Daily Diet Tip: "Love♡Mr.Potato"

Remember a few years ago when the baked potato became a popular diet food? The idea was to avoid French fries or onion rings in restaurants by providing a “healthier” option. But as with many things, we find a way to get around the healthier possibilities – in this case, by adding bacon, cheese and sour cream. 

The good news is that baked potatoes are back. And some small changes can turn them into solutions for you. A baked potato with healthy toppings can actually be your main course – add some cooked ground turkey, corn, black beans, and salsa, and you no longer need rice or fried taco shells. Or add chopped tomato and onions and a little bit of feta and you have a more substantial salad.  A really good addition to the bake potato is chili.  Now you need to make the chili yourself so you know it's healthy and you can use ground turkey or lean beef.  Pour some chile right on top of your bake potato for a really yummy healthy meal.

The potato, as well as the skin, are great sources of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, zinc, and protein, but neither naturally contain any fat, cholesterol, or sodium. Leaving the skin intact can also help preserve the nutrients in the flesh of the potato. a medium-sized potato, including the skin, has approximately 110 calories. Potatoes are classified as bulb or root, and contain a protein called patatin that is specific to these types of vegetables. Patatin works as an effective antioxidant and helps to lower blood pressure, and potato skins may even help to provide protection against heart disease and cancer.  The skin is my favorite part of the potato and I was told at as a little girl that the skin held all the good stuff, so I always ate the skin. Little did I know that it held this much good stuff.

Potatoes contain more potassium than any other fresh vegetable in the produce department - even more than bananas. One potato has almost 900 milligrams, which is about 20 percent of what you need every day. Potassium is important for body growth and cell maintenance. It's also necessary for nervous function and for normal muscle contraction - including the heart muscle. Potassium is also an electrolyte that helps to balance the fluids in your body, which is important for healthy blood pressure. Potatoes also contain substantial amounts of vitamins C and B6, which are vital for blood clotting, wound healing, a strong immune system, normal nervous system function and for converting the food you eat to energy.

Potato's shouldn't be held out of our diets in fear of eating carbohydrates, they should be in our diets because of all these amazingly great things they have in them for our bodies. One Potato depending on size runs from 28-50 grams of carbohydrates in them. A medium is around 37g. which is considered pretty high, but it converts our food we eat to energy.  If eaten earlier in the day can be burned off easily and also be great benefit in giving us energy for our workouts. Plus it has the high Potassium benefit which is important for body growth and cell maintenance. When you're spending so much time working out, training your body this is a huge benefit for a healthy fit body.

So don't be so afraid of the potato anymore, just add it to your diet along with some good healthy topping choices and you will be doing your body good. Don't forget to eat the skin for more healthy benefits for you body. Love Mr.Potato♡

 

"Running on Empty"

If you're not sure when is the best time to work out? Here’s a little secret: Do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Research has shown that you’ll burn more calories if you perform cardio before breakfast than if you eat first. I don't like doing my cardio in the early morning, but when competing I forced myself to do my cardio which was mostly running in quarter mile, half miles intervals for 3-4 miles and or doing a three mile straight run as fast as possible and last but not least the dreaded half mile beach sprint in the sand.

Oh how I dreaded those early mornings waking up my body that way, but I learned to look forward to those early mornings because I felt amazing afterward and then I could feed my empty stomach as soon as I was done. Except for a little water I would always do my runs on a empty stomach. Doing cadio or a workout on empty stomach early in the morning is not only easier it's also is the best way to getting your metabolism going and your fat burning at the start of your day. 

Other studies have confirmed this and found that fat loss increased only when the study participants exercised in a fasted state. This is because your body fasts at night when you are sleeping, and your metabolism naturally slows down because your body needs less energy. Exercising first thing in the morning will rev your metabolism. I would always say... I am running on empty! So tomorrow morning, throw off the covers, and lace up your running shoes and hit that road for some early morning fat burning to start your fit day!    

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Frequent Workouts Are More Effective...

