Functional Fitness

You will have to excuse my posing because this is one of few attempts at showing off my back muscles. If it ain’t a b***y pic, idk how to pose 😅😂

🏋🏼‍♂️My fitness goals have changed throughout my journey and more than likely so will yours ☺️

▫️I started wanting abs like Britney Spear or Christina Aguilera. I overdid my cardio, because I was so lazer focused on losing weight.

▫️I got so skinny and felt unbelievably insecure. That’s when I picked up weight lifting.

▫️I saw results at the beginning but quickly plateaued. Mostly because I had contradicting thoughts in my head in regard to nutrition. I wanted to put weight back on, while being terrified of every food I put in my mouth, thinking it would instantly become fat and all my hard work would go down the drain.

▫️My goals now no longer revolve so much around aesthetics and it’s more about strength, mobility, and overall health or simply push my body to new skill levels for fun.

Fitness is a way of being, and it will evolve with you as you grow and evolve in to a better version of yourself. 💎

🔔If you would like help getting started, let’s setup a consultation to discuss your goals, just fill out your info in my link in bio!
📍Located in Naperville

Swipe for 8yr progress ⏪

📈 But the biggest progress can’t be shown in picture because its been inner work🧠

▫️Previous to starting, I lacked much confidence. I felt victimized. I used believe I didn’t have the right genetics.

▫️Changing my physique brought me confidence — but beyond what I had originally imagined— as now I see this as a reference in my life of a win I achieved.

▫️It taught me patience and dedication🏋🏼‍♀️⏳

▫️At some point I thought I was dreaming for the impossible. But another voice inside me wondered what would happen if I continued 💭

I have cried before, during, and after a workout because I wasn’t seeing results. Because the pain in my body as I exercised felt like death. I was weak both physically and mentally. 😅

🗓8years have flown by since I decided to start.

🔄I’ve gone in circles a few times.
I joined track to get me started, then I tried many classes at the gym like pilates. I then worked out at my apartment gym with only resistance bands and dumbbells and YouTube on my phone 📲

🤓I researched everything I could on the body that would help me understand the science so I could be as effective as possible. I became my own guinea pig. I became obsessed with finding the answer!

I didn’t hire a personal trainer because I couldn’t afford one. I was a college student living off student loans. Ironically enough this also jump started a career opportunity for me.

Now I am happy to be at a point where not only I feel happy in my body, but at a point where I can empower others. Being a personal trainer allows me to pass on my knowledge acquired over the years in short sessions.

You don’t have to go in circles like I did. Having the right guidance can shorten your journey.

📍If you’re in the Naperville area and ready to start your transformation, shoot me a DM and we can schedule a time together!

https://youtu.be/3evAdWx7GVA

How eating more food can help burn more calories? Josh from the Fitness by Design Team, explains the thermogenic effect of food and how eating more protein, fats, and carbs, will translate into what our body...

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The WORST Stretches For Low Back Pain (And What To Do Instead) Ft. Dr. Stuart McGill One of the first solutions people struggling with back pain seek are lower back stretches to relieve their pain. But the truth is, many of these stretches fo...

📝Easy Make Ahead Breakfast Alternative or Midday Snack & a super fun alternative to scrambled eggs 🤤

Makes a 12 count in a regular sized muffin tray
1 Muffin: ≈ 114 cals 8g protein, 5g fat, 1g carb
💡Ingredients can be customized to personal preference

🔹Whisk together in bowl
Ingredients:
8 large eggs
6 slices of bacon-minced
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup spinach-minced
1/2 cup milk
8 cherry tomatoes-minced
1/4 minced white onion
2tsp Tabasco sauce

💡*best if you use silicone liners instead of spraying with cooking oil*
🔹Pour mix into muffin tray

🔥Bake at 400F for about 15mins
*stick a toothpick into muffin & if it comes out dry it means its cooked all the way*

💡Can be stored in ziplock bag in the fridge and microwaved a few seconds when needed

❓Do you know the difference between the two primary leg lifts?

While both of these focus on leg muscles, they can require a great deal of core and grip strength as well 🏋️‍♀️💪

💡Muscles Worked
Both: Core & Glutes
Squats: Primarily Quads
Deadlifts: Hamstrings

💡If you're a beginner focus on getting the movement pattern down before loading with weight

training

🔄Do you find yourself in a cycle of starting and dropping your fitness goals? ⬇️MUST READ⬆️

☝🏼You may have hears that fitness is a mental game. 🧠 Do you know why? Well, the key to succeeding in the long term lies on the mental resources you equip yourself with.

1️⃣In order to have leverage on yourself when motivation lacks is to understand your psyche. Why do you do what you do? 🤯
🔹Most of us hardly ever think to spend some time figuring that out before we venture on this new journey ⛰
▶️Truth is, that the circumstances will not always be right, buy you will have to have to make a way.
Starting with a strong “why” will give you enough life force to stay committed📖🔥

2️⃣Establishing a plan is important but typically we focus on the results we want to achieve rather than the process required to get there. 🪜

3️⃣Anticipating obstacles 🪨 that will get in the way of our actions can help us be prepared so that we eliminate as much resistance and make taking action as easy as possible 🙌🏼

4️⃣ With time you will reach your goal, but you’re life is happening right now so don’t live in the future. You don’t have to wait to achieve your goal to feel proud. You can start to feel proud that you’re currently working towards it 🥰

5️⃣It’s important to track variables, not because we want to judge our actions but because by tracking we can deliberately make changes to our approach when things aren’t progressing the way we want them to 📉📈

6️⃣Life happens, and nothing ever goes exactly as planned. Knowing this can emotionally save you from discouragement when you have to miss a session because your kid got sick, or you’re boss asked you to come in on your off day and you now feel like you’ve failed. Sometimes you will have to handle things that are more urgent, but you’ll have to adjust and move on.

7️⃣As you continue to learn about your body and fitness, you will try new things and find what works best for you.

Are you still following the food pyramid recommendations?

Our understanding behind nutrition keeps changing and will continue to change but it’s super interesting to see the progression we’ve made.

Key takeaways:
▪️Healthy fats are important and a diet that’s too lean may not be ideal
▪️A variety of foods will give you a better outcome
▪️Ratios may vary from person to person based on lifestyle and goals and getting advice from an expert that can look at your specific situation may be the best approach when unsure

What Ever Happened to the Food Pyramid? | Nutrition | MyFitnessPal Food Pyramid? MyPlate? Eating guidelines can be confusing, but these dietitians clear the air.

⚠️If you’re going to be on your phone, instead of holding in front of your chest, I’d recommend you try holding it right at eye level to avoid any neck strain. (This doesn’t apply to just your phone, if you tilt your head down a lot for any reason, same principle applies) ⚠️

🏋️‍♀️When it comes to fitness, it’s common to pay attention to aesthetic things like circumference measurements, or obsess over numbers like weight on a scale, but which are truly relevant?

✨Truth is, fat percentage is more relevant to determine our body composition and our overall health. Anythings about 25% starts to become risky for our health, and in order to see muscle definition, we will also need to be below this percentage. At what percentage exactly, it will vary from men to women and person to person.

**I most note a super low fat percentage can also become a health risk, but that's topic for another day.**

In order to determine your fat percentage, you will need either a hand-held device or a scale that specifically takes this metric. Most gyms will have one available for you to use, or a free assessment where they will take this metric for you.

At Signature Fitness Club we include a free assessment with your membership, and if you train with us, we monitor your fat percentage on a monthly basis to track any progress/changes.