Fit & Healthy - Sioux Falls
Fit & Healthy Sioux Falls is hosted by CJ Wehrkamp, Owner of the Sioux Falls Fit Body Boot Camp locations. Each podcast episode will include interviews with local fitness professionals, feature local fitness related products and services along with health and fitness tips and techniques.
Fit & Healthy - Sioux Falls
Meet the Coach: Vicky Geiman
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What if transforming your body could completely change your life? Join us as we sit down with Coach Vicky, a trailblazer from the very first Fit Body Workout session almost a decade ago. Vicky opens up about her incredible journey from a client to a coach, sharing how fitness has boosted her confidence and enriched her relationships. Vicky’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance and community support.
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Fit Body Journey and Transformation
Speaker 1What is going on everyone? Welcome to the next episode of the Fit and Healthy Sioux Falls Show. We have an amazing episode in store for you today, because today we get to reconnect with one of my favorite ladies, who has been with me since literally day one and she is now our integrator and just an amazing rock star human being. So help me, welcome to the show today, miss Coach Vicky. Let's going on, my dear.
Speaker 2Not much, just hanging out here with you.
Speaker 1I love it. I know I was just talking to you before we got all set up. Yeah.
Speaker 1And I was like do you remember how we did this last time? Ironically, last time you and I shot an episode, we didn't have even the studio set up yet, and so we did it virtually and so we did it over Zoom. So this is the first time that you and I actually get to sit in studio back at kind of our journey and where this all started. And for any of those that don't maybe know, when was the first time that Fit Body kind of entered your life?
Speaker 2Oh goodness, many, many years ago. It's kind of weird because it's almost been a decade, isn't that crazy? That's nuts, that's wild. So I was working and I wanted to get into health and fitness. I wasn't really sure how to do it. Wanted to do this awesome event and say I want to be one of those like badass chicks and let's just like been letting things go, and then got in touch with your mom. Yeah.
Speaker 2And she told me my son's opening up a gym. You should try this, and so that's where the rest is history. With your mom, yeah, and she told me my son's opening up a gym. You should try this, and so that's where the rest is history.
Speaker 1Yeah, and that was yeah, 2015. Yep, yeah, so like almost a decade, which is just wild, yeah. And I tell you what opening Fit Body was definitely nerve wracking for me About a bit. Many people ask me they're like so did you have like a list or a clientele base that you brought with you to start FitBody? And the answer is no, had no one that was going to be a client.
Speaker 1I just decided that hey, we're going to do this, and so we ran a basically mock session for friends and family before we were even open to the public yet, and my mom had invited you to come try out this mock session, yep, and so what I think is so cool about this is here we are almost 10 years later and you were at the very first Fit Body Workout, yep, and so I don't have other than my wife and my parents. I don't have any business partners, and so to think that you were with me and have been with me since day one, I very much consider you a business partner and someone that has helped me from day one, even though day one you totally came in as a client. I would say that you are now 100% in this thing to help everybody that you used to be, oh absolutely.
Speaker 2I think that was the biggest thing is I didn't realize it at the time how much impact it had on my life, how much change. I'll never forget the time and I don't know if you remember it, but I was at Target and I was trying on clothes, wanted to buy some new jeans because my jeans were starting to get a little too big. And I walked in there thinking, oh, I just go one size down. And I was like, oh my gosh, these are too big. And I had to walk out that dressing room two times like, oh my gosh, these are too big. And I had to walk out that dressing room two times.
Speaker 2And I remember texting you on the phone. I was like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, like what is happening right now. And so just those simple feelings, just that level of confidence that brought to my life, I was like I have to make others feel like this. This is amazing. If you don't feel like this, you need to. So that just kind of domino effect, I had a snowball effect in my life and, yeah, ever since, just blessed, yeah.
