly I started to see some improvement. In fact, I decided to keep training with her on a regular basis because I actually noticed improvement after just 3 or 4 sessions!  This encouraged me to believe that my goals were both realistic and obtainable.

Well, I’ve been training with Karla for almost 2 years and I’m STILL making improvements. I’m increasing my muscle mass while lowering my overall body fat percentage. (Refer to pics on the website).  As for Karla, her knowledge about nutrition, conditioning and weight training is very impressive! She is a great motivator, always encouraging and continues to keep my confidence levels high. An extremely important part of training with any exercise program is mental! She also pushes me to achieve more as she keeps setting the bar higher and higher. I most definitely recommend her as a trainer. She is fantastic!

On a parting note, I would say, do not let the fact that you are over 40 stop you from achieving your fitness goals- it can be done!  Like Nike—just do it!!