Congratulations to our December 2014 Client of the Month, Kate Walsh. Kate has been a front-runner for the award for a couple of months and then December really pushed her over the edge. She has been one of our hardest working clients but is also able to balance a great sense of humor and the ability to motivate and inspire all of our newer clients along the way.
Here’s Kate’s story and some fun facts…
1. What is your hometown? Braintree, MA
2. What brought you to DP Training? I’d been a runner since I was 13 years old, have run 5 marathons and 20ish half marathons, and that was ALL the excercise I knew how to do. I dabbled in other weight-related classes and things, but lost interest quickly and probably wasn’t doing it right. As I entered my 30s, my long slow runs weren’t helping me maintain my weight like they used to and I realized I needed something different. I talked to a friend (who is no longer coming to DPT but had just done a 21 day trial) about thinking about trying cross fit or something and her word for word email message to me was: “Don’t do cross fit” and a link to DPT 🙂
3. How long have you been training at DP? 7 months
4. What do you do in the real world? I’m a social worker. I work in homeless services with veterans at the Bedford VA. I’m engaged (getting married in September 2015) and live with my fiance, Joe, in Somerville.
5. What is one thing that most people wouldn’t know about you? I try to keep my terrible TV habits under wraps but I’ll confess that I find nothing more relaxing than watching mindless reality TV. Basically anything on MTV and Bravo…I could list out my shows but there are so many housewives and teen moms and so little time! I usually only watch when I’m alone and quickly change the channel to something more reputable when my fiance comes in. “Nope, that wasn’t Snooki and Jwoww you heard, I’m watching Jeopardy…”
6. What is your favorite exercise? Kettlebell swings. I think I like them because when I first started at DP I had never touched a kettlebell before and they made me nervous that I’d whack myself in the face. So being able to see how comfortable I’ve gotten with them and that kettlebells and I are now BFFS, it makes me feel proud of how far I’ve come.
7. What is your greatest gym achievement so far? Besides not whacking myself in the face with a kettlebell… feeling comfortable and strong doing pushups.
8. What motivates and inspires you? Seeing everyday progress of those around me at DP. I love getting to see others push themselves to do something they are scared of and think they can’t do. That inspires me to push myself when its my turn and my initial instinct is to say “no way, I can’t do that!” when one of the trainers nudges me toward a higher weight or to try something more difficult.
9. What are your short term and long term goals? I’m starting the DP nutrition program this week so a goal is to stick with that, soak up and apply as much info as I possibly can. I’ll also admit that, with my wedding in September, my goal is to feel like a buff bride and be proud of how my arm/back muscles look in my wedding dress. Maybe I’ll do some wedding-dress pushups on my wedding day?
10. What would you say to someone who is just starting out at DP? Everyone started somewhere. Don’t beat yourself up for not being able to do something the first time around; be proud of the fact you showed up and you’re starting. It’s hard work, but after a some time you’ll look back on your first few workouts with pride at how far you’ve come.
