Rocio Guillen, 44, makes an impression at the gym when she squats 315 pounds\u2014 nearly double her body weight.<\/p>\n
Guillen, an adjunct English professor at Miami Dade College Kendall Campus, entered her first bodybuilding competition two months ago.<\/p>\n
She surprised herself by wining first place in the Over-40 category at the 2011 NPC South Florida Bodybuilding Championships Nov. 26.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing what you can achieve,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cI thought I would be shy, but it felt like a costume, almost, and I wasn\u2019t embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guillen thanks her husband Miguel Hernandez for her success.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiguel believes in transforming people,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cHe\u2019s a personal trainer.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Guillen\u2019s victory, Hernandez was motivated to compete with her in her next bodybuilding competition in May 2012, at the Gold Coast Bodybuilding competition\u2014a national qualifier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was going to be worse, going with my wife to the gym,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cBut it actually went the other way and our relationship has improved. We get along and understand each other better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hernandez is now Guillen\u2019s personal trainer. Their relationship has strengthened, leading them to create a health and fitness blog, 3-D Training by Miguel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real focus of our blog is for people our age who really think they can\u2019t do it, that they are too old to get into shape,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
The blog\u2019s name represents the \u201cthree D\u2019s\u201d: decision, discipline and determination. It is currently under construction.<\/p>\n
Guillen teaches ENC1101 and ENC1102 classes at the Kendall Campus. She started working at MDC in May 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to be a high school English teacher, and it\u2019s frustrating to see students hate [school], here [at MDC] students are more engaged,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cOlder students bring their life experiences to the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guillen sees several connections between education and bodybuilding.<\/p>\n
\u201cEducation is a two-way street,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cYou teach, you learn, like any relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guillen\u2019s former students get her message.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m into bodybuilding,\u201d said MDC Kendall Campus sports medicine major Nelson Marin. \u201cIf you want something, she teaches you not to give up on it, and if you\u2019re in her class, she makes you believe that you will pass it.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating with a master\u2019s degree in English Literature from the University of Miami in 1988, she returned nearly 15 years later to get another degree at MDC.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went back to school, and got an associate in arts degree in paralegal studies at MDC,\u201d Guillen said. \u201cFive years later I am teaching here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guillen hopes to get a master\u2019s degree in nutrition so she can teach health courses.However, she plans to continue bodybuilding.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can do anything with your body that you want,\u201d Guillen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rocio Guillen, 44, makes an impression at the gym when she squats 315 pounds\u2014 nearly double her body weight. Guillen, an adjunct English professor at Miami Dade College Kendall Campus, entered her first bodybuilding competition two months ago. She surprised herself by wining first place in the Over-40 category at the 2011 NPC South Florida […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n