Click the link below to read article. Looking to shed some pounds and understand how you are really supposed to train? Then read on...
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1526539
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Fulfillment: client success stories
I want to start off by saying that I have a sense of fulfillment like never before! There really is nothing else that will fulfill you and make you feel more great than being able to help someone else. And I mean help them in a life-changing way!
I want to share some pretty amazing stories of my Take Shape For Life and my personal training/nutrition clients. I'm going to keep the stories brief, and elaborate more on them individually perhaps in later blogs.
First, my mom has had a hell of a year with her health. Surgeries, infections, weeks in the hospital. It wasn't looking good to say the least. After getting on the road to recovery she was able to start on our amazing Take Shape for Life program with me coaching her. Since getting out of the hospital she is down over 40lbs, feeling the best she's felt in YEARS, and bought an exercise bike and has been exercising regularly! I can't tell you in words what this means, but there was a time when I thought I might not have my mom around for much longer. I can tell you now that I have hope and excitement knowing she will be around for many healthy years to come, and be able to see her future grandkids. I think she would agree.
Second, one of my personal training clients just competed in her first fitness competition. She started training back in February. Prior to this she has always been an endurance athlete, and that's where her passion lies. Some of you may have seen her before and after picture I posted on my facebook. If you haven't seen it I'll tell you, she made an amazing transformation! Her starting weight and bodyfat % was 179lbs and 28% bodyfat and at competition was 139lbs and 11% bodyfat. She is a great example of why I love training. Not only is she a hoot, but seeing her transformation and excitement is priceless. Her next goal is is Iron Man Canada of 2013!!!
Third, I literally just got off the phone with a TSFL client (and my cousin) who is now down over 50lbs!!! Bigger than that, she had a check up with her doctor this last week who almost broke out in tears when she saw her progress. She no longer has to be on medications for her PCOS, her risk of cancer went from a 65% chance down to less than 5%, her risk for type 2 diabetes went from borderline diabetic to less than a 10% chance, and she has reversed her symptoms so much that she is healthy and fertile to get pregnant if she wanted (infertility is something many women with PCOS face). It's hard to even fathom those numbers. She's was blessed to have a son over a year ago (thinking it wasn't possible), and now she is setting a great example for her family.
I wish I had time to share the stories of the 50+ people we have been able to help so far whether it be through working on their fitness or one of our Take Shape For Life clients. Over time, I will continue to share their stories and journeys. Whether it's been helping people understand proper nutrition, creating healthier daily habits in their lives, exercising more, reaching goals, getting off medications, regaining their lives (happily) physically, mentally, and even financially, or helping people help others, it's been a blessing. I'm grateful to have the ability to do what I do. You know what's great? YOU can do it, too! If you have compassion and care for others then you have the ability to help people more than you know.
America is in a serious health (or lack their of) epidemic, so with that being said we have a lot of work to do to get more people healthy. Lastly, I want to add for those of you that have doubted me and what I do or questioned my intentions, I would encourage you to talk to my clients :) I would also encourage you to do your due diligence before making assumptions and judgments.
Thank you all for tuning in. If my client's stories inspired you, even just one person, in some way then the mission of this blog is complete.
God bless you all <3
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Dropping by to say hello!
Again, it's been forever. Consistency with blogging is not my strong point. This summer's recap thus far:
It's been a busy one for sure. Even though I don't plan to compete until spring 2013 I'm still training hard to come back with a vengeance. I hope to bring a totally different look to the stage next year. The personal training business has been going well. It tends to be a little slower in the summer, but that has allowed me to focus on some other and new things!
We (Mark, Griffen, and I) began the summer with a road trip to Montana to visit my mom and family. It was a great week, but always too short. About a week following Mark and I got to visit our nation's capitol, Washington D.C.! We recently became Health Coaches for Take Shape For Life ( I think I'll go into depth with that awesomeness in my next blog...I should do that soon then). So the D.C. trip was for Take Shape For Life's National Convention. It was an amazing experience, not only to tour the capitol but to have the opportunity to learn from and mentor with such amazing people, including Dr. Anderson.
Being Health Coaches has allowed us to really help change people's lives, and we've only just begun! Again, I will save the details for the next blog. But in a nutshell, we've been able to help people near and far, family and friends, and people that were once strangers and now friends. I mean seriously help, not just get people fit. Don't get me wrong, I love helping that way too, but now we get to help people get their lives back!
