Inspiring Women

Just a Small Town Girl – Inspiring Women: Mindy Karuk

Growing up in a small, wintry Canadian town hasn’t stopped Mindy Karuk from speeding to the top of the fitness industry. The first step to getting the body of your dreams is to decide what you want and make the commitment to doing whatever you need to get there. Mindy has made that commitment to her body and to her goals – placing top 5 in WBFF Competitions, receiving sponsorships from TOP companies like MAGNUM, and gracing the pages of magazines from Status to Inside Fitness.

Mindy’s just begun…found out how she does it…why she inspires us…and WHO inspires her….

On the Roller Coaster of Life – Inspiring Women: Maria Amantea

Life is rollercoaster…taking you up to places you’ve never been and then dropping you down to places you never want to go. However, one day all of that can change and you begin the ride of your life — only going up to places you’ve never been.

For Maria Amantea, life is on the upwards roller coaster and doesn’t plan to slow down or change directions any time soon. After going through a drastic transformation, competing in her first competition and working towards a BA in Kinesiology – Maria is just beginning her life in the fitness industry and has just begun inspiring young women everywhere that anything is possible as long as you have a goal and focus to get there…

The Definition of Inspiration – Inspiring Women: Emily Stirling

If you need some inspiration to hit the gym on a tough day – look no further – inspiration has arrived in full force – her name is Emily Stirling. Emily is dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle, dedicated to being the best she can be and dedicate to helping others achieve their own fitness goals. Let Emily inspire you, as she has inspired me….

It’s Over – Reflecting on the Journey to My First Two Bikini Competitions

Its over…..

A sixteen week weight loss journey of dieting and training and extreme focus have come to an end. Sixteen weeks of nerves, laughs, second guessing myself and growing have written their final chapter.

A sixteen week adventure that begun with a silly idea have ended in two spectacular shows.

A ‘Coyote Ugly’ Dancing Fitness Diva – Inspiring Women: Stephanie Brewster

Through Twitter and Facebook I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing women – my most recent encounter was with this week’s inspiring woman Stephanie Brewster.

As a goal oriented woman, determined to succeed, Stephanie moved herself from a slow paced Texas to the glitz and fast paced action of Las Vegas. Since moving to Las Vegas Stephanie has been on a reality TV Show and become a part of the addicting fitness industry. With an understanding of struggles and the ability to overcome them, Stephanie is this week’s inspiring woman.

Believe in Yourself – Believe in Success – Inspiring Women: Megan Moon

Getting up everyday and heading to the gym is a chore for some people, but for this week’s inspiring women, Megan Moon, healthy living is a passion.

When most girls have posters of the latest teen heart throb plastered over their walls, Megan had posters of workouts. Her love for fitness started young, knowing that this had to be more than just a hobby, it had to be a lifestyle.  Since starting in the fitness industry, Megan’s success has only just begun, with a recent sponsorship by Optimum Nutrition and more competitions – both figure and endurance, plus her first book – 2010 is going to be a busy and successful year for this lady.

How does she balance all of this while raising two kids and supporting her husbands career? Read on and find out about this week’s Inspiring Woman – Megan Moon….

Finding the Essence of Em – Inspiring Women: Emily Lind

Its hard for most women to find who they are. Its a journey you embark on every day – figuring out just where you fit in – what makes you happy – and to most importantly, make yourself happy.

This week’s inspiring woman, Emily Lind, has found the “Essence of Em”. She has found how to love herself for who she is – through her love for fitness and healthy eating and life itself.

I had the pleasure of meeting Emily in person this past weekend at the Arnold 2010 Expo – and let me tell you – she’s awesome on paper but even MORE inspiring in person. Let Emily tell you how she found ‘herself’ in hopes of helping you find you…

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself – What is the Essence of Em? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Imirage Photography

Emily Lind: I created the essence of em because I realized that achieving goals was my passion and I wanted other people to experience the same joy by achieving their goals. It is so important to be happy. I believe having someone to hold you accountable is essential to your success and achieving this happiness.   My goal is to teach people, check in and be involved in their life, which is many times more fulfilling that achieving my own goals.

