Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - How Anne-Marie Changed Her Life After 3 Months of My VIP Coaching

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, hey, and welcome to Muscle for Life. I am your host, Mike Matthews. Thank you for joining me today to hear a success story, to hear how Anne-Marie changed not just her body, but her life, at least to a meaningful degree. In just a few months of VIP one-on-one coaching with my sports nutrition company, Legion. We helped her get unstuck in her fitness journey. We helped her improve her body composition and feel better and healthier at 45 years old than ever before. And these are her words, not mine. You will hear in this interview. And the best part is she started with my Thinner, Leaner, Stronger program in her 40s and then moved over to coaching to get

Starting point is 00:00:46 custom diet and training programs and to get the accountability and to get the support and so on. And so there's a good lesson here, and that is it really is never too late to get started or to get really good results. Now, as you will hear in this interview, Anne-Marie is like many women I've spoken with over the years who did a lot of running, who just relied on a lot of cardio to not be overweight, but who had no idea what to do with strength training. And when she did try to do some strength training, she just kind of wandered from machine to machine and never really had that much to show for it in terms of results. Then she read my book, Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. Things started to make a lot more sense. She finally understood what to do in the weight room. She started tracking her lifts and her progress and started to see results.

Starting point is 00:01:41 But like many other people in her shoes, there was just a missing piece and she got stuck in a rut. And it turned out that missing piece was nutrition, was understanding macros, understanding how to hit those macros, which of course can involve tracking, but doesn't have to be tracking. Tracking is a useful exercise, but there are other ways to make sure that you are giving your body what it needs to recover from your training and to achieve your body composition goals to drop fat and gain muscle, for example. And that's why Anne-Marie decided to sign up for my VIP coaching. And with her coach, she learned exactly what she needed to know to make a breakthrough in her fitness. And since then, Anne-Marie has actually gone on to start competing, and she has had quite a bit of success with that so far. Before we wade into it, how would you like to know a little

Starting point is 00:02:38 secret that will help you get into the best shape of your life. Here it is. The business model for my VIP coaching service sucks. Boom, mic drop. And what in the fiddly frack am I talking about? Well, while most coaching businesses try to keep their clients around for as long as possible, I take a different approach. You see, my team and I, we don't just help you build your best body ever. I mean, we do that. We figure out your calories and macros, and we create you ingrain the right eating and exercise habits so you can develop a healthy and a sustainable relationship with food and training and more. But then there's the kicker, because once you are thrilled with your results, we ask you to fire us. Seriously, you've heard the phrase, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Well, that summarizes how my one-on-one coaching

Starting point is 00:03:52 service works. And that's why it doesn't make nearly as much coin as it could, but I'm okay with that because my mission is not to just help you gain muscle and lose fat. It's to give you the tools and to give you the know-how that you need to forge ahead in your fitness without me. So dig this. When you sign up for my coaching, we don't just take you by the hand and walk you through the entire process of building a body you can be proud of, we also teach you the all-important whys behind the hows, the key principles, and the key techniques you need to understand to become your own coach. And the best part? It only takes 90 days. So instead of going it alone this year, why not try something different? Head over to muscleforlife.show slash VIP. That is muscleforlife.show slash VIP and schedule your free consultation call now.

Starting point is 00:04:53 And let's see if my one-on-one coaching service is right for you. Anne-Marie, thanks for taking the time to do this. Thanks, Mike. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here. Yeah, yeah. So it's been a day, actually, since I've done one of these interviews. I did another one yesterday. So it's fun to speak with people, men and women, different ages and circumstances, and hear their stories.

Starting point is 00:05:19 And so that's what we're going to be talking about today is your story. And normally how I start these discussions is if you can kind of just give us maybe a kind of before and after snapshot, just for people listening, before you found me and my work, where were you at with your fitness? And for different people, that means different things. Sometimes it's body composition. Sometimes it's they just weren't enjoying how they were having to eat or train or whatever. And then where you're at now, just for the sake of contrast. And then let's rewind to where you were at before and hear how things were going.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Okay. So I guess, I mean, I considered myself a pretty fit person most of my life. I joined the military. I was a little bit older. I didn't join out of high school, but something that I was always interested in. running mostly probably in the last decade, probably more running and not a lot of knowledge or attention to my diet or nutrition. So I thought I, you know, had a good idea about what eating healthy was. I also work in health care, so I'm pretty, you know, I consider myself an educated person in that regard. But I learned I've learned a lot in the last few years along the way, just different kind of training and different kind of eating. And I think that's what really probably has helped me turn the corner to where I am now. It's funny. Can I jump in? I'll just jump in. I'll just jump in. There's a section in your book where you talk about, um, and TLS I'm referring to that you're talking about people that kind of, you know, they go to the gym and they kind of

Starting point is 00:07:11 listlessly, you know, use a treadmill or an elliptical, and then they kind of wander around the gym and kind of, you know, play with some machines maybe. And, and they never get anywhere. And that was me. I mean mean it's better than it's better than sitting on the couch but sure it is sure it is you know I mean I like running outside I hate running on a treadmill um but when the weather's you know horrible then I you know I will go to the gym and do that but so that's why I prefer kind of an elliptical but I didn't really know what I was doing in the gym honestly so um know, I kind of knew what some of the machines were and things, but I didn't really have any focus or any plan. I maintained myself fairly well, but I didn't,

Starting point is 00:07:57 you know, certainly didn't make any gains, so to speak. And so previously you were doing a fair amount of running and it sounds like on the diet side of things, were you just trying not to eat too much food? Was that kind of the idea? Um, I didn't do too much dieting per se, like where I calorie restrict. Yeah. No, I don't, I just mean like a regimen, you know, where you just trying not to gain a bunch of weight and just like stay, stay, stay healthy, stay fit? Yeah. Yeah, I would eat, you know, just whatever I thought was healthy. You know, I mean, I like a wide variety of foods, so I don't have any trouble there.

