Meaghan Bihun
Non-Profit Development; Seattle, Wa
The Trigger:
My trigger was an odd one – Hillary Clinton losing an election on “likability.” I figured that if she couldn’t get elected on her merits and accomplishments, then no one would ever pay attention to mine as long as I didn’t look the way they expected. I have an autoimmune disease and have difficulty getting my doctors to listen and decided to take it into my own hands rather than following their instructions to a “T” and being told I must be misleading them about something. (I was recommended low-intensity cardio-only work and a high-carb, low-fat diet.)
The Change:
As a former Olympic boxer, I had some familiarity with weight lifting and gyms but felt lost putting together a routine in a modern “fitness center” style gym. Fitbod helped me with workout generation, videos of proper form and equipment use, and muscle-mapping for maximum workout benefits.
Did you change anything in addition to exercise/fitness?
In addition to changing how I worked out, rather than how much I worked out (7 days a week – solid state cardio was getting me nowhere; I moved to 7 days a week of HIIT cardio, with 3 days a week of weight/bodywork in addition), I moved my diet to a higher protein, balanced fat/carbs model and removed gluten due to my autoimmune disease. I looked into intermittent fasting and found success there when I hit my first major plateau, and I set a goal of being in bed for 8 hours a night, no matter what.
Any specific fitness goals that you have?
I would like to lose an additional 40 pounds or so and continue to build and tone my abdominal and core muscles, an area I have always been weak. Fitbod helps me identify exercises that aren’t endless crunches.
Results:
Losing 110 pounds has had a huge impact on everything – driving my car is different, I got to ride the state fair rollercoasters with my nine year old for the first time ever, my doctor listens when I ask questions and request feedback, even carrying the groceries in is different. I’m doing exercises I never thought I’d return to, like hanging leg raises and hanging twists.
Every bit of advice that I had seen for getting motivated to go to the gym said to go early in the morning. I found myself making excuses to hit the snooze button. Now I go every day after work – no excuses – and it helps me achieve a work/life balance as I know I need to leave the office to hit the gym each night. I also find that doing three full-body workouts that focus on a different type of exercise nets the best results for me, rather than focusing on an area of the body each day (I call this the “leg day model”) – machine lifting one day, dumbbells/barbells another, TRX another, cable weights another. People ask me about the app all the time – they want to know what’s with the “red muscle man” on my screen as I log workouts; I’m always happy to show someone how it works. It’s been such a great tool!
Advice for others:
Find what works for you. If you don’t love crunches, find another set of ab exercises and switch it up. Don’t be afraid to try something new – I found the TRX straps really intimidating and with some Fitbod video help and a little willingness to feel silly trying to work it out, I’ve found one of my favorite workouts. Make sure to switch up what you are doing!
Disclaimer: This post has been edited for brevity and clarity.