The rest of the summer has consisted of work, play, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, housewarming parties, beach bonfires, garage sales, and ... Life is good. I have my health, family, friends, gratitude, love, and laughter. Those things make the rough times seem so insignificant, because those are the things that really count.
I wish everyone an adventurous summer. Remember to always enjoy the journey, it's what creates memories!
Until next time....
It's been a busy one for sure. Even though I don't plan to compete until spring 2013 I'm still training hard to come back with a vengeance. I hope to bring a totally different look to the stage next year. The personal training business has been going well. It tends to be a little slower in the summer, but that has allowed me to focus on some other and new things!
We (Mark, Griffen, and I) began the summer with a road trip to Montana to visit my mom and family. It was a great week, but always too short. About a week following Mark and I got to visit our nation's capitol, Washington D.C.! We recently became Health Coaches for Take Shape For Life ( I think I'll go into depth with that awesomeness in my next blog...I should do that soon then). So the D.C. trip was for Take Shape For Life's National Convention. It was an amazing experience, not only to tour the capitol but to have the opportunity to learn from and mentor with such amazing people, including Dr. Anderson.
Being Health Coaches has allowed us to really help change people's lives, and we've only just begun! Again, I will save the details for the next blog. But in a nutshell, we've been able to help people near and far, family and friends, and people that were once strangers and now friends. I mean seriously help, not just get people fit. Don't get me wrong, I love helping that way too, but now we get to help people get their lives back!
The rest of the summer has consisted of work, play, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, housewarming parties, beach bonfires, garage sales, and ... Life is good. I have my health, family, friends, gratitude, love, and laughter. Those things make the rough times seem so insignificant, because those are the things that really count.
I wish everyone an adventurous summer. Remember to always enjoy the journey, it's what creates memories!
Until next time....
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Honesty: I'm letting you in a little bit
First of all, sorry for my blog sabbatical. It's been FOREVER since I last posted. I'm not only posting for those of you who enjoy my blogs, but as a personal release. Sometimes writing how you feel makes all the difference, so that's what I'm hoping for with this one.
A quick recap of the last few months... Emerald Cup was awesome! I was happy with my placing. I wasn't sure what to expect going in to such a big show. The prep leading up to Emerald was a struggle to say the least. We've had a lot of "life" circumstances throwing us curve balls. Many times I was ready to throw in the towel. It was just bad timing, and made the journey difficult and added a lot more stress. BUT, I went through with it. I am so glad I did. It was an amazing experience. If I would have thrown in the towel I would have had a big regret weighing on my shoulders and felt like a failure. Honestly, I know it wouldn't have made me a failure, and it would have been a justifiable reason to put competing on hold for a bit. I don't like to quit though, I didn't want to let anyone down (myself included), and I had to prove to myself I had the strength and determination to proceed. With the help and encouragement of my amazing husband, our families, friends, and supporters cheering us on, we were able to succeed.
I feel the contest prep process is such a HUGE learning experience, whether it be good or bad, there are always lessons learned. Mostly you learn about yourself, but you also learn about others and life. Anyone that can follow through with the contest prep journey...well, props to you! It's a crazy ride, but if you're on it you gotta love it! We're not crazy, WE'RE ATHLETES. (maybe we are crazy athletes?)
So here is a piece of contest prep honesty along with some other revealing traits about myself I tend to keep to myself (and I'm currently speaking from a very emotional state, probably due to lack of sleep. I hope I don't regret this later): My greatest weakness is confidence. I'm never good enough for me, and if I am good enough I don't see it. Contest prep makes one quite emotional at times, and probably even harder on yourself than you were to begin with. I know you other competitors can relate. It's not all mental either. Our bodies are going through physiological changes that literally have an impact on our hormones.
One minute I will be feeling awesome, excited, proud, strong, confident...and then the next day, sometimes even the next hour, I'm over it. All self-esteem is out the window. Like today I look at myself and think how can one possibly work so hard, train my ass off, eat a super strict diet, and look like just another thin, maybe kind of fit person. That may make some people happy, but I work to flippin hard to look average. Now, if you would have asked me yesterday how I felt you would have got a much different response. Yesterday I had an amazing workout. I was feeling great about this next show. I was loving seeing those pumped up muscles. I was PUMPED (literally and metaphorically)!
