Mom-ME! Fitness Club

Danielle McGlynn is a former Miss Bikini America and mother of 4 month old, Jacob.  Currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee, this 5′4, 120 pd woman is a shining example of a mother who not only stayed fit throughout her pregnancy, but was able to attain her award winning body back in less than 12 weeks after birth.

Here are 24 questions for our mommy fitness role model.

1. Were you active before you had kids?
   Yes. What did you do? Jogging, Weights, Plyometrics, Sprints
   
2. Did you have a competitive background? Yes. What is it?
   Active as a kid/teenager I involved in Volleyball, Tennis & Cheereleading & in 2004 started competing w/Fitness America. In 2006 won the Ms. Bikini America Title
   
3. How many kids do you have?
   1, Jacob Mitchell McGlynn How old are they? 4 months
   
4. How much did you gain during your pregnancy?
   30lbs
   
5. Did you have any cravings during your pregnancy?
   YES!  anything salty, sour or vinegar based. Pickles, beef jerkey, balsamic vinegar…???…I ate a lot of salad too…
   
6. Were you active during your pregnancy?
   Moderately active. walking/jogging, squats & light weight lifting. It REALLY helped when it came time to push! It only took me 22 minutes to get an 8lb 4oz baby out!
   
7. How long did you labor for?
   8 hours
   
8. How long did it take you to get back into pre-baby shape?
   3 months
   
9. How many days/weeks/months after the baby did you decide to start training and dieting? Around 6 weeks when my doctor gave me the green light.
   
10. Did you breastfeed?
    yes.
    
11. What did your diet look life throughout your pregnancy? How many calories do you take in daily?
    I don’t pay attention to calories. I just ate when I could & as healthy as I could.
    
12. What did your workouts look like during your pregnancy?
    Nothing intense. Jogging, stretching, light weight lifting, plyometric work…same stuff as before, just not as intense.
    
13. How did you juggle your training with your newborn?
    It’s difficult. I don’t have baby sitters, nannies or family helping, so my & my husband do all the work & never get a break. sometimes I incorporate my baby into my exercise by doing squats while holding him or long walks in his stroller.
    
14. What are your Top 5 tips for new moms who want to get in shape?
    Well 1st, if at all possible, try not to gain too much weight during your pregnancy.
    2nd, make sure you were already exercising before hand. (I was training for a 1/2 marathon & ran it when I was 7 weeks along.)
    3rd, breast feeding truly helped the most, so if you can, do it for as long as you can.
    4th, don’t worry so much about getting exercise in, eat as clean as you can.
    5th, Don’t stress about getting back into shape, take care of your family & take it one step at a time.
    
15. What is your favorite motivational quote?
    “future rewards outweigh all present sufferings.”
    
16. Who is your favorite mommy role model?
    My friend Teri Fitzgerald. She is an awesome mother of 6 great children.
    
17. What is your favorite cheat meal?
    Ivey Cupcakes! The best are the Red Velvet…oh my goodness!!!
    
18. What is your favorite diet meal?
    Egg Whites.
    
19. What is your favorite TV show?
    Friends
    
20. Favorite Disney movie?
    Little Mermaid
    
21. What are your goals for the future?
    To continue to be a great wife to my awesome husband James & a great Mommy to my Jacob.
    
22. Do you want to have any more kids?
    Yes
    
23. Do you have a website? www.DanielleMcGlynn.net Myspace? www.myspace.com/danimcglynn Etc.
    
24. How does it feel to be a fit mom?
    Fantastic!

Danielle and her husband, James.

Danielle with her son Jacob

photo by Randy Anderson

Allison Ethier is bodybuilding.com’s newest spokesmodel.  Not only is she a seasoned athlete and national winner, but she is a mother and a math teacher.

Here is an awesome, up close interview with our Fitness Role Model of the month.

1. How old were you when you first started competing?
20 years of age.

2. Who was your role model then?
No one really, I did not know the girls names. Now I know all the competitors names and although I don’t have one favorite, there are characteristics of each that I admire.

3. How did winning both the Fitness Canada and America titles feel?
Justification for all my previous year’s of hard work. It was a long time coming and many hours in gym.

- Did you sense that was your year? Did you prepare differently?
I finally believed that I was worth the success that would come with the win of the shows. I had always known I was a contender but never thought that I was worth it and would self-sabotages myself when the time came to perform. This year was a turning point in my self esteem to believe I was worth the effort.

