Family, friends and neighbors need look no further than local mother Kim Lively to bolster their New Year’s resolutions.

The young mother of two recently went from the physical shape we all attain through age to a medal winner in the “Battle of Texas” bodybuilding competition.

Lively was a medal winner as a novice in the bikini class, during the championships held Dec. 5 at the Irving Convention Center.

Perhaps more noteworthy than the actual achievement was that Lively began her foray into bodybuilding at the Alba city park under the direction of trainer Joel Landers.

“I just went to the initial fitness-in-the-park training session to feel better about myself,” Lively explained. The work-outs had been going well, and she began to see some results in her body shape and muscle tone. 

Her body reacted so quickly to the regular conditioning work-outs that she dropped 30 pounds in a relatively short period of time.

“I had given birth to my second daughter one year before starting at the park,” she noted. 

Landers described Lively as gifted.

“Kim is genetically superior to you or me,” he said. “She is a mesomorph, which means that she can develop muscle rapidly and she is able to increase overall body strength very quickly.”

It also features a high metabolism and slight body fat.

Mesomorphs are the smallest percentage of the human population and are the common body type for professional athletes of all kinds, he added. 

Just how quickly Lively was able to recondition her body is impressive. She started the basic fitness program in May 2020 and was competing in her first bodybuilding competition in December. 

How does one go from a group fitness class to one of the most elite levels of bodybuilding in eight months?

Landers responded, “Good genes, and lots of hard work and discipline.” 

The results she received through Landers’ normal strength and conditioning regimen caught his attention. Soon after she began, she entered what Landers described as a high level of fitness.

In November, Landers floated the idea of committing to an intensive eight-week bodybuilding routine with the goal of participation in “The Battle of Texas.”  

“Initially, I was not for it,” she related. “But I eventually came to accept the challenge as a way to overcome my insecurities.”

Work outs then transitioned from the park to the gym, where specific muscles and muscle groups were targeted for building and sculpting.

Two graduates of fitness-in-the-park made that transition to the gym. Along with Lively, Cori Greer also began to work toward bodybuilding competition. Greer competed and earned a medal as a novice in the wellness class.

There are five divisions in women’s physique competitions. In increasing levels of muscle development, they are bikini, wellness, fitness, figure, women’s physique and women’s bodybuilding. 

The bikini class stresses an overall toned body while the wellness class requires a more defined look to the body’s entire muscle structure. 

Greer had been working with Landers for over a year. She also began her journey through the fitness-in-the-park group sessions. 

“The Battle of Texas” was sponsored by the National Physique Committee, which is the premier amateur physique organization in the world.

The professional-level organization is the International Federation of Bodybuilding. 

Lively smiled when asked about future bodybuilding plans, “We’ll see,” she offered.

She still makes her daily gym visits and is kept plenty busy with 4-year-old Braylee Jo and her younger sister, Lettie.

Lively also splits time between three jobs: running the Spunky Monkey children’s clothing shop in Emory, working as a home health care nurse and partnering with husband Tyler in remodeling homes. 

For anyone considering making a commitment in the New Year to improve one’s health through exercise, Lively offered, “It’s great to be confident.”