Speaker 1Hence my shirt, hence your shirt, blessed, and I think that's the biggest thing, because, as a coach, you pour a lot into other people, yes, but all for the reason to help who you used to be. Yeah, and to that point, I think that's why you and I align so much on the mission that we're on is because that's exactly why I opened FitBody, because for me and for you too, I can specifically remember talking to Bryce, who is our CEO of Fit Body, and I said, bryce, you know that Vicky didn't used to always be fit, and he's like no, I'm like, yeah, dude, she was one of my first clients, literally was at the first workout I ever held and has had a life transformation, and he's like no way. And so I showed him your picture from and I know you love that picture, oh goodness. So I want to. Actually, that brings me to a point as we're talking right now.
Speaker 1What does that picture do to you? Because many people have this image of themselves. Yeah, and it burns this thought of what you look like into your brain, oh and, and it doesn't just go away. But so what does that image do to you? And has that been something that's been able to help you push through and forward in your health and fitness journey? Or has it been something that's like had you stumble, or maybe a combination of both? I would say probably a combination of both.
Speaker 2I know at the beginning that's kind of how you identify yourself as, like you said, you've been like this for so long and now all of a sudden, like that target thing happens. No-transcript, it wasn't just the weight loss, it was like everything. Everything from my relationships to my work performance, everything changed, and it changed for the better, and so I really kind of use that as a driver, that that person that I see, that may pop up on my memories or I'll still take pictures out of my kids and there's kind of a different version of their mom there. I use that now as I was not happy, I looked happy, I put on this facade, but I wasn't really happy so it's become.
Speaker 2it did defeat me for a while. It does occasionally sneak up on me every now and then, but I have a stronger mindset, more confidence that I can kind of shove that back down and say, nope, not again.
Speaker 1Yeah, not again. You know, I've went through a health transformation as well and you do have that image burnt into you of what you, and that image is with you longer than this new image of you, right. So now you have this new image. When you look in the mirror, the reflection that you physically see is what you look like now, but the reflection that you maybe mentally or emotionally see is still the image of who you used to be. Yes, and sometimes imposter syndrome, yeah, can kind of like slip in, yeah, and when it does, what do you do with that?
Speaker 2um, oh, that is a good question. It it takes a lot, a lot of thought process to get through it.
Speaker 1Um because sometimes you look at it. Yeah, and for me anyways, and maybe not for you but sometimes you look at that image and almost you see you reflection now, but that image of who you used to be is what actually pops up in your brain and that can trigger this thought that you're right. I don't deserve to look the way that I do now because I looked that way for so long.
Speaker 2And then what can happen is if you don't take control and take captive those negative thoughts and squash them right away like, oh my gosh, you're fat, and then, and then I was like whoa, whoa, Um, that's kind of thing.
Speaker 2Now is I have the ability to stop it as soon as possible, whereas before I would repetitively tell myself that, um, and so I do do a lot of reading, I do do a lot of self-care, not just fitness wise, but I mean simple things massages, getting my nails done, stuff that makes me feel really, really good about myself, and so those types of things kind of help me be able to understand that as soon as those words come out of my mouth, I have to combat them.
Speaker 1You have to Immediately, because it can also be a very slow fade. Yes, the second that a negative thought pops in your head, that's like step one. Then the second that you actually said, oh my gosh, I'm fat, yeah, that is step two, yep, and from there it just trickles, yes, and it slowly fades into next thing. You know you're not working out, yep, you're not eating healthy, yep, and you're reverting back into your old habit, right, whereas every day you get up, you have to step into this new belief system and I think that's the biggest thing, and I've been really thinking about this a lot like what do we do at Fit Body? And we have to help our clients rebuild their foundational belief system of who they believe they are. Yes, because unfortunately, like you were and like I I was and like we still battle with, our foundation is broken, yeah, and who we believe we are is these unhealthy, unfit, undeserving people, and that's very worldly, it's very common.
Speaker 2Yep, and I've just talked to my clients too about I call it the gap. Yeah, we fall off, maybe if you start a fitness routine or maybe start eating right and stuff like that, and it happens, yeah, with myself and this is kind of why I preach to my clients too is my goal is to try to close that gap, get it shorter and shorter. So for you at the beginning, for myself at the beginning, that gap might've been years. I'd start something new. It could just be eating right, it could be just reading a book, and then I kind of trickle off, and then it would probably be until I get another great external motivation to get me back on. All right, I'll do this again, and then I fall off. So my goal is to try to figure out different techniques, ways to close that gap and get it shorter and shorter.
