Workouts For Women| Toni’s Toned Turn-a-round

BodyPreserver: Toni
Age: 32

A couple of years ago, this married mother of 4 took a trip to the doctor that revealed several health problems: Atriatachycardia (heart skipped beat every 7 beats), borderline high blood pressure, vitamin D deficieny, and blurred vision.

All of her diagnosis were lifestyle oriented due to her diet and inactivity.

Consequently, her doctor gave her 2 choices; either take pills and receive shots for the rest of her life or change her health habits. And for her children’s safety sake, she respectfully chose the latter stating, “since I have 4 kids, I don’t do pills in the house,” thus Toni’s Toned Turn-a-round shows her transition into a BodyPreserver.

“I gained weight by the stress of my job, because I was working too many hours, I wasn’t eating healthy and of course I wasn’t exercising.”

She was so busy with work as a defense contractor, she looked for quick and convenient meals. This lead her to order fast food constantly to prevent the additional stress of having to cook every evening for her family. Fried chicken, take-out, pizza, burgers, fries, and even Hamburger Helpers were all regulars on the menu.

And to top off it, her favorite flavoring for these high sodium foods was salt!

After the Dr.’s diagnosis, she recollected her grandparents living a life of medication and disease that could have possibly been prevented through healthy living. It forced Toni to put her life in perspective, “50 is too young to be dying, and I don’t want to be in constant pain in my 60′s and 70′s” so she did a 180 degree turn around.

HER DIET

The primary change she needed for her transformation was in her diet, but Toni has also set 2 physical fitness goals: toned arms and 6 pack ab muscles. Since she believes the latter is a direct result of how she eats, “Abs are made in the kitchen,” so her meals consists of either whole grain/whole wheat foods, organic, or fresh fruits.

She hasn’t quite given up on all of favorite delicacies as her favorite guilty pleasure is macaroni and cheese. Although, this isn’t a staple in her current meal plan but acts as more of a reward for all of her hard work throughout the week.

HER MEAL PLAN

“I cannot go without eating breakfast every morning,” she confirms, regularly waking up to pancakes, eggs, and turkey sausage making it her biggest meal of the day. “I can easily do 1000 to 1300 calories at breakfast,” but eats smaller meals throughout the rest of the day while capping off with a dinner of lean protein and steamed vegetables of about 400 calories.

Coupled with resistance training, eating more to make sure her body is nourished properly has been a key component in her newly found lean muscle, “Eating less makes me fat, but eating more makes me lean and toned.”

She now cooks all of her meals at home and rarely goes out to eat which is why she has seen a remarkable turn around in her health and physique.

Not really into pre-workout shakes, she prefers to eat a banana before exercising for a burst of energy. But post-workout, she mixes “Body by Visalus” or “Designer Whey” whey protein with her favorite fruits for additional vitamins and minerals to replenish her body.

A Toning Workout Women

HER CARDIO

Her time in the United States military has damaged her thoughts of running, “I hate running,” she said sternly. Instead, she insists on performing ‘Shaun T’s: Insanity’ plyometrics instead to burn off calories and keep fit. (Video of Toni’s plyometrics)

HER WORKOUT

Variety is abundant in her workouts as she loves to switch up her routines currently consists of 2 different workout videos, Insanity for lower body/yoga/plyometrics and Les Miles At Home BodyPump Workout for upper body. Also, being a big fan of TRX since “you cant pick or choose your weight,” forcing her to work that much harder. In fact, she likes it so much that she actually became a certified TRX trainer to teach others about the benefits to physical fitness.

HER CURRENT ROUTINE
*She works out M-F and takes weekends off to rest and spend quality time with her family.

Monday Upper body (Les Mills Program)
Tuesday Plyometrics (Insanity)
Wednesday Upper body (Les Mills Program)
Thursday Stretching/Flexibility (Shaun T’s Cardio Recovery/Yoga)
Friday Upper Body & Plyometrics (Les Mills Program)
*Depending on the weather, she may substitute an upper body day and go outside to use her TRX straps

WHY SHE’S SUCCESSFUL

“Find something you love to do and do it!” she proclaimed, admitting she didn’t like P90x, but loves Shaun T which is why she migrated towards Shaun T’s: Insanity.

She also doesn’t believe fitness is a ‘one size fits all’ ordeal, as there are plenty of different ways to get in shape.

For instance, she often hula hoops as a workout with a weighted hula hoop (since there was actually a woman who lost 143 lbs. using this method) but its more for fun than fitness.

She proves that there is a smorgasbord of fitness routines and exercises out there, so don’t expect Toni to get bored anytime soon!

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