Chantal Lancaster was no stranger to exercise when she first walked into Free Form Fitness. She knew enough to appreciate what she didn’t know, and where she needed help.
“I needed that extra kick, that motivation and acknowledgement that it is possible to achieve my goals,” she said. “Just because I knew a lot didn’t mean I could apply it to myself.”
The 44-year-old graphic designer and creative director has had a self-taught interest in health and fitness since her early 20s. She’s tried a variety of fitness programs at home and in a local gym over the years. That included working with personal trainers at the big fitness chains, where she often found that she knew more than they did.
But still, life would always get in the way of sticking to a consistent routine. Chantal would also set overly ambitious goals for herself.
“I’m impatient,” she said. “I needed to learn to be more consistent, create more reasonable goals and find a balance, rather than try for that goal that’s so far off in the distance it becomes discouraging.”
She also realized it was time to start putting herself first, and stop letting life get in the way of her own health and happiness.
Chantal was already a subscriber to Free Form Fitness founder Jean-Luc Boissonneault’s weekly emails. She took her time to study his approach to fitness and nutrition to be sure he and the FFF team were credible experts she could trust.
In April, she finally took the leap and signed up for FFF’s introductory trial of eight sessions for $96. She found the kind of personable atmosphere she was hoping for, where she never feels like a number.
Chantal trains every two weeks with Catherine Marion at FFF’s Wellington location. That’s enough to give her the accountability and expert guidance she needs to set realistic goals, stick to a consistent routine of training with her home gym, and train effectively and safely with the right technique and form.
It’s made a tremendous difference to learn by doing with the right teacher, rather than working just from what she’s read in a fitness magazine. But it’s also been rewarding to learn how well she had been applying what she had learned on her own.
“Even if you know a lot, there is still room for improvement if you are open to receive the information,” Chantal said. “There’s always something new to learn. It’s good to have someone like Catherine who can push me and encourage me.”
Chantal has come to appreciate the value of developing more consistent health habits as she passes through her mid-40s.
“You reach that golden point in your life where you wake up and become mindful that you can’t just eat whatever you want any more without gaining weight,” she said. “You need to be aware of your health, of that fact that you do live in a state of impermanence.”
Her hardest lesson has been learning that she needs to wrestle her sweet tooth into submission, if she wants to achieve her goals.
“I wasn’t clueless, but, to be honest, I just didn’t want to see the writing on the wall,” she said. “Looking in the mirror is hard, but Catherine and the other trainers have helped me understand the changes I need to make.”
As a self-employed person without the benefits of an employer’s benefits package, getting on track with her fitness and nutrition is Chantal’s health insurance plan for the future.
“There are a lot of people like me who have most of the components, but are missing one or two pieces, and you can come here to fill the gaps,” she said. “I want to be in super kick-ass shape– that will come, I just have to be patient.”
