Exquisite Fitness and Reaching Goals – An Inspirational Story

Well the following blog was written by one on my clients, who has chosen to remain anonymous and go by the name “KJ”…

Reading this blog still makes me teary and gives me goose-bumps every time I read it! It was written towards the end of my comp-prep, as you will see from the last few paragraphs but I wanted to wait until the right time to share it with everyone.

It’s quite a lengthy read but I urge you all to take the time to read it through, as I am sure it will resonate strongly with so many of you.

KJ has been with me and Exquisite Fitness since I pretty much started out. I remember her first training session like it was yesterday…She explained to me that she used to be a very competitive and fierce sports-woman (pre-babies) and was feeling really down on herself, despised the way she looked and was so disheartened by the fact that she was unfit and had to start from the beginning again.

But the key with KJ was that she stuck to it, she listened to everything I told her, especially the fact that I believed in her and that SHE COULD DO IT!

Slowly as each week went by, KJ completely transformed and she started challenging my fittest girls and visibly shrinking! But most of all, she had a sparkle in her eye, her confidence back and a huge smile at the beginning of each training session.

Seeing transformation stories like KJ’s makes my heart fill with pride and I could not be more proud of this girl! I am sure her story will really touch many of you as I know that there are so many women who struggle with these feelings post-bub.

The camaraderie and friendships that are formed amongst the girls at Exquisite is so wonderful and everyone gets involved in other’s goals and their achievements. It is such a community atmosphere and I am so honoured to be working with each and every one of these clients.

Remember everyone – THIS COULD BE YOU! And by the way KJ, I see your muscles popping ALL OF THE TIME! 🙂 Enjoy the read…..

The Trainer, the devil inside & the little chug that could!

An insight into a client’s journey with Nerida.

“Why eat right for the rest of the day, I’ve now consumed 240 calories from a mini caramel tart. I will just continue eating all of my favourite indulgent foods for the rest of this week & I can just start next week” thinks the devil inside.

“Don’t make excuses for tomorrow, start doing it today” advises the trainer with her perfectly toned legs & arms that we all dream of (and get slightly jealous of)….

But came that day when the little chug that could had to get the engines rolling. I stopped making excuses & I decided I could stop the devil inside taking over, throw some gas into the tank & train like an athlete could (maybe)…. but the first step was to turn up to the training class with this insanely fit trainer from Exquisite Fitness.

1st session: Well, with my size 14 leggings & my double layered singlet, I set off to conquer the most exciting, terrifying & totally inspiring day of my adult life…..aside from my Wedding & children’s births of course.

Filled with regret from all of the exercise I hadn’t done, all the tastefully harmful food I had been consuming over the past few years & 2 water bottles, I embarked on a journey that would quite literally change my life, body & soul. I met Nerida this first day & felt immediately at ease and a warm heart from her. She was yet to meet the devil inside me with such built up inner resentment towards fitness in general that I have harboured with so much regret from a life I used to lead prior to my children.

Perhaps Nerida in all her education, training & wisdom could sense this, or was it so painful I couldn’t hide it?? I held it so tight in a vault far at the back of my mind, very few knew of this devil’s existence. Not even I, the carrier of such disappointment & self loathing knew of this total paralyzing effect it was having on my mind & my body.

I explained to Nerida that I was once incredibly dedicated & committed to my sports of choice & my body. That back in the day I was ripped with muscle & had little fat to speak of, and who hasn’t been in those days, right? In her kindness, I could tell she was feeling I had some unfinished business with myself that needed to be exposed in order to get a change from me. I completed the session, vomited in my mouth a few times, was dizzy, out of breath & nearly fainted once or twice, but it was done & it was finished. Nerida asked how it was? Some of us, still catching the little breath we had, replied “good”.

The 2nd session was booked in, 2 days after the 1st session. I was sore & feeling every muscle in my body in a good way, but the fear of the first session had gone & there was a slight excitement building to get back to the next session. Nerida’s enthusiasm & passion for fitness is contagious. It oozes from her toned muscles & you just feel like you need to get on the journey with her. This is not something you feel at a gym extensively as you can with Nerida in a group session. It’s all women so you can say it like it is. They’ve all been there or we’re all still there. Sleepless nights, holding your legs together when you sneeze just in case, teething babies, exhaustion or dare we say it, post natal depression or at least, post baby blues or just the day to day life experiences of being a mum.

