Chelsea's updates. RyR'ers: Making Fitness a Lifestyle

Jeanel and Mary are rockstars!  Each are making progress.  Small steps are paying off and consistency is the name of the game.

Jeanel improved her Splash and Dash times from the last time she participated.  In 2008 she finished in 43:29 and yesterday she finished in 39:19.  Wow!  How cool.  Master swim and practice payed off.  She is also wearing pants from 2006 that she hasn't been able to fit into.  And even when work or motivation gets in the way, she is hopping right back on the wagon when life knocks her off. 

Mary is still getting to the gym in the week when sometimes she'd rather stay in bed.  She knows what she is working for and she keeps putting one foot in front of the other.  She use to have immense tightness in her hips and lower back.  With a consistent workout plan and attention to flexibility, our workouts have sky rocketed!  She is doing things she couldn't do due to tightness.  And this gives her confidence and motivation.  She is also wearing clothes that use to sit in the closet and taunt her.
My girls rock, for they keep chugging along.  Life gets in the way and it only takes them a few to get right back on track.  That's the important part of this contest!  Making fitness a lifestyle............

Chelsea Paul

Meet our Members! Hi Christy!

We love to learn more about our members! This week, we got to know Christy!! Christy's brother David also works out at Pure Austin!


Hi, Christy!! Tell us, what kind of workouts do you do?
-I do a mix of workouts, because I get bored easily and have to change it up. Classes work well for this reason, and when I get tired of those, I do a mix of cardio/strength training and random stuff I see in fitness magazines. I also like to run outside with my precious puppy Tucker, who has surprisingly strong endurance for being a Yorkie.

Are you training for anything specific? What are your workout goals right now?
- I'm not training for anything specific, and my goals are only to minimize stress and maximize confidence. When I work out, I feel better about myself, I am less stressed, and both of these things make me a happier person. When I look good, I feel great and Pure helps me do both.

What keeps you coming back to Pure?
- I keep coming back to Pure because they keep me interested with new classes, changing schedules, great people and good atmosphere.

How do you fit in your workouts?
- The time of day I work out differs, because I fit workouts in whenever I can. I work out most frequently at the end of the day, probably between 4 and 7, but if I can squeeze in a lunchtime or early morning workout on a day when I have evening activities planned, I'll do it.

Tell us more about you! How do you fit your workouts in with a busy schedule?
- I am in technology sales, and am also a freelance makeup artist. I make workouts a priority by fitting them in no matter what, as often as possible. Even if I only have 30 minutes to get in and out, I'll do it, because in that amount of time I'll do something good for myself and will feel better for it.
 

Chelsea works with Mary to successfully create habits to combat 40+ metabolism changes

Many people I talk to about their health and fitness goals want to improve.
They want to lose weight and look more fit. People have told me that their
weight has been a struggle for them all their lives and they have been on
various diets most of their lives.

This is not my story. I was a thin child and adult for most of my life. I
could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. But then I reached 40,
my metabolism began to slow down. I started gaining weight even though my
eating habits were the same as they had been. I started to work out for the
first time in my life and started paying attention to what I was eating, but
didn’t really diet. I kept my weight mostly under control although at times
it would fluctuate up or down by 5 to 10 pounds. I really thought my
metabolism had come to a halt and couldn’t slow down anymore and as long as
I cut down on my food intake and worked out I would keep control of my
weight. Then I hit my mid-fifties and found out my metabolism could slow
down even more and doing what I was doing wasn’t enough any more.

This brings me to the present. I have seen some results over the course of
this challenge so far. I try to be at one of the Pure Austin locations at 6
am Monday through Friday to work out for an hour. It has helped. I have
lost body fat and can get into my size 6 pants again. I do see a change in
my body although I have not lost any weight. I have to admit I haven’t
been as careful about my eating as I should. My struggle has been planning
my meals ahead of time and having the right foods on hand. I tell myself
every weekend that I am going to find the time to plan out meals and prepare
the right food. The weekends go rushing by without a moment to sit down and
the planning doesn’t happen. This is my struggle. I like going to the gym.
I work out with Chelsea twice a week. I love my sessions with her. I work
out on my own or take a class three days a week. I feel like I need to get
to the point where I can plan out my meals ahead of time with the foods that
are going to allow me to lose weight. I plan to keep trying to accomplish
this and make it a habit like I have made exercising a habit.

10 lbs lost, cleaning up diet, goals constantly evolving.. Hil's on to something!

When I started the RyR Challenge, I had just completed the biggest athletic goal thus far in my life- I completed my first Half Marathon!

