Having two young children at home may leave you feeling like you’re constantly running, but it doesn’t do much to help you lose weight.
Vanessa Hannon knew this all too well.
The 35-year-old payroll clerk just couldn’t find the time she once did for exercise after her kids came along. Between an hour-long commute to and from work each day and the domestic routines of dinner, clean up, bath time and bedtime, she barely found time for herself, nevermind exercise. Gone were the days when she would play competitive softball.
“I could never fit fitness back into my life,” She said. “I didn’t have anyone to keep me accountable. Moms always put themselves on the backburner.”
But a desk job and two C-section deliveries had left her with weight she didn’t want – especially with a wedding day to her partner looming in September.
Vanessa works across the street from Free Form Fitness’s ByWard Market location. She often walked by and saw the sign for the introductory promotion of eight sessions for just $96. But it took a friendly challenge from a co-worker to get her through the door. They signed up together in January.
“I had two motivations – have the energy to keep up with my kids, and look good in my wedding dress,” Vanessa said.
The location, along with efficient 30-minute sessions, gave her the convenience she needed to squeeze regular workouts into her lunch hour. Coming in twice a week to work with trainers Ryan Brown and Alex Kenzora, and using the buddy system with her friend to keep herself accountable on the nutrition front, Vanessa did achieve her wedding day goal. She dropped two dress sizes.
But she’s also added strength and muscle tone she never had, not even in high school when she played competitive basketball and volleyball. With two young ones getting bigger by the day, that’s important.
“You’ve got to keep up with the kids when they want to be picked up by mom,” she said. “You have to keep up with that demand.”
Vanessa credits the FFF approach to personal training for her success.
“I’m fully challenged by Ryan all the time – that’s what drives me,” she said. “I’ve always been competitive and naturally strong so I need a drill sergeant mentality, I need to feel pushed.”
When he sees her walk past FFF on her way out to lunch, Ryan will even text Vanessa about what she’s eating, just to make sure she’s staying on track.
“The trainers care outside of your sessions, it’s totally personalized,” she said.
That’s a big difference from Vanessa’s previous experience with a personal trainer, where it was just the same generic routine, over and over again, with no nutrition counselling or support.
“I’ve never felt this strong in my life,” she said. “At work, my office is on the third floor. I would take the stairs and be winded, now it’s no problem. I even picked up and held my 180-pound husband for a picture on our wedding day, so I could show my trainers what I did.”
Vanessa intends to keep working hard to hold on to the gains she has made and maintain those healthy eating habits.
