So much to talk about

     Wow! It is hard to believe it has been almost two months since my last post on this blog!! Sorry if you follow and have felt neglected. So much has been going on in the last 8 weeks I don't think I can fit it all in one blog post. But I will begin with an update of where I am in my fitness journey because in the last two months of my transformation I have placed in another transformation challenge, started seriously training in powerlifting, continued writing my book and somewhere in there I went from blond to red. 

Top 3 AGAIN?! 
     About a week after the last post I wrote was the final weigh-in and measurements for the Winter Transformation Challenge at Muscle Inc. (my second home).  In the 12 week challenge, I pushed myself harder than I ever have since this whole journey began. This time was tougher because I didn't have Brandon there with me physically to guide me through my workouts, push me when I was having a bad day, and keep me set on my goals with his motivational talks. But we touched base every day and even remotely he had an impact on my success. Although Brandon was guiding me through this challenge with training and diet, I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of doing. The challenge started about 6 weeks after Brandon moved to Arizona and I was still a newbie to working out on my own. And navigating through a training session alone has a completely different vibe than working with a trainer at my side. I learned that if I didn't know what a certain exercise looked like to ask someone at the gym or to look up a video on Youtube. I pushed myself by imagining that Brandon was still there standing next to me motivating me with "get it!" "finish strong" "come on!" I visualized my goal and focused on what I had to do to get there. I learned to depend on myself because if I didn't do it, no one was going to do it for me. In the end, I placed 3rd overall in the challenge...again! I lost an additional 21 lbs and an amazing additional 5 1/2 inches off my waistline. I was stoked and I couldn't have been happier with myself. Top three in back-to-back transformation challenges! When that was over I started to think about the next goal...

Powerlifting
     The last post I wrote was about my experience as a first-time athlete in a powerlifting meet. The meet, held at Muscle Inc. back in April, was a charity event for Special Olympics and the Exercise Science Club at East Stroudsburg University. It was an event I had decided to enter just a week before and I had zero prep time. But in the end, I surprised myself when I pulled 275 lbs on my final deadlift attempt. And even though that lift was disqualified for hitching (the act of using your thighs to help push the bar up to the locked position) I still lifted 275 lbs off the ground to a standing position, something I had no idea I had the strength to do.  I had so much fun doing the event that I have made it my mission and next fitness goal to compete in a sanctioned 3 lift event (bench press, deadlift & back squat) with the USAPL (USA Powerlifting). My trainer Brandon Mauro, who became my remote trainer in December when he moved to Arizona, has been coaching me remotely to prep for an event in October. I couldn't be more psyched. Although recently, I had a slight set back when I hurt my right knee, my knee has recovered enough for me to return to lifting heavy. I just need to maintain a regular routine of hip and glute strengthening, recovery treatments and joint supplements to stay strong as I move forward. And each week I get so pumped when it comes time to work on my lifts. I cannot wait to see where this prep leads me.

After 3 weeks off from heavy lifting and focusing on 

strengthening my knee it felt good on Sunday 7/21/2019 

to get back to squatting heavy with a 

new PR 155 lbs for 2 sets of 10.

Health Coaching
     At the time of the last post, I was approaching the halfway point in the health coaching certification program at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN). Driven by an interest in the science behind what I was eating while I train and a desire to pay it forward and help people the same way I was helped by my trainer, I enrolled in the accelerated certification program at IIN back in February. At this point, I am three-quarters of the way finished with the program and have already met with a few potential clients for practice consultations. I've come to the conclusion that my target market for my health coaching business has to be women who are in the same situation as I was when I started; women who feel trapped in their lives or in their own bodies and don't know where to begin or what to do and have become so frustrated that it is easier to give up. Women who need a coach on the sidelines guiding them in the right direction as they set their health goals and work towards them. Just as my trainer, Brandon, introduced me to positive thinking, life balance, good nutrition and a love for working out, I want to pay it forward to other women through my health coaching business. The best part of all this is right now I can do it while working as a full-time teacher. Once I see where this business leads me I can decide what impact it will have on a possible career change. I have always loved working with people which is why I became a teacher. Helping women get healthy and love their lives is a second career I know I will LOVE. So for now I am working on networking through social media, finishing the program at IIN, making connections through people I meet in the field of health and fitness, and getting my name out there so when I am ready to jump into the business of health coaching people know who I am and why they should work with me. It's going to be so fulfilling to see clients set goals and crush them. And who knows, maybe I'll get certified in personal training in the future too so I can offer the whole package. 

The Book
     Ok. So at the time of my last blog post in April, I was writing my book of memoirs contrasting my positive mindset and life of intentional health and wellness with the negative life I lived in an abusive marriage for 20 years and how good nutrition, training, and life coaching from a skilled personal trainer helped me get my life back. Well, I am still writing the book. I am beginning chapter 6 of the 11 chapters I have outlined and I am editing chapters 4 and 5. I have launched an author's site with a sneak peek of part of chapter one at www.triciaannleibig.com and have gotten a significant number of comments of positive feedback about the book so far. Writing the book has been therapeutic for me as I reconcile my past and come to terms with what I experienced and why and how it relates to my life today. I cannot wait to share it with the world!

Well, there are so many other things I have learned and have experienced in the last two months but I will wait and share in future posts where I can dedicate more attention to a single topic. And as I move forward in this transformation journey I will continue to blog, write my book and pay it forward with health coaching. Thank you to everyone who has inspired and motivated me to get to this point and want to continue. My life is forever changed because of the right people crossing my path at the right time with the right purpose.