Starting point is 00:08:34 I eat lots of vegetables and I like fish and, you know, we'd grill a lot or whatever and those kind of things. But I have no problem going out and, you out and downing a burger and fries either. So I didn't, yeah, it's fine. I didn't make a habit of that. I guess that's never been something that I habitually do. I enjoy cooking, but I certainly didn't have any idea of my calorie intake and I had no idea how to calculate macros

Starting point is 00:09:03 or I didn't care about that sort of thing. And so had no idea how to, you know, calculate macros or I didn't care about that sort of thing. And so then fast forward to now, I'm guessing that you're doing a lot more strength training now than, well, than you were before, which it sounds like you're doing basically none. And then, and then that has allowed you to, I'm guessing, change your body composition uh positively right yes i had no idea um and i really enjoy weight training and i i didn't realize that i'd done you know i dabbled with a few things here and there along the way you know i had a crossfit gym or a you know just kind of doing different things in the gym with machines um And I guess that was my first introduction. It wasn't an official CrossFit gym, but they did a lot of similar type exercises. And so I learned how to,

Starting point is 00:09:51 I guess, lift some weights prior to that with more bar work or barbell work that I never really, really done before. Then I took a break from that. I had a life change and I moved. Then I took a break from that. I had a life change and I moved. And so I didn't do that anymore. And I went and I just ran. That was my kind of my stress reliever, too. I enjoyed running. I ran, you know, some half marathons and I was a pretty avid runner, but I didn't have a lot of muscle tone. I had lost a lot of weight through that transition. muscle tone. I had lost a lot of weight through that transition. I was never really overweight, but I ended up losing weight during that stressful time and didn't have any muscle to go along with it. So I was quite thin and probably not in great shape, even though I was small, if that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. And how did you find me and my work?

Starting point is 00:10:47 Interesting. So I, um, so I still serve in the military, I'm in the national guard. And so that was another, that's another big motivating factor for me to keep in shape because I have to, you know, be physically fit for that. And so I would, you know, traditionally our, our physical fitness tests consist of test consists of two minutes of pushups, two minutes of sit-ups and a two mile run for time. And so, you know, those were kind of the things that I focused on, hence the running. And then, you know, I could knock out some pushups, I could knock out some sit-ups, no problem. And I'd done it so many years and I was really good at it. And, you know, I'd really excelled at the test. And so that was kind of a point of pride for me.

Starting point is 00:11:29 I was like, I can do this test. And I'd done it for a lot of years. And so I really work on those kind of things. But in the last couple of years, the Army changed and they're not doing that test anymore. They're doing a new physical fitness test and it incorporates a lot more strength training. There's new events, including a hex bar deadlift and some like what they call a knee up, which is kind of where you pull yourself up on a bar.

Starting point is 00:11:58 Some T pushups, still a two mile run and where you have to drag a sled, a 90 pound or 180 pound sled if it's on the floor and carry 40 pound kettlebells. And anyway, it's it's a lot more intense. And so a lot of people were worried about it. And how am I going to do this? You know, and so they had a lot of training come out about it and in my unit. And I don't know, I wish I knew who had it on their PowerPoint but someone was giving a training about it and things that you could do at home and then they had kind of at the end they had a list of resources and your book was on there and so so I read the book I was like oh I'm getting that book

Starting point is 00:12:37 and so I read the book and I started the program and I mean, I still have, I still have all my notebooks. I got my notebooks. I've got all these little books cause I loved it. And it was just so, those are your training logs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I kept a log, you know, so I get a little notebook and I'd write down, you know, what I'd have to do each day. And, you know, of course, there's a little growing pains, right. Cause I don't know where, where I am, um, as far as weights are concerned. And so you just start low and then

Starting point is 00:13:10 you figure out where you are and, and how to, how to get, get there. Um, so it was kind of slow and, you know, my daughter was younger at that time and, you know, I share custody. So I had to figure out times when I could go to the gym and do this so i started out with a three-day week plan and um but it was nice just to have a plan and it just gave me some real focus and real direction every day i went in there i knew exactly what i was doing there's no more aimlessly wandering around wondering what machine I should use or what I should do. Um, it's, I'm going to do this today and or tomorrow and I write it down out the night before. And then it also helps that you don't have to ask for advice because you can get a lot of good advice, but you can also get a

Starting point is 00:13:57 lot of bad advice. I mean, I see that firsthand just the other day. day, my wife came to the gym and she's not really into weightlifting. She likes to ride horses and do other things. But for the horse riding, the stronger you are, the better it is for riding horses. It's a lot more physical than it looks. I mean, somebody who's good at it. I'm not into it, but she tells me that somebody who's good, it looks like they're doing nothing, but there's a lot going on. It's a lot of isometric tension. And so she came and, um, and, and I got there like 15 minutes after she did. And so she was working with another girl there at the gym. And then one of the trainers was, uh, just trying to help. And, but I already was like trying to explain, you know, there.

Starting point is 00:14:47 So one girl was saying, well, she doesn't, she doesn't like to train close to muscular failure because she doesn't want to get bulky. Right. And then my wife hears that and I'm like, no, that's not true. That's not how it works. Let me explain the bulky thing. Right. And then I try to explain it, but then my wife's inclined to listen to me, but the other, the other two women are not right. And so then they're still saying, well, yeah, but then the trainer's like, well, yeah, we should progress the overload. And then the other, and then I went, well, I don't want to get bulky though. So, and I was just like, all right, well, um, I'm going to, I'm going to go

Starting point is 00:15:23 do my workout. And the good news is, the good news is, and particularly for my wife, because she's not really into weightlifting. It's like, look, in the beginning, you can do kind of anything and you're going to make progress. So you don't have to know all that much and you can make mistakes. But again, your body's so responsive in the beginning, you're going to make progress. Uh, but by knowing what you're doing, you avoid situations like that. Yeah. And it's funny, you know, I mean, it's intimidating at first to go in there. If you've never, you know, kind of been more, you, you know, you don't know how to set up the weights or you're not sure what weights to use or how much, and, you know, all of it is just can be overwhelming.

