Name: Heather Spears
Age: 41
Location: Seattle, WA
How did you find out about Girls Gone Strong?
A longtime friend of mine appeared in a GGS Spotlight that I saw on Facebook, and I was inspired by her experience with GGS coaching. I then started reading the material on the GGS website about training, nutrition and women’s health, and the content just resonated as smart, sound, and relevant. I knew I wanted to be part of the GGS community.
What does being a part of the Girls Gone Strong community mean to you?
For me, Girls Gone Strong means being part of a community of women who share similar stories, who are emotionally strong, physically strong and self-assured.
Being part of Girls Gone Strong means respecting that a woman’s body is entirely hers, and is her business alone.
Being a Girl Gone Strong means supporting and learning from smart and accomplished women. Being a Girl Gone Strong means finding greater self-confidence and body acceptance. Being a Girl Gone Strong means showing up in the gym and honoring one’s body for what it can do!
What do you do?
I’m a Human Resources Manager and am also currently in graduate school studying Public Administration.
What else do you do?
I enjoy travel, road trips, camping, hiking, and going out to hear live music.
How were you introduced to strength training, and how long have you been training?
I’ve participated in sports and outdoor activities since childhood, but only dabbled in sporadic weight training during high school and college. I first started working out with a personal trainer and being a gym regular about 12 years ago. I cycled through personal training, bootcamp classes and training alone in the gym over the years.
I joined CrossFit at Experience Momentum about three years ago to challenge myself, and in that environment I started to embrace training for the sake of strength, mobility and endurance to live a better life. CrossFit launched my love affair with barbell lifts. Around this time, I was also becoming enlightened by the positive messaging about women’s strength training on Girls Gone Strong. I have been cycling through GGS programming (Modern Woman’s Guide to Strength Training, Strongest You, Get Results) while supplementing now and then with CrossFit classes for a little over two years.
Favorite lift:
Deadlift. When I first learned the deadlift, I was afraid to deadlift more than twenty pounds, because I was certain that I would hurt my back. Now that I understand the mechanics and what’s required to deadlift safely, it’s my favorite lift because, for me, it’s an accessible lift that makes me feel strong and capable of progress.
I’m a fan of barbell lifts, and practicing Olympic lifts (within the range of my mobility and often with an unloaded bar or a dowel), makes me happy too, but I get particularly excited about deadlift day.
Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym or in your gym bag:
A water bottle, my phone so that I can refer to my training program and demo videos, and a hoodie for while I’m warming up and post-workout!
Do you prefer to train alone or with others? Why?
I like a mixture of both. I like working out alone through a program for some and mixing my program with Crossfit classes for encouragement, camaraderie and variety.
Favorite way to treat yourself:
Massage. I am a fan of massage for its health benefits, and especially to help with pain and soreness, but also because massage is great for relaxation and stress relief!
Favorite quote:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
Three words that best describe you:
Thoughtful. Loyal. Kind.
Favorite book:
It’s hard to pick one, but I love the classics. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one I can read again and again.
Describe a typical day in your life, from waking up to bedtime:
First order of business upon waking is coffee! I head to the gym before work if it’s a strength day, or sometimes put the finishing touches on a paper that is due later that day for school. Work is never the same day twice, but is usually a combination of meetings and putting out surprise metaphorical fires.
A few days in the week I leave work around 4 p.m. and head to school, and drive for over an hour through evening rush hour traffic. I’m in class until about 9 p.m., at which point I go home, have a light dinner, decompress with a bit of TV, catch up with my husband, pet the cat, and then go to bed.
When did you join Get Results Coaching? Why did you decide to join and what helped you make the decision to join?
I joined the Get Results program in July. I was just wrapping up a round of another GGS coaching program with Jen Comas. I felt that I had made a lot of progress in certain areas with both the strength programming and the mindset work, but I wanted to continue the work I was doing and make more progress with the nutrition aspect and put everything together.
I had purchased the Get Results programs, and liked the idea of cycling through Get Lean, and switching to Get Strong later. My schedule between work and school was compressing my gym time, so I ended up doing Get Started workouts with less rest time in between sets for the sake of getting in some strength training. Dedicating just 25 minutes to a strength session during which I’m moving quickly will have a big impact on how I feel and helping to maintain fitness.
What has been your biggest challenge in the Get Results Coaching program?
Consistency in all three key elements of the program, (mindset, training and nutrition) but also realizing that putting all of these things together takes dedication and practice and doesn’t happen overnight.
There have been times when I’ve been strong and consistent with training, and others when I am steady with meeting nutrition habits, but not training as hard. Learning that there are seasons and cycles to training; and trying to match my exercise and nutrition habits and goals to a busy lifestyle is where I have needed the most work and guidance.
What has been your biggest success in the Get Results Coaching program?
This is hard to describe, but my biggest success in GGS programs has actually been learning to let go…
- Letting go of the idea that I need to be certain size to be my best self.
- Letting go of the idea that to be a good athlete I have to train hard all the time.
- Letting go of the idea that food and exercise are transactional (i.e. eating a piece of pie does not require me to do 50 minutes on a cardio machine!)
- Letting go of weighing myself every day and letting a number influence how I feel.
- Letting go of comparisons to not just other women, but to my former self.
Letting go of these things has made room for me to be more happy and confident in myself, and helps me define goals and success in a way that starts with building up, instead of tearing down.
What do you like best about the Get Results Coaching community?
I love the support from the other women and the coaches. I feel like it’s a safe space to be honest with my struggles and receive sound advice with whatever I need help navigating.
That ranges anywhere from what’s a good exercise to sub for a particular prescribed movement, to strategies for nailing a difficult nutrition habit, or just getting support after a tough week!
What is the habit you’re currently working on most?
Both my work and school and schedules both mean I sit a lot and mealtimes are irregular. The habits I am currently working on the most are to increase movement and planning my meals and nutrition strategies in advance.
Planning is crucial for building in time for strength and to find ways to create more movement throughout the day, as well as have adequate fuel from veggies and lean protein.
How has Get Results Coaching changed your life?
Since working with GGS coaches, I’ve learned to make a commitment to training and nutrition for the sake of being strong and living a better life.
Working on training, mindset and nutrition all at once takes work! I’ve learned that it’s a lifelong practice, but putting those three things together is what is key to actually realizing goals and finding results.
The confidence and strength I’ve gained through GGS training has helped me embrace new challenges. For example, while participating in GGS coaching, I participated in my first CrossFit Open competition and took my first ski lessons ever, because even though I was terrified of both, I wanted to challenge my physical and mental toughness.
I also had to learn to be OK with knowing that I would fall down attempting multiple overhead squat reps and learning turns on the bunny hill. I took on that which intimidated me and learned that I was stronger than I thought! That confidence has many rewards that carries over into other areas in life.
What would you tell women who are nervous about joining Get Results Coaching?
In Get Results Coaching there are an infinite number of ways to measure success, and unlike other programs, the definition of success is set by you and your individual goals. The environment is positive and supportive and allows for exploration and discovery. Having the extra encouragement and guidance to go along with the training programs goes a long way towards both defining and achieving your individual goals.
You can connect with Heather on Instagram.
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