When it comes to losing weight, it may not be how many calories you burn in a week that makes the most impact on your bottom line. Rather, it's how often you burn these calories.

If you’re relying on a 4-hour weekend hike to make up for a sedentary week, you may actually be better off spending four 1-hour sessions in the gym throughout the week. The reason for this is you’ll have more energy to give to your workouts when you break them up into smaller, more frequent sessions, rather than trying to do it all at once. And that means more calories burned. This is one of the main reasons bodybuilders and fitness competitors do double session workouts when preparing for competition. Doing double sessions with high intensity shorter periods will burn the fat needed to unveil their hard earned muscle. Some competitors who have more to lose will do three session at least 4 hours apart to get the maximum fat burning to get their body ready for the stage.

This type of frequent workout will works for everyone not just fitness or bodybuilding competitors. It also doesn't need to be as extreme doing three work outs a day, but doing a workout everyday is what you need to do rather than thinking a weekend filled with activities will do the trick. It's being consistent and going hard for that time you do have. 

 

In my case one day this week I had only 30 minuets to do a workout and rather than just not do it because my time was limited and I could of used the extra time to get ready I chose a circuit workout and blasted my body for those 30 minuets. You would be surprised what you can do in a little bit of time. Even if you have 15-20 minuets to workout just go hard and for that time you have and keep your daily momentum going in getting all your workout in for the week. Being consistent and diligent in working out more frequently will start showing up on your physic and make you more motivated to keep up the hard work.

Sign up for a few group fitness classes at your gym to help motivate you to be more active during the week. Or make it a point to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in each morning before you start your day. The more often you exercise, the more success you'll have at finally losing the weight and getting in shape and obtaining your fit body once and for all. So push hard everyday, then push a little more!

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Don't Fear the "He Man" Look Girls

If you’re looking to tone up, you may be wondering whether strength-training exercises will make you look big and bulky. Women need not worry about this so much. Women’s bodies don’t produce as much of the growth-producing hormone testosterone as men's do. Men produce up to 30 times more testosterone, which is why they’re able to build larger muscle mass. Back in the 1980s, you might have been discouraged from weight-training by women bodybuilders who looked extremely muscular. But remember, women back then followed a very different kind of training program and achieved “he-men” looks with steroid supplements.

There’s a chance your body builds muscle mass quickly – more than the average woman – but this tendency can help you reach your goals sooner. And even if you are a fast muscle-grower, your muscles adapt to your level of activity and intensity of your workouts, meaning rapid growth will slow down in the absence of bodybuilder training. If you stick to core exercises and strength training, I promise your muscles will only become firmer, sexier and shapelier – not bulkier.

I am very small and at only 101 pounds when I starting training hard as a bodybuilder. From day one I lifted heavy weight at the coaching of my brother Dana. I had no intention of competing as a  bodybuilder I was just trying something different rather than just running and swimming to keep my body fit. My brother had me lift as a bodybuilder and within a year I did gain muscle fast and developed a more muscular physique. I did fear the manly look and told my brother that I never wanted to look like a "He Man" ...my brother would laugh and tell me I wouldn't look like a man or "He Man" ever. Even when I did decide to compete in bodybuilding after five years of training hard I had to fight hard to get bigger muscles on on my small frame on the off season.  I had to build enough muscle bulk to strip down for competition. I had be big enough to go against women so much larger than me in height and weight so it was a must for me to lift like a man would to obtain bigger muscles for competition

Majority of the women lifting today don't want the big bodybuilder muscles and are not competing so they really don't have to worry about looking like a "He Man" It takes a lot of heavy lifting, time, sacrifice and eating a lot to get there and even then I always looked like a women. In fact I was called the Barbie of bodybuilding when I competed because I looked feminine with muscles. I was lucky as judges liked that look more so than the bigger bulky look and I was able to defeat women twice my size. Symmetry also plays a big part of your overall package. Your body not only needs well developed muscle it also needs to be balanced and symmetrical to be pleasing to the eye in bodybuilding too.

