Wednesday WOOT! Factor!!

Hey Y'all!! I'm off to San Francisco today, but enjoy our Wednesday Woot! Factor with Stacey. OMG I have been a fan of hers for YEARS back to the BFL days and I'm wowed by her determination, her passion and her "Never Give Up" attitude. Plus she's funny, sassy and LOOK at that HAIR. Freaking gorgeous. As is this Spice Girl. You OWN it Stacey. ;-)

1.      When did you first start working out and why?

         The year was 2004 and I was working as a Cosmetologist at a salon and one of my co-workers brought in the Body For Life book. I was so intrigued and wanted to look like those woman ASAP! I left work that day and went out and bought a copy. Read it cover to cover that night and the next day joined my local YMCA(that's the only gym here in my town)...and it was SAD. Their gym at that time was a tiny room with crappy equipment and I had to make do with it the best I could. My first day I woke up at 4 am, got dressed and headed out, so excited to get started. Halfway down my road a deer jumped out in front of me, hitting my driver’s side door and bouncing off the side of the vehicle. I was like, are you kidding me?! I looked around and didn't see the dear so I just shrugged my shoulders and thought, as long as the car still runs I am still going to work out! After I got to the gym, I realized I couldn't get my door open from the deer hitting it so I just crawled over the seat and got out the passenger side. I was on a mission! I remember being so intimidated going in the big boy weight room, but I knew what I wanted to accomplish. I wore sweats and a big t-shirt and made sure my headphones were up loud and just didn't make eye contact with anyone (all men). It wasn't long before I was one of them though.

You've dealt with some serious injury and workout time "off"- tell us about that, what you've learned, what you hated and how you are NOW and what you are working on now that you can train again in some way??

Talk about the worst time in my life and my shoulder injury is it. Working out got me through some pretty crappy years, it was my outlet. Then I was in the gym with a friend (2007-in the midst of training for figure competitions) and not really as focused as I should have been(which is why I prefer to lift alone). We were doing barbell behind the head shoulder presses(first problem), and I couldn't remember how much I had done last time(second problem), so my partner just slapped on a 25 lb plate on each side(third problem). It was too much. I remember my left shoulder just collapsing under the weight and yelling at my partner to grab it but she was too busy talking so somehow (this all happened in like 3 seconds but it felt like slow motion) I managed to lift all 95lbs up and over my head with my right arm and literally threw it out in front of me. The weights crashed to the floor and needless to say got everyone's attention. I hate attention like that so even though I knew I was messed up, I didn't let on like anything was wrong with me. I didn't hurt; I just remember feeling weird and knew something wasn't right, and that I couldn't move my left arm at all. While everyone was back to what they were doing before, I told my partner to hold on a sec and went over to the mirror and noticed my shoulder was off looking and at the same time shrugged it up and rolled it backwards and that's when I heard and felt it pop back into place. I knew exactly what I had done then, but was just so happy to be able to move it again and feel normal without making a scene, that I just didn't finish the rest of my workout and figured with time I would be just fine. 2 years and 7 more dislocations later...one while putting on a shirt and one in my sleep(omg the worst), I decided enough was enough and I needed to see a surgeon. December of '09 I had what they call a Bankart Lesion Repair for a torn Labrum. I thought I had prepared myself for what was to come, but until you go through it NOTHING can prepare you. The doctor told me maybe 3 to 4 months of recoup time. I now know he was just bsing me. At 5 months I started doing a few things but it was still so tight with little range of motion it was just depressing and frustrating. I was so used to being a rockstar at everything and this just, well,....SUCKED. I have never been so depressed in my whole life for so long. People kept saying well, you can do other stuff like walk...um yeah, basically I felt walking could suck it. I'm trying to think if there was a certain thing that turned it all around, but I don't think there was one. Just the fact that I didn't want to be depressed anymore and I needed to be a rockstar again. I wanted the feeling of well being that working out gave me and I wanted to be the chic in the gym that everyone talks about again(now that kind of attention I like) :). That was 2 months ago and I'm happy to say I'm feeling awesome again. Shoulder is doing great and every time I lift my weights go up and I am now able to do big boy push ups again! That was a huge accomplishment for me. Just Monday when Bob(trainer at the combat club I love working out at and where I'm known as the "Pink Squirrel") pulled out the chairs I was a little scared, but did a set of push ups with my feet on the chair and then another set with one hand on each chair and my feet on a boxing bag...I was like, NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT WOOT!

Are you at your “Happy Place” right now – meaning more of a maintenance mode, or are you still in a weight loss mode?

I'm in my "Happy Place" in that I am back to doing what I absolutely love, but definitely not in a "Happy Place" with my weight. 8 months off does not a rock star make. In fact, 8 months off = a loss of 10lbs of muscle and since I weigh the same as before surgery I'm pretty sure I replaced that with 10lbs of fat. Needless to say, it's ON.

If you are in maintenance mode, do you feel that you work just as hard to maintain your level of fitness as you did to lose it?

I'm going to answer this even though I'm not in maintenance mode cause I can't ever remember being there ever! There was always something I was working on....so, what is maintenance mode exactly? lol :)

 What does your current workout “routine” look like now?

Right now I am back to doing a Body For Life routine for my upper body to build its strength back up...love the BFL split for that! For my lower body I am currently obsessed with everything Bret Contraras (The Glute Guy http://bretcontreras.wordpress.com/). So I lift Tues, Thurs and Sat mornings and Mon, Wed, Fri I am up at Bob's Combat Gym doing all sorts of fun stuff like hitting mitts and jumping bags. Put on a pair of boxing gloves and hear the smack of the mitts...I'm telling you there is no more bada$$ feeling in the world!

