From Soccer to Bodybuilding to CrossFit: The Fitness Evolution of Patti Laughlin

At a Glance: Patti Laughlin

Age: 56

Occupation: Client Fulfillment associate at Beverly International HQ

Family: 25-year-old daughter and 2 sons, 23 & 21

Current Residence: Milford. OH

Years training: 30

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 126

Favorite Fitness Meal: oatmeal, mixed berries, UMP Angel Food Cake and Skippy's Natural peanut butter

Favorite Supplements: Muscle Synergy powder and Density help maintain muscle and strength at my age. I also cannot go without 7-Keto MuscLean and Lean Out to keep my body composition in check and Mass Aminos and Ultra 40 Beef Liver for stamina and recovery.

What would you recommend to someone who has never used Beverly supplements before? I would definitely have them start with UMP protein powder. It is the best-tasting protein powder on the market, and it also bakes exceptionally well.

Music: Country, of course

Most inspiring book: Never Finished by David Goggins

Hobby or interests:I’m a sucker for reality TV. I enjoy spending time with my children when they are in town or on breaks from college.

Words to live by: “Winners created distance on Friday’s”

 

When I was 10, I moved from Minnesota to Cincinnati and started playing soccer with some girls from my neighborhood. I'd never played soccer before, but I instantly fell in love with it! I just loved running and using my feet to kick the ball. Throughout my elementary school years, I played every sport that was available for girls - volleyball, softball, and basketball. Oh, and I even loved the Presidential Fitness test and would find joy in beating the boys! I continued playing soccer throughout high school and into adulthood, playing co-ed indoor and outdoor soccer to stay active and in shape!

After college, I started working for Koch Sporting Goods in downtown Cincinnati and at their satellite location. The satellite location had a health club attached to it, so I took advantage of learning how to work out on the machines and free weights. Although I had dabbled with some machines and free weights during my high school years at the local YMCA, I did not really know what I was doing. But then, the health club set me up with a trainer, and that's when I had the "Aha!" moment of realizing that getting stronger had its advantages. I noticed how I was running faster in soccer matches. My throw-ins were going longer. I was sold on the idea of working out and reaping the benefits on the soccer field, as well as how my body was changing into something I really liked - a strong woman!

My inauguration into Bodybuilding

I became more serious and joined Royal Fitness in Milford, OH. One day at the club, I noticed a female with the most incredible rounded shoulders I had ever seen. I wanted those shoulders, that look! I asked her trainer, Jeff Storch, what I would need to do to look like that. He said, “Diet and lift weights.” I was “sold!” I could do that. This was the pivotal time for me to get my eating in check and start getting serious with my lifting.

I had to drop the old adage of trying to out-train a bad diet of pizza and beers on Fridays and whatever I wanted the rest of the weekend. I had to start looking at labels and pay attention to the grams of sugar in the products I consumed. At first, to avoid being too overwhelmed in my new fitness journey, I paid close attention to what a serving size was and the amount I was consuming. Just cutting out the sugar and only eating weighed-out serving sizes, I was on my way.

I met back with Jeff to see what else I could do to further advance my changing body. At the time, he told me I was a mesomorph, a body type who added muscle fairly quickly. I was enthralled with that compliment and decided to continue upping my weights while lifting and squatting. I added more protein to support the new muscle growth and started eating complex carbohydrates. Change again in the direction I was looking to go. At this time, I decided I would try my hand at a bodybuilding show.

I looked at the upcoming NPC schedule and decided I needed more time to train and prepare myself so that a Spring show would work. Well…as life would have it, I became pregnant with my 3rd child, and the Spring show was to be postponed but not forgotten. My son was born in September 2003, and I set my sights on The Northern, a Beverly International sponsored show in March 2004. Since I began my “new” fitness journey, I had been using Beverly International products, so why not make that my first bodybuilding show?

My goal was to place 1st -5th. Whew, when I found out only 5 females were in my class, I was relieved. YES! I would make my goal for my first show. I ended up placing 3rd and was thrilled. I was also hooked on the prep for a show and competition and desired to be better for the next show.

I competed for three more years, winning first and second places along the way and a giant sword that impressed my children. I stopped competing as my kids got older and more involved in sports. I had to devote more time to coaching them, and I became a personal trainer as well.

I take on a new sport… CROSSFIT

I became involved in CrossFit as a workout regimen during the personal training phase of my life. I wanted an hour of a coach telling me what to do versus me thinking of new creative ways to train myself. I found the CrossFit community welcoming and easy to transfer some of the movements I had been doing at my local gym to a CrossFit box. CrossFit workouts start with a strength portion such as Front Squats, Back Squats, Dead Lifts, Power Cleans, or Snatches. Basically something with a barbell. They vary the percentages and the rep schemes. The second half of a CrossFit class is a timed METCON (metabolic conditioning) or cardio piece involving weights, movements, and reps.

One of my all-time favorite workouts is “DIANE.” It consists of 21-15-9 deadlifts (155 lbs for women) and handstand pushups for time. (Remember the shoulders I wanted? Those come in handy for handstand pushups.) Another workout that you can do almost anywhere is CINDY, which consists of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. Repeat for 20 minutes.

 

Diet

I used to think you could out-train a bad diet. That's not the case at all. I buckled down on my diet using an app (RP Diet), and I continue to track my macros. Having something that shows me the macros I need to eat has helped tremendously in refueling after workouts and getting stronger and leaner. I dropped weight and have kept it off.

7:00 am I attend the class at CrossFit Homegrown Strength & Conditioning, so I start my morning with Muscle Provider and a fruit snack.

My post-workout meal is oatmeal, mixed berries, UMP Angel Food Cake, and Skippy's Natural peanut butter.

Meals 3, 4, & 5 are 25 g of protein/ 20 g of fat/ 45 g of carbs each. I usually repeat the oatmeal, berry, UMP, and peanut butter concoction for meal 5.

 

Training

I attend a 7:00 a.m. CrossFit class Monday through Friday. After work, I either spend 30 minutes on my Concept 2 Bike Erg or walk 4 - 5 miles. I almost always go to Saturday and Sunday classes as well.

Supplements

I start every morning with 2 scoops of Muscle Synergy powder, 1 Peak ATP, 3 Lean Out, 3 7-Keto MuscLean, 2 Quadracarn, 3 Density, 4 Mass Aminos, 4 Ultra 40, and 2 FitTabs.

I repeat all of these 3 times a day except for FitTabs, which I only take twice a day. I also sip on Glutamine Select Wild Berry during the work day.

I Continue to Improve

Since becoming a regular 7:00 a.m. CrossFit class participant and Beverly International employee, I have further improved my body composition by losing some fat and adding a little more lean muscle mass. I attribute that to consistency, constantly pushing myself
(and competing with 20+ year-olds) at CrossFit and the amount of movement and lifting I do at Beverly International, where I work in the Client Fulfillment Center and warehouse. I am constantly lifting and carrying boxes with an average weight of 10 lbs. to 48 lbs. As well as fulfilling orders for our clients, my co-workers and I keep the warehouse impeccably clean and organized. More lifting and hard work!

I have also competed in local CrossFit competitions since 2015, when I began CrossFit. I have also had a few body part replacements, such as the left and right hip and left knee, and a shoulder repair. Despite setbacks, I have come back stronger and more determined than before, not letting my age define me. I am 56 years young and still compete. I’m currently nationally ranked and give the young ones at my CrossFit box a run for their money.

Posted in Fit 45 (Women 45+), Fit Figure / Bikini, Latest Articles.