Ann has been training with us for a couple of years and she has done an incredible job of consistently setting clear goals, while knocking them off her list one by one. About a month ago, she decided to create a new set of goals that were really going to take her out of her comfort zone.
Just as Ann hit her stride and began making progress, COVID-19 entered the scene and we were forced to end our in-person training. Thankfully, technology came to the rescue and we moved our training sessions online via Zoom.
While I wasn’t sure this could be a viable way to train a client, it’s worked out very well and we are enjoying this unique opportunity to improve our coaching skills and connect with our clients in a new way.
I asked Ann to share some of what she has been doing to keep herself on track during this challenging time.
Here is what she had to say:
Here are a four things that have helped me accomplish three main goals: Reducing body fat, increasing muscle mass and definition, and performing five consecutive pull-ups.
I do one Small Group workout and one Private Training session via Zoom each week in my home gym.
Reduce body fat: It’s hard to know just how much I have accomplished, because I haven’t been able to do measurements with Steph for more than a month.
That said, I lost 8 pounds of scale weight between February and today and can now see more muscle definition in my abdomen, back and arms.
Now, I’m moving into maintaining that scale weight. For me, I believe almost all of this happened through nutrition. My protein went up (125-130 g a day, with carbs just a bit higher than that).
The key to achieving this has been being consistent with my macros and tracking them daily. I do that by planning all my meals a week ahead, shopping once a week through Clicklist at Fred Meyer, and then making minor adjustments day to day.
I know a lot of us are seeing the baking go up right now. My boys are baking more carb-heavy items some days, so if I have them, I need to be honest about it and work them into my macros as best as I can and/or reduce the portion size.
Also, I try to live by this plan: If I don’t buy it, I won’t eat it. And that certainly becomes easier by pre-ordering my groceries and only buying food once a week.
Increasing muscle mass: Again, I am only going on visuals and not calipers now, but I am still seeing a change even though I can’t lift heavy right now (no barbells at home).
Steph has taught me how to do supersets with lighter weights to add challenge to muscle groups – particularly back-to-back glute and quad lifts. My PT sessions are hard, and we’re only using what I have at home (weight bench, stability ball, resistance bands, super bands, DB up to 25 pounds).
I lift for 50-60 minutes 4 times each week, and do cardio once or twice a week. Now, that typically looks like walking or hiking with my family for 60+ minutes each time.
Increasing my pull-ups. Up until last month, I only worked on these at FF or at my other gym, where I have a membership. Both of those are not options right now. I found a pull-up bar online last week and bought it for my doorway so I can keep working on this goal. It was really easy to put together and cost under $40. Now I can work on this goal every day.
Maximize my sleep, minimize my stress: I’m an anxious person. Always have been. This time right now has made me more anxious. However, this time right now has made other things easier. I no longer have to drive to work, pack all my meals for work, and get my gym bag ready each morning.
That has freed up more time to sleep in. I used to get 7 hours a night of sleep, and am now shooting for at least 8 each night. I schedule a 5-10 minute mindful meditation period every day, and end each day with 30-60 minutes of quiet reading. For me, that’s typically fiction and never news.