 

So women need not fear developing big muscles from strength training or be afraid of looking like a "He Man" it is so very unlikely from happening. Weights are your body's friend and will add more muscle to your body frame which will help you burn more fat while your body is resting. The more muscle you have the more fat you will burn when your not lifting and it also shapes your body in a way that other types of training cannot. You have the control to shape a better more fit, sexy body when you strength train. Having huge monstrous muscles from lifting weights is not something you ever need to worry about. Of course unless you want them and if you do be prepared for a hard fight to obtain them as a women.

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Train Hard... Rest Up & Recover

Believe it or not, rest is one of the most important aspects of any resistance training program. Now don’t go getting all excited and head for the couch. We're talking about giving your muscles 24 hours of rest in-between workouts. A rest period of at least 24 hours allows the body to recover from exercise. Resting helps your body replenish glycogen stores and progressively adapt to the exercise stress.

Progressive adaptation allows you to reach higher levels of fitness over time, which is very important. Otherwise, you’re stuck in a plateau and going nowhere. To make the most of your rest days, allow at least one full day of rest in between working a specific muscle group. But don’t make the mistake of thinking “if some is good, more is better.” Allowing more than three days of rest for a muscle group will have you losing what you’ve worked so hard for.

If you want to work out more than every other day, group your workouts by muscle type or geography. For example, do an “arms” day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and then alternate with a “legs” day on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. And then give your body at least one full day of complete rest, like on Sunday. Rotating your workouts in this way will help you from losing your gym habit, but allow you to rest up, recover and get revved up for more! Taking your scheduled rest days will also prevent you from over training your muscles too. Over training can be a major set back and be just as bad as missing your workouts, so make sure to rest and let your muscle recover. After a good day of rest your muscles will be full, repaired, recovered and ready to train hard.                                

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"Feel The Burn"

When lifting weights, you should feel a significant burn when you finish each set. If you aren’t feeling that burn, your form or intensity may not be ideal. Maintaining proper form will allow you to feel the stress of each move on the specific muscle you’re working.

Don’t let surrounding muscles support your movements. For example, when doing a biceps curl, you should feel the full weight of the dumbbell or cable on your biceps, not your back or shoulders. Bad form not only cheats you of an effective workout, but also puts you at risk for debilitating injuries. Intensity is just as important as form when you’re aiming for maximum results. 

The most critical element regarding intensity is choosing the right weight. Pick a weight that completely fatigues the muscle after four reps (i.e. you can’t lift it one more time because your muscle is too tired). If you can do only 2-3 reps, the weight is too heavy. If you can do 5-6 reps, the weight is too light. Make those repetitions count!  

When lifting weights make sure you're not just going through the motions with each rep. You want to really feel the weight and the muscles you're working. The last reps should be the reps that your muscles are working with the most intensity to failure. You want to be pushing for those last reps and really feeling the muscle you're working. Those last pushed reps are the ones that count the most and will make a huge difference in the overall muscle development over time. So don't be lazy and just go through your workout without any thought or really pushing yourself. Feel the passion in your lifting and push yourself in each exercise and every rep.

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"Never Give Up"..... Take what's Yours Today!

✿ Let this be the day the you start fighting for that fit, sexy, healthy body you've been dreaming of...Don't make anymore excuses to delay or push back your starting day this time. You don't need your starting day to be on a Monday or on the first day of the month for it to happen. It can be a Tuesday or Friday or on Monday because you can commit to it at anytime just commit. Commit in the late afternoon on a Friday if you want to, just do it. There is only one set perfect time to surrender yourself to being fit and healthy and that is the day and time you decide to give in, surrender mind, body and soul and just commit yourself to it. Why keep living without feeling fit, sexy and amazing when you can just start taking what yours today.

Life is way to short and by delaying it day after day, month after month years go by and you realize you could of had all that time feeling fit and healthy and proud of yourself. Instead you feel worse because you have only wasted time procrastinating and delaying your commitment. You need to just surrender and dig down deep inside yourself and pull all that bad stuff out and let go of it.  Surrender to the new you and make today be the day you let go and go get what has always been yours to have. Be proud, be happy, be yourself and be fit, sexy, healthy and complete! #SurrenderandCommit  ✿

Blast Belly Fat....But not with Situps!

