I’ve decided to start another 12 week fitness challenge beginning this week! This time it’s not through any fitness company, website or official challenge, rather it’s my own effort to be sure I’m not getting complacent at the gym and to keep pushing myself. I, like most other people, am very much a goal oriented person and am dependent on having something to work towards in order to stay motivated and continue to better my performance.  I discussed this new effort with my trainer yesterday and we agreed that this coming Wednesday, February 17th, will be the date where I will begin. I will log my starting strength, both what weight I’m able to lift with my upper body, then lower body.  I will measure one rep maximum as well as 10 rep maximum, as per my first challenge. I will also be measuring body fat to see if this changes with the development of (hopefully) more muscles within the next 90 days.  The end of this month it will have been 4 months since I started lifting heavy weights. I will give myself a year to see where I’m at physically, and then make a decision as to whether or not to enter a figure competition. I feel I still have so much to learn, a lot of research to do, and need to visit some shows to start talking to people in the industry before making any moves. My passion is changing my physique and pushing myself to the maximum of what my body can do – whether that entails entering a contest or not, doesn’t matter so much as the thrill I get from seeing those muscles pop out and say hello! This challenge will of course also entail being meticulous with my diet, as I can’t afford to have much fat surrounding my body when I’m looking for definition and a ‘ripped look’. I’m looking forward to continuing to research what the best diet for me is, but I know it will include lots of variety with vegetables, spices, exotic, healthy ingredients! I will also start putting up recipes for dishes I’m doing.

I am in the best physical shape of my life – quite ironic as I’m approaching the age of 40 but feeling more like  a 20 year old than ever before! Keep checking in for updates on this challenge – I will be logging my weight and measurements every other week here to have some accountability and to keep myself motivated. I’m really excited!