Starting point is 00:16:12 I don't tend to get too caught up in all of that, but I understand how, how that is for, for people. And so, you know, I, I don't interfere with people, but if they, you know, ask me or if they kind of, you know, catch your eye or something or they're looking a little questionable, then sure. But I had a guy one time tell me, I think he saw me kind of like switching out the weights and stuff. And I think it was I was on the hex bar. And so I needed a lower weight, but the gym, you know, the, the lower weights are smaller. Right. And so then the height wasn't right. And so he was like, you know, there's these over here that are, you know, the big 15 pounds, but they're skinnier. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're lighter weights, you know? And so I was like, Oh, great. You know, and that was very helpful. Yeah, yes, that's, that's helpful advice. That's great. I did not know that.

Starting point is 00:17:09 And so, you know, sometimes it, you know, sometimes it's good for people to say something. But yeah, um, I enjoy going to the gym, I think, and it really has changed my body composition in a good way. I mean, I, you know, I feel healthier, my energy is better. I sleep better. I'm stronger. And I can probably- How has your weight changed? I know a lot of women are surprised when they've come through a bit of a transformation, even if it's a, I mean, it doesn't have to be a dramatic one even, because I know many women that I've spoken with over the years, they'll come into something like this with an idea of what their ideal weight is, usually based on some weight that they were at in

Starting point is 00:17:57 the past when they liked how they looked or felt. And they're often surprised to see their weight, it's often higher than they anticipated when they get to a point where they're often surprised to see their weight. It's often higher than they anticipated when they get to a point where they're like, shit, I look really good. And I weigh like 10 pounds more than I thought I would want to weigh. It's hard to gauge how much it's fluctuated. And I guess I don't value that as much as how my clothes are fitting. Of course, of course. Or how I feel, but I would say that, and I'm small framed, um, you know, and I'm short, so, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:32 I don't carry a lot of weight and when I carry a lot of weight, it tends to be more fat. Um, but I will say that my weight is probably similar now to what it was several years ago when I was in my high stress, um, you know, unhealthy weight loss stage, but I have a lot more mass like lean mass. Yeah. I did then. Um, and so, you know, to me, that's the difference. I'm not all, you know, flabby and saggy and, you know, I mean, I was small, but I didn't have any, you know, I didn't have any mass or any kind of strength. Yeah. I feel I did. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:19:26 I hear from women who maybe they would say that they felt kind of skinny fat when they started. And then now they have an outstanding body composition and they look totally different. Their clothes fit totally different. But like you just said, their weight, when it's all said and done, didn't really change much. They kind of traded the weight of the fat for the weight of the muscle and that totally transformed how they look, but on the scale look, man. you know, over, over the years, over the many years, but I, you know, I weigh a lot less now than I did in my thirties, you know, I'm 45 now. Um, but I'm a lot healthier and better shaped now than I've ever been in my life. That's awesome. And, uh, did you deal with any kind of intimidation, gym intimidation in the beginning? Or did you feel like you knew enough that you felt pretty confident? I had some basic knowledge, but yeah,

Starting point is 00:20:30 there was a little rough at first that, like I mentioned earlier, kind of that going in and, you know, gosh, you know, you feel out of place or, you know, it's harder for me to gauge now because I'm like, well, everyone belongs there. I don't care what your level is. If you've showed up, good on you. But when you're the one in that position and you feel that way, you're like, oh, you know, I don't belong here. Or I don't fit or I don't know what I'm doing. You know, there is a lot of that. And it's mostly kind of your own negative self-talk, honestly.

Starting point is 00:21:08 Yeah. Because if someone else is, you know, looking at you and making a judgment, that's their problem. I think that's how I look at it now. But of course, you know, you put that on yourself. And and that's not a fun place to be. I'm a pretty determined person and and pretty stubborn. And if I and if I decided that I was going to do something, then I was going to do it. And I, you know, didn't really matter to me too much about that. You know, you have to turn off the noise sometimes and kind of get through that. And I got through it and now I, you know, I'm comfortable and I know what I'm doing and it takes time. That just takes time. So I would encourage, you know, people.

Starting point is 00:21:50 How long until you felt comfortable? Probably not too long, probably in that first, you know, couple of months, it was like, okay, you know, I got this. And then, you know, maybe you throw a new exercise in there, but then it's like, okay, even if it's a new exercise, I know that I've done new things before. So now it's just a matter of manipulating the weights and seeing where I need to be and working from there, but actually going. And then I like my gym because, you know, it ends up being familiar faces and you kind of have your usuals after a while and kind of get to know people, but everyone's situation is different. So you mentioned that you started three days per week.

