Happy Sunday! I hope you had a great week.
Things are busy busy here at the Durbrow Performance HQ (aka my living room). As you probably have heard, we’re moving into a bigger, badder and more awesome training facility. This is going to give us tons of room for indoor Prowling, lots of walking lunges, sprints and tons of cool stuff. But fear not, Spotlight Sundays are not taking a back seat because our clients friggin’ rock and I want to talk about them all the time 🙂
This week’s spotlight finally convinced herself that it was cool to talk about her accomplishments. She is one of our most dedicated clients and every single session she’s trying to get better, use more weight and just work her ass off. You can gauge Sarah’s work rate by the redness of her face 🙂
(I can laugh about this and tease her because I’m the same way. No judgement on us pale folk, please)
Onward….here’s Sarah Nichols’ awesome story. Check it out….
I come from a very active family both my parents started running in their early 30’s. I have seen my Dad run the Boston Marathon and my Mom run Mt Washington. Both my parents have been incredible role models and continue to workout 3 or 4 times a week —BUT I also come from a big Italian family where constant picking and eating is just something we do.
As a kid I was always active–I danced several nights a week doing ballet, and modern dance from the age of 3 till high school. As I entered high school I wanted to try different things and started running track and playing softball.
During college I put on about 30 lbs. I was no longer active like I had been, but continued to eat and drink my way through 4 years in NYC. After college I slowly started talking the weight off and started to run. About 3 years out of college I started working for Tom’s of Maine and as a company they had a fitness room and wellness director on staff. Working with our wellness director trained for my first 10K and from there became hooked on running. I ran been running for several years and although lost about 20 of the 30ish lbs I put on during college I still did not feel as fit as I knew I could be.
One night out to dinner with a friend I heard about Callie and Durbrow Performance Training. I was in the process of training for a marathon but wanted to add in some kind of strength training or cross training to my schedule. That next day I emailed Callie and my life has never been the same.
My little brother and I have always joked around about our muscles. We will flex our arms to see who has the biggest muscle (mind you he is 13 years younger than me so this worked out great for me when he was 5) A few years ago when I was 31 and he was 18 I flexed and he just flicked my flabby underarm…….this summer we were joking around and I flexed, he looked at me and said wow Sar—you actually have a muscle. I knew my 20 year old wise ass brother wasn’t lying and I felt proud of all the hard work I have been putting in with Callie and Emily.
I might complain a lot when I see this on the white board but I love the Pyramid. Push ups, Kettle Bells and jump Squats. All three exercises push have pushed me to get stronger. And when I think I have become the strongest woman alive Emily or Callie tell me to add another sand bag or go up in KB weight. I started with maybe a 35 lb kettlebell and now work with a 32kg (sometimes if I am brave a 40kg). I also used to barely do 5 push ups on my knees and now can do pushups on my toes while wearing 20lb chains. It is so exciting to see how every time I push a little further I get a little bit stronger.
So much has changed over the year and a half working with Emily and Callie. I am a stronger woman now than I ever have been. I have lost inches, lost fat, gained muscle, walk with a little more swagger plus a smile on my face. And on top of all that have gained some wonderful friends.
I have made a lot of positive strides over the last year and half but still have some distance to go. And although I follow Callie’s instructions on nutrition 70% of the time that is the hardest part for me. I intent to go the distance in 2013 and take those last 7ish lbs that just keep hanging on for dear life and I know as part of the Durbrow family I will get there!
Thank you Emily and Callie for all that you do!