4. How did you meet your husband? Do you guys workout together?
I workout at 4:30 am he is not interested in joining me then. He plays golf and that is pretty much his exercise routine. With a sport like this being selfish at times is part of the preparation, and one ego in the house is enough. We met in high school – so we are high school sweethearts. I have known him for over 16 years, even though we only got married 3 years ago.

5. How old is your baby and what was your secret to losing your body weight before nationals? Do you want any more kids?
Definitely want more kids. My little guy is 21 months. Times flies. Secret – breastfeeding, and eating well. After taking almost 2 years off, returning to the gym I had a renewed sense of motivation.

6. What is your favorite motivational quote?
To have what you’ve never had you must do what you’ve never done – Theodore Roosevelt.

7. What inspires you to train hard?
The hope that I will become an IFBB pro fitness competitor – this is my next goal.

8. What is your favorite ‘cheat food’? Are you very strict on your diet?
I guess that would be a tough question to answer. I do eat well all the time as I am so busy as I think to myself why ‘waste’ the calories on something that I don’t have time to sit down and truly enjoy. I do enjoy all kinds of breads and cheeses, but before a show a cheat meal for me is an egg salad sandwich, and maybe some yogurt. I really don’t cheat as I know the food will always be there tomorrow.

9. What is your favorite body part? How do you train that body part?
It used to be shoulders, but now it is back.
I like to train really heavy as I need to build up some size.

10. Favorite color?
Green.

11. Favorite song to listen to when getting ready for the gym.
In the morning in is silence, or talk radio. Then as I warm up then I get into the hip/hop rap stuff.

12. Favorite fitness friend/competitor (whom you are closest to)
I have too many. I stay in touch with many girls – I cannot simply name just one.

13. What is your favorite color to wear to the gym?
None really. Just something warm, right now it is winter, and I am cold all the time. Getting into a cold car, brrrrrr, there is nothing fun in that.

14. What exercise works best for you? Training one muscle/day?
Circuit Training? Push/Pull?
I use a variety as I get bored. I do work one muscle group per 4 days, and then have a day off and repeat. I do have to work my routine practice in there as well, and make sure that I do not overtrain.
Full body, push/pull or even upper/lower body have worked well for me.

15. What is the question most asked?
People hear that I am from Canada – and they want to hear me say, ‘about’.

16. When are you competing again?
End of Feb at the Arnold Amateur in the fitness division. (she JUST WON!!)

17. Who are you sponsored by? What supplements do you use?
Slimquick Extreme - I use only this female fat burner, and a whey protein.

18. What is ONE big myth in the fitness industry?
That you will compete in a show, and get ‘discovered’

19. How long have you been a math teacher? Do you inspire the kids and faculty to be in shape? Have you hosted any programs in your local area?
I have been teaching for 7 years. I like the different lifestyles, as fitness is for me and my personal development and teaching is my professional life. My schedule is quite heavy and really don’t have time to do much else, after training, school preparations, meeting, having a home life, and maybe some time for myself. Fitness is only my hobby but a full time one.
Everyone here (students and staff) know what I do, and are welcomed to ask questions, but I although I would like to do more with my staff and my students, there are simply not enough hours in the day.

20. What do you enjoy doing to wind down your day?
Watch TV, or read before bed. Oh..how do I love getting into bed at night.

21. What is your favorite television show?
Cheesy but America’s Next Top model or Funniest home videos – I like to laugh.

22. How many calories do you eat per day?
Dieting phase – around 1400-1600 – off season maybe around 2200? I am very busy and need to think. The no carb diet is not for me.

23. Do you write down everything you eat?
Yes, for preparations for a show. I need to know what helps me lose the weight and what slows me down. Off season I just think that if I eat some thing bad today, I probably should not eat that much tomorrow. Day on day off kinda mentality.

24. What is your five year plan?
IFBB Pro Fitness card, another baby, and maybe a change in professions. Teaching is wonderful, but I feel I could be doing more. There are some changes that are happening that I am not happy about, and this might be a good time to follow what makes me….very happy….and that is fitness and all things related.

At the Arnold Classic in 2008

Enjoying a night out!

with her little guy!

I love new DVD’s for pregnant women – especially when they don’t involve the boring yoga and pilates stuff.

What are kettlebells exactly? Kettlebells are designed very differently from free weights. The weight distribution of a kettlebell is in a form of a ball with a handle on it. The handle allows you to swing it around smoothly through your hands and the ball is able to rest gently on your wrist and forearm. When doing exercises such as Windmills, Turkish Get Ups, Presses, and Snatches, the ball slightly pulls your arm back which allows your shoulder to become more flexible and develops the internal stabilizer muscles. You can swing a dumbbell but it does not feel as natural and powerful as it would when swinging a kettlebell.

