"You Can Make It if You Try..."

Between work, kids, and family obligations, many of us put self-care and exercise at the bottom of our list. It’s easy to use other’s needs as an excuse to forgo your own. But even with seven kids, Amy Fitzmaurice has managed to fit in, not only daily exercise but, eleven fitness competitions over the years while still raising her kids!

When I first met Amy, she was teaching a 5AM aerobics class at my gym and driving to work downtown right after. She had two little boys and a third one on the way. Still, she wanted to have an outlet to keep her energized.

When a full time teaching and training position opened up at the gym, she jumped at the chance. Finding something that was just for her, and being able to do what she loved was a strong motivator for her to become more and more involved in the fitness industry.

I was lucky enough to have Amy train me and really, she sparked my interest in becoming a trainer. She still loves training people and loves the camaraderie that goes along with it. She says when you help women (and men) accomplish something just for themselves, it can keep them (and me) from getting lost in the kids’ (and work and family) lives.

Amy first started to do fitness competitions to challenge herself, yes, but more to push herself outside of her comfort zone. It wasn’t so much the “I wanna win or look better,” outcome; it was the day-to-day process that drove her.

She knows that everyone struggles with motivation to exercise and having a goal gives you a push to try to master something new for yourself. Of course she has tough days, but if she lets that negativity take over, then what? Sure she’ll still be able to function as a mom, wife, and employee, but then lose the joy. Getting into the gym and accomplishing a workout doesn’t allow her to stay in a funk. She preps for excuses by reminding herself that no one has ever regretted a good workout!

Each competition gives her motivation. And since everyone struggles with motivation, trying to master something new gives her a push to work harder.
She says that being around like-minded people at the gym helps too. Like-minded, meaning people who she sees at the gym; all shapes and sizes, who are doing something for that’s just for them.

Of course it takes practice to keep a focus on your workout every day, but especially when you are training for a competition. I was surprised to hear that the workout doesn’t change that much, but the diet is what changes significantly. As the food changes she has to push herself harder because she’s not going to be as strong.

Her regular weight hits about 140, but she gets down to about 130 when competing. Typically at her regular weight she’ll have 1600-1800 calories, but for competition, it never dipped below 1200 calories. She eliminates most carbs when competing, but she says some people do need a little carb in their diet or they have no energy to compete.

She logs all food and exercise and writes down how she feels, even when she’s not competing. She will always take at least one rest day, and sometimes the body needs at least two days in a row. Logging her emotions is helpful, too because rather than covering up emotions with food, she deals with them. Making a plan for the time of day when she might normally overeat helps her focus on alternatives to using food for stress.

She has competed in Show Me Naturals, and NANBF competitions.

So between Evan, Cameron, Brendan, Riley, Brian Jr, Donovan, and McKenzie’s activities, working part-time with her husband, Brian, at Fitzmaurice Performance Sports and Personal Training Facility, she still is training for the NPC competition in St. Louis.

She says, “Everyone thinks that everyone else has it all together. We have to share our own fears with each other. Physically, I’m the best I can be when I don’t try to cover up my emotions…”

So, next time you think you’re too busy to hit the gym and do something for yourself, think again!!

Note to Amy: My legs still hurt from doing lunges with you, lol!!

(Although we all may think we are “superwomen”, sometimes the mundane gets in the way of our progress. I ran into Amy last week with a cast on her arm from a slip on the ice. However, there she was at the gym, doing something for herself and ignoring the negative!! )

Fantastic Voyage...

By now you know I like to talk to people at the gym. Trainers, fitness instructors, whoever is working out next to me; I like to hear what people are doing in their workout and beyond. Although I’ve changed places over the years, I often see many of the same people from gym to gym. With Sandy, we would usually be working out at the same time of day or taking the same classes at my old gym. I ran into her at Lifetime Fitness and we started, again, talking about our workouts, our kids, our clients and how hard we had to work just to try and maintain our fitness level.

Even though she had always seemed very fit and strong to me, Sandy looked stronger and leaner and I asked what she had been doing differently. She told me she was training for 2010 NPC Missouri State Bodybuilding, Figure & Bikini Championship. Her focus was the figure competition. For Sandy, her evolution from a mom who loved to work out to a fully focused competitive athlete has been amazing, inspiring, frustrating, and exhausting, but also, when she looks back, so much fun and worth every minute!