Breaking Through Barriers – Inspiring Women: Alyson Boyd

Your personal relationship with food can either make you – help you lose those last 10lbs – or break you – help you gain those extra 10lbs. Understanding how our bodies react to food is imperative to reaching any type of fitness goal.

Alyson Boyd, this week’s inspiring woman, has overcome a ‘topsy turvy relationship with food’ in order to win both her Figure and Fitness class at one show. Combining her positive relationship with food and dedication to the gym, while working towards her MBA in Sports Business and Marketing – Alyson is an expert in time management and making sure that no matter the circumstance – nothing gets in the way of her and reaching her goals.

Find out more about Alyson and just how she balances her hectic lifestyle.

Stepping on Stage and Stepping to Success – Inspiring Women: Tania Chrzanowski

Many girls growing up lack self-esteem. Its an unfortunate common problem that many of us can relate too. Some women grow out of that ‘awkward’ stage quickly – realizing their natural beauty and feeling confident about themselves. While for others (many of us) it takes a few years and one moment of inspiration to change all that.

For this week’s Inspiring Woman Tania Chrzanowski – it took a visit to a friends bodybuilding show to realize what she needed to realize her inner beauty and gain the self confidence to make her the successful woman she is today. Find out more about Tania below.

From ‘Skinny Fat’ to ‘Strong and Lean’ – Inspiring Women: Lizzy Ostro

Does this sound familiar? As a high school athlete you go to every single fast food joint possible after practice – starved and no real idea about what you really should be eating in order to be better. You’re young and you’re hungry – thats all that matters.

Then you hit college. You don’t know any other way of eating so you continue to eating whatever you can, usually the bad stuff because that tastes so much better. However, you’re not nearly as active as you were before, plus your hormones start changing and your metabolism starts to slow a bit. So, instead of staying muscular and lean like before you start gaining the ‘freshman 15′.

How do you end the cycle? Ask Lizzy Ostro. Lizzy not only managed to get herself out of the freshman 15, but came out on top competing in regional bikini shows, and will be at the NPC Jr. Nationals later this year.

How’d she get there? I’ll let Lizzy tell you…

Womens Ab Workout: Tell us more about yourself. Who are you? How long have you been training and what are your goals and aspirations in the fitness industry?

Lizzy Ostro: Thanks so much for interviewing me!! My name is Lizzy Ostro aka “Fit Lizzio”. I’m 21 years old and have been training for 2 ½ years. After being an athlete throughout much of my life, I began college as a lazy freshman. I began working with a personal trainer in 2007, and my love for fitness, body building, and training became my lifestyle. I have competed in 2 regional bikini shows, and plan to hit the national scene this year in Chicago in June.

WAW: To get into great shape, for a bikini show, you must be pretty particular about your training.  How would you describe your training? Are you into body part training or full body training? Why? How much of your training is weight training and how much is cardio?

LO: Everyone’s workout style is different. I have found that if you don’t train the way you LIKE to train, you are less likely to stick to it and your results will not be as good. I do a 5 day split with 2 leg days per week. One leg day focuses on hamstrings and glutes, and the other leg day focuses on quads and plyometrics. My problem areas are my shoulders and legs as far as building muscle goes, so I take special consideration when training those areas.

After being a “cardio queen” for some time, I finally realized that the weight training is really what shapes your body. Cardio is great to get a little extra fat burning and to increase cardiovascular fitness, but your physique is built with weight training. I always put that as first priority. I still do cardio most days of the week, but I mix it up between running, boxing, hiking, and the stairmill.

WAW: One of the biggest parts of fitness, whether training for a show, as you have done, or just trying to lose weight and get a flat stomach is DIET. What does your diet look like when getting ready for a show? What is your favorite flat stomach recipe?

LO: SO many people are confused about this topic. The truth is, you CAN’T out train a bad diet (believe me, I’ve tried J). When I’m getting ready for a show, I use a much healthier approach than many people in this industry. I believe in eating for health and wellness first, and little tweaks can be made to get you your body into a “show ready” mode. Extreme dieting, although very common in the fitness industry, only leads to a big blow up after a show(also something I’ve learned first hand.) To be able to get my physique to where I want it to be, I simply start “dieting” further out from the show, in order to have plenty of time to lean out. I eat a very clean diet because it allows me to eat more food and still lean out. What’s better than that?!