Professional Journey in Fit Body
Speaker 2Because, it's done if it's a when, and so getting it from those years down to months, from those months down to days, from those days down to now hours, because I could start the morning on point on fire. Yeah.
Speaker 2Something gets in the middle of my day. Maybe it was my kids got sick. I got a check from the school. Maybe it was I got in a car accident. My boss yelled at me at work. Whatever that is your boss never, yeah, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, but you get what I'm saying.
Speaker 2And then you just that defeat again sets in. What did I do wrong? What's wrong about myself? How could I have made this better? And you're starting to lose the control and getting that up, shortened up. I mean I have this to try to help kind of close that window on those beliefs. Yeah, shorten that window. Yeah, try to recognize it. Yeah, I think that's probably the biggest thing is just recognizing it as soon as you can.
Speaker 1Yeah, Controlling what you can, mm-hmm, coping with what you can't Yep, and concentrating on what counts. Yeah Right. Yeah. Right, yeah. So as a coach, actually what I want to do is kind of just walk down a little bit of your journey as it pertains to working at Fit Body, yeah. So I don't know if this story has been shared. I don't know if we talked about it last time we were on.
Speaker 1Yeah share it. I don't know if we talked about it last time we were on, but why don't you walk us down the 30,000 foot view of kind of like what your journey looked like. Did you start as what and then where were you in your career with Fit Body? To kind of what you do now and kind of walk us down that journey. So let's start off with this Were you looking to be a coach?
Speaker 2No, I always had this vision in my head. Oh, that's really cool. I did envy it a little bit. I had that like that looks like fun.
Speaker 2However, again, belief system and the way I remember you putting an ad out as no, I can't do that, I'm not, I don't, I'm not the person that does that. Um, and it wasn't until you called, and so I immediately wanted to say yes. What did I do? I called me and, while I remember, I was driving in my car. So I'm 41st in Minnesota.
Speaker 2I know that burned in my head. Those are the good ones, um, and you asked me you know, have you ever thought about being a coach? And I was like what in hell? In my mind it was like hell, yeah. I was like absolutely, um, but I was like you know, I have this other career, I'm doing these other things, you know, doing what adulting folks do, and I didn't know that I could be that person that inspires other people, that motivates other people, that could push other people. And so I remember I said I'd have to talk about it with my husband and kind of figure out what that would look like. And so I did it. We chatted and I said I really want to do this. I don't know if I can but, I want to try.
Speaker 2I was like I never stepped that far out of my comfort zone. Um, as far as, like you know, the the whole journey and transformation thing definitely hard, but this was a whole nother ball game that I was right into and I had no idea what that looked like. Yeah. I'm a history major, okay, so I wanted to be a teacher, yeah, and kind of. I guess in so many respects I'm living up to that dream, that's right.
Speaker 2But so it just was like all right, you know, all in, do it, and if you fail, I had to get really I think that's what kind of helped me as a client is know that failure is going to happen. I've learned to not look at it negatively and more as life lessons and if I fail, what's the worst that can happen? I tried, I know, and so that's where I started and came in as a full-time coach. Did you start full-time right away? Yeah, yeah, I left my other job and talked to my husband and you were working as like an admin.
Speaker 2Yep, yep, I did administrative work, project management yeah.
Speaker 1So not in any sort of similar field.
Speaker 2Not even close, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1At the time? Who I know? Obviously me. Who else was my mom? Yeah, she was, and Jess.
Speaker 2Yeah and Jess.
Speaker 1Is that it?
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Maybe some part-time, me Nope.
Building Belief for Transformation Success
Speaker 2Yeah, laura, gillian was part-time Yep, and Michelle was part-time Sure, okay. So yeah, I stepped into that role. Jess was kind of the one to show me the ropes and I was like I don't know, I can't be like Red, she's got, she's got some fire, and I think, too, it helped watching you. Sure.
