Dian Newell
48 yrs old, 5'8" 155lbs, married with one son and one stepson, both grown and
gone! That allows me time to pursue my love of singing and song writing. You
can hear my newest song here:

Besides
that, musically, I play the guitar and sing lead for an old-time string band
called Salty Gravy. You won't find us on the web. Our music is arcane, and
even though we have played a million tiny founder's day festivals over the
last few years, recording a CD seems to be beyond our rhelm of understanding.
We are just too low-tech.

I took up the weights just under a year ago, several months into a weight
loss program that centered around a lot of cardio training and a reduced
calorie diet. I started at 39% bodyfat and 210lbs, and have dropped to 20%
bodyfat and 155lbs.

My goals have largely been oriented around getting healthy. I still have
plenty of fat to lose, and maintenance is made much easier with continued
weight training. But I think that the main reason I love training is because
of the mental strength I feel it imparts. It is empowering to be able to
focus myself so completely, and that helps me in all aspects of my life.

Since I have no friends who lift, I get MOST of my information online, so I
have to sort through a lot of conflicting information. But finding my way
down the iron path is interesting AND challenging, so I am not likely to give
it up.

My goals for the next year include increasing my core strength, abs and lower
back, to help correct my decades long lower back problem, and reducing my
bodyfat to around 20%. I may be too old to be a powerlifter, but I am going
to concentrate on increasing my bench, squat, and deadlift, with an eye
toward entering some kind of competition in the summer of my 50th year.

Email Dian