Introduction

Hello! Welcome to my blog! For those of you who don't know me, and are stumbling across this page, I'd like to introduce myself and hopefully give you reason to read and follow along with my blogging!

My name is Lauren DeNapoli, I am 30 years old and live in southern NH. And yes, it is snowing here and it's only mid October! Gotta love NE weather! Anyways, back to my intro...

I am a full time physical therapist at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, specializing in orthopedics. My job is the BEST! I work with a fantastic group of professionals who give quality care, and truly care about their patients' outcomes. I'm truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to go to NU in Boston. That's also where I met my husband, Dana. It was after meeting my husband, in the gym on NU's campus no less, where my passion for fitness was born.

Going to the gym when I was in college was more of a social event. I would go there to hang out with friends and classmates, while working out at the same time. Luckily, being a physical therapy major, I was surrounded for the most part by people who were dedicated to health and fitness. So, instead of hanging out at the local college bar after class, I would meet people up at the gym, or outside for a run along the Charles River. Fitness = fun for me at that time.

Around that time, I was given the opportunity to work for a sports physical therapy clinic in Copley Square. That was great because the clinic was located next door to HealthWorks Fitness Center for women. It was here that I started personal training, and also training myself more seriously. In this environment, it was not social hour. The all-female atmosphere was great, no one was trying to impress anyone. I could workout there and focus. I began seeing changes in my body, and others were starting to notice too. I could begin seeing muscles, definition, and my energy levels were way up! As a student, during freshmen year I packed on the notorious "freshman 15", and that began to disappear! That's where my story begins.

After moving back to NH with Dana, I got a job in physical therapy and together we bought a condo. I guess you could say I began "nesting"....not like ready to have kids, but rather now I had a kitchen where I could cook up tasty foods, desserts, etc. So, the weight came on. I wasn't exercising a whole lot at this time, I was comfortable in my little world: going to work, coming home and making dinner for myself and Dana, then getting cozy on the couch with some drinks, popcorn, and or other late night snacks. Time went on, and I realized "this isn't good". I went for a run outside (something I did a lot of during my college and even high school days) and was completely winded. But, I was persistent and kept it up. Going to the gym became more regular and before I knew it, I was back in shape.

Filling up my car with gas one day at a local gas station, I glanced over the the window of the store and there was a poster for a local bodybuilding, fitness, and figure show. Now, I have also been an avid reader of fitness magazines such as Oxygen, so I knew all about fitness and figure competitions. I could name who won the Olympia that year as well as name off all the pro girls. What I didn't know, was that there were local shows right in my neighborhood! I wrote the information down and the next thing I knew, I was on stage winning my first ever figure show!

From there, I did two more shows, placing 2nd and then 1st/overall. My 3rd show where I placed 1st was a national qualifier! (This show is also where I met Cathy Savage, who is now my coach, and I'll get into that later!!)

My first national show was in 2007, in Chicago. This year, I was also planning my wedding! So, it proved to be a very busy but very rewarding year! In my first national figure show, I placed 5th. I was ESTATIC!! I competed again in NYC, and placed 6th. Also very exciting. All in all, I was very pleased with this and went onto get married!! It was a great year!

2008 was my second year competing. Because I did so well the year before, I was so eager to start training and dieting. Having met Cathy Savage at my previous local show, I emailed her to ask for her help. I said to her, "This year is the year I'm getting my pro-card". She agreed and we started dieting and training to do just that. However, that did not happen. Going back to Chicago where I placed 5th the year before, I now placed 13th. "How could this be???" I thought....I was looking better than ever! More ripped, lean, I was looking better than a lot of the girls, and the judges saw it, but it was not what they were looking for. You see, sometime between 2007 and 2008, the NPC decided that they wanted a "softer" look. Unfortunately, I didn't get the memo. Knowing this, I entered in the NYC show (Team U) with a "softer" physique. I did place better (11th) but my conditioning was not right. I decided to stop competing and figure out what I was going to do with my body. How was I going to be softer without looking fat??? And better yet, how was I going to get my pro-card now?!?!

That's when Cathy had a idea, "Why don't you do fitness??" she said to me at one of our "get me a pro-card meetings" Always wanting to be open minded, I said "sure". I immediately thought to myself, "oh my God what am I getting myself into??" Just because I can do a straddle jump doesn't mean I can do flips, splits, and all that jazz while making everything look pretty and smiling all along!!! First off, I have no gymnastic or dance background. But, that was no concern for Cathy and her staff. From there, we began planning a routine. Believe me, it took a good year for me to learn the mandatories and put this routine together. Training for a fitness competition is a whole new world, but I LOVE it. I placed in my first local show which qualified me for national show in fitness. I entered the fitness category again at Team U. To my surprise, I won my class and my pro-card!! It was surreal. Flashbacks to the time when I would be sitting on a stationary bike, reading my Oxygen magazine, and saying to myself, "I could never do fitness" ran through my head. I pinched myself discretely, while listening to the cheers of the crowd, and I knew that it was real.

This blog is to inspire all those who say, "there is no way I can do fitness". Now, I'm not saying that "anybody" can do fitness, what I'm saying is that if you're a competitor or at least have a good base of strength, than it is possible!!! As an IFBB pro, I feel privileged to share my knowledge and my journey with you. Training with Cathy and her staff has been amazing. Not only did I "achieve my impossible dream" but I did it in a way that was healthy. I didn't sacrifice my life, my health, or my beliefs to get ahead in this game. Because, when you look at it, it is just a game, and it's a game that you play for yourself. No one forces you to do this, YOU choose to play this game. This is one thing that Cathy and her staff emphasize. It's a CHOICE, we all have the choice to compete or not to compete. When I won my pro-card, I decided that I was going to be a very active and involved pro competitor. My journey has only begun, please follow along on my journey as I get ready for my pro-debut next year!!

Thank you for reading.

Take care for now!!

xoxo

Lauren