Hi Stephanie, can you introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Stephanie and I am the guru behind Stephanie.Fitness. I am a mommy to 2 rambunctious little boys and a wife to the hottest guy around for over 8 year now. Sorry ladies, he’s already taken! I am a personal trainer both in the gym and online. I love to cook, invent new lean recipes, and I am absolutely obsessed with the world of bodybuilding. Put all of my passion for these things together and you’ve got Stephanie.Fitness. On Stephanie.Fitness. I share my personal recipes, share my weight loss videos, give tips on how to build muscle and how I raise my family and still have time for the gym and healthy eating.
I am also the Director of Trainers and Client Development for DrWilley.com. I am the official online trainer for all of Dr. Willey’s training programs and I offer customized meal plans for people.
So what does a typical day look like for you?
Busy. Crazy. Chaos. That’s just to name a few of the words I’d describe my typical day. A typical day for me starts with clients at the gym as early as 5am. So, I usually get up around 3am on those mornings. Then I rush home just in time to make breakfast and get my oldest boy ready for school and on the bus. I head to the gym to workout, see a few more clients, volunteer in my kids’ classroom, then back home to see my son get off the bus.
After school, I help him with his homework and make lunch for my family . Once lunch is served and homework is finished, I get to work on all of my computer stuff. I reply back on my emails, post a new recipe on my website, train clients online, and customize meal plans. Finally it’s evening, but my day doesn’t stop there. My kids have sports practice in the evenings! After practice we head home and I cook dinner for my family. Bath time! Story Time! Bed Time! Phew! Now, I have a few hours to myself once my kids are in bed. Except this is where I often find myself cleaning and tidying up my house before I decided to get to bed and start the process all over again. Ha ha! Did I mention? Busy. Crazy. Chaos. No matter how crazy life gets or how busy my life is…..I ALWAYS make time for the gym!
We often have female clients that have avoided heavy weight training due to fear of getting too muscular, what would you advise to them? Best to hear it from you!
Lift heavy or go home ladies! It doesn’t matter how heavy you lift or how hard you train. You will never get too muscular or start to look manly. It’s not in our genetic makeup. It’s impossible. We have too much estrogen and not enough testosterone. Not only does lifting heavy weights give our muscles better shape and definition, weight lifting is also extremely healthy for our bones. If you lift weights, your bones will produce more calcium which will help you prevent osteoporosis as you get older.
What do you feel are the biggest mistakes you’ve learned from yourself?
To be more patient with results and food isn’t everything. When I first started taking my body seriously and really getting into the weight training, I was hoping for results that were quick and painless. That definitely was not the case. It has taken me years to perfect my body and still to this day I am always finding ways to perfect it even more. It’s an art. You’re body isn’t going to just magically appear skinnier or more muscular over night.
It’s going to take months, maybe even years to achieve the body you truly want. When I finally stopped looking at food as mood enhancer and began looking at it as fuel, things started to make more sense to me and now I’ve learned that if I want something to look differently on me, it’s going to take some much needed time, lots of hard work in the gym and an extreme diet.
Do you feel the approach of bulking and cutting applies to everybody seeking to improve their physique?
Yes! Men and Women. Diet is crucial in both gaining muscle and losing fat. Doing a true bulking cycle can do wonders for everyone’s bodies. When bulking, you can have a little more fun with food, but still take the weight training seriously, because that is the most important time in a cycle to really bring shape and size to your muscles. As for a cutting cycle, everybody’s different. Some do better with more fats, where others do better with less fats and more carbs. Once you figure out what works best for you, the results and detail in your physique is the best feeling and motivator in the world. Neither diet is easy, but they are definitely worth it in the end.
How can our readers find out more about you?
Website – Stephanie.Fitness – http://www.stephaniedotfitness.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/StephanieFitness-Lean-Bodybuilding-Recipes-Fitness-Tips/187842924595971
Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/StephDotFitness
Director of Trainers and Client Development for DrWilley.com – http://drwilley.com/2011/11/drwilley-com-introduces-our-newest-team-memeber/
Customized Meal Plans by Stephanie.Fitness – http://drwilley.com/programs/customized-meal-plans/