I know, you’re thinking huh? Why start a resolution challenge if you’ve already met such a big goal? I spent months training for the half marathon & felt such a great sense of pride & accomplishment after I finished. But that’s just the thing…it was finished. So, what next? I’ve come to realize with my RyR challenge- my goals have to be constantly evolving. Improving your health and fitness is never finished.
Mallory is an excellent trainer, especially at helping me keep my goals fresh & relevant. She’s always encouraged me to set goals that were measurable & within sight. She also leads an incredibly active lifestyle, so you can’t help but feel motivated around her. I have a short attention span, so she does a great job at varying our workouts & muscle groups. I think it’s her goal to make every muscle in my body sore!
During the challenge I’ve tried to set several BIG goals & lots of small ones. Every week I try to come up with one small goal: run 10 miles during the week, drink 8 glasses of water, try that Blackout class I’m afraid of, etc. Some weeks are definitely better than others, but I’m teaching myself not to get discouraged. No excuses on the bad weeks… just move on & gear up for the next.

My big goal other than weight loss is to complete my first triathlon! I grew up swimming competitively & I’ve tried to keep up a consistent running schedule, so I feel good about those legs. I also bought my first bike a few weeks ago- the first one I’ve had since I was 12. For a naturally clumsy person the bike has been a challenge! Within the first five minutes I’d already fallen over trying to snap in my cleats. I’m staying positive & I’ve been trying to ride my bike 2-3 times a week. I’m really excited about this goal!

While my workouts have been solid during the challenge, my big struggle during the last few months has been food. Mallory created a great plan to clean out my diet- eliminating processed foods, caffeine, and all the good stuff (ha). So far within the last two weeks I’ve lost 5 pounds, for a total weight loss of 10 pounds thus far. Modifying my food has made a huge change- my body feels better, stronger. Hoping for another 10 pounds before we’re finished!
Loving the challenge so far-
Hil

After losing 13 lbs already, Jeanel breaks through her plateau with PAC

I seem to have hit a plateau in the last few weeks. I've been letting the rest of my life (two jobs, buying my first home, and planning a trip to Peru) push my resolutions to the back burner.

But I know myself and what works to keep me on track, and I think Pure Austin Coaching is just the thing to get me going again. I do best when I have a firmly scheduled workout time, preferably first thing in the morning, and with other people expecting to see me at the workout. I think Pure Austin coaching can give me all that and then some. My schedule doesn't allow me to attend all 11 weekly workouts, but I can get to 3-7 workouts per week. And one of those workouts is open water swimming in the quarry, which is perfect for helping me prepare for the Splash and Dashes and the Red Licorice open water swim on May 2nd. I'm planning to do the 2.4 mile swim, which is twice as long as my previous open water swims. Opportunities for such long open water swims don't come along very often, so I can't wait to see what it's like to swim such a long distance.

Wish me luck and I'll be seeing you in the quarry!

More success - with Shawn's guidance, Michelle motors towards personal victory!

 
I've never felt so strong!  I started this program with some yucky knee pain/tendonitis after my 2nd week!  Shawn has been incredible, giving me the advice on how to treat the knee and my gait and I have not slowed down!  I ran the Cap10K this morning and felt so strong, the knees were happy and finished with tons of energy left over while maintaining a great heartrate range as well!  This program has given me SO much confidence too!  I'm back on my bike which was a real hesitation for me, but Shawn encouraged me and now I'm cycling with confidence!  I've entered my first Triathlon and have momentum to get this accomplished successfully.  Now, to master the swim and the pull ups, will be such a personal victory and I'll be super happy!

More great news - this time from Kim. Makes us so happy!

Besides my overall weight loss goal, one of my main goals this year is to participate—sounds silly, right? Not really. Very often I would watch my family being active and taking part in silly activities while I sat on the sideline usually because of my weight. I have resolved this year to join in the fun. I really did this over our spring break vacation to New Mexico. I jumped into the middle of a snowball fight, I led the building of a fantastic snowman and tested myself by trying to do some pull-ups on the monkey bars in the playground. This made the vacation so much more enjoyable and memorable for me.

In addition, I have discovered another resolve in me. Pure Austin really brings this out, I believe. I have resolved to try different things—classes, activities, multiple work-outs in one day… this weekend included my first ever Spin class on Friday, an awesome, kick-butt Kickboxing class on Saturday and my first ever 10k that I walked on Sunday—walked this year, maybe run next year. This is so out of character for me. But it sure feels good!!

This is all accomplished with Ricci’s encouraging words egging me on. Thanks Pure Austin for this great opportunity and thanks for being such an open, inclusive, encouraging, comfortable, challenging environment.