Jack Taylor & Michelle Gaulin - "Naturally Ageless" Interview by Jeff Alberts
Jack Taylor: I am 57 years old and I’ve been married to Michelle Gaulin since 2006 who is my training partner and wife. I live in Edmonton, Alberta and have 2 grown children. I have been weight training for 40 years and have competed for a total of 6 years. I have a very addictive nature and have had in my past problems with alcohol and drug use up until I was 32 years old. I turned my life around and decided that I needed to balance my addictive nature by doing something that was positive and good for me and my health. I became involved in bodybuilding for a few years in my mid to late 30’s and discovered that I would have to use steroids to go further as a competitor in the association I was involved with at the time. No way, no how! There were no natural bodybuilding organizations in existence in the late 1980’s or 1990’s. Discouraged, I chose to not compete any longer for that organization. However, I continued building my body with weight training and learning more about nutrition. I learned of a natural bodybuilding organization in 2006 when my wife and I were approached by a promoter with the INBA who saw us training in the gym. The promoter learned of our competitive history and invited us to judge for a natural bodybuilding show he was promoting in Sherwood Park. After our judging experience for the INBA in 2006, both of us were so impressed with the quality of natural competitors that we decided to compete with the INBA in 2007 after 20 years of not competing. The following year, we also were invited to judge for another natural organization, the INBF. Michelle Gaulin: I’ll be 53 in April, and as Jack said we live Edmonton, Alberta. I did not have children but Jack has 2 grown children by a previous marriage. I have been weight training for over 30 years and have competed as a bodybuilder for 5 years in total. I met Jack in the gym one day while training. I was going through a rough time personally with family concerns and I found that training hard was helping alleviate some of the stress. We ran into each other regularly at this gym but neither of us had a training partner. One afternoon after training, we went for coffee and we both brought our bodybuilding photos from our previous contests. In looking at them we saw that we both had pictures of one another in our collections. We discovered that we had actually competed in the same shows without knowing it! We became training partners and friends and that evolved into a marriage about 4 years later. As a bodybuilder I have always trained with men because they weren’t afraid to push you to see what you were made of. I had one woman training partner briefly but it wasn’t a good pairing for either of us. I grew up with 3 brothers so I always had that bit of tomboy in me. I even weight trained with my second youngest brother Myles, who at 50 is a high ranking age-grouper Ironman tri-athlete and marathon runner. With the knowledge and experience of over 30 years of training behind me, I know that even without being gifted genetically, if you apply yourself to doing the hard work with determination and an intense focus on your goals, you will surprise yourself with your results! Whether I compete again or not, I love being in the gym training and I can certainly see myself as an “iron granny” at age 95 still pumping iron in the gym right next to Jack who will be 100!
Michelle Gaulin: The first time I weight trained in the gym with Nautilus equipment, I felt an adrenaline rush, not unlike one that a runner might experience. Formerly a weakling in my early 20’s, my “uh oh, I should be doing something” moment was when my grandmother beat me arm wrestling when she was in her 70’s. Shortly after that my Mom showed me a pictorial of Lisa Lyon in Playboy magazine. She was nude but was spray painted gold and the photos were very artistic. I knew I wanted to have beautifully shaped muscles like hers. Both my Mom and I joined the Nautilus Gym together and within a couple of months I saw great results. I was approached by the manager who suggested that I consider entering a bodybuilding contest. I laughed at her thinking she was crazy but little did I know that within a few years, I would be preparing for my first show at age 31. Once bitten by the iron bug I loved the way my body changed quickly, but more important was the feeling it gave me of power, strength and boundless energy. I still get adrenaline rushes when I lift weights; it feels like a power surge going right through me, feeling powerful and strong is a great feeling. What keeps me motivated 30 plus years later, is the feeling I still get during and after a great weight training session. Plus, I can’t think of any other place I want to be after putting in a full day’s work. Another thing that keeps me motivated now that I am soon to be 53, is that I want to be a good role model to my clients and other people I meet as to what one can achieve when you live a fit and healthy lifestyle. Jack Taylor: You know when I stop to think about motivation, for me, I recall when I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember taking a broom handle and hanging a couple of paint cans on each end of it for weight training, so it has always been there for me. These days, my motivation is nothing more than a deeply-rooted lifestyle. I also want to be there for my training partner and wife. Additionally I am driven by my desire to learn all the different disciplines so I can professionally help others to achieve their goals with this lifestyle. I want others to experience the same vigorous good health that we do. 3DMJ: List both of your career highlights. Jack Taylor: My biggest highlight occurred when Michelle and I met each other in the gym. She has become by far, the best training partner anyone could ask for and is my friend as well as my wife. Another is attaining my fitness certification through ISSA. I have benefitted from the education I received from it and I am continuously learning from additional certifications as well. Other highlights include meeting our mentors Cory and Tracy Holly, of the Cory Holly Sports Institute. My essay was chosen by the Holly’s at a natural bodybuilding competition we both entered in 2007. Collectively as a couple, we were awarded an educational bursary to study in Sports Nutrition. Michelle has completed the 10 exams from this course and is submitting her dissertation in 2010, and will become an accomplished Sports Nutrition Advisor.
