My name
is Katie Grivetti. I’m 42 years old, married, and the mother of five children.
My oldest is 17, and my youngest is two and one-half years old. Life is full
and action-packed but I came to the point where I needed to make myself a
priority for at least one hour each day.
My
background in physical activity started in high school. I was involved in
basketball and track, but I never really loved doing either one. It wasn’t
until I was in my early 20’s that I began aerobic classes that I got hooked on
fitness. I took as many classes as I could. It was fun; like dancing, not work.
Later, I added weight training to my routine. I enjoyed it and learned the
value of incorporating weights into working out. I participated in a women’s
body building competition in Chicago. Training for that event was exciting and
challenging, and I learned a lot. It was great to advance to the level of
competition.
Five
children and 20-some years later, my body, diet, and lifestyle have gradually,
but drastically, changed. I’ve tried many different exercising methods to
regain tone, lose weight, work off stress, and boost my energy to keep up with
it all. I’ve had very little success due to a limited amount of time, lack of
energy, and not really knowing where to begin. I also hid behind my mantra: “for
having 5 kids, I don’t look that bad,” and I was fine with that, sort of. As
for my once very diligent no fat diet, I only worked out so I could eat what I
wanted, particular stress binging on carbs/sweets.
After
the birth of my fifth child, I desperately wanted to lose the pregnancy weight
and reach the best physical health I possibly could. I made goals for myself
and was determined to reach them. As an “older” mom, it was critical that I
become healthy and fit for my family, particularly my baby girl. Call it a
mid-life crisis, but I wanted to get back that love I used to have for
exercising, that competitive spirit that was buried under a mountain of
responsibility. I wanted to again experience that awesome feeling of getting
stronger, accomplishing more physically than you thought you could. And let’s
be honest: I wanted to lose weight and inches to get back my girlish figure.
Before
joining The Challenge Within, I was attending aerobic classes, working out
hard, showing up regularly, and I was being challenged. I enjoyed being back in
a group setting, loved the classes, and found the instructors to be very
helpful, professional, and passionate about their work. But after about six
months, I realized I needed something more individualized to eliminate fat and
increase my endurance and energy level. I needed an individualized plan.
One day
in aerobics, the instructor briefly mentioned The Challenge Within, but those
few words stayed with me. She talked about how successful participants had been;
losing up to two pants sizes in 10 weeks. I was blown away! Two pants sizes is
the equivalent of about 15 to 20 pounds! I
didn’t accept The Challenge right away, but when I finally did, I was ready for
it and dove right in.
Here’s
what you can expect from The Challenge Within:
- · Significant physical challenges
- · Sore and tired body. It’s a lot of work to change your body. Ibuprofen and sleep will be your best friends.
- · Leave your comfort zone. You’ll be physically tested and forced out of your comfort zone. Get over it, muddle through, remember how you’re improving your body, and keep going.
- · Personal Trainer Sean Gillen will correct you often. Leave your pride out of it and listen. He will help you stay injury-free and learn the correct form for maximum benefits.
- · Sean will not yell at you or make you feel stupid or weak when you can’t understand something or are struggling. He is patient, kind, and genuinely wants you to “get there.”
- · Sean will not put lots of pressure on you. He expects it to come from within.
- · Sean is your leader, but you need to bring it and do the work. There are no shortcuts. It takes time, dedication, and effort.
During
my Challenge, I was most surprised by:
- · What a huge incentive paying for something can be. I don’t want to fail the program. I don’t want to fail myself. I don’t want to waste my money.
- · How observant Sean is. He watches you closely and picks up on weaknesses and incorrect form that you may not even know exist. He takes the information and tailors a routine to improve and strengthen these areas.
- · How fast the workouts go and how much fun they can be. I work out with Sean four days a week and one day on my own. I’ve gotten better results than doing back to back aerobic sessions that I had begun to grow bored with.
Where I
Am
As I
write this, I’m in the fifth week of the 10-week program. I still get nervous
and anxious before a session wondering what will be asked of me. But for the
most part, I now know what I’ll be doing and am familiar with it. We do a
combination of cardio weeks to weight lifting weeks. Cardio is more of a
challenge for me, but the weight lifting isn’t much easier because you are
constantly increasing the amount of weight you are lifting. I’ve learned many
new exercises that target my goals my precisely than whole-body exercises.
I’ve
definitely had days where I doubted if I could handle this, but once I was home
and relaxed, I thought about what I had just accomplished and couldn’t wait to
go back and do it again, the biggest surprise of all!
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