Starting point is 00:22:34 And how was that? Because when you started, were you still going through this stressful period? I think you said you were, or was that after that? Yeah, that was after that. Um, yeah, that was a little bit after that. So I, um, yeah, that worked really well for me just because of my schedule. Um, you know, I work full time and I had, you know, I had a young daughter at home and I couldn't just go, you know, I couldn't leave her. Um, how did you make that work? I know a lot of people, they ask me, you know, they'll say like, I, I want't leave her. Um, how did you make that work? I know a lot of people, they ask me, you know, they'll say like, I, I want to make it work, but you know, my circumstances don't make it easy per se. Right. Right. For sure. Everyone's circumstances

Starting point is 00:23:15 are different and it, it's not always easy. Um, but I, you have to prioritize what is, you know, what you're going to make important. I, you know, like I mentioned, I share custody. And so I would work around the times that my daughter was with her dad. And so if there was a time of week, and whether that was in the morning or whether that, because sometimes it would be like, well, I have to go this morning because this afternoon I'm going to have my daughter. So I'm up at 430 and I'm hitting the gym because that, you know, that's what I want to do. And because tonight I'm going to have her and I can't go. And then maybe the next night her dad will have her in the evening. Then I have to go in the evening and I don't love working out in the evening because my energy is done. I'm zapped

Starting point is 00:23:56 by the end of the day. I'm a morning person, but you know, that's what, that's my window of opportunity. That's when I'm going. And so, you know, I had to just kind of fit it in, you know that's what that's my window of opportunity that's when i'm going and so you know i had to just kind of fit it in you know piecemeal it and maybe it was like one day i could go you know one week i could go two days in a row and then i might miss two days and then i could go again or or whatever and then maybe at home i would do you know something with i have a couple of dumbbells at home or a band or just do body work, you know, in between in the garage or in, you know, home. So, and, um, did you also, it sounds, it sounds like you had maybe a plan going into the week or these are the days that I hope to be able to, but then you had to change, or were you able to generally stick to the plan? The reason I ask that is I know that some people,

Starting point is 00:24:46 they, and I'm one of these people, really, I like to have a plan and I like to do exactly what I want to do exactly when I want to do it. And if I can't do that, I'm better with this now, but it still bothers me. Like, I don't like when people or things stop me from doing what I want to do. And I know that some people that can be kind of demotivating, though, you know, where they wanted to get in there and do their workout, but they couldn't. And then they wanted to maybe even the next day, then they couldn't. And now they feel like, yeah, screw it. This week is a mess. I'll just yeah, I'll just get back to it next week.

Starting point is 00:25:22 Right. Yeah, I'm sure that happened. You know, I can't think of that off, you know, off the cuff, but I'm sure I had weeks like that. Cause that's just life happens sometimes. And, you know, like as much as you want to make a priority and it's frustrating, it sure is. I'm just like that as well. It's like, well, I planned to do this and now my plans are messed up and, you know, and I don't like that. I want to stick to my plan. But, you know, sometimes things happen and kids get sick or things happen with your job or she couldn't go to her dad's because he was out of town that week or whatever. And then I have to adjust. So I think, you know, at the end of the day, it's more about being consistent than trying to be perfect. Um, you know, there's always, and like you said, it sounds like you found something that you could do. All right, fine. If you couldn't get into the gym and do what you normally like to do, you did body work at home or, um, you did something to maintain that habit is what it sounds like. Right, right.

Starting point is 00:26:31 Because again, I mean, okay, I didn't get to do this particular workout, but I had, you know, I have seen my little notebooks here. I have like, I made up little HIIT workouts. And so I had little backups in the back of my notebook. Okay, well, then I'm going to do these because I have, have you know the things i'm able to do at home so i'll do this hit workout and i'd have them programmed to be like 30 minutes or whatever however many rounds i wanted to do um so having a little bit of a backup plan things go awry yeah and you know something that um that some people don't realize maybe even some people listening is even if you just

Starting point is 00:27:05 do body weight training, even if you're fit, even let's say you're a fit guy, right? So like pushups, you know, you might do sets of 60, 70 pushups. It doesn't, um, it, it, it doesn't seem like it's, it's all that effective compared to getting in the gym and bench pressing 300 pounds. Right. effective compared to getting in the gym and bench pressing 300 pounds, right? But doing just body weight stuff, and especially if you can add some bands, is you still can get a decent training stimulus out of it, and certainly for maintaining muscle and strength. Now, we'd have to basically sit around and do nothing for a couple of weeks before we really start to lose muscle tissue. But even for just maintaining performance, maintaining the habit, you know, a week gets messed up, you do some body weight stuff at home,

Starting point is 00:27:50 and you get back into the gym the next week, chances are you're going to be able to pick up right where you left off because you did that body weight stuff at home. And so it's not a wash. And I think you know that, but I've had people ask me about this over the years where they feel kind of bummed out because they felt like their home workout was regression. It was like worse than zero. You know what I mean? And that's not the case. No, it's not the case. And I've had times, too, where maybe I've taken a couple of weeks off or things didn't work out where I had, you know, now there's this significant, you know, obstacle and now time went by. And now I really do feel like that. And like, oh, gosh, because breaking a habit, you know, starting the habit and then, you know, breaking and then trying to start it again is difficult.

Starting point is 00:28:43 That's that's hard. And when that happens, to get back into it, it's like, and then you do feel like you've regressed. And maybe I am, and I'm sure I had at some points, but it's like, it doesn't matter. This is where I'm starting again. I'm starting again from this point and I'm going again. And then I tend, then you,

Starting point is 00:29:05 then they tend to progress rapidly. Right. So I'm not just starting from where I was at the very beginning. I might have taken a step back, but I'm able to catch up. And, and so just kind of maybe remembering that, that it's not all, you know, for not, you're not all starting over and it's always worth it just to start again, just to, just to keep going. Totally. Hey there, if you are hearing this, you are still listening, which is awesome. Thank you. And if you are enjoying this podcast, or if you just like my podcast in general, and you are getting at least something out of it, would you mind sharing it with a friend or a loved one or a not so loved one even who might want to learn something new?

