Transformation Tuesday | This Married Couple Changed Their Lives Through Fitness – MPowered by Maria More | Maria More, LLC.

I am excited to introduce you to Markell and Jessica Thomas as this week’s “Transformation Tuesday” feature.

Tell us about you and how fitness has impacted your life:

We are a married couple of 20 years. We are (43 years old). We found fitness and competing to be a great shared hobby. Fitness has strengthened our marriage, changed our bodies, shown our children the results of discipline and inspired our friends.

Markell:

I started lifting weights and getting in shape because I was tired of being the skinny guy. I wanted to have a physique my wife and son could be proud of. So one day I logged on to the internet, found a newbie workout and meal plan before I knew it. I was seeing great results. Soon people started asking me If I was a fitness competitor or a trainer. I decided to look in to physique shows and entered my first bodybuilding contest. It was a great experience and I won my class and overall novice. My great success motivated my wife to start weight training seriously. She also issued a fitness challenge for her friends. The goal was to get 2 piece ready for a fitness and bikini photo shoot. The photo shoot was a great success. So she decided to take her training to the next level so she could compete in her first physique show. With the help of her coach Steve Payne.(Owner of House of Payne in Lilburn Ga.) She competed in the bikini class and won 2nd in Masters over 40 and 2nd in bikini short class A. She also has a private womens fitness group on Facebook called My New Tomorrow. She posts workouts, transformations, motivational quotes and check ins by the group.

Through fitness we have become closer as a couple and now we have a great hobby we both enjoy. This summer we are competing together in masters national level contests. We will soon offer a couples based fitness seminar, discussing how health and fitness has a positive impact on relationships. In our 20 years of marriage and our own transformations we have a gained a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share.

What are some tips that you would give to people who are new to working out?

Staying motivated is THE main obstacle people new to fitness face. Many times they see no changes in the mirror and the scale is still displaying some number other than the “magical” one.

The scale and mirror are terrible choices to measure your progress. The person in the mirror is viewed through the prism of your own “isms” and perceptions so it is a false metric.

The scale doesn’t know the difference between fat, muscle, or a jar of marbles. The mirror and scale for many are fitness saboteurs.

Use weekly pictures in place of the mirror. It was probably a picture of youself or someone else that motivated you to take your health and fitness more seriously! Now on to a challenge! Put the scale away! We need something better than the scale. Look in your closet and pull out those “they don’t fit jeans” Try them on and take note of how far you can pull them up.

Try them on once a month. Now you can truly “see” your progress and progress gives birth to motivation. Motivation gives birth to consistency. Consistency gives birth to results.

Here’s another tip:

Take out your cellphone. Open your contacts, scroll to the person who you are the closest to and whom you speak to regularly. I want you to change their name to your current fitness goal. It can be anything you like.
For instance:

Go to the gym 3 days in a row.
Take a healthy option for lunch
Walk further than you did last week
Meal prep all of your food. Ect…

Now that goal is real and its tied to someone you care about. Every time that person calls, you are reminded to stay on course. They unknowingly are helping you stay accountable.