Getting Started

When I first started my fitness journey I was no where near fit. Infact, I didn't think I would even follow through with what I had set myself up for in my mind. Like most people, I was constantly criticizing myself & listening to others about how I "wasn't going to follow through" and "why should I waste my time doing something that was gonna change my eating habits?" There was also the discouragement from doctors who would tell me that "having asthma disables my lung capacity and exercising too much can be harmful."  

I've heard it all. I mean every single thing you can imagine, I heard it. I believed it too. For 24 years of my life I had struggled with weight, asthma, back problems and the biggest problem of all, negative people. I was truly affected by the people who surrounded me & who told me that I was wasting my time even remotely thinking about becoming fit. 

That brought me to my decision to get rid of those people & prove to myself, that I was capable of doing it, that nothing and nobody was going to stop me and those people were gonna eat their words. 

In 2001 I had just moved back home to Redding from a small place in California called Needles. I had serious back issues caused from 10 car accidents. That's right, I said 10. Not one of those was caused by me. I was in pain. I would dread going to bed at night in fear of not being able to get out of it in the morning. I was in excruciating pain, needed to lose weight and had to move back home for help. I couldn't do anything on my own and I was losing my independance. Pills, medical doctors and chiropractors were not helping me. In fact, I was being crippled everyday by them.

On April 12, 2002, I had my final car accident that took the cake. I was driving home from the vet's office with my dog who, in turn, had been hit by a car that same week. As I was taking my green light to turn on my street, BAM. At 45 miles an hour, I was T-Boned by a girl who was quote "looking at my sister while I was talking to her." She ran her red light & took me out along with it. On January 13, 2004, I ended up at Mercy Medical Center for lower back surgery. It took a couple years to get surgery after I had gone through every step possible to avoid it, but avoiding it is what made it worse for me and what had me struggling with weight during the process.

It wasn't until a year after surgery that I decided I needed a new direction for myself. Something that would bring me back to life. I needed a fuller, healthier & more active lifestyle. I was fed up with always making excuses not to do things with my friends or family. I decided to start working out. Nothing dramatic, just a small change in the way I was gonna start living. I knew that in order to become healthy, I had to break my comfort zone and become comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

I started using Cindy Crawford workout video's she had created with a trainer Hollywood calls "The Killer Whale" in fitness, Radu. I was on a routine working out 6 days a week & eating healthy food. What I was missing from that regimine was calorie counting and watching my portions. I was losing weight, but not toning up in the places I needed the most. I tried fitness video after fitness video until one day, in 2006 I discovered Turbo Jam. This was introduced to me on TV by an infomercial. The trainer, was Chalene Johnson. A motivated, upbeat, fun loving woman who made working out look and feel like I was having fun. I ordered it, got it in the mail a week later and started my brand new fitness journey. I will admit I was skeptical at first and it was because I felt I had tried everything so I thought "Ok, if this doesn't do it, nothing will." 

I ate my words. It worked, and it kept on working. I was finally following a system of proper nutrition, portion amounts, vitamin supplements, SHAKEOLOGY (I cannot say enough about this stuff) and workouts that made a HUGE change in my life. I was excited because I started to get my life back, my self esteem, my attitude was better and so much more. I became what I had always known I could become and all it took was some filtering of people and the determination to get it back!!! I went from Turbo Jam in 2006-2007 to ChaLEAN Extreme (also Chalene Johnson) in 2008-2009, to Rev Abs by Brett Hoebel in 2009, finished my 63 days of INSANITY, Started ChaLEAN Extreme again (2010) & now Im in my 3rd month of P90X. 

I am 28 and I am in the best shape of my life. I have now completed an unknow number of rounds of Turbo Jam, 3 rounds of ChaLEAN Extreme (each round was 6 months, the last 3 months are Lean For Life phases) Rev Abs (90 day ab program), INSANITY 63 days, ChaLEAN Extreme again & now P90X. Morning LISS (Light Intensity Steady State Training) and HIIT Training have entered my life as well making me leaner than I've ever been & I plan on keeping up with those forever. Patiently awaiting my P90X One On One series which will eventually be P90X MC2. All of these programs have contributed to my success in losing 40 pounds from March 27, 2008 (the day ChaLEAN Extreme arrived to the beginning of Lean For Life phase) and becoming the fittest I've ever been my ENTIRE life. I can breathe without the extra weight, I can move the way I wasn't able before and during my recovery from back surgery and my resting heart rate is that of an athlete, 41bpm. I intend on improving that with continuous working out. Knowing I don't have to kill myself with routines over & over again keeps me going in the direction that I am. Changing your routines will keep it interesting & keep you motivated so switch it up every 30 days! I'm a fitness coach for Beachbody and this is the best time of my life. Anyone can become healthy and fit. Beachbody has an incredible coaching opportunity that enables people like myself to help others become fit physically, mentally and financially. The decision is yours. All I am here to do, is hold your hand along the way and be here for you 24/7.

I am here for everyone. I do not discriminate and I will not judge you. I will however, help you and answer any questions you have. I will use the knowledge from my experiences and what I've learned form the trainers I have learned from. Get healthy from the inside out. Do it for you, do it for your family, & most of all, DO IT FOR YOUR LIFE!!