Why Not?

Yes, it's been a while, and there are many reasons for that, not the least of which is I had a very hard time getting motivated to do ANYTHING after finishing EMT school, my final, my NREMT exam and my practical exam.  Seriously, my husband will tell you how I spent weeks on the couch playing Dungeon Gems and my old favorite, Jet Pack Joy Ride.

That's right, Barry - I have all the enhanced jetpacks.

So I packed on a few pounds and let my fitness slide.  You'd think after working like a dog to get 40 pounds off two years ago I'd be more careful.  I certainly didn't want to blog about putting on some pounds and not running a race in a year.  I just couldn't get going.  Now part of this may have something to do with my generalized anxiety, which manifests as a desire to want to beat the living crap out of people I don't even know for the slightest transgression, but perhaps not.  I mean, I'm medicated for that.

When I finally pulled myself off the couch to walk with a neighbor, we chatted about her personal trainer, and I decided it was time for me to hit the gym with someone who knew what they were doing.  You may recall I attended barbell and aerobic classes at the Parks and Rec center for about a year, but I'm not wild about their fitness director or the generic nature of the classes, so I didn't want to go back there.

Instead, I signed up for personal training at this bare-bones gym in Redmond, with a super nice trainer who actually also won some fitness competitions so he knows what's what.

The LVAC it is not.  But it's clean and roomy and has modern
equipment - and the trainer, of course, is a great guy.

After a few sessions of training (and some serious post-exercise soreness), I started thinking about getting serious about my fitness - not just my weight but my actual fitness.  What good is getting back into a size 8 if I'm still jiggly?  I started doing some research on the issue, and came across some fantastic articles and images from fitness competitions.

This is Ernestine Shepherd. She's 74 in this photo.

These are the "Masters" competitors at a fitness model competition
That means at least over 35.

Ruby Carter-Pikes is 65 here.

An Over-50 bikini competition

Nuff said.  What's more important than my health and fitness?  I mean, if I'm going to outlive everyone I know without physically harming them in the process, I need to get on it (no, that's not really my goal, but why not?).  So I sat down with my trainer, we worked out a plan for lifting, cardio and nutrition, and I train with him twice a week now, once more a week on my own, and shoot for ten hours of cardio a week to start.

There's no reason I can't get the body I want.  I mean, I've never had a baby, I've never had any abdominal incisions of any kind, I don't smoke, don't do drugs and I'm pretty healthy overall.  Now it's just a matter of getting stronger.

I'm shooting for something like this:

Tosca Reno - Over 50

but with Ernestine's or Ruby's abs....

Why not?  I'm willing to do the work - I've got the time.  I don't need to can or garden all day every day.

So follow along as I use the blog to post my progress, at least before our New Zealand trip next year. I'm putting it out there not just for accountability, but to show I can do it.  I WILL do it.

But I won't do that :