It's so easy to look at yourself and immediately find all the things that are wrong or not good enough. I see myself as a very optimistic person and try to always be thankful for and focus on the infinite good things in life. Why can we appreciate and recognize all the good everywhere else but lack that when it comes to ourselves? On days like today I just have to remind myself, PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION! When I take a more realistic approach, I see the progress. Do I always think it's good enough? Not necessarily, but it's progress nonetheless.
The Oregon Iron Man is in 11 days. It's the last show of the season, and a great one. I am looking forward to a break after. Don't get me wrong though, I am REALLY excited and I LOVE this sport and this life. I love the relationships and friendships that I have made. I'm excited to see my teammates/clients get up on that stage looking so AMAZING. I will keep competing and pursuing my dreams. I hope I can help others do the same. We all have a rough day now and then. Today happens to be one of mine. The things in life that mean the most are the ones you have worked the hardest for. It's not easy, but well worth it.
Thanks for letting me vent and share with you a little about myself (as I finish up this blog I sit here cringing, asking myself should I really post this?). If you are reading it I guess you know the answer. I'll try not to wait so long for the next one. Time to get my butt to the gym and hopefully enjoy some of this awesome weather. Peace :)
A quick recap of the last few months... Emerald Cup was awesome! I was happy with my placing. I wasn't sure what to expect going in to such a big show. The prep leading up to Emerald was a struggle to say the least. We've had a lot of "life" circumstances throwing us curve balls. Many times I was ready to throw in the towel. It was just bad timing, and made the journey difficult and added a lot more stress. BUT, I went through with it. I am so glad I did. It was an amazing experience. If I would have thrown in the towel I would have had a big regret weighing on my shoulders and felt like a failure. Honestly, I know it wouldn't have made me a failure, and it would have been a justifiable reason to put competing on hold for a bit. I don't like to quit though, I didn't want to let anyone down (myself included), and I had to prove to myself I had the strength and determination to proceed. With the help and encouragement of my amazing husband, our families, friends, and supporters cheering us on, we were able to succeed.
I feel the contest prep process is such a HUGE learning experience, whether it be good or bad, there are always lessons learned. Mostly you learn about yourself, but you also learn about others and life. Anyone that can follow through with the contest prep journey...well, props to you! It's a crazy ride, but if you're on it you gotta love it! We're not crazy, WE'RE ATHLETES. (maybe we are crazy athletes?)
So here is a piece of contest prep honesty along with some other revealing traits about myself I tend to keep to myself (and I'm currently speaking from a very emotional state, probably due to lack of sleep. I hope I don't regret this later): My greatest weakness is confidence. I'm never good enough for me, and if I am good enough I don't see it. Contest prep makes one quite emotional at times, and probably even harder on yourself than you were to begin with. I know you other competitors can relate. It's not all mental either. Our bodies are going through physiological changes that literally have an impact on our hormones.
One minute I will be feeling awesome, excited, proud, strong, confident...and then the next day, sometimes even the next hour, I'm over it. All self-esteem is out the window. Like today I look at myself and think how can one possibly work so hard, train my ass off, eat a super strict diet, and look like just another thin, maybe kind of fit person. That may make some people happy, but I work to flippin hard to look average. Now, if you would have asked me yesterday how I felt you would have got a much different response. Yesterday I had an amazing workout. I was feeling great about this next show. I was loving seeing those pumped up muscles. I was PUMPED (literally and metaphorically)!
It's so easy to look at yourself and immediately find all the things that are wrong or not good enough. I see myself as a very optimistic person and try to always be thankful for and focus on the infinite good things in life. Why can we appreciate and recognize all the good everywhere else but lack that when it comes to ourselves? On days like today I just have to remind myself, PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION! When I take a more realistic approach, I see the progress. Do I always think it's good enough? Not necessarily, but it's progress nonetheless.
The Oregon Iron Man is in 11 days. It's the last show of the season, and a great one. I am looking forward to a break after. Don't get me wrong though, I am REALLY excited and I LOVE this sport and this life. I love the relationships and friendships that I have made. I'm excited to see my teammates/clients get up on that stage looking so AMAZING. I will keep competing and pursuing my dreams. I hope I can help others do the same. We all have a rough day now and then. Today happens to be one of mine. The things in life that mean the most are the ones you have worked the hardest for. It's not easy, but well worth it.
Thanks for letting me vent and share with you a little about myself (as I finish up this blog I sit here cringing, asking myself should I really post this?). If you are reading it I guess you know the answer. I'll try not to wait so long for the next one. Time to get my butt to the gym and hopefully enjoy some of this awesome weather. Peace :)
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