I joined CSC a couple of months after I graduated college. I was still stuck in the college mindset of eating/drinking whatever I wanted and not making my body and health a priority. Since joining CSC, my mindset has changed a lot. I’ve learned that moderation is key.
My trainer, Ryan has helped me understand that it is still okay to indulge every once in a while, as long as I do it in moderation and incorporate working out throughout the week. He helps me dig down to the roots of why I want to work out, why I want to be healthy, and why I want to live this lifestyle. These conversations always motivate me.
When I first started at CSC, I had no idea what I was doing. I’m not the type of person to just jump on the elliptical or treadmill for 30-45 minutes. When I would try that, I would get off after about 10 minutes and find myself sitting on the mats “stretching and doing abs”. I dreaded coming in because I knew that was going to happen.
Ever since I started working with Ryan, I have truly enjoyed coming to the gym. He comes up with a series of exercises that are unique to my goals that I can easily do on my own. I am able to tell him specific areas I want to work on, and he incorporates fun and challenging exercises to my workout. For example, I wanted to incorporate more cardio but didn’t want to just run. He came up with a few circuit training workouts for us to do that have been my favorite workouts so far. I leave each training session knowing I got a great workout and I definitely see long lasting results.
When I started training with Ryan, I was overcoming a bad wrist injury. I had three wrist surgeries on my dominant hand (and 26 casts) so strength training was a challenge for me. A couple months prior to joining CSC, I was put in a cast after lifting a 2.5 pound dumbbell….! At that point, I didn’t consider lifting was an option for me because I thought I would hurt myself and honestly, I was scared. With the help of Ryan and Brent from Joint Ventures, they collectively helped me overcome this injury and helped me get to the point where I can lift as if I never had this injury. I NEVER thought I would be able to do a push up, let alone a bench press or deadlift. Now, I do them (almost) every day!
Staying motivated can be a challenge for anyone. There are some days I want to just give up. I find myself getting unmotivated when I expect too much of myself too quickly, whether it be to lift a heavier weight, to drastically change my diet, or to lose body fat faster.
This is where Ryan has helped me the most. He has taught me to focus on one small change at a time. If you expect too much of yourself, you’re going to set yourself up for failure. The changes he has helped me achieve have varied from eliminating something from my diet (i.e. snacking, sugars, alcohol) to simply drinking more water. Focusing on these changes one at a time has allowed me to incorporate them into my daily life, making them long-lasting and permanent.
Over the past year, not only have I seen a lot of positive changes in myself, but family and friends have noticed as well. I have seen physical results, such as weight loss, definition, toning and a lower body fat. I love the Trainerize app because I can see my progress over time on a graph. However, I think the most rewarding changes have been my confidence and energy levels. I have always been self conscious, but now I have feel better about my body and health; I feel better mentally. It is true that when you look good, you feel good! I have so much more energy lately too. My workouts give me bursts of energy that last all day and the healthier food options I eat give me fuel to stay more alert.
I first trained with Ryan once a week, but I was getting so much out of it that I upgraded to twice a week. We meet first thing in the morning and I notice a drastic difference in my mood, confidence, and productivity the rest of the day after our training sessions. I always leave thinking “today is going to be a good day” – and it always is. The trainers I have worked with at other gyms have focused strictly on the exercise we were doing that that day. With Ryan, he focuses on long term goals and results- including my individual workouts, eating and nutrition, goal setting, small changes, etc. He truly cares about all of his clients’ wellbeing. I am so appreciative for his help and guidance throughout our time working together.
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Lizzy trains with
Personal Trainer:
Ryan Maciel
