Stephanie Alonzo-Bagby

Fitness is a journey without a destination. Plenty of road stops and sights to see, but there truly is no end. It is super cheesy to say, but sometimes that motivational quote on your wall kind of nails it.

Today we talk to Stephanie, who started her journey after essentially being told she’d never have one. A torn hamstring and no medical insurance left her with nerve damage. She decided to take the path less traveled and fight for her fitness. She began PT, made it into the gym, and eventually ran a 5k. She joined the military, found powerlifting, and started assembling her home gym from a basic bar and plates as well as concrete, left over scraps from one of her jobs, and whatever she could toss together to get the job done.

There have been set backs along this fitness journey, with a few stops on the way, but Stephanie can look back in the rear view mirror and be happy about where she has made it so far, while keeping her sights on the road ahead.

Let’s get to know Stephanie.

How did your journey begin?

I began my fitness journey when I had a torn hamstring.  I had no insurance and for 5 years I lived in constant pain.  Fast forward 5 years and I finally got full coverage health insurance.  The doctor said I let the damage go for too long, that I had extensive nerve damage.  He said I’d never walk without pain, and would never run with the amount of damage and pain I was in.   I was pushing 400 pounds.  The doctor gave me a prescription for pain pills and said that I would be on these for the rest of my life.  I had just turned 30 years old. 

Damn! What happened next?

On the drive home a fire was lit and I made it my mission to never fill that prescription.  I spoke with a different doctor and went the Physical Therapy route, with my end goal to be able to join a gym.  I completed my PT and began attending my local gym, my very supportive wife joining with me.

 No real knowledge of what I was doing I got 3 personal training sessions and used those workouts for 6 months. At 6 months in I decided to grab my courage and went to my first group fitness class.  It was yoga and I lasted all of 10 minutes.  I was in complete pain due to the still raw hamstring injury, but I decided to try another class, Zumba.  I felt welcomed and actually made it through the entire class, sweating and cursing.  This class became my family and with the confidence it gave me I eventually tried my first 5k.  I had learned a lot about fitness and began teaching Group Fitness and got my personal training certification.

Love it! Ok, I know you got more.

Around this time Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was overturned.  It allowed me to set sights on a new goal.  I could finally serve my country open and honestly.  3 years from beginning my fitness journey I had lost over 100 pounds and joined the Army Reserves at 32.  It took a full year of going into the recruiter’s office getting measured to make tape, my recruiter didn’t give up on me, she was great.   

While I was away at basic training my wife took up bodybuilding and I got to witness her first competition my first week back from BCT and AIT.  Watching that opened my eyes to fitness competitions.  I love pizza too much to try my hand at bodybuilding, so I soon found powerlifting.  I have crazy short arms and am of average height for a female at 5’ 6”, and I have always loved lifting heavy stuff, so it seemed like I had the perfect build and temperament for this sport.  My wife encouraged me to pursue my curiosity.  When I got back, I had done about a year of body weight only training in the Army and had to work up to being able to lift an Olympic bar.  The feeling of finally being able to bench a big plate on each side was indescribable.

Where did the Home Gym come into play?

Half way through training I decided to begin slowly getting a home gym put together.  I was tired of getting interrupted at the gym by my class participant’s mid set.  It was the best decision I had ever made in 2017.  I saved up and got the CAP weight set and barbell, and $100 squat rack from my local sports store. 

Since then, I have slowly added pieces from marketplace, thrift stores, Craigslist, Walmart, and any number of websites and sports stores whenever a sale would hit.  I also love making pieces.  I love using my log bar, but there is just something satisfying about hefting the tree trunk that fell in my backyard.  My boss at my other civilian job (I have 3 jobs besides the Reserves) being a grease monkey often lets me know when he is throwing out things.  The serpentine belt holder became my accessory holder, and the saftey netting line became my redneck cable machine.  My next piece I plan on adding are concrete plates to be kept outside.  I also like posting stupid videos, like setting cinder blocks on fire in the winter and deadlifting them.  My gym isn’t the prettiest thing, and you won’t find anything high end there (can’t afford it) but it sure does get a lot of use.

Get it done! I like it. How about the GGC?

I heard about the Garage Gym Competition from Instagram through a random garage gym search.  The idea of a meet that I don’t have to leave my house for was amazing.  My wife and I have a 3-year-old daughter and a baby on the way. 

Having children really changed the way I trained. During my wife’s first pregnancy I had a year straight of injuries which caused me to lose focus and gain back almost all of the 100 pounds I lost.  However, after kiddo was born it lit that fire one more time and slowly, I wanted to become healthy again this time for my family.  I didn’t want my kiddo to struggle like I do. 

I slowly began lifting in my garage again and with the help of my supply Sergent lost over 75 pounds and passed my APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) in order to re-enlist.  Family is everything to me and I love that with my home gym my daughter gets to help me exercise.  She is my weight on my back when I do pushups.  She runs with me down the driveway and back, she plays with water balloons while my wife and I do some circuit training.  I love when she cheers us on “Good job working out Mommy and Ma.”

Before kids, you don’t realize it, but with kids, you know, that is the single best part about the home gym.

I am still working to get where I want to be but I am happy with my progress.  The GGC has allowed me to set goals for my training and still get a chance to compete when I can’t leave my family to do so.  I can’t wait to compete in the Fall GGC! 

Thanks Stephanie!

And thank you to Surplus Strength for being our 2022 Family Sponsor. Whether you build your gym FOR the family, or the family comes later, the best place to have family time is the gym.