Q: What is your athletic background?

A: I started riding horses competitively when I was nine years old. Competing in Hunter/ Jumper and started showing Drassage at the age of twelve. I feel that riding at this early age helped develop my overall physical strength. In addition to riding, upon entering high school, I played on the soccer team and ran track & cross country. To this day I continue to ride horses for love and pleasure on my parent’s farm.

Q: What motivates you to exercise?

A: My desire to get into the gym initially began to aid in my recovery from severe anorexia and bulimia, which I suffered from through the ages of sixteen and nineteen. At one point I weighed less than ninety pounds. Keeping in mind that muscle weighs more than fat; to give an idea of how I have recovered; I now weigh between 130-135 lbs. Through counseling during this difficult period, I realized that for me the only way to relieve some of the guilt associated with putting food into my body was to in some sense find a way to use food as a reward. A lot of people have a misconception of anorexia and bulimia; they believe that it is simply just a person starving themselves to be thin. However these diseases are always a side effect of a much deeper problem. From an anorexic person’s point of view, you must find a way to feel as though you deserve the right to eat. I realized during my recovery and training time in the gym not only was I putting my body back together but also at the same time regaining back my self confidence and my self worth. But, the most important thing was feeling worthy of rewarding my self with a healthy meal after every workout, every day!

I also thrive off the endorphins that my body releases during each workout. These endorphins help me to feel my best which in turn enables me to make the absolute most of every day.

Q: Describe a typical workout week for you?

A: Gees! Do you really want to know? Well………………

Monday: (Chest Day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Incline dumbbell press (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Flat bench press (4 sets x 10/20 reps)
-Incline bench press (3 sets x 10/20 reps)
-Wide grip bench (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Cross over cables (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Thirty minute cardio

Tuesday: (Arm day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Standing straight bar curls (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Preacher curls (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Alternate standing dumbbell curls (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Pushdowns (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Rope pull downs (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Kick back (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Thirty minute cardio

Wednesday: (Shoulder Day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Upright rows (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Bent lateral rows (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Shrugs (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Behind neck press (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Front laterals ( 3 sets x 20 reps)
-Side Laterals ( 3 sets x 20 reps)
-Thirty minute cardio

Thursday: (Quad Day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Front leg extensions (6 sets x 20 reps)
-Squats (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Leg Press (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Front leg extensions (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Thirty minute cardio

Friday: (Back Day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Front pull downs (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Low row single arm (3 sets x 20 reps)
-T-bar Rows (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Seated rows (4 sets x 20 reps)
-Hyper extension (3 sets x 20 reps)
-Thirty minute cardio

Saturday: (Hamstring Day)
-Five minute cardio warm-up
-Hams reverse leg curls (5 sets x 20 reps)
-Seated leg curls (5 sets x 20 reps)
-Walking Lunges (3 sets x 20 yards)
-Side leg raises (2 sets x 20 reps)
-Inner Adductor (2 sets x 20 reps)
-Outer Adductor (2 sets x 20 reps)
-Butt blaster (3 sets x 20 reps)
-15 minute stair master

*(This workout is not recommended for beginners.)
**(I work abs & calves everyday because these body muscles have the fastest recovery time.)

Q: What is your diet like?

A: Breakfast: Lots of coffee!!!!!; 6-8 oz. glass of Orange Juice to spike insulin level; Whey Protein isolate shake/ ISO*100 (1 scoop) mixed with water not milk.

Lunch/Dinner: High Protein, low carb, and low fat diet primarily consisting of fish (sushi) and poultry, green veggies (broccoli, asparagus, and spinach). In addition to no alcohol and very little refined sugar. Lots of water with lemons, green tea, and sugar substitute. In between breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I get hungry, I eat a small snack that is high in protein, low in carbs, and low in fat. If I have a craving for something sweet I try to eat fruit rather than candy.

Q: What fitness goals do you have for yourself?

A: To continue to physically challenge myself and enhance my overall health and sense of well being.

Q: What advice would you offer a sedentary friend trying to become more fit?

A: First, overall fitness should be a way of life. So, if you need to make a life style change to become more fit, psychologists say it takes twenty-one days to form or break a habit, so have patience with yourself. Secondly, never overwhelm yourself. Don’t try and make your fitness goals so strict that it is no longer enjoyable. I believe that eighty percent of how you look is your diet alone. The food you eat is more important than how much time you spend at the gym. Lastly, make sure your body gets enough rest.

back to Physique Main Page