Transformation Story: Carla Springer

Our featured transformation story for the month of April is ... (drum roll please..)

CARLA SPRINGER!

Carla began her journey several years ago by taking Group Fitness classes at a local gym where she was genuinely seeking opportunities to feel better. Her knees and back were bothering her, and she had been focused on her children (who were just grown and gone at that point), family, and career for the last many years. She was finally carving out the time to take care of herself and she was committed! She began working in a Small Group Training environment where she was able to truly learn about her body and how to move safely and efficiently. Rather than being in a room of 20-30 people, Carla enjoyed the camaraderie of the Small Group of 6-8 other people and looked forward to her workouts AND time with new friends! Watching Carla's confidence grow was most inspiring! Carla does some amazing things like digging ditches in her yard, taking care of her mother, and planning her retirement with her husband. She has reduced her blood pressure and no longer needs certain medications. Her joints feel much better which allows her to do all of those amazing things mentioned above. Carla loves to tell the younger mothers/women in the Group, "Don't wait to take care of yourself like I did! I wish I had done this sooner!"

Carla is proof that continuous hard work and dedication can really pay off. She has a very busy life but has still managed to find the time to fit in regular exercise, putting herself high on her list of priorities. She also pays a lot of attention to her nutrition and fueling her body with the right foods. This consistency and dedication she has shows, and the effort she puts in to living her best life and making healthy choices even when they are not the easy choice, is inspiring.

Here is some of her story, in her own words. Take a few minutes to read what has been working for her

What got you started on your journey?

My journey started after my youngest graduated from High School. He moved to NYC and both my boys were gone. I had spent so much time and energy on their lives that I neglected to think about me so had to start thinking about what I was going to do. I put most of my energy into work and still neglected “myself”. So in February, 2015 joined World Gym and started with the Body Pump classes (one taught by Cathy) and had some success in losing about 20 pounds and feeling stronger. Added BodyCombat and Flow and was doing about 5 classes a week -- was a little hard on my body but I was feeling a lot stronger and felt like I was accomplishing something so really stuck with it. My knees were really bothering me so I got up the courage to sign up for a personal training session with Cathy. This lead me on the journey of understanding my body and what I should be doing to avoid injury. From this lead to the 2x a week group training. Added spin after experiencing spin in the group training. Did not (and still not 100% fan) like spin but knew it made me feel better so continued with it. I remember that I could only do 10/15 minutes initially but gradually built up to the 45 minute classes at SALT. I also was able to go off blood pressure medicine now that my blood pressure was under control -- that was another factor that kept me going.

What was the biggest barrier to your success and how do you attempt to overcome it?

I think the biggest barrier for me to get past was the initial pain of my knees, back, etc from under use and aging.. Keeping with it was difficult but I knew that the longer I went the better the pain was -- also joining the group training helped me understand what I could do and build up to more progressions. I also struggled with not losing any weight after the initial drop so it was frustrating. The weight was only recently overcome through the nutrition workshop (thanks to Patty). I was not eating a lot of bad food but I was not eating the right food or the right mix -- eating the right mix for what I wanted to achieve was eye-opening and I’m continuing to see progress as I stick to it.

What is your favorite workout?

I enjoy the group training because of the people and the individualized attention. I also enjoy the rootcamps because of the intensity and speed. All in all, I enjoy all the root classes.

What do you think is the key to your success?

I think learning that I can do anything if I stick to it. I might be in my 50’s, nearing the 60’s but I am stronger than I’ve been in a long time because I did not quit. I also feel so healthy and have energy to try a lot of new things.

What’s one your next goals?

Now that we have built our retirement house in a golf community in NC, I am trying to learn the game of golf and taking up tennis again. I am thankful that I can do this without too much trouble because I can move and move w/o pain! I also want to see what other watersports might be open to me in NC - hoping to find SUP down there as I enjoyed learning to be on a paddleboard last summer.

I really look forward to being active in my next 30 or more years and learning new sports and activities.

If you could share a piece of advice to someone trying to get started what would it be?

Don’t wait to take care of yourself. If you have a family your caring for -- think about yourself first. It will make you a better spouse and parent. Stick with the program, even through the initial learning steps and soreness -- you might have nagging injuries crop up but they usually go away with modifications and patience so continue on the path to greatness.

Addition Comments or anything you would like to add?

I have really enjoyed working Cathy, Jenn and Patty at ROOT -- each person brings so much knowledge and encouragement. A big part of my growth is due to you all. It makes me sad that I can’t do as many classes now that I’m going back and forth between MD and NC but always know you are there and that I’ve learned so much from each one of you.

I have no trouble working out at the gym in NC because I have so so many tools and am able to “get her done”! I have mentioned this to Cathy before, when I work out in the gym in NC, I get so many questions. There is not one session I’ve done in the gym where someone does not ask me about an exercise or where I learned how to exercise. (“Does that help your Knees”, “Where did you get those exercises?”, “You have a great routine”, Favorites----”Do you have a manual labor job?”, “Do you box in the ring?” and on the peloton last week (two ladies) “Are you ok? we were worried you were in cardiac arrest? and if you were having problems, we knew we could not do it” -- I told them “you can do anything! Start with the 20 minute rides and you will progress! - channeled the ROOT speak…..