Speaker 2A lot and I remember it was I think it was our four year anniversary, and that's I think where I really just you know what anniversary, and that's I think where I really just you know what this is going to be fun. I'm going to have the time of my life, and that's where I saw my alter ego come. Yeah, that performance. I get stage fright like nobody's business. So for me to go in front of massive groups of people was just like oh, my gosh and I just let it go and it was just, it was the best feeling.
Speaker 1yeah, it was nerve wracking, nerve wracking so at that point in time we had our four-year party. How long had you been working here? Um, I think only a few months okay yeah, I think yeah or maybe it was yeah, yeah, I think so yeah, a few months, yeah, yep so and.
Speaker 2Yep so, and I remember I had yellow tank tops.
Speaker 1That was the one where Tang, yes, tang made us Yep, and at that point in time, tang was just a client. Yeah, tang was just a client, and I don't say just a, but like now he's a part-time coach, he's a coach?
Speaker 2Yeah to see the clients and the teamwork together and everybody's and you feed off that energy and I didn't know that was possible. I was like it's like the more everybody was doing these things and, led by you, I was just like you couldn't help but just to stop caring what other people yeah and do what you like to do and or what you love to do honestly.
Speaker 1And it helps to surround yourself by people that believe in you, because the problem is, as it pertains to health and fitness and really stepping into who you were born to be. We don't believe it right away, absolutely not. If I would have told you when you first started working out here that you'd have had the transformation that you have over 60 pounds down, which in pictures looks like over 100 or more.
Speaker 2I stopped counting at a certain point.
Speaker 1You definitely lost a lot of fat but gained a lot of muscle and so just a huge transformation. But if I would have told you that that was going to happen, if I had told you from day one hey, one day you're going to be helping me run this business? No way, your belief, there's absolutely no way that you would have believed that. But in the beginning you were surrounded by me, mainly as your coach, believing that you had the potential to do it. And all I ask, Vicki, show up, Keep showing up. I can't do it for you, but I will be here to root you on, cheer you on and believe in you.
Speaker 1And as a coach, what we do is, while our clients temporarily don't have the belief system in them yet, we just ask that they lean on our belief system. Yes, Because every single person has the potential to reach the goals that they desire. They have to be their goals. They can't be goals that anyone else has, they have to be theirs. And so long as they have the goal, you know what? I know that in the beginning you're not going to believe that you can achieve it Exactly.
Speaker 1And so that's where lean on our belief system though they have to work on building their belief system, because you can't continually lean on our belief system forever, and unfortunately that's where people fail.
Speaker 2Yes, a ton, and it does. It depends on if you have the right person, the right coach, in your corner. Yeah, I often tell my clients I'm not here to be your best friend, I'm here to be your coach. I'm going to give you the hard truths, be real with you, and then tell them that as soon as something comes out as I can't or I don't think I and I'm like, hold on a second. Why not, what, what, what is that wall holding you? Yeah, and when you start asking those questions and you take a little deeper and a little deeper, you find out some real answers yeah, and then now you've given me something I can work with, yep. So here's what I can tell you you can achieve this. This is just the areas that we need to work, yep, you and me as a team, and so as long as you constantly are able to pour that support into them, yeah.
Speaker 2It's to the moon. Yeah, and it's success.
Speaker 1Yeah, speaking of that and seeing kind of to the moon, and we kind of got a little off track because we were going through your journey, but came on full time right away, yes, and then from there, you literally just we didn't have roles Like you're either a coach or you're nothing. Yeah, as it pertains to like Full time coach or part time coach. Yeah, full time coach, part time coach, or it didn't work here. Yeah, that was it. We now have definitely defined more accountability brackets, yeah, and who's going to lead what and how it's going to roll out, which has been huge. And from that, though, you sit as it pertains to what our organization is. You sit as our integrator, which we run on a operating system called the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which really just helps give us structure, because someone like me, I'm like let's do everything all the time and do it yesterday. Yep.