Michelle Gaulin: My biggest highlight was finally meeting someone who was as passionate about keeping fit and healthy as I was. With Jack, I didn’t have to explain to him why I’d rather be in the gym after a day at work than on the couch watching TV. That alternative wasn’t acceptable to me! Another great highlight for me was learning that I could compete successfully as a Masters athlete, bringing an even better package to the stage in my 50’s than I could in my 30’s. This came from finally learning and understanding how my body reacts to certain foods and understanding how hormones affect your metabolism. The Cory Holly Sports Nutrition course we studied played a huge part in our recent successes as Masters competitive athletes.
3DMJ: Michelle, you turned professional with the IDFA at the age of 52, how did it feel to win pro status? Michelle Gaulin: I knew that 2009 would likely be my last show for a couple of years, so I wanted to make sure that I made a good showing as our family and friends would be at the show. I came in with great conditioning for an older athlete. I truly believe that the more years you spend training as a bodybuilder, the more you hone and refine those muscles from a standpoint of shape, size, symmetry, density, hardness and vascularity. I did not have the muscular hardness and vascularity in my 30’s that I have now in my 50’s. That holds true for my husband as well comparing his recent bodybuilding photos to those from his younger years. After weight training for 30 plus years, you also get to know your body very well and how it reacts to changes in exercise and nutrition. 3DMJ: What were some of the key factors for your pro card victory? Michelle Gaulin: Our pre-contest training and diet last year was right on track and my husband has consistently improved his physique each year we compete; he just keeps getting harder and sharper! In 2008, I wasn’t happy with my conditioning and cut my water too soon (which I’ve learned I should never do at all) and felt lousy onstage. Our carb depletion and carb load in 2009 was just right and I felt confident about the package I was bringing to the IDFA stage. I knew I stood a good chance of placing well in 2009 but I didn’t consider that I would achieve pro status. One thing that has worked well for me is the technique of visualization. If you visualize yourself standing proudly onstage with a trophy, it can become a reality if you are really focused on your goal. I also use visualization techniques in heavy weight training to envision getting the bar over my head or deepening into a squat with a weight I’ve never used before. My art degree has helped me in regard to visualization, as we learned about anatomy in life drawing class. Also what we learned about the physiology of muscle from our fitness and nutrition certifications has helped me. I try to visualize the muscles I am about to work when in the gym and I visualize feeding those muscles while eating.” 3DMJ: Michelle, you are a true inspiration for many women. What advice would you give for an aspiring female bodybuilder who is looking to walk in your footsteps? Michelle Gaulin: Thank you for that compliment, Jeff. Weight training or resistance exercise is the best way to physically transform your body. Compliment that activity with a sound nutrition plan to create energy to live a healthy life and learn how to work with your metabolism; don’t put yourself into a state of deprivation or starvation encouraging fat storage. Lengthy aerobic exercise sessions for an hour on the treadmill a day will not give you lean, shapely and metabolically active muscle tissue that keeps fat off your body. Ladies, you will not become muscular like a man or bulky from lifting weights because you have but a small fraction of his testosterone in your body. I cannot emphasize enough that having muscle on your body will help burn body fat as it is metabolically active, whereas fat is inert. Bodybuilding training with the intention to compete is a lot of hard work, but more importantly nutrition is often overlooked especially in the off-season. In our early years of competing, we would eat everything and anything in sight after the show, with no thought as to the consequences of what we were doing to our bodies. The pre-contest diet is more difficult than the training. From our experience the monotony of eating yet another chicken breast with brown rice will play games with your mind. The shape you are in for your show is attainable for only a brief period of time and cannot be sustained for long after your contest. Be aware of your cravings to pig out after a contest and satisfy your urge, but don’t let several days or a week’s worth of consuming junk food set the stage for eating unhealthily for an extended time. We all do it after a show and it feels good, but within a few days you will suffer from a “food hangover” that is just as bad as an alcohol hangover. Many women competitors have a hard time adjusting to the post-contest appearance that manifests itself with the consumption of carbs, sugar, salt and fat. Enjoy the “free eating” ride for a few days, and then get back on a wholesome and clean food plan to reduce the inflammation and detoxify the body. Take some time away from training as