My official introduction

[leighanne1941]

Hi! I'm Leigh Anne, wife and mother to two little girls (6 and 2) living on the East Coast of Canada.

My Weight Training Background

About 8 years ago I lost 35 pounds using very little cardio. I started at Curves and when that got easy I moved on to a regular gym and lifted heavy. I was also following a lower carb diet. I loved the way my body looked but even more I loved the confidence I had. I was strong and felt like I could take on anything.

Two babies and more weight than I like to admit meant I found myself at my heaviest non pregnant weight ever. Looking back I'm fairly certain I dealt with some post partum anxiety/depression and it manifested in major bingeing and barely enough energy to carry myself through the day. Last winter I felt like I was coming out of the fog, the bingeing was decreasing and I took up running by training for a marathon :0 I fell in love with running and only did that.

In December I decided that 2012 was going to be the year I take back my body. In February I cut sugar out of my diet almost completely (aside from fruit, honey flavored greek yogurt and the occasional treat). Within days my whole outlook shifted. I was less irritable and moody, had more energy and was thinking 100 times more clearly. I also managed to lose 9 pounds over the course of the month.

By the end of the month I decided to add some strength training to my running routine. I started Jillian's 30 day shred and then discovered nerd fitness. And now I'm totally looking forward to getting stronger and leveling up my life all around. And I'm blessed to have an amazing supportive husband. He's more of a nerd than I am so when I showed him the website he was quite excited about it and immediately wanted to buy the Rebel guide. So we're in this together and I can't wait to see where we get to.

[Morrigainz]

That's great! Welcome to the Rebellion!

Do you have specific goals you are striving for?

[leighanne1941]

That's great! Welcome to the Rebellion!

Do you have specific goals you are striving for?

Well I have about 60 pounds to lose. And I'm currently training for a half marathon. My first strength goal is to be able to do the beginner bodyweight routine. Since I can't even do a single pushup that's a pretty good challenge for me But I'm looking ahead at wanting to do a pull up.

[Morrigainz]

Cool. Lotsa people on here doing the bodyweight routine. Pushups are hard!!!! I might be able to do 2-3 by now but I'm not sure. I've been doing them on an incline...

When's your half? What training program are you following - or are you doing your own? I really want to do a half but I don't have time/energy to devote to the training right now. Hopefully next (2013) summer when I'm done with school!

[leighanne1941]

Cool. Lotsa people on here doing the bodyweight routine. Pushups are hard!!!! I might be able to do 2-3 by now but I'm not sure. I've been doing them on an incline...

When's your half? What training program are you following - or are you doing your own? I really want to do a half but I don't have time/energy to devote to the training right now. Hopefully next (2013) summer when I'm done with school!

The half is April 21st. I'm following a Running Room program. It's a chain of running stores in Canada that also run clinics for all the different distances. I'm coaching this one and having a blast. I think a half is doable for anyone who wants to finish. The training isn't too time intensive (like the marathon training) and you get to see pretty awesome progression in ability over a short period of time.

[Morrigainz]

That's true - I've noticed a huge jump in half marathons the last couple years. It's a very attainable distance.

The couple of times I tried, I was following either Hal Higdon's beginner or a program that Runner's World Smart Coach thing put together for me. It was very doable, except near the end...right now, I don't have the time to run 8 or 9 miles at a time. It WILL happen though; I love running!