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Over the past two weeks I have been talking to a couple of people on Twitter who each have their own inspiring stories about their fitness journeys. (Yet others just wanted to sell me crap like magic fat busting tablets…take one and drop 5 stone that same day. That or get me to buy their mixtapes.)
One of those who I have been in contact with really stood out to me though, regularly tweeting me with encouragement and many others too. I asked if I could have an interview with her for my blog to give you guys some of her motivation and she gladly accepted. That person is Lisa Albert. Honestly, after talking to her throughout this informal interview, I grew the utter most respect for her. She truly is an inspiration for all of us on our quests to become healthy/fit and is my new hero. Have a read and see why….
Ok, so first of all, just a bit about yourself like where you are from, what you do?
I’m Lisa. I’m 28 years old and I’ve in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I’m a full time mom to my beautiful 3 year old twin girls, but work casually as a Paramedic, Photographer and Fitness Coach/Trainer.
Wow that’s a lot of work, how do you manage to fit it all in including your fitness?
It is def not easy, but I make it work. My personal fitness is very important to me so I make sure there is time daily for it. Most days I wake early to get to the gym for my morning cardio before my spouse even wakes for work. So I’m getting to the gym around0530 to start my day. When I get home I see my Spouse off to work and get the girls ready for the day! My heavy workouts come at night, after my girls are tucked in for the night. It’s not exactly ideal going to the gym so late to train, but my fitness is important. I always make sure I get my training in.
You are a woman with a mission! I think you have pretty much proved that “I don’t have enough time to workout” is a lame excuse if you want it bad enough! So have you always been into your fitness or did something trigger it?
Time is never an excuse! We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it is what we do with those hours that count. I’ve pretty much given up television because the time that would spend watching a mindless show could be time I spend working on my health. It is all in how we choose what is more important. And no! I have not always been part of the fitness scene! Through my childhood and teens I was always pretty fit and stayed active with sports. Weight was never a problem. Then I feel into a serious relationship which led to my marriage! Of course being active was the last thing on my mind. I was more concerned with date night and which movie we were going to see. So the weight started to add up. Then we became pregnant, with TWINS! After I had my girls my scale had hit an all time high. I hated my reflection. I am embarrassed and felt guilty. I knew something HAD to change. This is when I made the decision to turn to fitness. I wanted to take control of my life again and be proud of the person I was, not try to hide.
You seem to have a lot of will power more than me I must say. Does that come over time and what motivates you to keep going?
It isn’t always easy. There are plenty of days that all I want to do is stay in bed, and of course lazy days do happen, but I keep my goals in mind to help keep my focused. Honestly, the will power was a learned trait. When I first started everything I did was HARD. I struggled with everything, took frequent breaks, was always out of breath, constantly sore, but I kept pushing. Seeing my reflection kept me motivated because I knew that I did not want to stay this way; overweight, unhappy, and depressed. Seeing the changes each week helped really push me. Honestly, if it weren’t for taking photos every 2 weeks so I could SEE the change, I prob would have given up!
What are your goals?
My goals are to remain healthy, stay fit and keep on top of my healthy eating. What you eat is the majority of your results. Knowing what it feels like to be out of shape and over weight and now knowing what it feels like to be healthy and active, I never want to go back to my old life. Fitness changed my life forever and I have no plans on ever going back.
Pics are a fab way of noticing results, do you ever look back at them and think of how far you have come? In what way has fitness changed your life? Apart from being the busiest woman I have ever heard of?!
Haha! grin emoticon I look back at my ‘before’ photos all the time. They are a great reminder of where I started and WHY I keep so active. I am in the best shape of my life and I had TWINS! That is crazy! Thanks to fitness I have regained control of my life. I have energy again and can keep up with my busy 3 year olds! What I love most about it is that my girls see the healthy habits this family leads and are picking up quickly. Our children watch us more than we realize. One days I was standing in the girls bedroom door watching them play and they were having a toddler “boot camp”! They were telling each other exercises to do and showing how to do them. Picking up on these habits now will only carry into their life as they get older. That is something that makes me very proud.
Your girls sound adorable!! They will be leading you guys on a workout soon! Do they ever want to join in with any you do at home?
All the time! I am a PiYo instructor so I’m always practicing my classes at home. My girls LOVE to join in! I’ve never seen someone nail “Down Dog” like my girls! lol
No way I can never do that! I need to take lessons off your girls. Are you able to explain a bit about what PiYo is for people reading that haven’t heard of it?
HAHA! I keep telling people they will be leading my classes soon! Yes! I am completely in love with PiYo. It is a creative blend of moves inspired from both Pilates and Yoga. Trust me when I say I am not a fan of either Pilates or Yoga, but I am obsessed with PiYo. It is faster paced, you do not hold long poses. You are always moving and being challenged. There is no equipment needed, just your body and a mat. PiYo is a great way to make fitness FUN and burn a ton of calories while toning your entire body. I suggest everyone at least try it. I’ve never had someone not enjoy a PiYo workout.
I definitely need to try it out! I keep seeing all of your posts about it! Ok, last question as I know how busy you are….. What are your 5 biggest tips to people just starting their fitness journeys?
Hmm… Good question. There are so many tips I could give others looking to get into fitness. I made so many mistakes starting, but they have only helped me help others!
My top 5 tips would have to be:
#1 Set a goal with a deadline. Without setting a goal and a time that you would like to reach it, there is really nothing pushing you to work hard.
#2 Take photos. No one likes to take ‘before’ photos, trust me. Taking a photo every two weeks will help you SEE the physical changes that you won’t see in the mirror because they happen slowly and steadily. Seeing even small changes over the course of two weeks can be a huge motivation to push harder.
#3 Forget about the scale. The number you see can be so deceiving. Your weight can fluctuate anywhere from 3-6 pounds a day. This is mostly due to water retention. Plus, as you train you gain muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So you may drop a jean size but not see a dramatic change in the scale. This is because you have dropped body fat, but gained muscle.
#4 Take measurements. These will tell you more about your loss than any scale. You may not see the numbers on your scale move, but you could notice that you dropped 4 inches in the last month. WIN! Again, this is because you have dropped body fat and gained lean muscle. I swear by measurements (and avoid scales lol).
#5 This may be the most important tip is tell people. Get a buddy. Fitness is not easy and trying to do it alone is hard! There is no one to share you struggles or success with. No one to understand what you are going through. No one to PUSH you when you are feeling defeated. Doing it with a friend is extremely motivational because you feed off each others energy. Having that constant source of motivation can be the most important part of your fitness journey. You do not have to do this alone. You are not the only one to struggle, I have struggled more than my share. Being able to talk about all this with others really helps relieve the stress and allows you to press forward.
*End
I would just like to thank Lisa, once again, for taking the time out of her BUSY schedule to talk to me and give such detailed, insightful answers. It was a pleasure to speak with her and get to know her a bit more.
If you would like to know more about Lisa or get more tips and daily motivation then check her out on the following social media sites and web pages:
Twitter: @MedicGirl22
Instagram: MedicGirl22
Facebook: Lisa Albert
YouTube: Lisa Albert
But…more excitingly, Lisa has just started to make her own WordPress blog so keep your eyes peeled for when I shout out the details. 🙂