well to catch up on much-needed rest and spend some quality time with family and friends. Jack and I usually take 1 or 2 weeks away from training after a show. For women especially, we have hormone fluctuations to contend with and that makes coming in ripped for a show more of a challenge, especially during your childbearing years. Ladies, if you continue weight training through your childbearing years and into your middle age you will find that the body in the mirror appears younger than its chronological age. You are also working at preventing a loss of bone density that typically starts in your 30’s. You will also find that you will transition more smoothly into perimenopause and menopause, with fewer symptoms of discomfort during those times of decreasing estrogen. You will also ward off the tendency for the typical “middle age spread” setting in and will retain most of the vigor and energy of your early 30’s if you have been keeping physically active. If you do decide to compete, marvel at and honor the process your body goes through to get to finally stand on stage in the best shape of your life. The journey towards the goal can teach you many things about how you perform in the face of hardship. You will display determination, perseverance and a positive attitude to put your best self forward. After the show, reward your accomplishments with a nice pampering session at a spa, you’ve earned it! It also helps if you have the support of your significant other or spouse to cheer you on. In our case we compete at the same shows, so we are dieting and training together and are mindful of the stress that contest prep can cause on a relationship. This has only strengthened our marriage because we are each other’s cheering section while on stage. Sometimes family and friends may not understand why you have to bring your strange food to family celebrations during contest prep but on the whole, most people have been supportive of our goals. Our Dad lives with us and has watched us get ready for two contests and is always amazed at how we can prepare and eat so much food in a week and not be fat! 3DMJ: Jack, at 57 competing as a bodybuilder is an incredible accomplishment in itself; describe for us your motivation as you continue to prove age is no barrier when getting on stage. Jack Taylor: My motivation is experiencing the camaraderie that we all share backstage among the varied competitors who all compete naturally. When my wife and I are not competing, we like to volunteer our time to help athletes who are competing. Another thing that feeds my motivation is a long-time veteran athlete of this sport and fellow competitor, Chuck Thomson. 3DMJ: Jack, you not only inspire the older generation, but inspire the younger generation as well. How does it feel to inspire both sides of the spectrum? Jack Taylor: In answer to that question, the feeling is mutual. My inspiration comes from knowing that young fellows I see in the gym watching Michelle and I train together have so many questions to ask as I did when I was younger. Even if the curious gym members do not hire us to coach them, we hope they are inspired to learn those answers so they can grow naturally. The fact that the baby boomer and older generations want to get started on exercise and nutrition programs even if they’ve never done so before, proves to Michelle and I that what we have experienced and believe in is true. It doesn’t matter when you start, younger or older, the time is now and it’s never too late to start on the path to ageless fitness and health. 3DMJ: How did you guys get started in fitness and lifestyle coaching? Michelle Gaulin: I was at work one day talking about weight training in the gym and describing an exercise to my employer and she had commented to me that I should become a personal trainer. She had pointed out that I seemed so passionate that I should consider working in a field that I was enthusiastic about. Around that same time, I got my Dad at age 70 involved in weight training to augment his already active lifestyle and put together a program for him to use at his gym. He became my first “client” and still is at 75 and he was our inspiration to name our business “Ageless Fitness and Health”. I seriously considered taking a personal training course and did research on several certifying associations. I finally chose ISSA because they have many years of education experience, well respected experts in the field, and global recognition. In 2004, I became certified as a Fitness Trainer and I persuaded my husband Jack to become involved as well. Our goal was to one day be Fitness Trainers either at a gym or for our own business, as independent trainers. Jack studied the same course and was certified in 2007. We had already been exposed through bodybuilding to periodization principles, so program planning was easy for us and came naturally. The training and teaching came easily but the nutrition aspect was hit or miss. We thought we were eating pretty clean initially, but our food plan has definitely evolved in recent years into a much healthier one. Jack Taylor: In 2007 we competed for the INBA and as a couple, were awarded an educational bursary from the Cory Holly Sports Nutrition Institute. This was to become Certified