Weight Loss, Strength Training – There are No Excuses

by Nia Shanks | Follow her on Twitter here

Here’s a quick recap of my weekend before we get to the really good stuff.

I went back to my home town this weekend—Chattanooga, Tennessee. While I was there I got to enjoy time with my family and eat some great food. If you ever find yourself in Chattanooga, make sure you stop at Anker’s Hoagies and get a steak in a sack.

Other than the steak in a sack, I also enjoyed some home-made chocolate pound cake. Yummy goodness. There are certain times to enjoy the occasional treat, and this weekend was definitely one of them. Refer back to my article You Should Eat [Oreos] for some more information on that topic.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that my Mom competed in her first powerlifting competition!

Not only did she compete, but she did amazing. She finished the meet with a 115 pound bench press and a 235 pound deadlift (a 25 pound personal record).

I’m going to risk pissing my Mom off just a little and telling you about her. She is 49 and a grandmother to 3 amazing kiddos (and one grand dog—that would be my boxer!). I can give you her age and risk pissing her off because she doesn’t look anywhere near 49, and most people at the meet thought she was my sister.

While she has been involved in the fitness industry for almost 30 years, she didn’t start training for powerlifting until this past May. In those couple of months, she managed to get prepared enough to have a phenomenal performance at her first powerlifting meet!

I know 49 is not the least bit old, but many people use age as an excuse to not be physically active or try new things. Age is not an excuse; I don’t care how old you are. There are several 49 year olds who act like they are 90. I’ve even seen people in their early 30’s say “they are too old.” My Mom sure as hell didn’t do that, and she proved it. Hell, she out lifts most people my age!

So without further ado, here are the videos of my Mom kicking ass at her first meet.

For any of you (young or old) who are reading this post and watching these videos, don’t ever be afraid to try something new. Get out of your comfort zone! Take a risk. Set some goals and attack them with everything you have. Even my Mom will admit that she was nervous, but she did this anyway and she had a blast and tried something new. I’m so proud of her.

Furthermore, my Mom is now going to compete with me in the SPF Worlds this October. And this time she wants to compete in a lower weight class. To accomplish this task, she is going to be starting the Warp Speed Fat Loss program next Monday. This program will allow her to lose the maximum amount of fat possible in only 28 short days. The workouts and meal plans she will be following are already done for her—all she has to do now is follow them. The meal plans she is going to follow are based on bodyweight, and she will perform 3 strength training sessions and 3 cardio workouts each week.

In 28 days from next Monday I will do a follow up with her and share her results, thoughts, and opinions. Make sure you keep an eye out for that.

Once again, I am so proud of my Mom. For any of you reading this who want to try something new, just do it. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are. Don’t make any more excuses and just do it.

Due to some recent discussions, I want to end this post with one final note:

Five people can travel from point A to point B. All five people, however, may take a different path.

This statement applies to damn near everything in life: fat loss, muscle building, diet, strength, obtaining wealth, etc. Just because a certain diet program worked for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you, and vice versa.

Find a path that will fit into your life and work for you. I will always let you know the best ways that I have found so you can pick what is most convenient for you. Just ask yourself: what path is right for me?

Are you going to get out of your comfort zone and take a risk?