My Story

At first when I sat down to write this post I thought what exciting story do I have to tell? I think the truth is that we all feel that our story is uneventful but I knew I wanted to start this blog off by sharing my story. So I sat on the post, for almost two weeks. Every time I went for a walk or laid awake in bed I thought about what story I was going to tell, how I wanted to impact people’s lives and what I truly wanted to do with this blog. So here goes…

Most people end up in the health and fitness space because they had some big life changing moment, or an incredible weight loss story or a huge performance goal they successfully completed and they want to share these things with other people. I think this is why I struggled to start writing this post…none of these things are me, not even close.

I have lived in the health and fitness space in some capacity my entire life. I started in gymnastics, soccer and swimming lessons very young. During the summers we spent time outside riding our bikes or swimming in the pool. I don’t remember a time when activity wasn’t a part of my life, it was just what I did…I never knew anything different.

When I found the sport of swimming everything clicked for me. I loved the pool, I loved the competition and I wasn’t all that bad at it either. I was just 11 years old and over the next 7 years I gave my blood, sweat, tears and whole heart to the sport of competitive swimming. I will save you from what I could likely turn into a novel about how those 7 years shaped me and made me into the person I am today (this post is already going to be too long) but trust me when I say swimming made me a better person. I stayed in the pool until I graduated high school.

When I started University I was probably the least active I had even been in my life. Life was changing drastically, I was 19, getting my first taste of freedom, living away from home and meeting all kinds of new people. I did still go to the gym and swim on my own occasionally, but I was definitely less active than I had ever been and very inconsistent. And at the time I was okay with it. When you dedicate your entire life to a sport at a young age the way many competitive athletes do, there are some experiences that you just give up. I was finally getting the chance to live some of those experiences in a new way when I left the sport of swimming and I welcomed them.

When graduation rolled around…I felt stuck. I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life but Masters of Physiotherapy are not easy programs to get into and honestly I didn’t have a backup plan. Being a physiotherapist was all I had wanted to do since I was in high school, even throughout my 4 years of University I had never really given any thought to other potential career options. It wasn’t until grad school applications were due that I realized I needed a backup plan and fast. Yes I did apply to physio schools even some outside the country, but I knew my odds and I knew realistically I needed another option. My grades were good but they weren’t good enough, and in my heart I knew that. I applied to a few physio programs as well as a couple of Athletic Therapy programs (which is another 4 year degree program for those wondering) and then I waited.

As you can probably guess, a Masters program didn’t pan out for me, so I was left with the Athletic Therapy route. I ended up choosing to forgo the offer I got from Sheridan College and work for a year instead (I had a whole lot of issues about living in the Toronto area coming from a small town and my gut said it wasn’t the right decision). During this year I really started to pursue strength training consistently and fell in love. Remember that 11 year old girl and the feeling of jumping in the pool, I had that back again, and I was happy. When an offer letter came for an Athletic Therapy program from Camosun College in Victoria BC I jumped on it…let’s be real, who doesn’t want to live in Victoria…right? So I packed up and moved across the country. For those of you who know how this story ends you know that I did not stay on the West Coast (although I loved living there and a piece of my heart stayed there too) and I never finished my second degree. What I did get out of it was confirmation of what I was and was not passionate about.

Standing on the sidelines of a field in the pouring rain…not for me. Traveling all the time…also not for me. The intensity of the program and the fact that I would have been 27 years old when I graduated…yeah I struggled with that too. What I did love was the programming and program development, the training, being active and finding a way to make it fit in the average person’s life. So I started another search, trying to figure out how to pull all of those things into a career. I think my parents almost had a heart attack when I told them I was moving home, dropping out and going back to school for the third time, but they were supportive nonetheless.

I entered into a one year graduate program at Niagara College and as they say…third times the charm. This program was everything I needed and solidified my desire to help people fit health and fitness into their lives, to help people use fitness to improve their lives but not let it run their lives and to help people enjoy truly living their lives in a way that worked for them. After 8 months of assignments, labs, presentations and placements I was ready to challenge the CSEP- CEP Exam. I can’t say that this process wasn’t stressful but for the first time in my career I knew I was on the right path and with that I passed both the practical and written components of the exam becoming a Clinical Exercise Physiologist.

Flash forward to today…I can’t say that my story was linear and I do know that it’s still only getting started. I’ve worked in the health and fitness space for a few years now and when a dear friend of mine made a comment during her pregnancy about pre and postnatal fitness and the lack of information she could find it stuck with me. Which brings me to the whole point of launching a blog and programming in the first place.

Women, mommas and mommas-to-be are expected to get their “pre-baby” body back. They are expected to bounce back and have their lives all together. They are expected to do it all and make it look effortless while they are doing it.

When I first started reading this stuff it made me nervous and stressed out and confession time…I’m not even a mom at this point. So I decided it was time to change the conversation, time for a new approach and this is what I hope to do with this blog and the programs that will follow.

Women are super heroes, mommas and mommas-to-be you’re super heroes too, but what is truly missing in the health and fitness space is a safe place for these women to share their struggles without judgement. A space where these women can say “I didn’t get a workout in today, but that’s okay.” A space where they feel safe to reach out and don’t have to worry about being met with a huge amount of opinions they didn’t ask for. A space where they can pursue fitness in a way that is sustainable and fits into their life, not just for a season but for the rest of their lives. My hope is to create this space and share it with all of you.

If you are interested in learning more follow along on Facebook or Instagram and join in the conversation. New blogs posts will go live every Wednesday morning. Programs and services will follow in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for those.

If you have questions or topics you would like to see covered please reach out.

I hope that you will follow along on this journey!