Hi Nikki! Please tell us about yourself.
I am 28 years old. I’m in the Air Force and live in Wisconsin. I’ve been in the military for almost nine years and lived in Alaska and South Carolina during my active duty years.
After having babies I transitioned to the active Guard so I could come back to Wisconsin and be closer to family. I have a bachelor’s degree in legal and a master’s degree in business administration.
I have been married for six years and I have a seven year old step daughter, three year old twin girls, and seven month old triplets (two girls and a boy)! As you can probably assume, we are a busy family with a good dose of chaos.
I don’t tend to have time for hobbies in this stage of life, but I am fortunate to have a super supportive and equally motivated husband who helps me make time to focus on my personal fitness!
You started our Online Coaching program back in April. What were a few of your most important goals when starting with us and do you feel like you’ve achieved some or all of those goals?
I had a pretty lengthy list of goals! One short term goal was to be able to run a 5k within 2 months and I was able to achieve that.
A few others were to improve flexibility, build endurance to allow for a 45-60 minute straight circuit/run, fit consistent workouts into my daily life, do a handstand and a pull up, and build my home gym. I haven’t tried to do a handstand and I can’t do a pull up yet, but assisted ones have become much easier.
I am very impressed with how quickly I was able to achieve the other goals, though! This program has really helped me get back in the fitness lifestyle after having my babies earlier this year.
You’re a wife and a busy mom of 6 kids. What are a few tips you have for Moms who want to prioritize their health and fitness but may struggle to find the time and energy to do so?
Get the support of your partner! Sharing my desire to focus on fitness helps keep me accountable and also helps me fit it into my schedule. I am able to get my workouts in while my husband cares for the children, before everyone wakes up, or after everyone goes to bed.
Finding time really is mind over matter for me and multitasking is key. I typically plan my meals in MyFitnessPal while I’m pumping or feeding babies and I get all of my meals ready and packed up for work while I am cooking for the kids.
I think it comes down to how bad you want it and if you are willing to make sacrifices to achieve it.
What are a few of your favorite exercises? How about a few of your favorite muscle groups to train?
I enjoy any form of rows and curls. I have especially been a steady fan of EZ Curl 21s over the years! And I like to train biceps and triceps most. I enjoy pushing through the burn and find a weird sort of satisfaction in having shaky jello arms at the end of a workout.
What are a few struggles you’ve faced over the last 4 months that you’ve successfully overcome?
Running. I dislike running in anything other than perfectly comfortable or a bit chilly weather. It has been a hot summer and I’ve wanted to skip or rearrange run days so many times but I end up happy that I pushed through EVERY time!
Another is balancing rest and workouts. I know that sleeping is important to recovery and I already do not get enough of it, but late at night is often the most convenient time for me to workout.
I’ve been able to find a schedule that works for me and still prioritizes both exercise and sleep (just not always both at the same time).
Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by my kids. I have so many and they are so active. I do not ever want to be that parent who doesn’t want to put on a swimsuit or be in a picture.
I definitely do not want to be the mom who sits on the sidelines because I am too “old” or unfit to keep up with them! I also wouldn’t mind having myself a pair of legs like Carrie Underwood one day.
What are some things you were surprised to learn about yourself over the last 4 months since you’ve been focused on your fitness?
That I don’t NEED ice cream to survive! Haha. It is actually really easy for me to drop weight and get back into fitness. Macro tracking comes easy to me, but I was afraid that some of the triplet pregnancy eating was going to stick around for the long haul.
I was below my pre pregnancy weight by 5 months post babies, which was 3 months into my time with Figarelle’s Fitness!
You’ve lost 28 LB since April, and you’ve been very successful tracking macros in Myfitnesspal. What advice do you have for someone who doesn’t like tracking their food but wants to lose body fat and get in shape?
Suck it up and do it anyway. If you’re not logging it it becomes easy to “overlook” it and convince yourself that it doesn’t count.
If for some reason someone just cannot become disciplined enough to track their macros I would suggest at least educating themselves on macros and the foods they like to eat so they can make wise decisions and attempt to balance their days appropriately.
What are a few ways you like to relax and recover?
You know, I bought a bath bomb about three months ago and still haven’t used it!I LOVE baths, but do not partake in them as often as I would like to! I also really enjoy foam rolling and basking in my soreness.
What new goals do you have planned for the remainder of 2018 and why are these so important to you?
I am going to do a half marathon. I always said I wanted to do one before turning 30 and I have over a year and a half left before that happens! I figure I should just knock it out and then maybe I can upgrade that goal to a full marathon before I turn 30.
It is important to me because I enjoy a challenge and this one really scares me. My longest run ever was a 12k that I did because of the Figarelle’s Fitness crew back in 2013.
I also have a goal of reaching 47 pushups in a minute. This is important because I will have to do a PT test for the military in February and that is how many I need for full points!