Starting point is 00:29:53 Word of mouth helps really bigly in growing the show. So if you think of someone who might like this episode or another one, please do tell them about it. How was the diet and nutrition side of things? So you went from sound like you're eating pretty well, you're eating a fair amount of nutritious foods, but you didn't understand energy balance. You probably weren't eating enough protein. If you were like most women, maybe you were, but most women were probably not not yeah um because they didn't really pay attention to that um so i did do a coaching program and and so that was that was really helpful um especially in regards to the nutrition piece um and also because i kind of feel like i i hit a wall at some point i've been doing it for i've been following the program for maybe a year

Starting point is 00:30:46 and a half ish maybe a little bit longer I'm going to years at that point and felt like I kind of I wasn't really sure how I was still making gains I kind of felt like I was at a standstill um so I did the program and um kind of been looking at the diet and tracking and figuring out what I need to eat. And that's when I really and when I really realized that I made big changes. So it was that 12 weeks. And I, again, I, you know, I went from, you know, I was in pretty good shape, but I just made a huge leap. And that was and you attribute most of that to what specifically with your nutrition or with your diet do you think? I think tracking, for one thing, knowing what I was eating, paying attention to what I was eating,

Starting point is 00:31:37 and getting those macros kind of a little bit more dialed in anyway, making sure I was getting enough protein, for example. kind of a little bit more dialed in anyway, making sure I was getting enough protein, for example. And unfortunately, it's a lot easier to eat too much fat than it is to eat enough protein. Unfortunately, for sure. That's for sure. So yeah, I think, you know, kind of recognizing that and paying attention to my portions and, and getting more protein. portions and, and, um, getting more protein. Did you notice your, your body responding to that increased protein intake fairly quickly? I know I've heard a lot of women that have told me that pretty quickly they start noticing more muscle definition, more strength. Yeah. So I really leaned up quite a bit and then, and then, so I was like, saw more,

Starting point is 00:32:26 really leaned up quite a bit. And then, and then, so I was like, saw more, more muscle definition. And so that was really motivating. That was really good. And, you know, it wasn't, I didn't feel like deprived or like, you know, this is too hard or unmanageable. I felt like it was pretty manageable. I was pretty focused. And I think, you know, and I was kind of more on a cut, you know, doing more of a cut, trying to lose some fat. But I think, you know, then once you get to that maintenance phase, that's, that's pretty manageable. That's always, you know, it's not, you know, you don't feel deprived and you just keep going. But even during that sort of cutting phase, I was making pretty good gains in what I was lifting. And so I think just having those, you know, paying attention to the macros and the protein intake and knowing that, wow, I, you know, I did all 10, all three sets of 10 at this weight last week. So I think I'm going to go up this week. going to go up this week and to be able to do it, you know, just incremental weights and then see that progress just in incremental progress. That's really motivating. That's what I love about it

Starting point is 00:33:31 too, is kind of when I, when I kept my notebooks and kind of looking back through my old pages, oh, I did this one three weeks ago. Oh my gosh, look what I'm looking now. Right. And it's fun. oh my gosh, look what I'm lifting now. Right. And it's fun. Yeah. Yeah. And you need that. I think, or at least most people do. I do, especially as you get stronger and as the progress, at least in the mirror becomes less obvious because it slows down and, and in the beginning, your body's changing so quickly, if you're doing things mostly right, that you don't need to look into your books to know, like, you, you know, that, you know, just two months ago, you couldn't even bench press the bar. And now you have the bar and weights like that's pretty obvious.

Starting point is 00:34:16 Right. But as you get stronger and, and things slow down, it helps a lot to, to track like, like you're doing. And that's, that's, uh, one of those kind of common mistakes that many people make is not tracking. And then they don't know exactly what to do. They don't know where things are going. And then that makes it less fun. And then unfortunately, that kind of turns into like a negative feedback loop.

Starting point is 00:34:41 Because if you're in the gym, not really really having fun that's not conducive to effective training because you start to just go through the motions and then maybe you start ending sets earlier really then you know you start you see and we've all made this mistake where you you start ending sets when it is kind of just getting hard as opposed to like pushing yeah really pushing close you have to go to failure, but really pushing and, and, and being willing to, to, to go beyond just mere discomfort. Right. And, um, so, so tracking and something, um, if you're not already doing it, I mentioned this in, in the, the sequel to bigger, leaner leaner stronger which i do want to turn that

Starting point is 00:35:27 into a book for women um because uh quite a bit of it would be different especially the programming but um if if you're not for people listening this is a useful tip if you're an experienced weightlifter and you're not tracking i like reps in, something that indicates how hard each set is. And so reps in reserve is the number of good reps you still have in the tank. So when you're at the end, when you're getting toward the end of a set and you're asking yourself, how many more reps could I do before I fail? Right. And the sweet spot for, for compound exercises is I like at least, so I do four sets of all exercises right now. So if I'm squatting, I like to feel like I have one, maybe two good reps left at the end of my fourth set. So it's pretty hard.

Starting point is 00:36:17 Like, you know, my final rep is not a grinder because when you get to a real grinder that's usually a zero good reps left like you're you're you're not going to get the next rep if you go for it but the one rep before the grinder is kind of a half grinder right and so um that's an appropriate intensity for an exercise like that and if you're doing a biceps curl and you want to go right up to the grinder or you want your first set to be, you know, maybe one good rep left, I think that's fine as well. The problem with that, with a squat is if your first set of four is really hard and your, and your final rep is like a grinder, a half grinder, unfortunately by set four, you're probably gonna have to take weight off the bar. You're probably going to be too gassed, right? Um, so if you're probably gonna have to take weight off the bar. You're probably gonna be too gassed, right? So if you're not tracking your reps in reserve, you might like that. You might

