NO LIMITS

Toni Upton used to be one of the women she would now like to encourage.

An avid recreational runner who dreaded making trips to the gym, Upton was in great cardiovascular shape, but the hospital administrator from Coto de Caza wasn’t healthy. She suffered migraine headaches and often came down with colds and the flu.

Most of all, Upton felt weak, and as her 50th birthday approached, she decided to take action. Her husband, Ken, who often teased her about her “bird legs,” gave Upton a Christmas present of some sessions with a personal trainer.

A year and half later, Upton has transformed her body. “I’m now muscled and fit, and,” she said, laughing, “my husband doesn’t tease me anymore.”

There’s no mystery why. Upton is no longer a weak link in the family. Early this month, she showed just how much progress she has made by winning two state titles at her first powerlifting competition.

Upton, 51, won the 50-54 age-group title at the American Powerlifting Federation meet in Fresno, squatting 225 1/2 pounds, bench pressing 104 1/2 and deadlifting 236 1/2. Her squat and deadlift marks were personal bests (she has lifted 135 in the bench press), but her age-group competition wasn’t too tough. “I set state records in my age group because there weren’t any,” she said.

More impressive, however, was her victory in the open women’s 132-pound division.

“It was a lot of fun,” Upton said, “a lot more fun than I thought it would be and I’ve really got a bug now.”

Next year, Upton would like to compete nationally and internationally, but competition isn’t her main focus. She’s more concerned, and happy, with how much better she looks and feels.

“It improves your mental and physical quality of life so much,” she said, “because when you’re physically strong, you’re mentally strong.

“I feel like I can do anything.”

Upton gives credit to Michael Blanchard, 30, a personal trainer from Rancho Santa Margarita who started working with her in January 1998.

Blanchard said Upton was quick to embrace a structured lifting program. Some beginners, he said, set limits on what they believe is possible.

“She didn’t set any limits on anything,” Blanchard said, “So I threw the whole book at her and her body ran as fast as her genetics and her nutrition would allow her to go, which happened to be very, very fast.

“She’s way beyond anybody I’ve ever trained as far as her open-mindedness on what the body really can do. She wants to find that out.”

Blanchard was so impressed by Upton’s work ethic that about a year ago they became training partners. She no longer pays for the five times a week they work out together.

They make for an interesting pair in the weight room: Blanchard, 6 feet, 260 pounds, and Upton, 5-5, 132 pounds.

Blanchard may look more like a weightlifter, but Upton is no less serious.

“She’s the one I choose to work out with,” Blanchard said, “because of her consistency, dependability, her intensity for sure. We expect a lot out of our sets.

“There’s never been a time when I’ve heard her say, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this.’ ”

This week, Upton received more evidence of the benefits of lifting. Fourteen months ago, she was found to have signs of osteoporosis. A test measuring bone density found her spine was at high risk for a fracture. Wednesday, another test showed results normal for a woman of her age.

A nurse called it an awesome improvement. Said Upton: “She said they’ve never seen such a positive change in such a short period of time.”

It’s just more fuel for Upton’s message.

“I’d like to encourage other women my age to do this sort of thing,” said Upton, who has two grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren. “There’s a lot of women that come to the gym and just do their little aerobics and go home and look at the people in the weight room and go, ‘Oooh, I can’t do that.’ ”

Upton is proof that they can.