As the sessions went by week to week, we all got to know each other better. Strengths, weakness, likes, dislikes and those burpees that we truly despise. We also got to understand Nerida & who she was. A mother of 2, often rising before the sun with a less than 6 month old baby & toddler ,she was a totally dedicated woman to her fitness. She doesn’t have time to go to the gym 4 hours a day like you see on those fitness shows. Nerida doesn’t have a chef, or a cleaner or an in-house nanny. She is a mother like all of us, with the same daily routine & the same motherly issues we all struggle with day to day; she makes time to get fit, she runs up her stairs 20 times, she carries babies up & down the street running backwards, you name it, she’s done it. Her passion & a driving will in her blood to help each and every one of her fitness clients to reach their full potential is unmistakable.

There is a motto I’ve seen on a school bus “nurturing god given potential”. We are often not born with quick feet, nor are we born with perfectly toned bodies. We create that, we nurture that passion & we quite literally run with it! It’s incredibly hard to do that mentally with out the help & support of those around us. It’s even harder, virtually impossible, without the mental toughness internally from ourselves. When we have been someone or something in the past, we automatically expect we can pick up where we left off. Even if it was 15 years ago & 3 children later. But we can’t. We are not that person any more.

However, you can make new history & make a new body for yourself. It’s not meant to be the same as 15 years ago. It can be even better if we work for it!!!

So you ask… who is the Devil inside??? That devil lives in all of us. The voice that over-powers us to stop running & walk because it hurts a little, it’s cake time now because it’s easier to eat than get fitter & stronger. Well enter “the trainer”, she then becomes the voice in your head, she is then the angel on your treadmill telling you just a little further, because you can do it! That voice is Nerida. The voice of change & reason in my life.

As I entered my journey at a standard size 14, baby weight left over, a muffin top & very low self esteem & high reliance to finding my own passion & inner harmony, I now have a new pathway on my journey, with much thanks to Nerida. She found that inner voice & changed the broken record that played over & over. I can’t be the athlete I was, but I can set new goals & make changes to suit who I am & want to become here & now.

It wasn’t easy, but Nerida eats broccoli & organic chicken for months on end to be her best & at her prime fitness so her body is ready to parade around on the Catwalk in just a few weeks. She didn’t get there easily, we’ve seen her carb-less, desperate for one more bite of a sneaky vegemite sandwich. When everyone around her piles their sauce & gravy on hot chips, she’s enjoying 125.2 grams of kangaroo mince from an organic meat farm in goodness knows where, with a spoonful of pride right on top.

If you’re not convinced you need to come to Nerida’s classes by now, well you’re probably never going to be. But my journey has come to here…. the “cross roads”. The defining moment, I’ve overcome the inner demons & I continue to fight them off. I want to be stronger & fitter, but I now know it’s not easy, but it is just such an amazing feeling of accomplishment doing it. The feeling of exercise endorphins rushing through your blood & then you feel that need to win, to go further, to go harder. These days, I still vomit a little in my mouth during sessions from time to time. NOT because I’m unfit or unhealthy, but because I so desperately want to be better & make sure every little muscle to the core is worked.

The next chapter begins with a strong, leaner & toned woman. A size 10 in most clothing (and for the first time today in 5 years a size 9, yes that’s right size 9 Jeans, that I no longer have to tuck my muffin top into to hide!) I’m also fairly sure some of my toned muscles pop out occasionally. The devil inside has now become my driving force; I like to uppercut & roundhouse kick that devil now. I don’t wear 2 singlets to training anymore, just one & it’s smaller!

The trainer (Nerida) remains in my heart forever, with her constant encouragement & her ability to so selflessly apply everything she has learnt & everything she knows to our personal situations. It is a constant reminder of who I can be, not what I was. And the little chug that could, I guess that little chug lives inside all of us just like the devil. You just have to think you can, think you can, know you can, know you can & just do it, no excuses, and no reasons why not!

With the dedication & the passion to which Nerida has served us, it is only fitting that we honour that commitment she gives us every session by improving our fitness, our body & our minds & give the passion & total body & soul into every training day, as you know your totally getting that in return from Nerida!