Sports Nutrition Advisors. From this great course we learned to eat whole, unrefined foods and how certain foods can affect metabolism and body typing. We also learned which nutritional supplements really work, and how to use that knowledge to recommend whole foods and supplements to enhance life expectancy and quality. Our studies in nutrition have taught us that our bodies react very differently to various foods, so my diet is somewhat different from Michelle’s. We’ve done metabolic typing on ourselves and have discovered that I am a dominant mesomorph with endomorphic secondary traits, who leans out very well by consuming white fleshed meats, such as chicken and fish. Michelle, being a dominant ectomorph hard gainer with secondary endomorphic traits, leans out with the liberal consumption of red fleshed meats, such as lean steak and bison. We also both do better with consuming vegetable carbs, oatmeal and quinoa rather than starchy carbs, such as potatoes, rice, bread and pasta. Yams, broccoli and cauliflower work best for our body types along with consuming protein at each meal to slow the absorption of carbs, keeping blood sugar levels stable. We feel we have more to offer clients than fitness training with our knowledge of nutrition and experience as competitors. We see ourselves not just as trainers but as coaches. We observe factors outside of the client’s fitness that may affect their goals, such as their mindset, self talk, goal tracking and motivation. Living healthily means being self-directed and choosing to eat whole foods, bringing energy to your life and having enthusiasm when performing your daily exercise regime. We may have a gym session planned for a body part after work later in the day, but we are always up early to do our morning ritual of exercise in our home studio. We enhance our evening body building training with balance, core, cardiovascular, agility or flexibility training in the morning. We don’t let mental or emotional opposition get in the way of “fitting fitness” into our daily routine because we prefer to live in a state of strength, health and wellness. 3DMJ: Describe for us what a typical client can expect from your service. Jack Taylor: A client’s goals become our goals and we help them get there. We want them to achieve their goals whether they are sports performance, body fat reduction, eating healthier, improving energy, fitting into that size 6 dress, or any other goal. We perform fitness assessments including body fat testing at 9 sites, cardiovascular testing, girth measurements of 8 sites, functional movement assessments, basic metabolic typing assessments (questionnaire), and an in-depth face-to-face interview. Based on the interview we provide recommendations of which whole foods and supplements can aid them in weight loss/body fat reduction, recovery from exercise, improved energy, and enhanced sport performance. Our approach is more holistic in that we want to motivate our clients to gradually incorporate healthy eating and exercise as a daily lifestyle by reinforcing the good habits that can stay with them for life. We are not about providing “quick fixes” such as rapid weight loss regimens, as we ourselves have learned that it takes a long time to entrench healthy habits. Michelle Gaulin: We firmly believe that if we all endeavored to put more emphasis on living, rather than just “looking good”, we would add more “good” years to our lifespan as opposed to more years of declining health to be “endured”. As a couple, we both have specialties, with Jack being the go-to guy for most of our younger male clients and men in general who want to become more fit. He is keen to work with youths who need direction in weight training because he had to learn all on his own without guidance. Weight training without using proper form or not understanding periodization, volume, tempo or intensity can easily result in overtraining and injury. Jack knows this first hand, having had 2 rotator cuff surgeries to repair shoulder injuries from his early training years. My specialties are in working with pre and post surgical rehab clients with mobility issues who have had or will have knee or hip surgery. My Dad requires a hip replacement in the very near future so I have implemented a pre-surgery regimen of mobility exercises. They are designed to keep my Dad fit, trim and mobile up to the day of his surgery. I really enjoy working with older adults who may not have exercised much in their younger years. I like to help them become more fit so that they can ingrain exercise and nutrition into their lives, improving their health and extending their lifespan. 