I believe people can be young at heart which transfers to the physical aspect! This section could be shared under the topic "INNER BEAUTY & MOTIVATION". If you are beyond 40, it is not too late! I have a client who started with me at 56 and now is 60. She is looking her best ever!

	Here I am at  15 years old.  It's not a great split, but  close enough! When I was 12 yo , I was on the dancerette team when I lived in Fla. I became co-capt WE competed at Drill Team Competitions. I was awarded BEST PERFORMER .  I tend to be a (selective) Perfectionist.  Before I perform, I visualize the whole routine until it is at hyperspeed. It can only be easy when perormed at the proper speed which is slower!    I moved up to NY with my siblings after our parents past away. This pic is when I was in Kick Line . I later quit to become Captain of the Flag Team and choreo- graphed 1/2 time routines. I'm such a rebel!
	Here I was 24 yo. This is when I thought I could try to model to help pay for college. I remember that I dieted for 2 weeks which was angel hair pasta , no butter with tomato sauce eliminating all fried foods & my favorite coffee roll and ice cream... & chinese food! I drank lots of water and ran at least 2 miles/day. The only good that came out of this was:    A) I submitted my pic to a " wanted dancer" and I was hired to be a party motivator for several DJ companies . This lead to being a dancer on CLUB MTV with Downtown Julie Brown.I also met a DJ, Eric, who became my husband!    B) I became "Miss Penny Saver". Island Fitness had used this pic for an ad .(Clearer Pic in Photo Gallery)  It happen to be a full page on the back cover...I guess it was my biggest modeling debut & last!     The Modeling agencies were not knocking on my door. The BEST lead was to meet my husband!
	At 29, I did my first Fitness show! It happen to be 2 months before my wedding. A great way to get in shape! I ate frequent small meals , weight trained, ran and lived by "Radu-Cindy Crawford" and "Tami-Lee Webb- Buns of Steel and Legs of Steel". I read "Muscle & Fitness" mags and watch Fitness competitions Mia Finnegan who was petite that I could compare my physique to hers. Except  she is a gymnast and I am not.     I felt great and was in great shape for our wedding. As you can see , we had a crazy wedding  The ushers wore shorts and army boots. And when the dancing started, I wore a white work-out outfit: shorts and a bodysuit with a sheer white shirt and angel sleeves! We had jello shots for the toast, a reggae band for the ceremony and the cocktail hour. We had to have a DJ of course. Our wedding song is "Just The Two of Us" and we married the year "the Rangers" won the Stanley Cup!     We both turned 30 a few months after we married.
	So fitness was not for me. I could not do gymnastics. I turned to bodybuilding at 30 yo. I thought I might have a better chance of competing with females closer to my  size. ...WELL, the cut off for the light weight happened to be at that time, 114lbs. My lowest competition weight was 88 lbs, the average competing weight for myself was 94lbs...THAT'S  20lbs over my weight. I am 4'10" (I rounded off 9 3/4"!). Most of  the girls averaged 5'3"....5 INCHES MORE! I had to face the true fact ...I'm short.."Petite".     During the pre-judging, the focused was on my posing..."SMILE"..to get their attention. I always visual- ized myself as a PUFFERFISH keeping up with the size of my components! A QUICK TIP: If you are going to compete in bodybuilding...YOU MUST PERFECT YOUR MANDATORY POSES!      I tell people that if I had to choose a pedigree of dog to describe my physique and character it would be a ...BULLDOG!
	This year , I decided not to compete and focus on my family spending more time seeing my sisters and brother and their family. I do miss the competition, but more so competing against myself being able to take it to the next stage. I do adore performing on stage too.     My last year competing was PRO-figure. I did not get the satisfaction competing compared to bodybuilding and fitness. I also was a guest poser at  the "Tournament of Champions(INBF not to be confused with IFBB's show). I could not believe how nervous I was. I was more nervous than competition since I felt that I had to be perfect as a "GUEST POSER". Viewers came up to me after  with compliments.I felt a bit like a celebrity.
	Counting down to less than 2 weeks till I'm 40.  What is in an age, I ask?    I am amazed how time goes by so quick and as a young person hearing the olders say things that I am finding I say to younger people now is baffling to me!    As a teenager , you couldn't wait to grow up   to be a "GROWN-UP". It seems so exciting. As we learn as an adult , it is much harder than we thought. But, it also can be more beautiful than we imaged. At times , we need to step back and not have "Road Rage" , not get mad at the small things. We need to find out how to enhance & embrace our lives. For those who find exercise unbearable, I am that way with road rage & little things like people not putting their weights away anger me(does it really matter in the whole scheme of life only to give you high blood pressure and cortisol increase). Once in awhile we open our eyes when we hear about someone's demise.     IN MEMORY TO A BEAUTIFUL PERSON-         Richard Turowski - died 11/19/04 hit by a car