Check out Lauren Brook’s new  ketttlebell DVD: “The Ultimate Body Sculpt and Conditioning with Kettlebells”. She is the ultimate fitness mommy and great motivation!  Check out the trailer here!

Lauren with her baby!

Max Muscle: Francisca Dennis is Super Mom.
by Maria Kang

“Did you give birth to ALL your 6 kids?” That’s the question, Francisca Dennis, 38, is most often asked. Her answer? “Heck yeah! No, we have no twins, and Yes, we are DONE!”

Francisca is the epitome of a mother who any women can look up to and say, “If she can do it, then I can do it!” This Ontario resident has been married to her high school sweetheart, Mark, for 21 years and is the business owner of two companies, FLD Management Corporation and OraMedi Spa. She has also graced the cover of Oxygen twice as a fitness model, trained other mothers on a 12 week program as a fitness consultant and is sponsored by AllMax Nutrition as a fitness competitor. While she has many professional ambitions, she is strong to contend that her most important working role is being the mother of 6 kids, ranging from ages 5 to 20.

Being able to juggle all her commitments requires her to wake up at 4:15am to prepare for her morning workout. Francisca arrives home when the kids awake at 7am and prepares them for school before she leaves for a full day at work. Similar to other mothers, her evening is filled with picking up kids from school, preparing dinner, assisting with homework, performing evening cardio and spending time with her husband before she goes to bed at 10:30pm.

Her meals are broken down to 6-7 per day. Her diet is rich in lean protein such as chicken, turkey, white fish, egg whites, lean steak, bison and her favorite protein supplement, Whey Isolate – Allmax IsoFlex. She couples her protein with leafy greens, asparagus and spinach, plus her favorite complex carbohydrates including oats, quinoa and sweet potatoes. To balance her diet, she also incorporates good fats found in flax seeds, fish oil, olive oil, almond butter, walnuts and Omega blends. To round out her nutrition plan, she drinks a healthy 5-6 Liters of water per day to cleanse out her system and assist her physical performance.

Luckily for Francisca, she’s not a big ‘junk food’ person. Her favorite foods growing up were peanut butter and honey sandwiches, which she almost exclusively ate from age 5-15. These days, her cheat meal includes a piece of dark chocolate and fudge cookies called Fudgeeos.

As a busy mother she advocates preparing meals beforehand. For her, it is more effective and efficient to grill 10 chicken breasts versus 2, or cooking 2 pounds of lean beef versus 1 pound. The chicken can be used for lunches and dinners, salads, wraps, soups or stir-fry’s. The beef for chili, meat sauces, or mixed with beans for enchiladas.

The name of the fitness game is INTENSITY.

Francisca’s workout philosophy can be summed into one word: “Intensity.” Her workouts comprise of 6 days/week training with weights, 6-7 days/week performing cardio and 3-4 times a week working on her core. At the gym she prides herself on being very intense and leaves little rest time between her supersets. “What I love about the gym atmosphere, is that we’re all there for a reason.. We want to get stronger, healthier, faster, smaller, bigger……  basically better…. but for myself, seeing others really push themselves, in turn, helps motivate me as well and gives me the drive to push myself past where my mind sometimes says to stop. There’s so much positive energy in there and I draw on that. “

While training with machines, cables and free weights are incorporated into her program, her favorite tools for training is her own body weight. Exercises like pull ups, chin ups, dips, leg raises and push ups are more often used by Francisca, and have also reaped the best results. She advocates intensity, variety and efficiency when designing a training program, for being a mother requires keen effectiveness when performing any action. “I feel like I’ve wasted my time and am disappointed in myself if I don’t put 100% into every workout,” she says.

Naturally, Francisca has a soft spot for pregnant women she sees training at the gym. She resonates with the swollen ankles, backaches, leg pain, sleepless nights and body image issues during pregnancy. Her biggest advice to intimidated, new mothers is to stay disciplined in your eating and to enjoy the experience. “I absolutely loved being pregnant and even giving birth. Don’t let fear of body changes stop you from experiencing what in my opinion is the most incredible life experience you will ever have,” exclaims Francisca.

The Journey Continues…
Currently, Francisca has a variety of projects she is working towards. She is not only pursuing her passion in writings, but she is also working on getting preservative free, homemade snack options for post-workouts or kids. Her biggest project however, involves one man and six kids.

She loves the Lao Tzu quote, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So Francisca advises, “You have to enjoy what you are doing and set realistic goals….just remember to not give up on yourself and DO NOT STOP STEPPING!”