Starting point is 00:37:10 like including that because what you'll see is how progress progresses is first, what you'll see is that your reps in reserve with a given weight goes up. So what you'll see is like, oh, two weeks ago, I had a hundred pounds on this exercise and I did 10 and I had, uh, here's what I wrote that I had. I feel, I feel like I had two good reps left at that point. Now I just did that same exercise, a hundred pounds, and I had three good reps left. That actually is progress. You're not seeing it yet in the weight, but of course, then that eventually turns into, because maybe your three sets or four sets, let's say it's three and you got 10, 9, 8, right? And then eventually that turns into 10, 9, 9, and then maybe 10, 10, 9. It's not always perfect

Starting point is 00:37:58 and mathematical like that, of course, but where you'll see that progress first is actually in your reps and reserve because uh, because it indicates that you're a little bit stronger that you took that weight, you did your 10 and instead of two more, you now can get three more. So, um, a tip that, uh, I've, I've found useful. That is useful. And I, you know, I, now I gauge like, well, how much effort did I really put into that workout? Was it, you know, I mean, I always put in effort, but did I think, you know, for all the effort that I put in, was it hard? Was it really hard? Was it sort of moderate? Was I giving them all? I mean, not every workout's the same, right? And you know, energy and there's a million factors and how you

Starting point is 00:38:38 slept and what's going on and other, other things. But, um, it is, it, that's a good, you know, It's just, it's the same idea. It's just more granular, um, which, which then also, again, it helps in even just kind of getting into the, the headspace of what you want to do in this workout where you know that, um, you're, let's say, going to be using the same weight and you're going to go for those 10 reps in that first set. But you know that the last time you did it, you had two good reps left. And so let's see, let's see how it feels. Can this one be a three? Because again, that's an indication of a little bit of progress. Progress is good. an indication of a little bit of progress. Progress is good. How did you, how did you find your way to competing? Yeah. So, um, no, how did I do that? I was, uh, what, what, what drew

Starting point is 00:39:34 you? What, what made you want to do it? I thought about it for a long time. I was like, man, what would happen if I like, how do you do that? How do you get into that how do you I mean I didn't know anything about it I'm totally new right I had no idea I just thought I started reading about it and thought well you know what would that be like to compete what do you have to do what does it you know what does it take um you know because I had already seen my body composition changing so then I was really interested to see what else I could do. All right. I'm getting older, but what can I do with my body? Like, what can it do? How can I push it to its limit and see what I can do? And so, and the more I read about it, the more that interested me. And so I kind of, I thought about it for a long while, but I didn't really talk

Starting point is 00:40:22 about it. And then one day I just started talking about it to some friends. I was like, you know, I really want to do this. And they're like, you should, you totally should. You are so strong. And I'm like, really, should I? Yeah, you should. And so anyway, I found myself in a local coach and they just happened to be putting on a show, first time inaugural show in our town.

Starting point is 00:40:43 And so they're like, yeah, why why don't you why don't you train and you know train for this and you know kind of the timing was good because it had was like three months away and they'll give you you know time to prepare and and so they you know I did it I said okay I'm on board let's see what I can do I feel like I'm strong but I feel like I could you know be leaner I don't know what I need to do so it was a long learning process for sure and I'm strong, but I feel like I could be leaner. I don't know what I need to do. So it was a long learning process for sure. And I'm still learning, still learning a lot about it. But so that was a little.

Starting point is 00:41:13 So take us through it. How did it go? So it sounds like if it was a three month prep, you started in pretty good shape. Like you were already fairly lean, I'm guessing. I was pretty. I mean, I don't know what my body fat percentage was, but it was probably in the neighborhood of 20 to 22% probably. Which is pretty lean. I mean, that's like, you know, that's very athletic for women.

Starting point is 00:41:42 So I, you know, it's probably 20, I can't remember now, probably more than that, maybe 23 or 24, but at any rate, um, yeah, I was in good shape and I had been following the program and I had worked my way up to, you know, four or five days a week. And, you know, I'd done the coaching program the year before. And so I had, you know, was minding my diet a little bit more and I had gotten leaner. And so I had been lifting weights and weight training for, you know, was minding my diet a little bit more and I had gotten leaner. And so I had been lifting weights and weight training for, you know, now it's been over two years, three years almost. And so this was like the next level for me. And so my coach here kind of told her the things that I had been doing. And so we worked a lot of, you know, I have a lot of those basic, you know, kind of the standard ones in there, right? My, you know, squat

Starting point is 00:42:25 and deadlift and bench press and those kind of things. But then, you know, threw in a lot of other things on there from areas that I needed to work on. And then the main thing with that was obviously diet and the nutrition piece, because that got a lot more intense as time went on. So that, you know, that gets a lot more strict because I'm really trying to, to cut my body fat. And then there's lots to learn about, you know, the stage presence and posing and, you know, the, what you wear and how the judging goes. And, you know, so I, it was a huge learning experience. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. We had, you know, they had a lot of locals there and a lot of other local athletes, um, not a lot in figure I do figure. And so that's a little bit more, um,

Starting point is 00:43:13 more muscular than like the bikini competitors, which is a really popular, popular category. And then I decided to do a show with a bigger organization, OCB, which is a natural bodybuilding organization. And I did my first show in Las Vegas last year. And I have another show with them coming up at the end of this month. And how did the shows, the two shows go? Yeah. So it was really fun. The one locally here, it was, you know, there's so much that goes into it. So that was a really a great stepping stone for me to, to then compete with a national organization to, you know, kind of know all the steps that go with that and, you know, doing all of the prep and then how you do your hair and your makeup and your tanning and your this and your