I have had many people ask me... Why should I also tone the muscles in my arms and legs when my belly is my trouble area?” After all, it sounds logical that if you want a better belly, that’s where you should focus your efforts. If you’ve heard that the best way to burn belly fat is to target only your abdominal muscles, you’ve been misled. Doing sit ups is not going to get you that beautiful, lean, sexy middle you want so desperately.

A half hour or even one hour of crunches every day isn’t going to do anything for the layer of fat that’s hiding those ab muscles. You can’t burn fat in just one area – weight loss affects your entire body. There is no targeting one area on your body. To lose fat and trim a specific area on your body you need to work your entire body as a whole, not just a chosen area that is bothering you... Like your tummy.

If you want a flat belly, you need to do cardio to burn excess stored fat, and a comprehensive weight-lifting program is also necessary to create lean, metabolism-boosting muscle all over your body. This is how you’ll see true results. Only when you strengthen your entire body will you boost your metabolism enough to burn off the layer of fat that is hiding your beautiful abdominal muscles. 

Most importantly you cannot out train a bad diet. If your doing all the above.. working out, doing regular cardio, strength training, yet your eating and putting crap food in your body. Feeding your body with unhealthy food, drinking alcohol will put a huge halt on obtaining that flat belly and beautiful fit body you've been working out hard for. Also not eating enough or often enough throughout the day. Starving your body to loose weight quicker will only back fire on you and effect your body in a extremely negative way. Your body needs to be nourished and feed enough calories from good, healthy food.  Making sure you eat right and get enough calories everyday so all your hard work training your body regularly will not be for nothing and just wasted.

End result and answer to obtaining a fit, sexy, lean middle is you need to incorporate all three main components above.. Regular cardo, fat burning, strength training your whole body not just specific areas, Eating clean, healthy and eating enough to keep your body fueled, nourished so that your metabolism continues to burn throughout the day. Also include lots of water in your diet all day long. #LoveYourBody

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Massage... Luxury or Necessity?

 

Getting a regular massages be considered a luxury or necessity? If you exercise regularly, you’re putting your body through a lot, and you could benefit from receiving regular massages, which can help combat body strain through a number of mechanisms. Massage improves circulation and increases blood flow to your muscles, which may increase the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your working tissues. It also helps to prevent injuries to your muscles, tendons and ligaments, as well as help speed healing at injury sites.

The benefits of massage don’t stop there – it can improve your flexibility by increasing the range of motion at your joints as well as reduce muscle recovery time in between exercise sessions by aiding in the removal of waste products, like lactic acid. The power of touch through massage is also a great tool in general for helping you to relax and reduce your stress levels  So for professional bodybuilders or any fitness athlete hitting their bodies hard daily getting a massage should be part of a regular regimen. It doesn't just stop at the professionals as we all know there's a lot of ass kicking out there everyday by people who just want to be fit, look good, and be as healthy as they can. So it would be well worth it to treat ourselves and our hard working body to a body loving massage once in a while.

Many insurance programs cover the cost of massages, so don’t get stuck thinking you just can’t afford one. If you really can’t get to a professional, enlist the help of your mate to give you a rub-down once a week, and don’t forget to return the favor.. That's the fun part of having a partner! Relax, Repair and Enjoy!  ♡

A Dedication♡ "Never Gonna Be Alone"

♡Today is Sunday and I think it's very fitting to dedicate this post to my beloved husband who is no longer here on this earth and to our two beautiful children that have been growing up without him these past long years. It never gets easier, only harder when you see all the things that are missed and changed when you loose someone so close to you. All the joys taken away from my children's life's forever because of that one tragic moment when someone took their father's life away from us. 

