Meet IzzyFit's December Clients of the Month: Everyone!

You may be aware that I put the spotlight on one Evanston personal training client every month in my Client of the Month "column". Rather than have to choose one among many candidates this month, I decided that, in this last Client of the Month post for 2015, I would like to take the time to brag about each of my clients and honor their journey this past year. It's a client brag-a-thon!

I could tell you about the weight my clients have lost (like one who has lost 50 lbs over the last year); about my clients who can fit into dresses/pants/shorts they haven't’ been able to wear in years; about my clients who are loving their more toned arms and legs. Those accomplishments are HUGE and wonderful.

But those are outcomes of months and months of hard work, exercise and practicing nutrition habits that work for them. That work is what I want to brag about today. So without further ado, I would like to celebrate:

• Beth for taking the steps to get her body stronger and more stable which has allowed her to deadlift and swing without back pain and for making strength training a priority!
• Brandi for learning how to meal plan and prep each week, making time in her busy schedule to make it work and for scheduling home workouts in her calendar!
• Brenda for noticing how much easier it is to carry around bags and suitcases while traveling thanks to performing heavy kettlebell farmer carries around the studio!
• Caitlin for proving that if you do your homework you WILL get stronger and be able to do more and more fun stuff, for hitting her first Turkish getup recently and for having SO much less back pain!
• Claire for jumping right into her program with both feet and for performing some pretty solid split squats at her first appointment!
• Gayle for being ultra consistent with her at-home workouts, even in the worst of times, and for being strong enough to stand up out of a lunge and for getting her first pushup!
• George for learning how to meal plan in a way where he doesn’t cut out food groups which has allowed him to lose weight on his own terms without feeling deprived and for getting a 20K Turkish getup!
• Heather for recently hitting a her own Turkish getup PR of 12kg and getting THISCLOSE to hitting her first pullup!
• Jennifer for coming out of her shell so much, for killing her single leg squats and renegade rows and for working out on her own at home when she doesn’t see me!
• Jo for doing the work which has allowed her to get her left leg as strong as her right one and for building up her cardio endurance so she can run around with friends and not get out of breath!
• Kristen for effortlessly swinging the 24kg bell, for always being bright, cheery and present every time she comes in and for making exercise a priority, even when the schedule is nutty!
• Lee for being brave enough to get back into the gym after some surgeries left her with chronic pain and for taking her new fitness journey one step at a time!
• Leslie for not letting plantar fasciitis get in the way of her training (and doing what she needed to do to get rid of it) and for deadlifting increasingly heavier weight with no back pain! 
• Lynn for taking her strength training step by meticulous step to form a strong and stable base which is now allowing her to lunge, step-up and swing with no pain after a long recovery from a gluteus medius tear!
• Maralee for sticking to training, even after going back to work and for waking up early to get some walking and exercise in on her own before work, even if it’s for a short  time (it’s the practice of getting up and doing SOMETHING that really counts)!
• Mark for enduring bear crawls, trusting in the process so he can bench press while keeping his previously injured shoulder safe!
• Mary for being able to rock out some impressive pushups, for learning that even if you make 1 or 2 easy habit changes that you can do with consistency, you can lose weight and keep it off!
• Maura for putting the scale away 6 days a week, stopping a years-old weighing-in-every-day habit, for learning how to get the breakfast she needs to help her feel satisfied and for hitting a deadlifting PR of 80 lbs!
• Megan for being open-minded about trying out new foods to diversify her nutrition plan, and for bringing in her husband to work out with her, proving that support from loved ones is so key!
• Melissa for learning to prep her lunches for work so she doesn’t get stuck with the office pizza delivery, for learning how to make time for workouts,  and for being able to knock out some beautiful pushups!
• Mollie for hitting two pullups in a row after conquering her fear of hanging from the bar and for learning how to meal prep so she gets more nutrient-dense meals!
• Phyllis for deadlifting her bodyweight and just being overall fearless (lots of us at the studio say, “I want to be like Phyllis when I grow up” weekly)!
• Sara for making sleep a priority and turning off electronics at night to the point where she can now sleep through the night and for practicing being less all-or-nothing and less hard on herself!
• Sarah for now being able to hit some fabulous-looking goblet squats and for trusting that she is strong enough to use heavier weights!
• Simon for performing some by-the-book scap pushups after working hard on core strengthening and for being the ultimate supportive partner by preparing lunches for his now-wife leading up to their wedding!
• Sinclair for finding a mode of exercise she loves (kettlebells!) which has inspired her to train and practice on her own outside of her training sessions and for learning how to cook for herself in her dorm!
• Theresa for showing up to train and being present in the midst of a ridiculous work schedule, and for being invested in her nutrition even when it meant cutting down on her much-loved cheese!
• Veronica for committing to exercising after recovering from a broken foot and working on her balance so that step-ups are no longer scary and daunting!

i get to learn from all of these amazing people every day. They've taught me that we are more resilient than we realize; we're usually capable of conquering obstacles before we think we are; that it's much easier to lift a weight off the floor when we don't know how much it weighs (haha); that support and high fives from your training buddies goes a long way; that we are stronger than we think we are, all around; that if we choose what to practice consistently, results like weight loss will happen; that things never need to be complicated to work.

Oh, man, I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store!

​Happy December, lovely people!