Welcome to my very first fitness blog. This is me.
My name is Reba.
My passion is FITNESS. My profession is Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor.
The thing is fitness hasn’t always been my passion and I’d like to share my story with you of how and why it came to be.
My Story: I used to live an unhealthy lifestyle and was always struggling with my weight. My goal would be to lose 20 pounds. I would be happy to lose 10 pounds. But not long after, I would put it back on along with another 10 and on and on it went like this for years. The struggle was REAL. It took 45 years of adding on a pound or two of weight before I realized that my past eating habits, and exercise level was not going to get me anywhere even though I thought I was doing my best.
From my 20's to my mid 40's I lived on a roller-coaster ride of yoyo dieting. Like a lot of women, my weight had fluctuated throughout the years. At my high I weighed 173 pounds. At one point I landed in the ER. I was told I had a heart attack. After meeting with a cardiologist, it was revealed that it was not a heart attack, but it was a serious wake up call. If I was going to see my kids grow up, I had to make some real lifestyle changes. I loved the outdoors and both of my kids were in scouts, I wanted to start engaging physically in life again so I could participate in the physical challenges alongside them and my husband.
This led to weight loss and an increased desire to engage with life around me rather than watching it go by from the sidelines. I began a pursuit of health & fitness, and over the course of a year I lost over 50 pounds, and have and kept if off while living a healthier lifestyle.
I have made it my life mission to achieve & maintain the best state of health that I possibly can.
Below is me hiking in the Smoky Mountains not long after I started my fitness journey.
What it took to get where I am today: It did not happen over-night or involve an all at once lifestyle change. It was a process of learning, adding on, and evolving my activity level and nutrition. Getting fit is a very long process of adding strength, building muscle fibers, and shedding fat. First, and MUST is the CAN DO mindset and then the right tools are needed to achieve the body you want. I had to build strength and endurance to build the muscle and burn the fat until the point that I wanted to maintain. Then the frequency of strength training was reduced and more cardio was added. A steady combination of the right types of exercises, diet and rest days will keep you fit for life.
The picture illustrates me at age 40, after having 2 kids, weighing over 170 pounds and years of living unhealthy. The picture below was taken last September on my 52nd birthday, weighing 121 pounds.
If you think you’re too old or you’re a mom and your best years are behind you, I’m here to tell you this just is NOT true. Age is not a variable in fitness. You’re never too old and it’s never too late. It’s never impossible. Age is just a number. How many candles you blow out on your birthday cake doesn’t matter. What does matter is your attitude toward life and your choice to take the best care possible of yourself. Everything IS possible when you decide you can and have the will to change. One thing I know from past experiences is this:
“Where I am today is where my mind put me and where I’ll be tomorrow is where my mind puts me”. – John Maxwell
In my 50’s now, I feel and look better than I have my whole life. I have accomplished amazing things going from overweight and stuck in midlife spread to being where I am now. I am passionate to work with clients and train people who are ready to change towards living a healthier, happy and more fulfilling life.
I welcome you to join me……
I am in my 50’s, wife and mother to 2 wonderful young men who are my greatest accomplishment and pride in this life.
I am blessed and grateful from the bottom of my heart for my husband who has always supported me and to my 2 son’s for always believing in me.
I love adventure, roughing it outdoors, especially hiking, biking and running. Whenever life seems to get too crazy, being surrounded by Mother Nature keeps me grounded and calms my stress. Time seems to slow down and I’m reminded that the world is full of possibilities, opportunities, and challenges. In the outdoors, there is always a challenge to overcome, a lesson to be learned, and an experience to be had.
Last year a friend and I embarked on a hiking and wine tasting tour of Maryland. Every weekend we found a new place to hike while discovering all the wineries throughout the entire state. It took us a little over a year, but it was a fabulous adventure; exploring over 60 wineries and hiking trails throughout Maryland.
I also love traveling, fine wine, spa treatments and the luxurious life of glamor and fashion.
Come on girls, who doesn’t like getting pampered, dressing up and becoming a princess once in a while.
More than anything, I love God and my family. They are my greatest blessings in life. My greatest happiness and joy comes from all the wonderful experiences shared with them.
One of the reasons I am so passionate about fitness is because I know in order to be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, employee, or anything else you want to be, you have to first take care of yourself. By taking care of your health, you not only become an amazing role model but you also give an amazing gift to those who love and care about you.
Background: After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management, I worked in Information Technology, working at NASA and other government contracts for almost 20 years.
I received my Masters of Professional Studies degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from UMBC in 2015 with emphasis in work-life balance.
My fitness journey started in 2007 when I rode my bike the entire C&O canal (184 miles) from Cumberland MD to Washington DC with my oldest son and Boy Scout troop. I then went on to run the Baltimore full marathon and then run in several more marathons and rode my bike in the Seagull Century (100 miles) in Salisbury Maryland. I have been working in the fitness industry since 2009 when I first starting teaching group fitness as a cycle instructor. I am certified with the American Council of Exercise for fitness professionals and have certifications from Les Mills and Mad Dogg Spinning. I also teach Bootcamp, AquaFit, RPM, CXworx and Total Body Blast.
Mission: To every woman in the world who seeks to live with dignity, strength, and grace the pages of the calendar turn day after day. My mission is to achieve and maintain the best state of health possible while helping other women look and feel their best at any age or stage of life by being healthy, happy, more energetic and the vibrant women we want to be.
My goal as a fitness professional is to empower women, gain confidence & create strength, beauty & joy through fitness by sharing what I have learned myself in the pursuit to have more energy, shed those extra pounds we spend years collecting, and tightening up that middle-aged sag. I personally train men and women of all ages but I am especially passionate about encouraging women over 50 to be FIT and FABULOUS. I truly believe that age is just a number. We can be fit at any age or stage of life.
I’ll just end with a fun fact about me. A new tradition on my birthday which started 2 years ago is to do something wild and crazy. It all started when I turned 53 and I went skydiving for the first time. My husband was more scared than I was. At 54, I did my first Tough Mudder obstacle course in New Hampshire which was totally exilerating. I am currently training for my next big birthday feat. It is already scaring the bejesus out of me just thinking about it.
Reba
Fabulous & Fit Over 50
Helping women over 40 look and feel their best while burning, fat, building muscle and boosting metabolism with personalized diet and training programs specifically designed for you.
