Recently, Pam shared her health journey with us and we wanted share it with you.
The power of a good support system: One woman’s story of getting her butt in shape with the help of KOA Fit and a bunch of other people too!
I found Siri at KOA Fit a few years ago for massage therapy after my previous massage therapist had moved. Massage was keeping me going; my knee was banged up from playing tennis, my back was messed up from years of carrying kids and diaper bags on my hips and who-knows-what else, I was starting to get migraines as I got older, my workdays sitting at a desk all day were excruciating for my hip flexors (and everything else). Siri would always give me some stretching and exercises to do in between massage sessions, and those exercises became key to keeping me upright and from being in pain all the time.
One day after massage, I said, “You know, Siri, I should just make an appointment to see you in the gym since you’re giving me so many exercises to do.” We set up a time, then that led to another time, then pretty soon I was going every couple of weeks.
I was getting a little bit stronger, and I had some tools in my toolbox now for getting through the day: stretching to do at work, a therapy ball to sit on at my desk, a foam roller in my living room, and a variety of bands, balls, and other exotic equipment (a racquetball for rolling my feet?!) in my desk drawer that my coworkers found fascinating and looked for excuses to stop by my desk to see my latest acquisition.
Soon, my supervisor was asking me to show her some stretching to do on our breaks.
One of my favorite things to do for exercise is to walk around the lake near my house. Siri put together an exercise circuit for me to do when walking. I just needed a few bands tucked into my pocket. I could not believe how much of a workout I could get by just using my own body weight with a park bench and a few bands! Neither could my weekly walking friend, who bought a few bands for herself and started asking if we could “do the circuit” when we went walking.
New Year’s of 2019: one of my brothers in the Midwest needed some motivation for exercising. (Midwest winters are brutal for getting outside, or even out to the gym). He asked the other three of us siblings if we could do a daily group text, checking in and motivating each other to do some daily exercise and keep moving. The four of us have kept that up to this day, over a year later! As much as I loved going to see Siri in the gym, there were some days that only my siblings’ texts showing me what THEY were doing to keep moving that day, got me there. Siri was on board with keeping our text stream going, and she would take some pictures of me doing my exercises at the gym, which I would share with my siblings. There was more than one text back to me saying, “Well, I was going to sit down and watch football, but I saw your photo of you at the gym and decided to get up and get moving instead.”
My sister decided last spring that she wanted to try to end her addiction to sugar. She wanted to do something radical called “Whole 30”. She needed a buddy to help keep her accountable, and wanted me on board. I had never heard of it, but I gamely said I’d jump on that train (boy, I should’ve read up on it first!). Siri was very supportive, knew about the Keto Diet (very similar), and kept me motivated to stick with it. My sister and I texted multiple times a day about what we were eating, and without that support, I never could have done it. As I was getting stronger at the gym, and getting the inflammation (sugar) out of my system, I really started feeling good and experiencing good health.
A little over 2 years after starting to see Siri in the gym, a year after starting a daily “Rah-rah” text with my siblings, 8 months after kicking sugar out of my diet, I’m feeling better than I ever thought possible at my advanced (mid-50’s) age! My knee doesn’t hurt anymore. My back doesn’t hurt anymore. My migraines are way less frequent. I am keeping up with my 21 and
22 year old kids when we go hiking (another passion). I’m riding my bike all over town now. My husband bought a cart for my bike so I can do my grocery shopping via bike riding. I never thought I’d be able to haul a cart full of groceries 5 miles with my “bad knee and back”. At my annual physical, my doctor was amazed that my weight had dropped into a normal range, and my labs looked great. She told me, “Keep doing what you’re doing!”
Going to the gym is great, believe me. I have way too much fun there, and it’s one of the highlights of my week! It has helped me become much stronger. However, without the support system in place (my trainer, my siblings, my coworkers, my walking friend, my husband), it never would have been achievable.
They say it takes a village... Yes, it does, and I’m so happy with my “village”!
