Good morning all,
So it was my birthday on Friday (thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes), so I did a bit of reflecting. I decided to root up some old photo's of myself (that in itself was a good laugh) and I compared a few things. We're always getting amazing testimonials from clients in the gym about their fitness journey, so today for the first time EVER, I'm going to share mine...
"As a child, I hated sports, I was no good at them and I had no interest in becoming good at them. As a teenager, the only sport I was interested in was chasing boys and drinking like a fish. So how am I a fitness fanatic now?
The truth is, as a teenage girl, of course I was self conscious, like every teenage girl is...? I joined gyms a couple of times, but never stuck at them. I felt awkward going into a commercial gym, a spare lemon walking around having no clue what to do, I was shy. So I decided I'd start running... Yes, running, I could do that...?
The truth is though, I THOUGHT I was being good! Honestly, I thought I was (special k for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner... that not healthy no?). Anyway, long story short, I got injured. Two discs in my lower back wedged together, this shot pain around my front into my hips and down into my knees (great crack).
I went through a bit tough time in my life then, as both my grandparents died (I was VERY close to them) within 9 weeks of each other (this and teenage hormones #cookoo). So, nervous as I was, I joined the local women's gym. This was the best thing I ever did. I lost a couple of inches and was delighted, also the endorphins from training started to clear my head. I was taken under one of the trainers wings in this gym and she asked me would I be interested in doing the course and become a fitness instructor - this NEVER, EVER, EVER had crossed my mind before. I went home did my research, and bam - bye bye retail management course in DIT, hello fitness world. I had all these idea's and I was excited.
I knew that if I wanted to be a coach, I would need to get my own ass in gear, so I hired a personal trainer for 6-months, I spent €180 a week doing three sessions. I spent literally every single penny I earned on this. I gave up alcohol and furthered my education by doing a nutrition course (and anyone in this industry know's that you also have to read a serious amount of books if you want to stand out from the crowd in this field... so did that too) therefore I started to eat right. I still wasn't very strict on food, but better then before. All of this got me down to 14% body fat.
My own fitness career started to take off and this September, I'll be going into my 6th year being a Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor, Fitness Coach and Nutrition Consultant. My interest in health and well being lead me to a fantastic company: Forever Living Products where I now coach other like minded people on how to build their own health and well being business from home (not fitness professionals, just people who are interested in wealth and health). My body fat and weight has been a constant battle since I was 16 years old. I'm not claiming that I was morbidly obese or anything, I wasn't. However, my diet was brutal and I had a lot of fat on me.
Today, I am the leanest I have ever been and going forward, my goal is to stay at this body fat percentage - I'm quite happy here :) I met Ciaran (in the gym...) and healthy living is SO much easier when someone is doing it with you. We live clean: sugar, dairy, yeast, alcohol (unless a very special occasion) and it suits us! My favourite thing about training, is that it doesn't require skill. It's not like a sport, you don't need any skill, you just need determination and commitment.
I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. As distraught as I was when Granny and Tom died, it lead me into this training world - sunshine always follows the rain. Over the past few years, my weight, inches and body fat has gone up and down, up and down. Always trying my best to train, but other factors come into play too: stress levels, sleep, deficiencies. It's not black and white, weight and fat management is a whole big sea of grey!
You know when you see those pictures on facebook of "a year from now, you'll wish had started today...", I actually said to myself yesterday, thank God I started that day, and I'm extremely grateful to all the people who helped me along my journey. These days, I weight train 3-5 times per week, I do Hot Yoga/Pilates 3 times per week and I run on the Alter-G once a week (I go through phases, sometimes more, sometimes less). I also eat as strictly as I can, take supplements and drink approx. 2-4 litres of water every day. I get minimum 8 hours sleep and I handle my stress levels with Pilates/Yoga, Meditation and Reiki."
Well, that's me. If you want to start your fitness journey. Make the decision now and stick to it.
If you want some support PLEASE email me on facebook (www.facebook.com/ericabrennan.pt). You don't need to be the spare lemon!!
I wish you guys the best of luck whether your continuing or just starting your fitness journey :)
Much love,
Erica
So it was my birthday on Friday (thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes), so I did a bit of reflecting. I decided to root up some old photo's of myself (that in itself was a good laugh) and I compared a few things. We're always getting amazing testimonials from clients in the gym about their fitness journey, so today for the first time EVER, I'm going to share mine...
