Most of you know Coach Nicky. Some of you may not (pictured above in the middle).
Nicky started out with us years ago, first as a member and is now an ANCHOR coach. Her story started out like many others do when they first decide they may be ready to start their health and fitness journey.
Nicky reached out to me via email before ANCHOR even opened and then ghosted me. I responded to her email, gave her details, asked to get started with a consult, and wanted to learn more about her goals. Crickets. I followed up. Nothing.
Sure enough, the doors opened at ANCHOR in 2016 and the following summer another email came through from Nicky. This time, we weren’t ghosted and she started her journey with us.
There was an evening soon after she started that I watched her outside our front doors, finish off smoking her cigarette, flick it onto the ground, stomp it out with her foot and walk into the gym (along with her 2 knee braces on… this is for later ;)
As she walked in, I turned to her and said, “did you just smoke a cigarette?” “Yes. ” She responded.
I started teaching the ANCHOR Fit class like I normally did. But, inside I was raging. Who the hell did this girl think she was not only smoking cigarettes and killing her lungs, but had the audacity to do it right before she came into class?! My blood pressure was through the roof. So, I was going to show her! After the class was over and others were stretching out I told her class wasn’t over yet for her. She owed me a 2K row before she left (I was a lot more insane / tough a few years back ;)
I set the rower up for a 2K and yelled watching the time telling her what goal she should be aiming for. And shit, if looks could kill. To this day, I don’t know why she hopped onto the rower and listened. I don’t know why she didn’t just give me the middle finger and walk out and peace out, but I’m so glad she didn’t. She returned the next day, hungry for more and this time, without a cigarette to be found. She quit that night. It was a turning point for her and her health and fitness journey. It was the start of the next chapter. (I’d like to say I’m a bit better now with reading people, know when I need to push, when to back off, but who knows ;)
Nicky became a dedicated member, showing up and putting in the work. On top of that, I finally got her to take off her clunky knee braces. The braces she didn’t even need. It was in her words, “all in my head.” She was never instructed by a doctor to wear them, but felt the need to in order to protect them in the gym. But, as the saying goes, squats aren’t bad for your knees. Only BAD squats (with bad form) are bad for your knees along with the wrong progression for an individual. So, off they came and wow, no knee pain or issues…ever.
Nicky wanted to learn everything. She went through our swing seminar and barbell seminars. When we started our small group personal training program back in 2020, she was the first one signed up. She wanted to be pushed, to take things to the next level. Soon, she became a reiki practitioner and started taking on clients with us. On top of that, she started helping with the nutrition program. Finally, after months of hard training, she successfully passed her StrongFirst Level 1 Kettlebell Certification and became a coach with us. Talk about a 180 degree turn for the better. Even after becoming a coach, she still has a thirst for knowledge and continues to learn and focuses on helping others transform their lives through strength and healthy lifestyle changes.
Sometimes, it's just showing up and letting coaches guide you on your journey. Just putting one foot in front of the other. You aren’t going to be motivated. You may get that split second of motivation to get started, but it won’t last - so don’t count on it.
There will never be the perfect time to start your health and fitness journey. There will never be enough hours in the day. You will always be busy. But, you need to prioritize your health… before a major health event occurs and it becomes harder to start. Choose your hard.
If you are ready to start your journey and make a 180 degree turn, respond to this email and let’s get started!
In Strength,
Charlene
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