A sample day of eating for me would look something like this:

Meal 1: ¼ cup wheat bran, ¼ cup rolled oats, 1 scoop protein powder, ½ TBSP Raw Almond Butter, 2 Egg Whites mixed in

Meal 2 : Protein shake(immediately after workout), 4 oz. ground turkey, ¼ avocado, ½ cup brown rice, lots of veggies.

Meal 3: Salad made with: 1 bed of spinach/romain lettuce, 1 can no salt added tuna or 4 oz. chicken, ¼ c. no salt added black beans, tomato slices, other fresh veggies, and pico de gallo as my dressing.

Meal 4: Coconut Protein Pancake(see recipe below!)

Meal 5: Protein milkshake: 1 scoop protein, ¼ cup pasteurized egg whites, ½ TBSP natural peanut butter, and ice. Blended.

Meal 6: 1 egg, 5 whites, 1 cup spinach, lots of fresh and/or cooked veggies

As you can see, my diet is very clean, but it is plenty of food. If you choose proper foods, you are able to eat more. I rarely go to bed hungry, and I feel incredible eating this way. Many people also are against eating fruit when trying to lean out. I keep fruit in my diet, but just a piece or two every day or every other day.

WAW: In your Twitter bio, you describe yourself as a ‘hard rock loving gym rat.” What 5 songs can we find you singing along to at the gym today?

LO: Haha, the dark side comes out! Just kidding. When I picked up my guitar in 7^th grade, I got into Metallica, Pantera, and other bands in that genre. I guess that is where my love for hard rock/metal arose. These days, you can find me listening to Deftones, Incubus, Glassjaw, Killswitch Engage, and Sevendust in my headphones during a workout. I have an absolute love for music and am learning to become an audio engineer. Music takes me to a whole new level, and when combined with fitness, it is absolute bliss for me.

WAW: On your blog, you take the time to describe yourself. When doing so you say that you  used to think of yourself as ‘skinny fat’ – how have you overcome that mental barrier to allow yourself on stage to compete? What advice can you offer other women who battle with similar self image issues?

LO: In high school, if I hadn’t hit up three different fast food joints that day, something must have been wrong. I literally ate fast food for every meal, but because I was so active and young, it didn’t catch up with me. My blood flowed with Dr. Pepper, and fruits and vegetables were non-existent in my life. When I started college, the terrible eating continued, but the exercise stopped. Although I only gained a few pounds, I lost muscle and became the dreaded “skinny-fat”.

After I began working out again, I started noticing my body toning up and I absolutely loved the results. One of my biggest motivators in working out is seeing changes in my body. There is no better reward for all of the hard work. It not only changed my appearance, but it changed ME. I became more confident, and learned that through discipline, I could change many aspects of my life. This carried into my student and professional life, and I feel that the confidence I have now would not have been achieved without the dedication to this sport.

For someone battling self image issues, I can completely relate. Even now, sometimes I feel self conscious about my body. The one thing that has helped me tremendously is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. If you feel like your workouts haven’t been great, or maybe you fell off the wagon and haven’t been eating very well, there is always tomorrow to give you the opportunity to try again. As long as you don’t give up, you will never fail. Be PROUD of who you are, as there is only ONE of you and people will love and respect you for being true to yourself.

WAW: What’s next for you?

LO: As mentioned earlier, this year I plan on taking the stage at the NPC Jr. Nationals in Chicago, IL in June. I qualified for this show back in July 2009, and am extremely excited to be able to step on the national scene and see what I can do. The possibilities are endless. Competing can be very subjective, as you never know who the judges will be on the day of the show. Someone I look up to once told me this. She said that if after the show, I feel like I brought my best package, and after looking at pictures, I liked the way I looked, then I won the show. No two judges will ever be looking for the exact same thing, and you have to be proud of what you have accomplished and accept your placing as simply an opinion.

WAW: Where can we find more information out about you?

LO: I have recently started taking on clients for affordable nutritional coaching both for shows, and just everyday life. My website, although not up yet, is coming along well. You can check out my blog at: http://fitlizzio.wordpress.com to see my daily workouts, food intake and thoughts on competing, fitness and life.  You can also e-mail me at fitlizzio@gmail.com

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