Speaker 1And so really my role as it pertains to what we do is hey, think big, what's possible, how can we go out there and make it happen? And then your job is to I love that and we're going to do it. What's realistic? Yep.
Speaker 1Yes, we really have that yin and the yang kind of work together to make it happen, and it's been awesome. Yes, and, as you were just saying, though, as it pertains to your clients and helping them understand that they can build that belief system. What are some of your favorite client success stories? And maybe they're not even all just weight related, and maybe you know and are comfortable enough to share their names. Maybe you're not and maybe they don't want them shared, so I'll leave that up to you. But over the last now obviously almost 10 years of being at FitBody not all 10 did you work here? Yeah, but what are some of your most favorite transformations or success stories that you have seen throughout Fit Body? Oh, I have a lot.
Speaker 2Give me top three, top three, yeah, one comes particularly to mind. It's this gal how I hope I can say her name Mickey. Yeah, just amazing. Have been her coach for three years yeah, or a little over three years, and I saw her go through not just the weight loss side of things but building up confidence in herself as far as just being able to handle like stresses and what to do with it. She's done amazing. She's a very strong, very independent woman.
Speaker 2I think a lot of people underestimate a lot of clients that come through our doors. They often, obviously we target mostly females. However, some people think, oh, because they can't lose weight, they're down on themselves, they're not very good at lifing and all this. Actually, quite the opposite. Some of these females and Mickey being one of them very strong, independent woman. That girl knows how to handle her own. Now it's just getting that belief system into her and I've seen her just conquer so many things, from being on the mats, workout wise, to behind the scenes and keeping herself nutritionally engaged and focused and then to being really self-aware of where she's at.
Speaker 2Um, that was a huge one for me. Yeah, very big victory for me. Yeah, um, another one that I can think of off, and um was well my girl Brenna oh geez, she is. She is awesome, um. She puts her own little magnets on the board. She does, she does Um again very independent, very, very driven, and so with her she has some other things that are going on as well. So she's had to and I won't speak to that more medical issues, but she has to work against that, and so she's seen defeat.
Speaker 1I feel like, as you're talking right now and I think that is just one of the things I love about what we do the world tends to look at people and doesn't even give them a time of day to get to know them at all. Instantly, you're judged, but that's all of us, that's you, that's me, that's you guys watching and listening. The second that someone sees us without even knowing anything about us, they're going to judge us, yeah, and the problem with that is we know we're getting judged. Yeah, we know it. Yeah, and people don't need to tell us that they're judging us. Thanks, we can feel it. Yep, we can see it. They're judging us. Thanks, we can feel it. Yep, we can see it.
Speaker 1And what happens, though, is that, a lot of times, people will look at certain individuals, and I'll even look at myself. I remember, for an example for me, I used to always tell myself as a little kid, and my buddy, we'd get out of the car and we'd go to the grocery store or go to the store or whatever. Right, he's like you want to race? And I'd tell my buddy, I was like I don't run, and I then identified myself as I don't run. Why can't I? Well, I was, like, afraid of losing. I was afraid of what I looked like. I was a little overweight and more chubby, and so I was afraid of what fat was going to jiggle on me while I did run, like these are the stupid things that play in your head. Right, yeah, and it was all because, at one point in time, somebody made fun of me for being overweight or out of shape or non-athletic, or whatever it is, but then we have these things that are in our head, and we can come in here to Fit Body, and the two individuals that you just said are just crushing it in ways that people have no idea, and so they're still out there being judged you and I as well, out there being judged, and the problem is, though, is that we let those outside influences, or can let, dictate who we are?
Speaker 1And the truth is, is that doesn't define us? Nope, there isn't like. When, when God created us, he's not like. Okay, this is the exact image of what the absolute rockstar woman should look like. This is the exact image of what the absolute rock star man should look like, but yet we see celebrities, stars or other individuals. Oh, yeah, that it's like. Well, I'll never look like that, so maybe I shouldn't even try and. And that is such a false belief system, huge and it's all over, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.
