I am 46 years old, have been married to my best friend for 16 fantastic years and am mom to 2.  My journey with fitness started with my first P.E. class in jr. high and hasn’t stopped.  I danced competitively throughout my school years and did my best to be active in some form ever since.  Eight years ago we moved my from hometown of San Diego leaving behind family and lifelong friends to start a new life here in Columbus for my husbands work.  New start = new opportunities.  First on the list was to find a gym that felt right.  I started with a personal trainer right away and haven’t looked back.  We as a family will take every opportunity to be outdoors exploring, hiking, biking, camping, horseback riding, you name it.

Almost 2 years ago one of my dearest friends in my workout group challenged me to join her in participating in the bikini division in a show.  She wanted to see if she could do it and frankly so did I. Once committed, I was all in.   I placed lower middle of the pack and decided I wanted another go at it but instead switching over to the Figure Division.  In my second show 2 months later I placed 2nd in Masters and 2nd in Open Tall at the Mike Francois Classic.  Inspired to make improvements, I signed up for the NPC Ohio State and placed 5th in Open Tall and 6th in Masters.  I thought “why not go for it” and with Julie’s help and guidance I entered the 2013 Arnold Amateur Classic.  My ultimate dream came true and I took home 1st place Figure Tall and placed 2nd overall.  I then thought I’d go for my pro card in July at the Masters Nationals.  I placed middle of the pack in both 35 and over and 45 and over.  Mission Complete!!!  Definitely getting on the stage always knowing that I trained, dieted and practiced posing as hard as I could has my biggest accomplishment as well as all of the knowledge I’ve gained along the way.

I was also featured in the No Nonsense Magazine!!!  Check it out:

I went from a normal weight of 135 down to 125 on competition day.  My biggest transformation was watching what affect my eating plan and water intake had on my body.  It really changed daily and I couldn’t believe the results!  I went from about 18% body fat down to 8% on show day.  What helped me most was being taught the proper way to accomplish this and gaining the right information. This was all provided by Julie.

What I love about fitness is how it makes me feel.  I love to feel strong, that there is nothing that I can’t do.  When I’m lifting, running or jumping rope  I know am doing the right thing for my body and mind actually.   It also allows me to have the confidence that I am becoming the best version of me there is health wise.  Along with this is the camaraderie with my workout group and all of the people that come into your life with similar goals and aspirations and the goal to strive to live the healthiest life possible.

From a competition standpoint, I’d like to continue to attain more muscle, perfect my posing and  build on my knowledge of fitness and nutrition.  I want to really try to incorporate a little bit of everything:  boxing, Pilates, yoga, running.  I want to do it all and stay injury free! 😉

Honestly, my kids and husband motivate me.  I want to be a role model for them.  I think it is so important to set a good example of making proper nutrition and daily exercise a part of your life.  Through this I want them to see that the balance of the two will help you feel your best.

There is not one best part – there are SO many best parts!!!  When I was looking to find one person who could help me with everything, be my mentor, advisor, inspiration, motivator there was no question that Julie was the one!!! To have the opportunity to be able to call myself a client of hers is just the greatest honor.  I believe she is in a class all by herself and her knowledge and expertise and genuine caring nature is truly unique and can’t be beat. Oh, I can’t forget to mention my introduction to Beverly International.  I believe they are the best in the business and recommend them any chance I can get.

I really wish I could train and work with her every single day.  So the fact that I can’t makes me kinda sad 🙁

UMP Pudding w/peanut butter and oatmeal all of the way!!!

I did so much research when I decided to compete.  I just wanted to find someone that I could go to that would help me with all aspects of this new challenge in my life.  My husband actually was helping me do the research and came upon Julie’s website.  We couldn’t believe what a great and informative site it was and the fact that Julie was offering everything that I was looking for just seemed to good to be true.  As a bonus, she was actually having a mock competition camp in a few weeks!  I couldn’t believe my good fortune and a 2 hour drive was a small price to pay to have this experience.

Within seconds of meeting her face to face and enjoying the day learning I seriously didn’t want to leave.  It was more than I could have hoped for and the camp gave me such a great starting point for my new journey.  Julie really has been the one person that I reached out to that would email me back so quickly with answers to questions I had and gave me the feeling that she really wanted me to succeed.  From her video tapes to exercise suggestions, the amount of information that can be found is beyond invaluable.  I consider myself so very lucky that I have been having the best experience I could have ever hope for with Julie’s program.

Pickerington, OH

There is not one best part – there are SO many best parts!!!  When I was looking to find one person who could help me with everything, be my mentor, advisor, inspiration, motivator there was no question that Julie was the one!!!  To have the opportunity to be able to call myself a client of hers is just the greatest honor.  I believe she is in a class all by herself and her knowledge and expertise and genuine caring nature is truly unique and can’t be beat!