Susan Sommers - Power Source for Women: Proven Fitness Strategies, Tools, and Success Stories for Women 45+

Copyright 2010 by Susan Sommers and Theresa Dugwell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in 2010 by

BPS Books

Toronto and New York

www.bpsbooks.com

A division of Bastian Publishing Services Ltd.

ISBN 978-1-926645-20-9

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available from Library and Archives Canada.

Cover: Gnibel

Text design and typesetting: Casey Hooper Design

Photographs: Shahrokh Saeedi

Line drawings: Heidi Overhill

Printed by Lightning Source, Tennessee. Lightning Source paper, as used in this book, does not come from endangered old growth forests or forests of exceptional conservation value. It is acid free, lignin free, and meets all ANSI standards for archival-quality paper. The print-on-demand used to produce this book protects the environment by printing only the number of copies that are purchased.

This book is dedicated to our mothers:

Lee Sommers,for encouraging me, believing in me, and inspiring me. In my mind and my heart, you will always be my role model and my power source .

Margaret Ayer, for having the courage to change, the wisdom to find your inner peace, and the strength for motherhood. You have become my inspiration, my advisor, and my confidante. Thank you for all the ways you have helped me to grow Mother, I love you so .

Complete Our FIT Lifestyle Questionnaire

Power Source Tool #1
EXPLORE YOUR MIND, MOVE YOUR BODY

Power Source Tool #2
DO YOUR RESEARCH

Our Power Source Expert, Ruth Krongold, Speaks

Power Source Tool #3
BUILD YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY TEAM

Power Source Tool #4
DEFINE SUCCESS AND SET GOALS

Power Source Tool #5
CREATE FITNESS ROUTINES ALIGNED WITH YOUR GOALS

Power Source Tool #6
DISCOVER YOUR FIT MOTIVATIONAL STYLE

Power Source Tool #7
CREATE YOUR OWN FIT ACTION PLAN

Power Source Tool #8
RECOGNIZE CHALLENGES, PERSEVERE, AND REFOCUS ON YOUR FITNESS GOALS

Power Source Tool #9
CREATE REWARDS AND CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES

Power Source Tool #10
ASSESS YOUR RESULTS AND SET NEW GOALS

Power Source for Women is dedicated to women 45+ at all levels, stages, and abilities of fitness. Our simple, realistic approach touches on the very essence of what we can do as women to develop a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Throughout this book we provide specific, research-based strategies and tools that are especially appropriate for women.

We are committed to your fitness. We have written Power Source for Women to help get you started and to help keep you motivated, by showing you the amazing rewards that come from fitness. We will help you to launch your fitness journey and to persevere one step at a time. We will show you how you can be a mentor and inspiration to other women and girls. In our approach, as you will see, the richest and most lasting rewards are in the journey, not the destination.

You may be wondering how we became so inspired by fitness.

Growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, I was introduced to a number of sports. My father taught my older brother, Howard, and me how to roller skate, ice skate, swim, and ride a bike when we were young.

I now realize that my father was at the forefront of the home gym movement. In the 1950s he set up a rowing machine, a chinning bar, and hand weights in the basement of our house. My brother, who was recovering from polio, exercised with him. However, as a girl in that traditional decade, I was not encouraged to try the machines and the weights. In fact, it took me another 40 years to get involved in strength training.

I was always quite short and loved candy and cookies. From the time I was 10 until I started to smoke at the age of 16, I was self-conscious about my weight. For the next 20 years, I controlled it through a combination of smoking, dieting, and diet pills.

My mother and her two sisters were also obsessed with weight their own and that of their three daughters. When I went away to university, I took a black coat with me: Whenever I gained weight, I wore it for when I was getting off the plane to meet my mother.

When I stopped smoking in 1980, I gained 25 pounds. For the next 15 years, I tried to lose the weight through aerobics classes, swimming, skipping meals, and all kinds of diets with little success.

As I entered my 50s and menopause, I knew I had to change my eating habits, find healthier tools for dealing with stress, and discover new ways to relax.

When I started to work full-time at a YMCA Business Centre near Toronto in 2002, I received two free YMCA fitness memberships one for me and one for my husband, Peter. At the age of 57 I joined a Saturday YMCA Run Fit class and started to jog.

Jogging, walking, and weight training became my passion. From 2002 to 2010 I trained for, and completed, ten 5k runs, three 10ks, 10 half-marathons, and two full marathons.

During that time I also watched my mother fight chronic pain due to osteoarthritis and gradually lose her mobility. When she died in early 2009 from Alzheimers disease, she was bedridden. This gave me an added incentive to keep moving. I vowed I would increase my core strength and flexibility through a more disciplined fitness program.

Today I am 20 pounds lighter, and, through weight training and walking/jogging, I have totally transformed my body. I am proud of the way I look and now realize this is the best me.

My childhood was challenged by the absence of my father and the presence of a young mother who suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety. I recall the many nights I consoled her and the many times I wished for a better life one with a mother who could nurture me emotionally and a father figure to guide and protect me. My two siblings, both younger than I, on many occasions looked to me for parental leadership throughout our childhood years.

The challenges I faced as a young girl certainly increased my susceptibility to depression, and not having strong parental guidance during difficult times put me at emotional risk. What kept me motivated and free from depression and adolescent turmoil was the occasional quiet voice within reminding me that one day I would grow up and my life could change.

It was painful and exhausting at times for me to watch my mother suffer in her emotionally distraught world and to try so desperately to help her.

Looking at this in a positive light, I see that these early experiences prompted me to take a keen interest in understanding how to build a stronger mind and body. As an adolescent I found escaping to my bedroom, closing the door, listening to music, and exercising to be a great way to put myself in a better state. As I entered adulthood I continued to use exercise and nutrition as my formula for looking and feeling better. Today I have a lifelong commitment to physical fitness and my well-being.