One of my favourite tasks is presenting stories of inspiration throughout January of people who have done tremendous things in the previous year.
If youve worked with me, youll know that Im not a big believer in making New Years resolutions. What I am a big fan of is: picking a goal, making a plan on how to get there and then designing the day to day steps to follow, knowing that there will be ups and downs along the way that need navigation. Its not about willpower or positive thinking, its about strategies and systems put into place to keep you moving forward over time.
Over the next few weeks, Im going to feature real people, from 17 to 87, who have made tremendous physical, mental and emotional changes in their lives during one of the most trying times imaginable. Despite the lockdowns and restrictions and the anxiety of living with uncertainty for months, they figured it out and just kept moving forward.
Ive chosen seven clients who have changed their lives for the better during the COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. Its fair to say that all of them started the lockdown asking the question: How can I possibly succeed under these conditions? and then got down to the business of making it happen.
Over the next several weeks, Ill be telling the stories of:
Madeleine Tarride, a 17-year-old high school student who came to me with extreme frustration. She had been living for some time with the discomfort of a lingering soccer injury that had developed into chronic pain. It seemed like she had tried everything with little relief. As a result, she had become mostly inactive for fear of causing a flare-up.
Justus Schramayr (my son) is a 17-year-old multi-sport student athlete who was facing many months of no sports as schools and athletic programs shut down to help stop the spread of the virus. Using his workouts as a way to fight anxiety, depression and boredom, he remained disciplined and focused at school and achieved several personal milestones during the lockdowns in 2020.
Alison Feierabend, a 58-year-old college accounting teacher who was told that she needed to lose weight to lessen the load on her arthritic knees. Alison began her weight loss journey at the end of 2019 at a starting weight of 210 lb when I taught her how use the online food journal and nutrition tracking app called My Fitness Pal. By March, she had lost 40 lb when the province was locked down. At that point, she committed to an extra personal training session each week (virtual) and doubled down on her efforts to eat better and track her food daily. By the end of 2020, she had lost 75 lb
Ed Tymkow is a 77-year-old I have never met in person. We connected, virtually, for a fitness consultation and assessment and have been meeting weekly for a little over six months. Ed originally contacted me for help in losing weight as a prerequisite for getting a hernia operation and for building up his overall fitness level. After setting a few pieces of home exercise equipment and teaching him how to track macronutrients and calories with the My Fitness Pal app, hes seen consistent progress from week to week. In six months, during the pandemic, Ed lost 45 lb and is almost at his goal weight to be able to safely undergo his hernia operation.
After years of crippling pain and weakness, Gerry Smurlick, 75, underwent life-changing back surgery in 2020. As a way to prepare for the operation, and for the rehabilitation after, he worked out with me to gain as much stamina and strength as he could and weve recently resumed his workouts at a much higher intensity level than before without pain and/or discomfort.
Miriam Davidson, 87, and Ron Davidson, 87 are two of my favourite people in the world. Weve worked together for more than 20 years and Ive helped them develop strength and endurance for golfing, hiking and biking as well as to help with recovery from a knee replacement, a stroke and debilitating back pain. More recently, Miriam has fought (and won) a battle with oral cancer, leaving her weak and deconditioned, while Ron suffered a mild heart attack in 2020. Despite these physical and mental challenges, they both show up ready to work out every single week, they do their homework and they dont complain. Theyre also both getting measurably stronger again, week after week, since weve been allowed to meet in person for workouts again.
2021 has the potential to be an outstanding year. Im excited to bring you the real stories of real people that may inspire you to explore what potential you might have inside of you.
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Opinion | Need some New Year's inspiration? Seven stories to fire you up for 2021 - TheSpec.com
