Katrina joined LIFT months ago from a figure background, looking for something different. Jen knew she would be a perfect fit for TCS and LIFT when she jumped up to the pull up bar and knocked out six strict pull ups and then said " I don't know how to kip." Jen love having her in class and the energy she brings. She is always upbeat, ready to roll and works hard.
While I grew up playing soccer, it wasn’t until I graduated from college that I committed myself to fitness. At first, my biggest motivation was literally “to look hot”. I wanted to look like the girls in Oxygen magazine and eventually compete in physique competitions. I joined Gold’s Gym, hired a trainer, and began the bodybuilder lifestyle. I was able to put on enough muscle that I could then diet down for my first bikini show.
My prep started 16 weeks out from the competition. I had 1 hour of lifting and 2 hours of walking/stairclimbing nearly every day, while eating less than 1200cals and 60 grams of carbs. And while the physical aspect sounds tough, it was the mental beating that was far more torturous. There were other girls at my gym training for the same show, and I couldn’t help but size them up and mentally tear them down. However, the person I tore down the most was myself. Every day my flaws were pointed out to me “so that I could win”. Do you know how many rear delt flies I’ve done in my life??? Every day I felt like I was ready to crack, and I finally reached my breaking point 4 weeks out from the competition.
Once the dieting was officially over, I went on the Holy Grail of Binges. WichWich, Coal Vines, Moonshine buffet, How Do You Roll, Magnolia’s Cafe, JuiceLand and Alamo Drafthouse- all in the first 24 hours. I gained 8lbs in the first week, and stopped weighing myself once I hit 15. I continued this way for 2 months before promising to start over. And then I tore my ACL.
And now we have reached the lowest of low. Overweight, one-legged, and overall depressed- I had no idea how I was going to pull myself up out of this hole. As luck would have it, I became friends with a fellow Gold’s go-er who had witnessed my roller coaster. Instead of pointing out my flaws, he focused on my milestones, showed me what a 30-minute circuit can do versus a 90-minute lift session, and held me accountable for all the extra scoops of chocolate peanut butter I had been eating. Not only did he help me at a crucial time, he is the one who introduced me to LIFT for women.
To compare my experience at LIFT to everything prior would just be unfair. But I am going to anyways :) Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could work out with females and NOT side-eye them. But when you start working out with the LIFT women, the support and motivation is truly overwhelming (not gonna lie, Calland and Tina intimated the shit out of me on Day 1). I have come to terms that I will not be as strong or fast or dynamic as some of the others, but I’ll always be sure to try as hard as them. And that is what LIFT is about. Not lift weighting - lifting each other up. What started out as a mission to look good in a bikini, I ended up finding true strength inside and out thanks to the TCS community.