Starting point is 00:44:01 that. Anyway, so it was a great, you know, way for me to kind of get acclimated to how all that works and then one month later I went into the show in Las Vegas and so I was kind of like okay I've done this before and uh that one had a great turnout I think there were um you know there were I did three categories in that particular show um i did a novice because it was my first show um an open category and a masters which is over 40 and um i won my first place in masters and yeah and third in um in novice and fourth and open and that was the biggest category um so that was really fun yeah it's really fun and it was just amazing to see, like, I can't believe that's me. I can't believe I did that. Like before I was like, how do these women do this? How do you know? I mean, surely I can do it because women are doing

Starting point is 00:44:54 it. Like how how do you do it? You know, so trying to figure out what do I need to do to, you know, to get there and and then working on, you know, doing the steps you need to get there. And then now here I am. And so that's, um, it's really fun. It's kind of surreal. Sometimes it's like, wow, this really is truly, um, you can, you can do it. And I mean, you can really, um, start weightlifting. It's never too late, right? It's never like, oh, I'm in such bad shape or, oh, I don't have time or, oh, I, you know, I've got this in my life or that. And I know everyone has, you know, legit stuff going on in their lives, but I, I mean, for your long-term health, and that's what I was talking with someone about the coaching

Starting point is 00:45:36 program for long-term health. I want to be around for a while and I want to be healthy and I want to feel good. I want to have lots of energy. I want to see my daughter grow up. I maybe I'll have grandkids one day. I mean, you know, I just want to, I want to keep my energy. Um, and, and, and this is the best way to do it. Cause I think, you know, when you're out of shape, you don't have a lot of energy. At least I didn't, you know, I, if you're not minding what you're eating, I mean, yeah, nobody does. I mean, when your body doesn't feel good, you don't feel good. You just can't get away from it. You know, I mean, now, I mean, I sleep so good. I wake up, I feel great when I wake up, you know, I ha I feel, I just feel good. And I mean, with my mood too, it just everything, you know, just, and it just like spills over to everything in your life that is just, you know, kind of positive and,

Starting point is 00:46:29 and gives you strength and kind of fills your cup. So, you know, for me, it's been, it's been such a positive addition. And I, gosh, like the mornings that like, again, we're back to our routines, like this is my plan for the week. But if I can't get into the gym that day, it's like, ah, it just like, it doesn't set me up for like the, you know, like a good, good way to start my day. And it doesn't always happen, but, um, you know, I try and it's definitely a priority. So do you have any interesting kind of lessons that you learned with your two shows that you've done that you would share with women who are thinking about doing it or maybe just getting into it for the first time? just for me it was a learning process of you know reading up about it figuring out you know kind of what your own strengths are um because that will kind of maybe determine what different category you want to focus in um you know figure was the right fit for me um just my the way my body's built and the way that and the kind of person that i am and i'm more of an

Starting point is 00:47:45 introvert and like bikini competitors are a little bit more outgoing maybe and you know a little bit more playful on stage and things like that and that's not really that was maybe a little bit a little bit much for me personally um which i think they're great but i you know it's just kind of whatever fits your personality too um you have to like sticking your butt out a lot in front of a lot of people with your legs spread. If you don't like doing that, you might not like bikini. I don't like it. Yeah. So yeah, that's the first step for me. So me so um i think the most helpful thing was to have somebody you know that's been through it to help you out too i mean it's just there's so much that you know having a good coach or mentor somebody um friend or somebody specifically for that yeah yeah yeah

Starting point is 00:48:40 because my coach it you know she's a competitor she was a you know she'd been coach, you know, she's a competitor. She was a, you know, she'd been through it, you know, and won and been very successful. She's a very successful competitor. She's a bikini competitor. And so having somebody to guide you through the process, I think, is really important once you decide to do it. And then kind of knowing and having a realistic, you know, expectation of the time commitment. Fitting in, working out, you know, is one thing, but fitting in prepping for a show is, you know, another thing.

Starting point is 00:49:16 And so then, you know, now I spend a significant amount of time, you know, not just working out. It gets more intense as it gets closer to the show. I've got to up my cardio. But it's, you know, the working out it gets more intense as it gets closer to the show and i gotta up my cardio and but it's a you know the the nutrition piece too and and just all of it so um you know i spent a lot of time what am i going to eat you know making sure i'm eating the right things weighing everything then you really do have to weigh everything because you just yeah even if you if you're not if you're toward the end and you're accidentally overeating by just 100 calories per day, unfortunately, that can make a difference.

Starting point is 00:49:52 Right. Yeah. So I weigh everything. You have to be exact in your amounts. That's pretty disciplined what you have to do, especially as it gets closer. How did you feel? So you're ready to step on stage where did, were you feeling pretty run down or were you feeling okay?

Starting point is 00:50:10 You know, um, there are times in prep that I start feeling run down really close because now I'm like two weeks out almost. So there are moments now that I told my coach, she let me have a meal yesterday. I got nothing. I'm like a wilting flower over here. I'm always cold and hungry and thirsty and drink so much water. That's the other thing. Water. You should drink so much water. Just drinking water all the time.

Starting point is 00:50:38 But, you know, because you do peak week. So right, you know, the week before competition is what they call peak week. And that's where you know, your diet is very exact. Like, you know, everything is like calculated to, you know, get rid of the extra water weight and all this tweak everything right before you step on stage. And so but I what I found was for me, my coach and I found was that I needed a two day reload in order to kind of kind of of regain that. Cause I was just so small and I just, I was so depleted. And so, you know, we kind of learned that over the,

Starting point is 00:51:13 over the last couple of shows. So, um, and we did a mock peak week and kind of figured that out. And then, and then we did another one and then I did a third one. So I do a two day, um, reload. So, and then, you know, you, So, and then, you know, you, you do your band, you know, exercises right before you go on stage, kind of get pumped up. And so I felt, I mean, and then you're just so excited. None of that matters. You're at the end. So I feel really good when I step on stage. It's, it's so fun. And it's, it's just really neat to see what you can do. Right. And, you know, especially, um, at this time in my life, I never thought I'd be doing that. Yeah. I mean, you can, uh, I mean, you can find,

