At 41 years young, Lisa is a wife and mother of 3 boys, busy working as a Teacher’s Aid. Balancing everything, like all mums, is a struggle, but somehow she always makes it work, and always finds time to train to stay on top of her health and fitness.

She is an integral part of the TF community bringing a load of light and spirit into the studio. Even now during isolation, Lisa still brings a huge amount of energy into the TF community through the live virtual workouts, the social virtual events and our Facebook group for members.

Lisa started with Terrific Fitness in August 2018 in Group Fitness. Almost a year later, Lisa added Personal Training to her routine and a couple of months after that, had her hubby join her in PT, doing couples training.

When Lisa first started with TF she was struggling with her weight and her posture. One of her biggest challenges was getting her head around the nutrition. Having followed the traditional nutrition advice you hear in the media for so long, she knew something wasn’t right, because her weight wasn’t budging. She has never been an overweight person, she just wanted to fine tune, and feel better. How she felt, health wise, was more important than the aesthetics. She struggled with energy, her cholesterol was elevated and she just didn’t quite feel right, but didn’t know why.

Her other problem, her posture and structural balance, was holding her back from being able to train properly and she was in constant pain in her back.

Today we celebrate some of Lisa’s wins:

• Lisa has dropped over 10cm around her waist (4cm during isolation alone!)
• Has toned up right around her body, particularly around her hips and thighs
• Looks and feels amazing
• Has her cholesterol under control
• Has a stack load more energy
• Has given her posture and structural balance a complete overhaul. You can see from the photo how much her posture has improved; she is no longer lop-sided. And her smile says it all!
• We have strengthened Lisa’s back so much she is now able to perform Barbell Deadlifts and Loaded Back Squats, which were completely out of the question, 12 months ago.

Congratulations Lisa! You are an absolute legend! The perfect student, hungry to learn more and always implementing what you are taught! I’m so friggen proud of you babe!!!

The first thing we needed to do for Lisa nutrition wise was to teach her what food nourishes her and what food hinders her. There are a lot of myths around about what dietary fats and carbohydrates are best and how much you should be eating each day. Being a nutrition coach, the first thing I did was get Lisa to read my published book “Unleash the Best Version of You” which teaches the basic fundamentals about everything protein, carbs and fats.

This ignited lots of questions from Lisa, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I teach people to open their mind about nutrition and question everything. I teach them to research and identify what is best for their individual body, rather than taking what they hear, see and read for gospel.

We then proceeded with nutrition coaching to help Lisa identify what food works best for her and so structured a meal plan around this. We identify this through what we call a “14 Day Nutrition Boot Camp” during which we cut out all process food and other inflammatory food. After this boot camp we gradually re-introduce food back in, identifying anything that triggers any side effect that could indicate any level of intolerance. During the boot camp we also assess bio-feedbacks which are things like sleeping patterns, toileting, stress levels, energy levels, digestion and much more. These are all indicators that help identify any ‘trigger food’.

Through this process we also establish meal portions using the basal metabolic rate (BMR) as our base line. This is how many calories the body needs to survive at rest. We also take into account the total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) which is how much energy is used throughout the day. By combining these 2 things we are then able to identify the basic calorie requirement and how much we need to cut or increase depending on whether we need to drop or gain weight.

The result has been a 10cm drop around Lisa’s waist, on a woman that didn’t really have much to drop. Lisa’s weight on the scales has actually gone up a kilo, but that’s because she has dropped body fat and gained muscle mass; muscle weighing more than fat. As you can see from the photos when I say muscle mass I don’t mean she looks like a male body builder; I mean she has toned up nicely giving her a more athletic appearance.

From a posture perspective we conducted a posture analysis and structural balance assessment when Lisa first started PT; it’s part of the PT program. From here we were able to identify what muscles were tight, which muscles were inactive, where joint restrictions were and what movement restrictions there were. This assessment is done formally every 6-12 weeks depending on the individual client. It is also done informally at every training training session.  A formal assessment is getting out the assessment sheets, ticking boxes and entering scores whilst taking the client through various movement assessments. It then gives a clear score at the end as well as details on every single area that needs work. An informal assessment is observing your client at every training session through every single movement and adjusting exercises, mobility, stretches and loading, accordingly.

All of this information is then used to create exercise prescription, progression and loading. For example, with Lisa, having that crooked stance she started with, where her left side basically caved in, there was no way we could load her up with a barbell for a squat for instance with that posture. We would have simply exacerbated her back pain. No; we need to correct that imbalance and have her standing up nice and straight in order to be able to strengthen her enough to then place a barbell on her shoulders.

Not taking these measures are risky and increase chances of injury and long term damage to a client. Personal Training is not just about exercising someone and counting their reps. It is about ensuring the are able to move freely, with complete range of motion, with no restrictions and promoting safety at all times. Anything less is pure negligence on the coach’s behalf.

Lisa continues to perform daily mobility and stretches so that she can continue moving with the beautiful posture and structural balance she now has. Massive congratulations to Lisa who is so dedicated to her health and fitness. You go girl!!!

Here is Lisa’s story in her words:

“Before joining TF I thought I was pretty healthy, and ate what I thought to be, a balanced diet. I was feeling unfit and generally run down, I simply put this down to being a busy, working mum. I was exercising intermittently, but hadn’t trained in a gym since 2013. My turning point was in 2018. I had joined a Touch Footy team, and I struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the game – I was puffed out and subbing at every opportunity! That was when I decided to join a gym – I stumbled across Terrific Fitness on Facebook. So I did a trial session, and was instantly hooked! I went home, all red faced, and exhausted, but I said to my husband, “there is something about this place that feels different than other gyms I’ve been to”. And I was so right!

I began training 2 times a week, upping that to 4 times a week, now doing a PT session also. For me, it was when I begun PT that things really started to change mentally and psychically. Learning about nutrition was a massive eye opener. There’s no ‘one size fits all’, and so many individual factors – that was hard to get my head around at first.

I discovered I wasn’t eating enough food! Like so many others, I was of the belief that you need to eat less and train more to lose weight and trim down. And found out, this was so far from the truth! Prior to TF, I was eating 3 meals, and grazing throughout the day. And never understood why I never felt fully satisfied. I’m now eating 4 meals, don’t graze, and don’t feel hungry, or deprived – I still have my treat foods too! Attending the Mindset and Nutrition workshops have also helped me greatly along the way.

In addition to my nutrition, I also looked at the medications I was taking. I have learnt that some medications simply act as bandaids, not actually getting to the core of the issue. I had been taking 4 different prescription medications for many, many years. Over the last 6 months, I have been reviewing the need for those medications, and can proudly say that I have completely come off 2 of those medications, and weaning off the third medication as we speak.

What I also discovered early on about Terrific Fitness which sets them apart from other gyms, is the individual support they offer. Even in group fitness, you receive individual support. They cater to your needs, whether it be an injury, mobility, or working to your own personal goals.

But, what I love most about Terrific Fitness is the community feel. TF is so much more than doing a class, and going home. It’s a community, a family. It’s my home away from home, my safe space, where no-one is judged, only supported. A huge testament to head coach, Terri, and her wonderful team.

I am now happier and healthier, both physically and mentally. Even my kids have noticed!! And for that, I am grateful. Thank you Terrific Fitness ??”

– Lisa Berry