Why Coaching? - "Back" to Basics

Around the time I was 11 or 12, it was discovered that I had scoliosis – a curvature of the spine.  On the one hand it didn’t feel like a big deal, but I started to see an orthopedist regularly and was eventually transferred to a specialist at the Akron Children’s Hospital.  Fairly quickly I was put in a back brace that I would wear for two years in an attempt to stop the progression of the curve while I was going through puberty.  Although I didn’t realize it until several years later, the bracing was pretty unsuccessful and my curve continued to worsen into my mid-twenties.  However, despite the lack of effectiveness in stopping the curve, my flute teacher at the time insisted that the fact that I had to wear the brace for all that time made me a much better flute player, because I was forced to learn how to use my air much more efficiently.  There is a bright side to everything!

In those years of seeing an orthopedist regularly, there are a couple of things that I remember him telling me about my future with scoliosis.  One was that I might have difficult and uncomfortable pregnancies.  The second was that I would need to keep myself thin in order to relieve any extra strain on my back.  On the first account, he wasn’t exactly right.  My pregnancies have generally been pretty comfortable on my back.  However, my babies don’t like to go head down.  They just can’t fit themselves into my crooked pelvis.  Thankfully, after my first breech baby I found a wonderful chiropractor who has worked very hard to get my babies head down.  Post pregnancy has been far more of a challenge.  Frozen backs, constant achiness and pinched nerves that make it almost impossible to walk or move sometimes.

As for the second point (keeping myself thin to reduce strain on my back), I have thus far been able to do this, but I have really lacked strength.  Especially in my delicate core area.  So, this is where Beachbody comes in.  I know that there are going to be many exercises that are beyond my capability physically, and yet I know that it is essential for my back health to build lean muscle and keep my whole core supported for years to come.

Why Coaching? - Let's make a business!

Ever since I was a teenager, I can remember feeling the struggle between the desire to work (in my case as a musician) and to be a mom.  Now, in this day in age with the emancipation of the female, I would be told that I can have BOTH.  Career, motherhood, and complete satisfaction in each area.  However, when it came time to make the decision, my husband and I both felt that it was most important to us that I be home on a full time basis with our children.  I am very satisfied with that decision.  In fact, more satisfied than I ever thought that I could be.  However, there is still a little nagging part of me that wants to contribute to the family finances.  

I am a finance and budget fanatic (thank you, Dave Ramsey) and because of that I have big goals for getting us out of debt and out of debt fast.  In fact, we are out of debt completely except for our house.  So here it is, looming over me, our lovely house that I want to own.  Not rent from the bank.  We are chipping away at it at a pretty decent pace, but I know that if I could just contribute a bit, we could do even better.

So, how do I do that and still remain at home with my children?  Beachbody coaching is the solution I’ve chosen.  For me, this path is going to kill several birds with one stone.  I will be motivated to be healthy and invigorated.   I will be contributing some money to our house payment and other financial goals, however big or small that may be.  I will be able to support and encourage other people with their own health and fitness goals.  And finally, I will be forced to keep myself fit, which I MUST do to support a genetic problem that I have with my back (more on that in a later post).

I have high hopes of making “Olsen Fitness” a place of great joy and success for many people!

Why Coaching? - Time to Get Some Energy!

Life is full of changes.  Just when you think that you’re settling into something, you enter a new phase of your life.  High school to college, single to married, childless to parent.  Parent to 1, to 2, to 3 (you get the idea), plus all of the little changes in between. 

The newest phase of my life is parenting.  And my husband and I jumped into parenting with abandon, having 3 children in 3 ½ years.  Talk about significant life change, plus significant change to my body.  The change to the shape of my body hasn’t been all bad, as expected.  In fact, post babies 1 and 2 I was able to get to a place where I was quite happy with the look and shape of my body (hopefully I will be able to pull that off with baby #3 also).

However, the physical change that has not been as easy to adjust to is exhaustion.  It started out as an “Oh my gosh, I’m SO tired” feeling, and has morphed into a “This is just the way life feels” acceptance.   BUT I DON’T WANT TO ACCEPT THAT!!!

I want to be full of life and energy for my own sake, as well as for my children and my husband.  So, as I contemplated how to reinvigorate myself I was drawn to the idea of Beachbody Coaching.  My aunt is a Beachbody coach, and after the birth of my second child, I felt a burst of “I can do this” energy after I joined one of her challenge groups. The motivation of committing to something was what I needed to get myself feeling recharged. 

So, now as I enter my recovery phase from baby #3, I want to be motivated right from the beginning to recover my body, find my energy, be invigorated about life.

Care to join me in reclaiming the pep in your step?  Let’s do this together!