I love my children and hope they know that their father wanted to be here and share all the things he has missed being gone. I always feel him there in everything I do and in everything my children do. I want them to know to always live their life to the fullest, never settle or give in and live with no regrets. To live like tomorrow will never come and enjoy each day given as a special gift. Most of all to know they were never without their dad or his love and they never will be. They'll never be alone in this world♡

Are you Cheating yourself?

Have you skipped your workout and decided to stay home to watch TV... for the third time this week. It’s okay because nobody’s watching you or pushing you out of your comfort zone. When you’re the only person you are accountable to for your actions – or lack thereof – you’re walking in dangerous territory.  Because it’s easy not to feel guilty about skipping a workout if nobody is there to chastise you. And when you fall off the workout wagon completely, who’s going to be there to point finger? Nobody is! 

You may be getting away with being lazy now, but an unhealthy lifestyle will catch up with you sooner rather than later. And when it does, because it will, you’ll wish you hadn’t plopped down on the couch with the TV remote in hand every night. Full knowing you could of at least worked out for one of those given TV watching hours. It's hard to look back and see that it would of been so easy to give that time up, knowing what would of resulted in you being fit, happy and healthy.

 

If you don’t have someone who can help reinforce your healthy lifestyle needs, it’s up to you to learn a little self-discipline. But what if you don’t feel like exercising today? Think about the implications laziness will bring on you tomorrow. Chances are you will be more lazy tomorrow and the day after that because you've let that comfort slip in where it don't belong...On you're workout day!You’re not outsmarting anyone when you cheat yourself out of the healthy body you deserve. You’re just delaying the healthy rewards that are rightfully yours if only you’d practice some self-discipline now. Yes, it’s difficult to overcome the day to day temptations, but it’s also so very worth it 

Each time you are tempted to cheat on your diet or skip a few workouts, remind yourself that the only person you are hurting is you. After all, cheaters never prosper. Most of all you'll never get to live in that fit, sexy, healthy body you so deserve to enjoy! 

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Being Fit isn't really a team sport! You can have partners, yet you're ultimately accountable for doing the work! So #DotheWork =)

 

 

Exercise of the Week✿ "Dumbbell Lunge"

  Dumbbell Lunge

The dumbbell lunge is a great leg builder. Considered a compound exercise, the dumbbell lunge will help strengthen and develop the front thighs, glutes (butt), hips, and calves.

This exercise can be a little tricky to perform because the movement is a little awkward. When starting this exercise, it's important not to use heavy dumbbells. Try using light dumbbells orj just use your own body weight for the first couple of sessions in order to get a feel for this exercise.

Remember to really concentrate on using your front thighs to push your body weight up and not your back.

Also, keep your back straight at all times and do not swing your arms. Also, never allow you knee to hit the floor as you are coming down.

Position for the dumbbell lunge

1. With your feet at should width, pick up a pair of dumbbells.

2. Stand up straight with the dumbbells with your arms fully extended. Make sure your toes are pointed forward.

Execution of the dumbbell lunge
1. Lunge the right leg forward in a stepping motion to a position where your knee joint forms a 90 degree angle (roughly 3 feet). Your thigh should be parallel with the floor and your shin perpendicular to the floor. Your back knee should almost touch the floor.

2. Using the muscles of the right leg, tighten your contraction and return to the standing position.

3. Repeat with the left leg, then back to right leg and so on until set is completed.

           Walking Lunge

Walking lunge is the same movement and form as standing, yet instead of stepping back out of the lunge to upright position to alternate to the next leg...you will be taking your back leg and lunging it forward to keep the lunge moving forward walking in the lunge position. So basically you're doing an exaggerated walk lunging forward keeping your balance with each lunge step forward. Doing this with your own body weight at first is suggested until you're sure of you balance and form before holding weight while preforming the walking lunge.