Speaker 2You look, yeah, and it does. It puts kind of this damper darkness in your head and then you start to have those beliefs in yourself and then you start to see them come true and it's yeah, it's really tough as far as trying to get through that hurdle and cancel out the noise. Get through that hurdle and cancel out the noise. And again, that's another thing I talk to my clients a lot of, even from like a nutritional standpoint. I choked with one client the other day. I was like you have the Hy-Vee health market and I was like you now went one little section of protein bars to all this and everything's gluten-free or this good for you, and you gotta cancel out that noise. Yeah, um, so, from whether it's you know, body image things, whether it's what you should, should not be eating, um, there it's even down to workouts. Yeah, like what's the newest ad? Yeah, that's what's gonna get me there.
Speaker 1Nope, I can't do it because I don't look like that person I can't do it because I can't lift like that, right, I think, as it pertains to like the workouts and stuff, so many people will hear bootcamp, yeah, no, I can't do that. I can't do bootcamp. I think you even had a little bit of that I did.
Speaker 2Yeah, right, yep, it was a little intimidating.
Speaker 1Yeah. So what are we going to do in there? Yep, what are they gonna do to me? Yep, but with that you, you meet yourself where you're at, and then you progress to get better, and, and better for you is different than better for me, and and what's better for you doesn't have anything to do with defining what's better for me, right? But yet we think that, well, they can do a pushup on their toes, they're a better human than me.
Speaker 1Yeah, not true, not true, not at all. And I think you know, as you've worked with your clients and helping them break those limiting beliefs, because all they are, yeah, like we all have beliefs, absolutely. And the hard part is is a lot of those beliefs were instilled by us, or instilled into us, not by us, right? And so I think one of the favorite things that you and I get to do is hey, what limiting beliefs do you have that have been placed there by other people, and how can we work to remove those? Yeah, and install our own belief systems. And I tell you what that doesn't happen out in the real world and it takes some building, tell us, takes time.
Speaker 2so I'm telling folks or recommending to folks Again, it's that honesty part, that this we know it's not an overnight process. We've heard that before.
Speaker 2And I go a step further and say it's going to get hard. It's going to get really hard, and that's our goal as coaches is to help you get through that. So you don't give up on yourself, so you don't quit. I'm going to remind you of what you told me back then. I've got to remind you what you're trying to achieve so that you can make it there, so that we can build up.
Speaker 1And it takes time, hearing it, and hearing it, and hearing it. Repetition Like you can do it, can I? Do you really think so? Yes, okay, well, I don't. Okay, keep leaning on my beliefs, but I want you to tell yourself you can, and eventually you start building that belief and it happens so slow that you don't even realize it's happening, right. So it's just absolutely amazing to see these changes in our clients and in the lives that we get to impact. Vicki, have you ever been a part of any other gym or tried weight loss any other time? Oh yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah. Can you list some of the things that you've tried, without speaking negatively of any other program or any?
Overcoming Unhealthy Habits and Inspiring Others
Speaker 2other thing. Well, the programs it's actually programs worked well. I did go to a gym for a little while. I think it was a woman's gym, I can't remember what it was called. I think Trion used it Sure.
Speaker 2Did that a little while. I think it was woman's gym, I can't remember what it was called. I think try on use, sure, um did that um. But again, it was more of like a traditional gym where you walked in you kind of had to do your own thing weights, treadmills, all that stuff. I didn't really know how to work any of that stuff, so I ended up always kind of in the treadmill a little bit more than I did the weight machines and a little scared of it, cause I was like I don't know what I'm doing.
Speaker 2Um, I did try the nutrition wise LA weight loss Okay, um, while back again saw a massive success in it. Uh, however, only was temporary, sure, um, and then I've tried like different online fads, yeah, that type of thing. Yeah, tried the pills, I think. Gosh, this stuff has stemmed with me since I was probably a teenager sure, um, when did you?