She had taken class after class and boot camp after boot camp and even done a half marathon, but Sandy really started to change her way of thinking and had her first “twinkle” (as she says) after reading the stories of the figure competitors in Oxygen magazine; like Nicole Wilkins Lee, winner of the Pro Women’s Figure nationals and particularly, the story of Tosca Reno. At age 42, with the support of Tosca’s now husband, Robert Kennedy (publisher of the magazine), she entered her first physique contest. Undaunted by the younger competitors, she took fifth place in her class.

Reading about Tosca’s commitment to eating clean, Sandy decided to start the ball rolling by forgoing her evening glass of wine. That led to eating more healthfully and working with both a trainer to build muscle (Chad Frenzel at Lifetime Fitness) and a diet coach (Kit Kitson at In Shape Fitness) to change her eating.



“Chad jumped on the bandwagon. He believed in me even when I didn’t!” she said. Besides working with Sandy in the gym, he came with her to see Kit and coached her like an athlete along the way. She learned to actually reduce cardio times and pace so that she was burning fat rather than muscle. Before this training, she had worked at such a high heart rate, that her body held on to weight. By slowing the rate to about 60% and alternating with some high interval days, Sandy was able to lose 23 pound of fat and put on 3 pounds of muscle.

Kit had her drinking a gallon of water daily, eating every 4 hours, (protein, carbs, and fats. Carbs and protein with every meal) but no refined carbs, and no carbs except vegetables after 3PM. She also had to cut out dairy foods. At first she craved the refined carbs and sugar, but she was allowed a cheat meal on the weekend. She supplemented only with a multi-vitamin, CLA, and 1st Form protein powder. She had to be aware of everything she put into her body. In fact, early on she would have a salad every day for lunch, putting the two containers of dressing that came with it on top. The calories were listed on the cafe’s menu, but when her trainer saw her eating it, he said the dressing looked too thick. He found out that each small ramekin contained over 200 calories, so her “healthy” lunch turned into a meal with more fat and calories than pizza!

The difficulty of staying on such a regimen is to be expected, but Sandy was surprised by the wide range of “opinions” about what she was doing. Many people were afraid she would get “super-masculine” and they had a difficult time understanding why she was competing. She had to explain that it was a “figure” competition, not a female “bodybuilding” competition. There were a lot of comments like, “Who would want to get up on stage in a bikini at our age?” and comments on the foods she would eat, making it particularly difficult in social situations.



In contrast to that, however, was the rock solid support of her husband, Mike and two daughters, Emma, 15 and Caitlin, 12. Mike and the girls saw many breakdowns, but they would be her own personal support group, helping her grill her chicken and making sure she didn’t get off track. The girls would say “You sure you want to eat that?” helping her keep her eye on the goal. She would practice the poses, showing them to her girls for advice. Sandy’s clients (she’s a personal trainer) also cheered her on from week to week. When she started, she weighed 168 pounds and ended between 143-146 pounds. It was hard for Sandy to get over the “stupid scale” and realize although the weight loss didn’t seem that significant, she reached 11% body fat and went from a size 12 to a size 6!

And although the numbers are very impressive, what appears to be vanity is actually empowerment for Sandy. Instead of turning to wine or ice cream Blizzards, she relied on her family support and her own focus to get her through the stressful times. She believes what she changed on the outside should really show others how she feels on the inside. Sandy didn’t know if she’d actually like the competition, but she loved the journey!!

The whole experience brought her closer to her husband and her girls. Although she was nervous before getting on stage at the competition, when she saw them all standing there, it made her so happy, she got the giggles.
The two women who placed over Sandy were more muscular, as it can be subjective in the figure competition. She knows what she wants to work on now and she’s actually ready to do it again.

I’m in awe of what Sandy has accomplished. She celebrated a milestone in her life (Sandy turned 40 this summer) by making a commitment and believing in her ability to reach her goal. Knowing she has fulfilled this promise to herself and that she has the backing of the people she loves can only make the rest of her many birthdays to come even better!!



Congratulations, also, to the other Lifetime Fitness trainers and members who participated in the competitions.
In Bodybuilding:
Chad Frenzel (Sandy’s trainer)- 1st in Middleweight
Henry Lovelace-2nd in his Master’s group, 4th in Middleweight
Bruce Frenzel-2nd in his master’s group, 7th in Middleweight
Chase Silverstein and Connor Silverstein-1st and 2nd in Teen, respectively
In Figure:
Suzy Adams-2nd in her Master’s group and 5th in Class A
And of course Sandy- 3rd in her master’s group and 4th in Class C
(This really was a family celebration! Bruce is Chad’s father, Chase and Connor are brothers and Suzy is their mom!)