In fact using just your body weight and doing more reps as you preform the walking lunge is a favorite of mine. I like to do the walking lunge up hill as well as flat ground using just my body weight going in to a full deep lunge walk for 100 plus reps. The walking lunges gives you the ultimate burn on your quads, hamstrings and glutes. I like to do the walking lunge with just my body weight and then when I preform the standing lunge I like to use heavy dumbbells or barbell w/50-75 lbs.  If I go heavier I will use the Smith Machine do to my lunges, and reverse lunges with more  weight added. This way if I get stuck while doing heavy lunges the Smith Machine acts as a spotter for me. I can release bar on the machine if I get stuck. In all my years I have never gotten stuck in a bad lunge position when using heavier weight. I have lost balance a few times as you will too... So it's important to practice without weight to strengthen that area and allow your body to get use to the lunge movement. The lunge is a women's best friend♡ 

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"I love♡ my Okole Kicking Hills"

✿Here is half way up one of my favorite hills I love to run. I'm taking a picture looking down what I have just climbed. Next picture is the remaining half of the 2.5 mile hill I have left to climb. On this that past Tuesday April 17 it was a hot sunny day and I took short minuet break at this point relieve my quads from the lactic acid build up from climbing the hill and was able to take a few pictures here to show in my blog post. My ipod wasn't working so I brought my iphone so I could still have my favorite tunes for my run and while running I realized I could take some pictures to capture my run and this beautiful, okole kicking hill I so love to run.

Looking up at my steep okole kicking hill and the remaining climb for my two dog and I is about a mile up and goes up pretty steep from this point. The hill curves to the right as it continues up so it was hard to capture it all in  in this picture. As I climb it curves a lot up and at any point I can turn around to see the beautiful ocean behind me and if I happen to run at sunset I am present to watch a beautiful Hawaiian sunset at the top of any one of my hills. My two dogs, Bear and Sammy take advantage and rest in the shade as I stop for a minuet to take these pictures and of course relieve my Quads of the built up lactic acid in them. When then continue on and up!

✿Here is the main hill that goes 3 miles up my subdivision and I live at half way point just about 100 yards from where I took this picture as I am ending my 5 mile run. When I start I come out and climb up this hill about a 1/2 mile up before I take a right turn in the subdivision to get the other 2.5 mile long hills that kick my okole hard! I always change my runs around and the amount of miles I run so my body doesn't get used to any course I run. I of course run less miles when I lift weights the same day and save the longer, brutal five mile runs for days I am not lifting. I also do my interval sprint runs on these different running courses to keep my body guessing. I like to end my run with walking lunges and will do them up hill as well as flat ground to again never let my body adapt to any set workout I do. Hot sunny days like this day make it tougher, but I do love things to be tougher and a challenge for me so I never shy away from a sunny day. It does make it harder on my dogs when it's a hot, sunny day, so on those sunny days I have shade spots to take my dogs for a minuet to let them recoup. Most days in the early afternoon there is a nice cloud cover on the mountain where I live so I take advantage of that when I run which makes it easier on my dogs and I don't have to stop. The hot sun can be tough to run in but on those chosen sunny, hot days I will make adjustments to my run and run a shorter distance. I do tend to have weird strength when I run in the sun...go figure as it can be very brutal, but I don't like my dogs to have to endure running it the brutal sun as I do so stopping for shade a few times during my run is a must or I will wait for the cloud cover which most days comes like clock work. I will end this blog post by saying... The cloud cover has just arrived and the road and hills are calling my name... Off to run!   
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"Never Surrender to FEAR"

Can't you just feel and see the power, the strength, the shear guts in these strength training workouts. These are women that clearly are not afraid to lift heavy weights or push their bodies past their limits. You're body is stronger than you think and you'd be very surprised at what your body can do an accomplish if you want it bad enough and train hard for it. 

When I trained for my first Super Fitness competition I had to train to do as many push ups I could do in one minuet. These were full male push ups with your chest hitting the ground and full extension at the top. I train hard every day doing push ups with a 45lb plate on my back till I collapsed. My best was 67 push ups in one minuet. At the competition I was able to do 62 full push ups timed by judges watching each push up closely, counting as I completed each one. The judges couldn't believe the amount of push ups I was able to do as that was over one push up per second. It was believable to me  because I wanted it badly, and I trained my body hard for it and my body proved it could be done. I place first in the push up event as well as three other strength events at that competition.

