1. What is your hometown?
Boxford, Mass.
2. What brought you to DP Training?
I fell prey to the pre-wedding fitness mandate and stumbled upon a DPT Groupon just in time.
3. How long have you been training with us?
4 years. The first 3 were mostly about showing up. The last year has been about digging in, paying attention, pushing harder.
4. What do you do in the “real world” (job, family, etc)
I’m a psychiatrist, specializing in geriatrics. I live with my husband and one very cute labradoodle, Watson.
5. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
I’ve had a perm for the last 6 years. It’s mostly grown out now, but I think I want it back.
6. What is your favorite exercise?
So many to choose from! It’s a 3-way tie between chin-ups, the body-saw, and lateral bench drives. And lately I also like pressing heavy things over my head.
7. What is your greatest gym achievement so far?
Anything that involves balancing on one leg without falling over. Plus unassisted chin-ups.
8. What motivates and inspires you?
The answer is always changing. Sometimes it’s the friendly faces of my familiar 7am crew. Sometimes it’s competition with my husband. Often it’s the thought: “I’ve come this far, why stop now?” Usually my “inspiration” involves a Dunkin Donuts medium iced dark roast.
At this point DPT has become the scaffolding around which I build the rest of my healthy behavior–eating, sleep, stress reduction. I am pretty convinced that if I stopped showing up for sessions, everything else would fall apart, which is something I’m not willing to risk. Plus, Emily and Callie would harass me to no end, and I don’t think I could handle any more of that than I already get.
9. What are your short term and long term goals?
5 seems like a nice round number of unassisted chinups to aim for. At some point I’d like to do a clapping pushup and the L-sits where you push yourself backwards. Longer term I’d really like to bike across the country. I tried it 15 years ago and only got halfway due to a knee injury, but that was long before I knew about lunges and squats.
10. What would you say to someone who is just starting out (or looking to start) at DP?
One of the best things about DPT is that it can be different things for you at different times, depending on your needs. At the very minimum, it can be someplace where you “just show up” a few times a week, knowing you’re getting a few good workouts in. Other times it can be your rehab for an injury. If you decide to workout a lot but eat crap for 2 years, DPT can get you back on track. Often it can be your reliable dose of positive, encouraging peers during a week when you’re cranky with everyone else in your life.
At its best, it is a space that can gradually transform your entire outlook, one meal and workout at a time. Feeling like a badass at least 2-3 times per week should be an RDA requirement. Over time you will notice feeling mentally more open to even nonphysical challenges and more tolerant of disappointments, just knowing that you’re taking basic care of yourself and and staying with these often difficult commitments. You will look back at where you started in mild disbelief, especially if you have always identified as a “non-athlete” or, in my case, the slow and awkward kid always picked last for the team. As cheesy as it sounds, DPT is a community that will help you redefine and inspire yourself.
