Meet IzzyFit's March Client of the Month: Lynn!

Lynn was referred to me by my former trainer Kim Gerbosi (Chicagoans, especially moms, look her up!). Lynn had just finished physical therapy after tearing her gluteus medius (which I lovingly refer to as the Side Butt). The amount of pain she was in was sometimes excruciating. Climbing the stairs in her house or even walking for a length of time left her in pain. A former avid runner, Lynn's life turned upside down.  If you've ever been in chronic pain, you know how debilitating it can be physically and especially mentally.

We started literally from the ground up. Working with her physical therapist, we came up with a program that would build her a strong foundation and we went from there!

Fast forward about 8 months. Lynn can now go up the stairs and walk miles without pain. She can run after her kids without the fear of re-injuring herself. In fact, a friend of hers noticed she hadn't even mentioned her hip in a long time. She's squatting, lunging, deadlifting and kettlebell swinging with the best of them. And her son tells his friends his mom is a weight lifter (which I think is such a huge compliment). 

She's strong and so kind and awesome and I'm so excited for you to meet Lynn!

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Why did you seek out a personal trainer?
​For most of my life, running was my only form of exercise and I LOVED it. So after I tore my gluteus medius (probably from running too much), I was stuck in a huge fitness rut, not having any idea how to stay in shape. It hurt to walk, climb stairs, get in and out of a car, everything was extremely painful. I felt very afraid of injuring myself further so I desperately needed someone to guide me through. So, after “graduating” from physical therapy I decided personal training would be my next hurdle.

What were your initial goals when you started training?
My initial goals were to have less pain while walking and going up stairs. I also wanted to lose some weight and to be able to enjoy exercising again.

How has strength training helped you out?
I had never strength trained before. I had always thought that running was the only (and best) way to stay in shape. I avoided any form of exercise that was slow. Strength training has taught me that a good workout can be something so much more than a rigorous, high-impact cardio workout and that it can improve the overall fitness of every part of your body. Strength training has isolated my muscles that needed to be stronger to make my injury less of a hindrance. I love how Izzy creates programs for each client based on their individual needs - it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach.

What do you enjoy most/look forward to when you train?
I always look forward to coming to my sessions. The time just flies by with Izzy. I also look forward to seeing how much I can push myself to improve my strength.

Is there anything surprising that you've discovered with strength training?
I have discovered that I am really strong. I have overcome a significant injury through consistent hard work at the gym.

Do you have any fitness goals for this year?
My goals are to continue to stay committed to the hard work in the gym and to eat well.

How would you describe your philosophy on working out and nutrition now vs before you started? Izzy has helped me to see that nutrition is paramount to feeling good and strong. I quickly learned to incorporate protein with each meal and to plan ahead. I have changed my mindset that one day of bad eating is not the end of the world and that each day is a fresh chance to do it better. I used to refer to my injury as the “weak side” or the “bad side” of my body, but through Izzy’s persistent reminders, I now know that I have a “strong side” and a “stronger side”. I think the message that Izzy sends to her clients is to be kind to yourself and to remove those negative/discouraging phrases we say to ourselves. It really does make a huge difference.

What advice would you have for anyone just starting out?
Stick with it and you will get stronger - mentally and physically.

Anything else to share?
​I recently told Izzy that she saved my life and I really meant it. After this awful injury I was resolved to never working out again and just packing on the pounds. Izzy has transformed my thinking and now I cannot wait to see what I can do next.