I would of never believed it was possible to do some of the things I have trained my body to do, but as I have gotten to know my body and trained for different shows I have seen how strong the body can be. If you want it bad enough and commit to training hard for it there are no limits to what you and your body can do. So whether it be strength training, running, swimming or any sporting event that you're training for remember that your body is stronger than you think. Your body can be trained, worked and pushed to conquer pretty much anything you decide you want to do. So never say never and don't be afraid. Just go in with guns blazing and conquer yourself and let your body conquer what it was meant to do. To be Strong, Powerful and Superfit ✿

My Hero♡ "Remembering Bob Kennedy" ♡

 

✿ Remembering Bob Kennedy... My hero and good friend who will be sorely missed by people all over the world but mostly by his family and the ones who were closest to him and the ones that had the fortunate opportunity to know him and love him. I met Bob 20 years ago and he gave me something very special upon meeting him. Something that change me and changed my life forever. He believed that I had something special and he wanted to capture that in my very first fitness photo shoot...

I first saw Bob Kennedy in person while in Venice Beach California for the Ms Olympia competition. I was there with my friends and gym owners to see my first in person Ms Olympia competition. The day before the Ms Olympia I went to the Golds Gym in Venice to workout and Bob happened to be there working out as well. I never knew this at the time but he had recently purchased some pictures of me from a photographer that I did a photo shoot with back home in Hawaii.  I noticed him looking at me quite a bit while I was working out and I was very flattered because the gym was swarming with so many in shape bodies so Bob taking notice of me was pretty special. But, of course I didn't let myself think it was positive looks and thought maybe he was silently tearing me apart. I didn't find out until later when I arrived back home to Hawaii that Bob had purchased some of my photo's from a photo shoot I had done with a local photographer. This photographer submitted the photo's to Bob at Muscle Magazine in hopes it might get me noticed and he might make some money as well. Well, it worked and Bob used a few of those pics introducing me to the world as an Island Fitness Beauty who's pictures had come across his desk and he wanted to share them with his all his readers. That was my first time being in a magazine let alone being in Bob Kennedy's Muscle Magazine.

Although I saw Bob in person while in California I had yet to meet him face to face. Soon after my picture was in Muscle Magazine Bob just happened to be coming to Hawaii to be an honored guest at a competition I was competing in on my Island. He was also going to be taking pictures for the promoter and for MMI. So this got every man and women sparked to compete that year just for the chance to be noticed by the famous man Mr.Bob Kennedy. I remember there were so many women who entered the fitness side of the competition that year. I was competing as a bodybuilder that year Bob came to be a guest and photographer for the competition.

Prejudging early Saturday morning Bob was there taking pictures of the prejudging of both the bodybuilders and fitness competitors. Then after all the women were to go to the beach in our swimsuits to take some photo's for Bob. Well, I will never forget that day as all hell broke loose as women were running all over the beach in high heels, furry, sparkly swimsuits, so much makeup and the screaming was something I will never forget. Many of the women came to compete from the other islands as well because of Bob being there. All the girls wanted to be noticed by Bob. He had women all surrounding him at the hotel beach. It was so bad you couldn't even see him because the women were surrounding him. I stood on the out skirts by the water in my plain red bikini and bare feet. I didn't have much make up on nor did I have sparkles on my bikini. My hair wasn't all done up all pretty as all the other girls either. I didn't feel bad about myself, in fact I just had done so well in the prejudging a few hours earlier it was certain I would take first place in my weight class so I was pretty happy. I was little tired and not really in to fighting all this girls to meet Bob or get him to notice me. I did feel if it was meant to be I would meet him later. I then walked away from it all. I left all the girls screaming, running around trying to out do each other and get their picture taken by Bob. 