 What do you do for cardio? How often?

I get a lot of cardio up at Bob's, but I do also run and/or bike ride a few times a week.

Do you workout at home or the gym?

Still working out at the YMCA, but am happy to say they redid the weight room so it's twice the size with twice as much equipment. It's not Gold's, but it gets the job done.

What do you say to those that haven’t gotten fit and complain that they don’t because they “can’t get motivated”?

I say that they don't want it bad enough then. Think about it, if you want something, really want something, you will do anything to get it. It's not different with finding motivation to work out, you got to want it like it's the most awesome pair of shoes ever. :)

What about any/all of the excuses like “No time”, “No money”, “no gym”, “no support”?

If you want it, you'll find the time. When I first started my youngest of 3 kids was 2 years old and the only time I had was 5 am...I wanted it.

If you want it, you'll find the money. I can't afford a gym membership so I got a part time job there so my membership is free...I wanted it.

If you want it, no gym, no problem. There's been many a day when I couldn't make the gym, but I got a road out in front of my house and a pair of tennis shoes...there really is no excuse if you want it.

If you want it, no support will turn to support if you stick with it. You just don't give anybody any other option...your way or no way. They'll come around and if they don't, well then your probably better off if you want it.

What does your “diet” look like i.e. how you eat, what is your Philosophy?

I have just about done it all and have come to realize I do better with less carbs. I love the Paleo way but find that my body does totally fine with oatmeal and sweet potatoes... that's not totally Paleo depending on who you read. So my current obsession is The Metabolic Typing Diet. I'm a "mixed type" so I do well on carbs and protein. So while it's "Protein Type" diet follows "Paleo" I am allowed my oats and sweet potatoes cause I'm a "Mixed Type" and am allowed It really is good stuff and totally tweakable to you. We all are different and we have to find what works for us individually...it's freakin exhausting! (lol)

What changes have you made over the past several years in your diet and/or workout approach and why?

Like I said above, you have to find what works for you so I am constantly changing stuff. I guess when you find what works then that's called "maintenance mode" ;)...yeah, I'm not there yet. The biggest changes I've made have definitely been a more Paleo diet versus the whole fat free thing and knowing I can lift weights and build muscle without lifting so heavy I hurt myself. :)

What is your food weakness?

I wouldn't call it a specific food weakness it's more of a day of the week weakness. I do awesome through the work week, but then the weekend comes along and I'm out with my BF or over at my moms and it's just like I don't want to have to think about it or deal with it. I want a bun on my cheeseburger and corn on the cob even though it's a "starch"...but then Monday rolls around and I feel puffy so I get back to it. It's a vicious cycle and why I need to drop 10-15lbs to look the way I like....hmmm, must not want it bad enough yet ;) lol!

What is your favorite healthy breakfast?

Right now it's two whole grain waffles with natural peanut butter in the middle. No, not Paleo, but remember I told you I'm doing more the Metabolic Typing thing. Plus, it's portable and friendly and works for me... and at the end of the day if my macros are where I want them to be then I'm ok with it.

When did you start blogging and why?

It's been so long ago I had to look and haha lot's of muscle picts and my hair is straight and I look young!

Thursday, Sept 2, 2004. I entered the BFL challenge and wanted to track my progress. I remember while I did finish the challenge I never sent my packet in cause I felt I didn't look good enough and figured there was really no point. It cracks me up to see that I weigh exactly what I weighed then...I'm hoping I have more muscle now or something lol!

How has blogging enhanced your fitness efforts?

I love blogging about my fitness and lack thereof. :)... It keeps me motivated and I especially love reading everyone else's fitness blogs. It really does push up to try new things and most importantly to keep going and don't give up!

What is your Twitter/FB/Email:

I don't really get Twitter so mine is pretty lame and just posts my workouts, username is muslfetish. Facebook it's Stacey Widger and my I have a couple email addresses...muslfetish@gmail.com or staceywidger@aol.com

What haven’t you done (fitness wise) that you’d like to try?

If I was answering this question a couple of years ago it would be to do a figure comp, but I've done 3 and that's enough for me. I've also ran one single 5K and until they come up with something so nerves don't make me piss myself(thank you 3 pregnancies) I won't be doing that again either...what, I didn't blog about that, my bad. lol

So right now I really can't think of anything, just want to stay injury free...haven't done that in awhile. :)

What motivates you to keep at it?

Plain and simple, I like feeling like a badass and I like the way it makes me look. I mean health, I do it for health reasons, yeah, that's it.

Are you a morning workout person or evening or lunchtime?

Morning definitely! With a busy schedule and 3 kids morning workouts go uninterrupted but if I try to workout in the evening it almost always never gets done cause something comes up.

What is YOUR biggest excuse that you find yourself battling in not wanting to workout a certain day?

Being tired. Especially with this low iron thing I got going on right now I really have to talk myself in to waking up early, but I know I ALWAYS feel better when I do and I also know how good it makes me feel. I just think about that and it usually turns my mood around.

Do you weigh yourself or measure yourself?

 I cannot be bothered with a tape measure. It annoys me. Much easier to jump on the scale even if the numbers are depressing sometimes.

Extra:

We all have to start somewhere. All it takes is one day to turn into one week, then one month, then one year. If anyone told me 6 years ago when I started this whole thing that I would win a 1st place sword in a figure comp, or a 2nd place trophy in another one, and a...uh well, we won't even discuss the third comp(lol), I would have said they were out of their mind! It's been a crazy wonderful ride and I've loved every minute of it...minus the shoulder injury, but even in that I learned something and that something is perseverance. You can do anything if you want it bad enough.