Starting point is 00:51:54 you can find examples of people in really good shape or 70, 80, even 90 years old. So there's no reason so long as, um, we're thinking with the 30 year plan that we can't be one of those people as well. Right. And then after the shows, what did you do? Was there any sort of because some people, they just kind of throw caution to the wind and eat everything. And I had Prosecco and cheesecake. But like five times a day for two weeks just right after the show everyone had a brazilian barbecue um you know that was a learning curve for

Starting point is 00:52:37 me too and so thank you for bringing that up because um as we as we're you know talking about know, if anybody's interested and what kind of things to think about, that is something absolutely to think about is to have a plan for afterwards because I, you know, I kind of floundered after because I did kind of those two shows back to back. So my first show, I kind of, you know, I had a couple days of just whatever and then I, you know, dove right back in. And then after that second show, I kind of took a break from all of the strict dieting, but then I had a hard time kind of getting back on plan. And it was like the summer, and I was just like, whatever, I'm of, you know, regressed and, and into some, you know, not tracking and kind of knowing in my head, right? Like I know what portions I'm supposed to eat now, right? I've been doing this long enough. I know, you know, what my four ounces of chicken looks like or

Starting point is 00:53:37 what have you, and, you know, kind of know what my portions are. So I kind of intuitively eat, you know, all throughout the day, like what I was eating before. And then for dinner, I just eat whatever. And so that wasn't exactly like the most conducive for, for maintenance. So maybe like this time around, I'm definitely going to pay more attention to that because the weight can, you know, especially when you're that depleted, you know, before a show and you're that lean, like putting that weight back on, it's just boom. It's so easy. I mean, you probably did want to put some back on there. I mean, that's yeah.

Starting point is 00:54:16 And, and so did you end up gaining more than you wanted to? I gained more than I wanted to. I mean, it took a while. to or more than I wanted to I mean it took a while that took probably uh I'd say maybe four or five months you know afterwards because then you know because I did pretty good I maintained for quite a while but I think it was just like creeping up and then all of a sudden I was like uh yeah this isn't where I want to be. I need to pay a little bit better attention to what I'm doing. And then I kind of started paying more attention.

Starting point is 00:54:52 And then I. That's kind of how maintenance goes, though, at least for most people. Right. If you're if you are just sticking to portions, inevitably portions, they always get bigger. They don't get smaller. You know what I mean? So, so eventually maintenance is, is you just, it turns, it turns into that where you're like, all right, I'm just a little bit fatter than I want to be at this point. So then I'm going to cut and I'll get back to this maintenance, understanding that the tendency is always to get fatter when maintaining,

Starting point is 00:55:21 not, not leaner. I mean, really mean really it is right but my goal was also to build because after my last shows right it was like well i need to work on these areas right like well then you can make it productive or my glutes aren't big enough or whatever and so you know i had certain areas that i was working on too and i think that i you know i've done pretty well in that regard then now that it's all kind of coming down it's like oh i did i actually did make some progress yes you can you can see it um so there's that piece too so i mean but still i mean doing it in a and i think a more intentional manner um is is better than than just kind of you know flying by the wind so especially if if you want to do more shows and because the timing matters a bit more for for you than someone who's not doing

Starting point is 00:56:15 shows and they just they want to get into shape and stay into shape but whether it happens in six months or eight or ten or even twelve months doesn't matter that much as long as they get there, you know. Right. Yeah. Well, this was great. This was this was fun talking. Thank you for sharing. And it sounds like your plan from here is to keep doing what you're doing and you want to keep doing shows

Starting point is 00:56:45 and just see where you can go from here and see can you can you win more shows right i love it i love to win i'd love to get my pro card in open i want it for masters um but i'd like to win it in open and and uh do some bigger shows and some pro shows eventually, hopefully. Cool. Yeah. Well, uh, thanks again for taking the time to do this. I really appreciate it. And thank you because I always say that, um, this TLS got me started on this whole weightlifting journey and, and I love it. Yeah, I love it. I love to hear that because, um, you know, I, of all the things that I do, I most enjoy the reading and the writing and hearing from people who exactly like you, where you read the book and then you're like, Oh, I can do this. And now it's really, uh, uh, a part of your, of your lifestyle and your identity and,

Starting point is 00:57:40 um, and you're, and you've learned more and now you're doing more and it's cool. It's fun to see. Yeah. Super fun. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Before we wrap up, if people want to find you and follow along, are you on, you're on

Starting point is 00:57:56 Instagram, right? Are you on other social media? Where can they find you? Yeah. On Instagram. Um, my handle is Ann in the arena. And so Ann Marie Octavio and I, yeah, that one's open. So that's kind of following my fitness journey and my competitions and my training

Starting point is 00:58:13 and nutrition and other fun things. So yeah, look me up. Thanks again for doing this. Yeah. So fun. Great to talk with you. Well, I hope you liked this episode. I hope you found it helpful. And if you did subscribe to the show, because it makes sure that you don't miss new episodes. And it also helps me because it increases the rankings of the show a little bit, which of course then makes it a little bit more easily found by other people who may like it just as much as you. And if you didn't like something about this episode or about the show in general, or if you have ideas or suggestions or just feedback to share, shoot me an email, mike at muscleforlife.com, muscleforlife.com, and let me know what I could do

Starting point is 00:58:59 better or just what your thoughts are about maybe what you'd like to see me do in the future. I read everything myself. I'm always looking for new ideas and constructive feedback. So thanks again for listening to this episode, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - How Anne-Marie Changed Her Life After 3 Months of My VIP Coaching

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