3DMJ: Tell us how you feel after one of your clients is successful in attaining their goals? Michelle Gaulin & Jack Taylor: Extremely pleased! We also try to reward our clients throughout their coaching with incentives. After 6 sessions with us, the client will receive a t-shirt with our “Ageless” logo on it. After completion of the client’s 12th session, we might reward them with a fleece hoodie with our logo on it, a training diary to log their exercises, or an inexpensive piece of exercise equipment with suggestions on implementing its use. We teach clients to build a reference library of exercises they can draw from by choosing from the workouts we plan for them. Once a client decides to part ways, they can use the training knowledge they’ve gained to continue their training. The same is true for nutrition; if they know the basics of the foods to consume, they can incorporate other healthy foods into their food plan to optimize their nutritional requirements. We encourage our clients to stay in touch and we answer any of their questions once they are on their own. With the client’s permission of course, we may feature them on our website as an example of being “ageless”. We have a variety of testimonials on our website, including 3 from other health professionals. Our reward is the testimonials our clients and other health professionals have given us and our services. 3DMJ: Where can you be reached for fitness and lifestyle coaching? Michelle Gaulin & Jack Taylor: Google us at ageless fitness and health to see our website – we are the first site at the top of the search. You can email us directly at ageless_fitnessandhealth@hotmail.com as well. 3DMJ: What are your goals for 2010 as fitness and lifestyle coaches, as well as natural bodybuilders? Michelle Gaulin & Jack Taylor: We have competed the past 3 years in a row, either winning or placing high on the podium. We work full time during the day at other jobs and manage our fitness lifestyle coaching business part time. Our goal is to be able to coach fitness and nutrition full time. Prepping for contests the past 3 years, working full time and trying to manage our part time business was getting to be too much. We decided to focus on building our coaching business this year and then in two years when Jack is 60 and I am 55, we will compete again.” Owning your own business while preparing for bodybuilding shows require intense focus and a lot of time invested. We feel we have been very successful in the sport of bodybuilding and want to give back to the sport. During our 2 years away from competition, we are planning to volunteer at some local natural shows. We may not be competing for another 2 years but we are thinking ahead, knowing that 2 years will go quickly. We are training already for our show in 2 years time. Building quality muscle and refining or bringing up lagging body parts takes time especially as you get older, so with our mindset, we always prepare for a contest a year in advance. 3DMJ: Any other information you would like to share with other natural athletes? Michelle Gaulin & Jack Taylor: Continually educate yourself in fitness and nutrition and don’t be afraid to try new types of training and different healthy foods. Expand your bodybuilding repertoire of exercises to include movements outside of the usual push/pull planes of movement. Bodybuilders get locked into movement patterns over time and get stale. If you are bored with the same exercises, you may even see that you stop getting results. My husband and I have noticed in the past few years that we were becoming very stiff and inflexible as a result of many years of weight training. We have included other forms of exercise to complement and enhance our bodybuilding training, such as yoga. Yoga is superb for building static strength from holding the postures for a longer duration and it develops superb body awareness as well as balance. The inclusion of yoga has also given us greater flexibility and enables us to move better in other planes of motion that we do not commonly challenge with bodybuilding training. Functional training has also become very important to us as because you can injure yourself easily in rotary movements of everyday life. Rotational movements are often neglected in bodybuilding training so try adding some wood chops in from time to time to shake things up. Our morning training sessions in our home studio are usually more functional in nature. We utilize kettle bells, light dumbbells, rubber tubing, an exercise ball, bodyweight exercises, medicine balls, stability reaches with cones and some plyometric drills with hurdles. We have both competed in organizations where they don’t drug test competitors or only drug test the overall finishers. Over 20 years ago, when we both first competed, there were no “natural” bodybuilding organizations. As bodybuilders, whether you choose to compete or not, you are a bodybuilder. This is true by definition if you are doing some form of resistance training. If you are trying to break down and build muscle tissue, build strength, preserve bone density, develop stronger ligaments and tendons, or add lean muscle to burn fat, whatever your goal is, you are “building” your body. 3DMJ: Thank you for sharing! Michelle Gaulin & Jack Taylor: Jeff, many thanks to you for your well thought out interview questions and for featuring us on your excellent website. Thank you to 3DMuscleJourney for your hard work in promoting natural bodybuilding to all the readers out there. |
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3DMJ: Please tell us about yourselves as individuals and as natural bodybuilders.
3DMJ: As a couple you guys have a combined 70 years of training experience, impressive to say the least. How have you been able to sustain the motivation to train for so long?
He has consistently edged me out in when we compete.
