Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Hello Folks,
When I was a kid growing up I used to love to watch the Olympics, especially gymnastics. Back then there was one athlete that really stood out, Mary Lou Retton. She was a powerhouse; she was all muscle and power and it showed in her routines.
Mary Lou Rettons Bio:
Born January 24, 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia.
- Inspired by Nadia Comaneci she took up gymnastics
- Coached by Bela and Marta Karolyi (coached Comaneci)
- First female gymnast from US to win the all-around Olympic title.
- Won five metals at the 1984 Olypmics
- She has a skill named after her on the uneven bars called "The Retton Flip”
- In 1997, Retton was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
- She was the first female to appear on a Wheaties box
- Married with four daughters
- Currently she is a personal trainer and has her own website called http://www.marylouretton.com/ and http://www.marylousweigh.com/.
Here is an a few questions from an interveiw with Mary Lou Retton on Chron: Health and Medicine.
Petite women know they have to watch their weight more closely than their taller counterparts, and Mary Lou Retton is no different. She became America's sweetheart back in 1984 when she stood on the Olympic podium to accept five medals and flashed her wide, bright smile. America still loves Retton, who is married to a Houston real estate developer and mom to four busy daughters. By trade she's now a motivational speaker and travels weekly to inspire others to achieve their best. She also is launching a diet and exercise program this month called Mary Lou's Weigh (find it at marylousweigh.com). The plan comes with a reinvented scale — a "platform" that doesn't tell you what you weigh, but informs you how much you've gained or lost.
Q: You could be doing anything right now. Why a weight-loss program?
A: I'm a motivational speaker; that's what I do. I can encourage and be your personal trainer. I want people to just think that tomorrow is a new day and they shouldn't be afraid to start. I can help.
Q: What do — an Olympic athlete — say to inspire people who may not do any exercise at all?
A: Whenever you have a pinnacle moment, the Gold Medal moment, there's a story of what it took to get there. I left my family at 14 and had a body type that was not supposed to be a gymnast. A gymnast was supposed to be thin and graceful. I was muscular and strong and no one had seen that. I was not extraordinary. But I had a dream, and I worked my tail off. Anyone can do that.
Q: But when you were training and competing it was different, right?
A: I had to be a certain number — between 92 and 94 pounds — because the less you weigh, the easier the sport is. I had doctors and trainers telling me what to eat. I always made it, but it was tough.
Q: What changed after all that?
A: I was in college at UT, a normal kid. Gosh, you eat fast food and pizza at midnight.
Q: So you gained the "Freshman 15?"
A: Yes, it was fun until I saw pictures of myself. I knew I wasn't happy with myself.
Q: What did you do about it?
A: I needed to get back on track. Not because a coach or trainer said to, but I did it for me. It was a huge moment for me and it felt good. So I did what we all know works. I cut out the junk food and started working out.
A: I focus on cardio, 30 to 45 minutes on the elliptical machine. I also lift light weights with high repetitions. I have to exercise in the morning or it doesn't get done.
Q: What do you do for stress relief?
A: Exercise. That's my time. I read and listen to my iPod. It's alone time, really. I love my kids, but it's chaotic.
Q: What advice to you give other women your age?
A: I urge women to get health screenings, get a mammogram. My mother-in-law is battling breast cancer now and it's awful. I had my first colonoscopy this year. I want a good quality of life when I'm old, and I want to set a good example for my daughters now.
diane.cowen@chron.com
For full interview CLICK HERE
Thoughts on Mary Lou Retton:
Mary Lou Retton was one of the few female athlete's in gymnastics that was not only talented but also very physically strong. She managed to use her physical strength to her advantage in a sport where women were much thinner and more petite.
As a female athlete who started seriously competing early in her life, where she practiced for hours and hours every day from a very young age; she more than likely never had to worry too much about her weight. Though, she was in a sport where she was told to keep her weight down, I suspect that with all of those hours of exercise she was burning quite a few calories per day.
Also, she was muscular, which made her even more of a fat buring furnace than other girls her age.
So why did she gain weight after she stopped competing? There are many factors to consider....
- When she stopped exercising or exercised less her muscles began to atrophy, which made her less of a fat burning furnace
- She was away in college where there was no one to tell her what to eat
- She probably ate the same amount of calories that she used to eat when she was competing; meaning she did not adjust her diet to her new lifestyle
- Her body wasn't telling her when she was full because it was used to the level of energy it required to maintain her exercise levels
- She exercised less and burned less calories
- Being a woman she naturally had more fat cells than men
Here are a few interesting facts about fat cells and muscles and how they work...
- Fat cells are called a dipocytes and multiply in number when you are a baby and during puberty
- After you become adults the only time you produce new fat cells is during pregnancy
- When you gain weight, fat cells fill up with more lipids and become larger
- Fat cell numbers can't be decreased, but fat cell size can
- Muscle does not turn into fat, less muscle means easier to gain weight
- Muscles increase metabolism
- 1 pound of muscle extra burns 20 or more calories per day
- Training 4 to 5 days per week intensely increases calorie burn by 400 calories per workout
- To avoid weight gain, monitor diet and maintain strength training program
Here is a clip of her during her Olympic years: (She is a little powerhouse)
Until next time…
Think, Believe, Act, Adjust, Never Give up
Dakota
Today’s Mantra: As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given.
~ Mary Lou Retton
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