"As a child, I hated sports, I was no good at them and I had no interest in becoming good at them. As a teenager, the only sport I was interested in was chasing boys and drinking like a fish. So how am I a fitness fanatic now?
The truth is, as a teenage girl, of course I was self conscious, like every teenage girl is...? I joined gyms a couple of times, but never stuck at them. I felt awkward going into a commercial gym, a spare lemon walking around having no clue what to do, I was shy. So I decided I'd start running... Yes, running, I could do that...?
I went through a bit tough time in my life then, as both my grandparents died (I was VERY close to them) within 9 weeks of each other (this and teenage hormones #cookoo). So, nervous as I was, I joined the local women's gym. This was the best thing I ever did. I lost a couple of inches and was delighted, also the endorphins from training started to clear my head. I was taken under one of the trainers wings in this gym and she asked me would I be interested in doing the course and become a fitness instructor - this NEVER, EVER, EVER had crossed my mind before. I went home did my research, and bam - bye bye retail management course in DIT, hello fitness world. I had all these idea's and I was excited.
I knew that if I wanted to be a coach, I would need to get my own ass in gear, so I hired a personal trainer for 6-months, I spent €180 a week doing three sessions. I spent literally every single penny I earned on this. I gave up alcohol and furthered my education by doing a nutrition course (and anyone in this industry know's that you also have to read a serious amount of books if you want to stand out from the crowd in this field... so did that too) therefore I started to eat right. I still wasn't very strict on food, but better then before. All of this got me down to 14% body fat.
My own fitness career started to take off and this September, I'll be going into my 6th year being a Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor, Fitness Coach and Nutrition Consultant. My interest in health and well being lead me to a fantastic company: Forever Living Products where I now coach other like minded people on how to build their own health and well being business from home (not fitness professionals, just people who are interested in wealth and health). My body fat and weight has been a constant battle since I was 16 years old. I'm not claiming that I was morbidly obese or anything, I wasn't. However, my diet was brutal and I had a lot of fat on me.
Today, I am the leanest I have ever been and going forward, my goal is to stay at this body fat percentage - I'm quite happy here :) I met Ciaran (in the gym...) and healthy living is SO much easier when someone is doing it with you. We live clean: sugar, dairy, yeast, alcohol (unless a very special occasion) and it suits us! My favourite thing about training, is that it doesn't require skill. It's not like a sport, you don't need any skill, you just need determination and commitment.
I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. As distraught as I was when Granny and Tom died, it lead me into this training world - sunshine always follows the rain. Over the past few years, my weight, inches and body fat has gone up and down, up and down. Always trying my best to train, but other factors come into play too: stress levels, sleep, deficiencies. It's not black and white, weight and fat management is a whole big sea of grey!
You know when you see those pictures on facebook of "a year from now, you'll wish had started today...", I actually said to myself yesterday, thank God I started that day, and I'm extremely grateful to all the people who helped me along my journey. These days, I weight train 3-5 times per week, I do Hot Yoga/Pilates 3 times per week and I run on the Alter-G once a week (I go through phases, sometimes more, sometimes less). I also eat as strictly as I can, take supplements and drink approx. 2-4 litres of water every day. I get minimum 8 hours sleep and I handle my stress levels with Pilates/Yoga, Meditation and Reiki."
Well, that's me. If you want to start your fitness journey. Make the decision now and stick to it.
If you want some support PLEASE email me on facebook (www.facebook.com/ericabrennan.pt). You don't need to be the spare lemon!!
I wish you guys the best of luck whether your continuing or just starting your fitness journey :)
Much love,
Erica
Deadly! Wonderful to have someone so inspiring THAT YOU KNOW! I totally admire you for your get up and make it happen attitude, its wonderful and makes me feel like I can do anything too! Great stuff bridie! ;)
ReplyDelete“A year from now and you’ll wish you started today”. I like that quote! That applies not only for fitness journeys, but for any great plans that we put aside for later. Just look at what a year of discipline and commitment got you. The thing is, if you want to do something that would benefit yourself in the long run, then might as well begin it now. Thanks for sharing your inspiring journey!
ReplyDeleteBrittany Mckenzie @ One Stop Fitness Specialist