Success Story: Leanne
For years I dabbled in fitness. First, I was a runner. At times I was a horseback rider. I went to yoga class. I played soccer. I attended fitness classes. I was active, albeit inconsistently. I was moving, yet my fitness level never increased.
I decided that soccer wasn’t cutting it. Neither was running. The fitness classes? Sporadic. Not enough accountability. Not enough intensity. The yoga classes? Not enough motivation. Not enough customization. In the spring of 2007, I started personal training at Defining Eve.
Then, after a lifetime of fitness, results finally started to come.
I started my program with three sessions a week, and almost immediately something became very clear to me –my prior attempts not only lacked consistency, but they also lacked direction. The trainers have helped me to stay accountable, regularly pushing me in a way that I never had when working out on my own. Friends and coworkers began to comment on how good I looked, further fueling my motivation and desire to take my fitness to the next level.
As I write this I think about yesterday’s workout— a 28 km run with my friends. A year ago I could not have done that, or at least I wouldn’t have been able to walk the next day. I have improved my running economy, changed my body, and developed a dedication to my training I never dreamed possible.
Today, I continue to work with my personal trainer twice a week. I run three to four times a week. I also play soccer all year round, curl in the winter months, and take the occasional yoga class. There are times when I drag myself to my session after a long day at the office, not really wanting to be there, but by the end I feel great. I no longer skip out on workouts. My trainer can sense when I need an extra push and keeps me on track with a mixture of discipline and humor.
My advice? Schedule in your time for workouts (use a pen, not a pencil), and treat it like any other commitment. Once you schedule in your workouts, you will learn to book other activities around them. I have also learned the value of a customized program, individualized attention and the benefit of having the accountability of an entire fitness community behind me to share in my success.
