This may be just a bit long, but I am hoping you will take a few moments to read this in its entirety. AS I AM QUICKLY APROACHING MY "52ND" BIRTHDAY - I would like to try to dispel the myth about THE DREADED - "OVER FIFTY YEARS". Life can be wonderful and YES you can still be in shape, be sexy and break the mold of "what over 50 looks like, acts like and is like. A few years back, however, I most definitely did not think or feel this way. I will begin by saying that as a former Aerobics and Fitness Instructor it became especially difficult for me, when - because of an extremely difficult time in my personal life as well as the onset of health problems - I began to stop working-out, eating right, etc. I gained weight and quickly began to loose the figure and body toning that I had worked so hard to achieve. All the negative elements surrounding me at that time slowly took over every aspect of my life and my being. My life was falling apart and I was quickly falling down the deep, dark proverbial hole. One of the last things I thought about anymore at that time was working-out, proper diet, etc. - all the things that had always been my creed. I even began drinking a bit too much. During this most difficult time, luckily, I only gained 30 lbs - NOT a terribly huge amount. But, it was for me - I had always stayed very, very close to the same weight my whole adult life and this was DEVASTATNG TO ME. Not to mention that most of the muscle tone and definition were fading quickly as was my spirit, determination and will power. Tlilise were the very things that had defined me up until that point. ­ I had been a fan of Tony Little's many years ago, during the time that I was teaching Aerobics. The first product I tried of his was a three-level abdominal video (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) --- "tone to the bone with tony". I was motivated by him back then, not only for the physical work-outs, but also by his philosophy of self-confidence and self-motivation. I adopted that philosophy myself and now I HAD LOST ALL OF THAT. I have a very high-stress, face-paced job. Everyday it was all I could do to function at work, come home and fall into bed - yet, unable to sleep anyway. Unable to sleep without the accompaniment ofthe TV - every night, I usually would continually flick through the channels, not really sure what I was even seeing or hearing most of the time. On this one particular -late, late night I flicked on one of Tony's shows. I really just had it on for noise -, but, then I got a tiny bit interested and then a tiny bit more. NOW, PLEASE - I am not saying that there was an overwhelming miracle that occurred or that there were major overnight changes falle. However, I will say that from that point on I started the VERY SLOW AND TEDIOUS climb back up from the black hole I had fallen into. Little by little I watched more of his shows, then finally gave in and ordered the Gazelle and DVD's . That was about 2 Yrs. or years ago. I've made many, many various changes in my life since then, and FINALLY FEEL AS THOUGH I AM GETTING MY LIFE BACK. Whenever I feel really badly about anything I try force myself to do something positive -- watch one ofthe DVD's or jump on the Gazelle and glide away. Just doing something positive for myself, feeling as though I had some will- power and self control again makes me feel WONDERFUL! Certainly, there are many issues yet to be resolved. It is a long road and I do believe that exercise, is ONE of the things that is truly good for the soul--. But, I am also grateful to Tony-- his style and philosophies -- which have helped and are continuing to help me find my. way back to MYSELF. I work-out every day - I use the DYD's and Gazelle - this is "my sanctuary" -- "my time". I did loose all of the excess weight I had gained as well as dramatically increasing my muscle tone quite a bit. Especially, the muscle tone in my legs. They had always been one of my PROBLEM areas and now thanks to Tony's program they are one of the areas I AM MOST PROUD OF. Even when I taught Aerobics I could not achieve the type of definition I have now accomplished. Belieye it or not, at "52" I get comments about my legs all the time. So - it is never too late to start any type of program nor is it ever too late to HAVE THE WILL-POWER AND SELF-MOTIVATION to do many things in life. I would love to be an advocate of Tony's program as well as to the advantages it can have not only to those in their 30s and/or 40's - but, anyone of any age, size or fitness level can get the ultimate/maximum benefits from this program. Thanks very much for your time and consideration, Pat