Little did I know that Bob noticed me walking away and later told me he was puzzled by it. I went up to the hotel pool and laid out by the pool in the sun. My husband came out to the pool to see what happened and was a little upset at me for walking away. All the sudden Bob came to the pool with his family and sat down beside  my husband by pool side. They began to talk and they talked for awhile and then Bob got up and walked over to my chair and sat down with me. He asked me why I walked away at the beach earlier? He asked me if I thought I was too good or just shy? He told me he was intrigued by my actions and how I was so very different then the other girls vying for his attention. I replied, No I don't think I am too good and yes I am shy when it comes to that type of attention. I told him I felt if I was good enough then he would see it in me without me doing head stands, screaming and acting a fool. Bob laughed and said you're absolutely right and said he did notice me walking way and it made him notice me more. He did tell me that he wanted me to get rid of the shyness in me and fight for what was mine. I felt honored to be remembered by Bob as he see's so many amazingly, fit women everyday and he did remember me and took the time to come over and talk to me one on one that special, sunny Hawaiian day. He also invited me to do a one on one photo shoot the next morning with him. He told me to wear the pretty red bikini and wear my hair down and meet him at 5am at the pool. Oh... he also said for me to get some sleep after I win the competition that night. I did indeed win the show that year and I went right to my room to sleep while everyone went out to party and eat after the night show.

I woke up at 4am to prepare myself and to be on time to meet Bob by pool side at 5am. My husband came with me which was good because he held the sun shield while Bob took pictures. We went down to the beach and spent the next few hours talking pictures. My last few shots he had me get all wet in the ocean and that was a lot of fun and those were my favorite pictures to take. We then went and had breakfast all together and then headed to the local gym to take some more pictures of me working out. I felt so very proud bringing Bob Kennedy in to out little local gym with me.

Soon after our photo shoot when Bob went back home to Canada I received a package from him via federal express. It was the next issue of MMI and it had me as the centerfold in the swimsuit issue that year. The centerfold picture was one of the last pics we took at the photo shoot of me all wet laying in the ocean. I was always critical of myself, but this was a beautiful picture and one that was very special to me. Of course my husband who was so supportive wasn't too happy with me being the centerfold...Ha Ha  Well, too bad it's already published I said.. He grew to accept it and be happy about it because there were many more photo shoots and pictures in my future.

This was the start of my close friendship with Bob and one that I had always cherished and felt so luck to have. I was so thankful to him I send him a whole case of my family's pure Kona Coffee. He called me up to thank me for the coffee as he loved good coffee and thanked me for being so real and appreciative. He said not many take the time to show their appreciating in the way I did. This is where we became friends and had a pretty special connection. Bob keep close contact with me and he was old fashioned in the sense he would write personalized letters in the way communicating to give me a heads up on up coming shoots, events etc. I loved it as it was his own personal handwriting on MMI letter head. I said every single one of his letters to me. Then when the time got closer he would call to see if my body was ready for the shoot? I always loved when he would call me and felt very honored every time. He always gave me words of encouragement and was such an amazing friend over the years.

Years later, only a month after a photo shoot I had with Bob where he invited my husband and kids along with me my husband Kenny was murdered. Bob immediately called me to comfort me and find out what happened? We both felt so grateful we were able to be all together for a little vacation while shooting for MMI only a month prior. Bob loved Kenny my husband and was so very saddened by this tragedy. Bob was no stranger to tragedies and that too brought our friendship closer. The next issue of MMI Bob published a beautiful photo of Kenny with me at one of our first photo shoots. It was a tribute to him in remembering what a special man Kenny was.

Words cannot express the loss I now feel that Bob is not longer with us in this world. He touched and changed so many lives while here with all of us. I feel so very honored and fortunate to have known Bob and be in his life as a friend. He was an amazing man and I loved him dearly for what he did for me over the years. I will never forget him or our beautiful, fun times together. He lives on in my heart as well as so many others and mostly in his family hearts. My heart goes out to them right now as I am no stranger to loss and can feel that pain they feel. I hope the memory of this great man will carry them to a new, place of peace, hope and love in the coming years. Bob I will miss you and never forget you...I love you Bob♡