{"id":563,"date":"2001-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-09-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/fitness-how-to-finally-get-the-body-of-your-dreams\/"},"modified":"2001-09-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2001-09-08T00:00:00","slug":"fitness-how-to-finally-get-the-body-of-your-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/fitness-how-to-finally-get-the-body-of-your-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"How to (Finally) Get the Body of Your Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"
There are plenty of us who dont think of ourselves as sporty types. Maybe you dont like to sweat, or maybe youve gotten real cozy with your couch. That was the story for these five women until each stumbled onto an unexpected surprise: a new kind of workout that not only got her body in motion but was actually fun, too. Find out how they discovered their fitness passions—and get inspired to explore your own. You just might be a late bloomer, too.<\/p>\n
Karen Clark, 49 | Knoxville, Tennessee Sports were never Karen Clarks thing as a kid. But when, in her early 40s, she couldnt budge a large flowerpot, the computer consultant and married mom of two started to long for muscles. Clark hired a personal trainer and enjoyed the workouts, but was looking for more. Then he had her try a rowing machine, and she liked it enough to sign up for a three-day workshop on the Tennessee River. She came home a changed woman.<\/p>\n “Youre working with a team, and everyones focused on the same goal. The suns coming up over the water. And Im thinking, ‘I want to do this as often as I can,” she says.<\/p>\n Clark now rows three times a week, typically in a shell with eight other women. “When a row goes well, youve pushed yourself beyond what you thought you could do. That is exhilarating,” she says.<\/p>\n Now, not only is Clark able to move her own flowerpots, but shes gone from a size 12 to a size 8. The sport has also brought Clark closer to her daughters, Isabel, 20, and Olivia, 17, who delight in cheering her on. “When your children tell you theyre proud of you, thats great stuff,” she says.<\/p>\n Next Page: Kathryn Schifferle, 56 | Chico, California<\/a> [ pagebreak ]Kathryn Schifferle, 56 | Chico, California Taking her then-15-year-old daughter to fencing practices, Schifferle became enchanted with the beauty and physicality of the fencers moves. “The upper and lower parts of the body are doing different things—like ballet and boxing—at the same time,” she says.<\/p>\n The marketing consultant was also drawn to the intellectual challenge. “Fencings called physical chess. Its very strategic,” Schifferle says.<\/p>\n She joined her daughters class, which met two to three times a week, and also joined Jenny Craig. A year-and-a-half later, shed lost 70 pounds. She now fences once or twice a week and works out on a treadmill and stair-climber the other days. But shes as proud of her lightning-fast reflexes as she is of her well-defined arms and tight backside. “If I drop a glass—or even if someone else does—I catch it before it hits the floor,” Schifferle says. “I feel amazingly more confident and competent.” Mary Lou Hoffman, 44 | Lockport, New York Mary Lou Hoffmans first experience with serious cycling wasnt exactly a successful one. She was 100 pounds overweight, and it took her several hours to make it through a 20-mile bike ride while vacationing in Maine four years ago. That fall, Hoffman dropped 50 pounds on Weight Watchers and wanted to find some kind of fitness activity to help her reach her goal weight. She immediately thought of cycling, not just for its calorie-burning benefits but because she figured she had something to prove. Hoffman started with a Spinning class, then began taking spins on her own silver road bike, easily hitting an impressive 18 miles an hour.<\/p>\n “I couldnt believe how great I felt,” Hoffman says. And shes been hooked ever since, riding around 150 miles a week (not to mention doing a couple of Spinning classes at the gym). At 5 feet 8 inches tall, Hoffman now weighs 178—a 100-pound loss. “Sometimes I look down at my legs and am surprised to see definition where there wasnt any before,” she says.<\/p>\n Hoffmans still 14 pounds from her goal, but she knows shell get there. “I cant believe this is me, that this is my body. Now I see that Im capable of so much more than I ever imagined. Its amazing.”<\/p>\n
Loves: Rowing<\/strong><\/p>\n
Loves: Fencing<\/strong>
As she lunges and parries in the signature white jacket and metallic vest worn by competitive foil fencers worldwide, Kathy Schifferle still marvels at how, eight years ago, she fell in love with the sport at “the ripe old age,” she says, of 48.<\/p>\n
She adds, “Regular exercise was boring. But I laugh a lot when I fence. It could intrigue me for the rest of my life.”<\/p>\n
Loves: Cycling<\/strong><\/p>\n