Today’s StrongLife Success Story is about how Karen uses StrongLife Gym to overcome back pain and tone up.
At the start of the year, Karen messaged me with a view to joining here.
She had been exercising but felt her back issues always limited her.
And she wanted to tone up.
With the challenge of lifting weights, she was apprehensive at first.
But after a few months, she’s flying it and no longer feels like her back is limiting her life.
So now it’s time for Karen to have her say.
What Was The Main Reason That Made You Look To Join A Gym?
There were a couple of reasons I was looking to join a gym.
At the beginning of the year I decided that, yet again, I wanted to try something new.
I have tried a lot of exercise classes over the years and did Couch to 5k before.
I am the same as everyone I suppose, wanting to be fitter and be more toned (think most women feel this way at some point).
Also, I wanted to strengthen my back as issues I have were beginning to resurface.
And another important reason was to have a physical outlet for stress relief from work and personal life.
What Made You Choose StrongLife Gym?
To be honest I was very apprehensive about joining a gym.
The thoughts of working out scared me, but when I met Colm for the first time he made me feel at ease about walking in to the gym.
He chatted to me about what I wanted and even though I was a bit unsure, we chatted and he came up with a programme for me.
Stronglife Gym wasn’t like others that I had seen.
There was a relaxed atmosphere and everyone focuses on doing their own thing!
Tell Us About Your Recent Success And Why It Works For You?
The main issue I had was being worried about my lower back, but over the last 6 months
I have felt so much better.
Colm tailored my workouts to support me and always checks to make sure everything is feeling good when I increase weights or try new exercises.
While the scales might not always show losses I feel so much better and stronger both
physically and mentally.
Seeing the weight on the increase shows me that I don’t always need to doubt my ability to do things.
I feel better wearing my clothes and can see that my arms and legs are becoming much more toned.
How Has Training Here Made You Feel?
There’s 2 big improvement for me personally.
1 – I am proud of myself for continuing to go to the gym (even though it can be hard to do after a crap day, but somehow the sense of achievement finishing the workout overrides that).
2 – I am more confident in myself and I now accept the compliments I get from people that I haven’t seen in a while!
Not only that, but on holidays recently, I wore shorts and dresses throughout the break and I felt really good about it!
Highlight Karen’s Journey From Back Pain To Inches Lost
The above has outlined how much training here has benefited Karen in a strength and mental aspect.
So I’m just going to outline a little bit more about her success here so far.
She’s been a little modest above as she has done great things here.
Starting off, I wanted to ensure her technique was good, she moved well and more importantly, she felt confident doing exercises.
So the first few weeks were slow and about making sure she felt great the day after (besides the sore legs and bum).
And as the weeks went on, she was showing great signs of strength, progress and lack of pain in her back.
Her work/life balance restricted her overall progress, but during those tough weeks, she still turned up and got it done.
Sometimes that’s all I can expect of people, because at the end of the day, Life happens!
But when she was in a better position and was enjoying her training, she wanted to run my 6 Week Challenge.
Thanks to the initial work we done, she was well able to jump straight in and belt away.
And 6 short weeks later she had lost half a stone, but more impressively, she had melted off 9.5 inches overall.
Those inches primarily coming off her hips and stomach (where every girl wants them to come off).
And now she’s back off her recent holiday with a view to taking training up a notch in the coming months.
Well done Karen.
Keep it up!
Colm.
Final Note:
For anyone with back pain, it doesn’t mean you need to stop living life.
You may just need to take a different route for a short while until you get back strong.
And gyms are not off limits because of it, it just means you’ll focus your training slightly differently in the short term.
But there’s a LOT you’re still able to do.
And if you’re fit and ready to shed some lbs and tone up, you can find my 6 Week Challenge right here:
