I recently made a decision to take a little more care of myself. It became very apparent to me after having Little Poppy P that I had put my health and fitness far on the back burner for quite sometime. And that didn’t feel good. Lethargy, body insecurities and frequent minor illnesses. It was simply high time I got my act together and got back on track. But the reality is, I’m not very good at sticking to these types of things. You know the story- sign up to a gym, go hardcore for 2 weeks and then make excuses for the following 363 weeks of the year. I needed to find something that would have me commit. Something that gave me a goal and an overall lifestyle change that was sustainable. Enter Embody Fitness. An award-winning personal training business originating in London, Embody is renowned for delivering consistent results through all-inclusive wellness programs tailored to the needs of their individual clients. Sounded like exactly what I needed.
I signed up for a 12-week body transformation and I’ll tell you straight up, it has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Committing to 3 x 1 hour sessions of personal training per week as well as maintaining a healthy eating routine, strongly recommended by Embody, my life went into overhaul. Knowing that I may find it difficult to stick to the firm eating habits that would warrant the best results because of the busy lifestyle I lead, I enlisted the help of a Kcal Fuel Up meal plan to keep me on track. Embody’s nutritionist and head coach liased directly with Kcal nutrionists to ensure the meals I received were high protein, nutrient dense meals that would assist in my transformation. If you’re going in, go all in, right? Giving this my all, was my mantra for the 12 weeks.
I need to be clear here. This was not about “losing weight” for me. The kilograms on the scale meant nothing to me. I know that muscle weighs more than fat, and that having muscle assists in the breakdown of fat. So although, you’ll see from the images that I certainly achieved big changes, I truthfully only lost 2kgs. I like to look at it like this; I didn’t lose much weight, but I certainly dropped a bit of size.
One of the things I feel most proud about from my body transformation is actually not something you can see physically. Throughout the 12-week duration I consistently increased my strength to levels I honestly didn’t think were possible for me. In my opinion, this is not something I would’ve been capable of achieving without the help of my trainer, Morgan. He continuously pushed me to what I thought was beyond my limits, only to find that I was stronger than I imagined every time.
Within 3 weeks of training I had doubled my dumbbell bench press weight. Granted I started pretty light to begin with, but not the point. Previous to commencing training at Embody Fitness, I’m not sure I could’ve lifted a 2 water bottles in a bench press. But the biggest changes weren’t seen in the first few weeks. Not in terms of my strength. In the last few weeks of training, I found myself extremely determined to push myself harder and harder. By the time I completed 12 weeks, I was able to lift 65 kgs in an elevated hip bridge, 3 sets, 12 reps. That’s more than I weigh! I’m giving myself a nice big high five.
The point I’m getting at with all this weights and strengths chat is this: loosing “weight” is in fact not about loosing kgs on the scale. It is about building your strength and muscle to aid your body in the breakdown of fat long term. Coupled with a solid, healthy eating plan, transforming your body is undeniably achievable with Embody Fitness.
Special thanks to Morgan Ward for putting me through my paces for 12 weeks, but mostly for putting up with me for 12 weeks!
Activewear from Hautletic
Photography by Cameron Clegg
pudge