Julie's Starting Stats
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 178
Dress Size: 16
Q: What was your favorite food before becoming a Buff Bride?
A: My favorite food is ice cream, especially chocolate and peanut butter! Mmmmmm!
Q: What was your favorite body part before becoming a Buff Bride?
A: I don't think I had a favorite body part.
Q: Did you exercise before becoming a Buff Bride? If so, how often and what did you do?
A: Exercise was nearly nonexistent in my vocabulary through most of high school and into college. And it showed. At graduation time, I was 260 pounds. It was then that I first realized my weight was a serious issue. I wasn't ready to go to a gym. So, I started taking cardio-kickboxing. The workouts filled me with energy and self-confidence. After a few months, I joined my first gym. I was given three sessions with a personal trainer who introduced me to strength training. I tried to work out three to four times a week, two of which I did strength training. Cardio was split on machines like the cross trainer and stair stepper.
Six months later I moved to Tennessee where I would later meet my husband. I tried to exercise on my own, like jogging in local parks. But I wasn't staying consistent and my weight was starting to creep up again. I joined another gym, but was very intimidated by the weight area. I wasn't sure how to use a lot of the machines and there were always beefy guys hanging around. So, I mostly stuck with similar cardio machines as the gym at home. I only went into the weight area if I was with someone from the gym.
A year later, it was time to move again. This time I was moving to be with Hardy. At first, neither one of us did much exercise. I had joined a chain gym in Tennessee and there was another club not too far from where we live in New Jersey. I would go a few times here and there. I convinced Hardy to join as well. Soon, I was going more often because I was going with Hardy. I boosted my cardio to a solid five times a week, with at least one or two days focusing on strength training.
At this time I also set exercise goals for myself. Instead of just staying on a machine for 30 minutes, I looked for activities I could better myself at. I had jogged here and there, but decided to seriously take up running. I resumed swimming — a sport I was fairly active at when I was a child — but this time focusing on distance.
Right before I began Buff Brides, I was working out five to six days a week. I ran two times a week for 30 minutes and swam once a week for an hour. I also did strength training for 45 minutes to an hour followed by 20 to 30 minutes of cardio one to two times a week. The other days I spent 45 minutes doing cardio on the cross trainer or stair stepper. I also tried to make at least one workout a week a "fun" workout, like rollerblading with my husband.
