Coppell Trainer Rookie Spotlight
The Get You In Shape team hand selects clients each month that we feel have transformed their health and fitness. This Get You In Shape Spotlight Rookie for March joined Get You In Shape in November 2014. Tamra Walker lives in Coppell and works as an Executive Assistant to the CIO of an oil company in Plano.
Q: Why did you decide to join the Get You In Shape program? I had been working out with my friend for the last year with a trainer. I realized that my commitment was not very strong to that program and I was not seeing the results that I had hoped to achieve. I was still lacking accountability and inspiration. I turned 48 in October and I come from a family with rampant heart disease. My dad and my uncles have all had heart attacks in their late forties and early fifties and I began to realize that if I did not work to improve my health, like some of them, I might not get a second chance. By the way, they were not at all over-weight when they began having heart health issues. I decided that instead of feeling behind and beating myself up that I would get a head start on turning 50 and enter that decade of life with fitness as my way of life.
Q: What was your life like before joining the Get You In Shape Program? I have been married for 24 years. My husband, Jason, travels with his job quite a bit and I have two very active teen-age daughters involved in lacrosse and Lariettes attending two different high schools. We are like many Coppell families in that we go non-stop! I am also an only child and my parents moved to Coppell when my mom was diagnosed with cancer so that we could help them a little more. I have a very fulfilling life, but I was not really taking care of myself. My diet consisted of eating out multiple times a day and often times at fast food drive throughs. We work with youth at our church, so it felt like we were eating “kid food” like pizza and burgers every week with some sort of function. I got through many days without a single glass of water; instead, my fluid intake was one caffeinated beverage after another.
Q: What was your first impression from the Get You In Shape program? I was very nervous about the program being outside. I am a cold weather wimp! I started the last week of October, just to check it out. I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed being up early for the 5:30 class and I really loved being outside. It was so refreshing to my body and my soul! I was really impressed with how friendly and kind everyone was. They made me feel as though I was one of the group! Once the workout started, it was very obvious to me that I was REALLY out of shape. I had no endurance, no strength, and my core was really weak. I knew immediately that I would be challenged at GYIS and THAT was exactly what I needed! I also happened to attend for the first time on a day that they were celebrating participants’ accomplishments. I was blown away when two ladies that had been working out next to me both got recognized for being a part of GYIS for seven years! I knew there was something special about a place that built a community of participants that still were happy to be a part of a 5:30 am workout after SEVEN years!!!
Q: What have been some of the tools you have used that have benefited you? The trainers are the best tools. They are coaches. They care. They want to help you get the very most out of your workout, without injury. I have also benefitted from the mental focus product that they suggest. My ‘3-6 Dr Peppers a day’ habit was gone when I started using Spark. Do you know how many calories a day that was!!! I know, because I now track all of my calories on MyFitnessPal. I got my husband on that as well and now we are both helping each other make smarter choices. In addition, my Starbucks habit is now only a very special treat. I have only had coffee three times since Halloween! If you know me, these are major changes and I could not have done it without the nutrition portion of the training and Spark.
Q: How is the Get You In Shape program different from other programs you have tried before? The trainers and owners are so nice and genuine. They work out with us! Do you know how inspiring it is to watch your trainer push themselves? I knew I had found a group that would walk the talk! In addition, each morning, I look across the parking lot and I see a GYIS group that is more advanced than me and it makes me want to work hard to keep progressing! The runway for a healthy lifestyle is really long at GYIS and having all levels of people around me is not intimidating at all, instead it motivates me to work harder! I feel like I have finally found a place that cares more about me than my monthly bank auto draft.
Q: What results and benefits have you experienced in the Get You In Shape Program? My goal is to wear out a pair of tennis shoes for the first time in my life this year. That will be a huge benefit because I will have proof that I am really active!!! I have certainly lost weight with the program and I continue to lose inches. The day that I got the email that I was going to be in the Spotlight newsletter, I had been having a particularly hard day of sugar cravings. I thought the irony was sort of funny, but then I realized that days like that are really few and far between. I started GYIS just as the holidays were kicking in and I was still able to keep focused and continue meeting my goals while enjoying special foods and events with my family. The result of all of this accountability and encouragement is that now, I really want to make different choices. I want to feel this good all the time. I want to enjoy being active for a long time with my family and friends. In January, I added Cardio Club and I have been amazed at how much I really enjoy that program. I would still not call myself a runner, but I LOVE getting out there with other motivated people of all levels. There is absolutely no judgment in that group, and that is really one of the favorite parts of my week now!
Q: What would you say to anyone looking at this program? Two years ago, I was chaperoning a group of students from my church in Washington, DC. We were running up hill in the rain to get to a Sunday service. I was falling behind my group because I could not keep up the pace. At the top of the hill, outside the National Cathedral, my group took a group picture. I was not in the picture because I had not yet arrived…
I would say to anyone considering GYIS that you don’t want to ever miss out on a special moment because of your poor conditioning or health. It took me a while to find GYIS after that disappointing event, but I can save you all a lot of time and money! GYIS is systematic and thorough. They are good at what they do. You will receive benefits that you might not even know that you need, and GYIS might just keep you from missing out on something really important one day, like your life!!!