Speaker 1when did you? When's the first time you can remember in your life that you felt or thought to yourself I don't look good or I'm overweight. Yeah. I'm not who I wanted, yeah.
Speaker 2You're around fifth grade.
Speaker 1Fifth grade, so it started when you were young. Yeah, yeah. And you started Fit Body when you were how old-ish 33. Yeah, so that's with you for a long time. Oh yeah, a long time.
Speaker 2And the funny part about it is like, even looking back at some of my pictures and I mean I wasn't really overquaint, sure, and obviously as life happened, I went through those infixes quite a bit. Yeah, you know I was a little chubby or like kind of, like you said, maybe in junior high a couple of years in high school and then toward the end of high school. I just lost a lot.
Speaker 1But then again I kind of stopped eating because that's the kind of the things we did to lose weight, and it worked for a time until and, unfortunately, what we know about eating less or not eating, you can lose weight, but you're mainly losing muscle and while, yes, the scale number goes down, the fat on your body just gets more and more and you're just losing that muscle and your metabolism's messed up, yeah, and so you had to fight and overcome all that. Uh, if you're willing, since it says, meet the coach, yeah, um, what are some things that that are like really unhealthy habits that you had to break?
Speaker 2oh goodness um diet coke, diet coke. Diet coke was a big one. Drink a lot of those. Smoky was a big one for me, I was a big smoker.
Speaker 1I didn't know you were a smoker. Yep, and you were a smoker while even at the body. Yes, I didn't know this. Yep, yeah, yep, I was a smoker. And you found this out as I was helping coach you and working you through. I was like, hey, this is something we got to stop. Like you're, you're not able to keep up your lung capacity. Yep, yep.
Speaker 2That was yeah, that was probably. I'd say that was probably hard. Losing weight was hard, that was harder, yeah, yeah. By that point I think I had smoked for probably 15 years.
Speaker 1Yeah, so how did you quit that Cause? I mean, that's, that's a struggle that we still even have clients that struggle with that. Yes, and no fault or judgment on them. Yeah, it's just something that they're addicted to struggling with, but it does hold us back in achieving our health and fitness goals.
Speaker 2How did you get over that? I tried a lot of different approaches. I actually tried quitting several times throughout my life. Um, I did for a while even too right, yep okay.
Speaker 2And so you know, tried patches, tried some pills, gum, all the things. I think it was just kind of opening up my eyes. My oldest son and I think this is with any addictions like you have to have, what do they call it? Kind of like your rock bottom moments or some aha moments to kind of get you to go. So my dad passed away when I was 18, um, from lung cancer. He was a smoker for most of his life. I think that would get me to quit, but it did.
Speaker 2Um, my oldest son at that time, I believe, was going into middle school and I don't know it was kind of when it happened, how it happened, but I just remember thinking to myself as he's getting ready to go into middle school he's probably roughly about 13 at this time. I was 18 when my dad passed away and I had another child at the time.
Speaker 2just I had an ep yeah, I did ep and I thought to myself. I was like, oh my gosh, here I am with my oldest son, not that far away from his 18th birthday, and that was the age my dad passed away. I didn't want to be that. I did not want to leave my kids in that position. It was so hard when I was that age and when you're going through this massive transition in your life. You're leaving high school, you're getting ready to leave the nest and now, because he passed away shortly after my graduation, and.
Speaker 2I was like I can't do that to my kids. My graduation and I was like I can't do that to my kids. So that was probably my big moment and I think every individual it's going to be a little bit different.
Speaker 1What year was that?
Speaker 2Oh yeah, it's a good question roughly 2018, maybe yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1So just a hard, hard thing to go through that really opened your eyes to. If I want to be here for my kids and make sure that they have a fit and healthy mom, I need to make some yeah. And now you have made such a change. You just went to like Denver, yeah, and went whitewater rafting, yep, and hiking, yep, and all these things with your boys Yep. And you need to be fit and healthy to do those things and be able to enjoy them Absolutely. You can maybe do them if you're not fit, not healthy, right, but you're not going to enjoy it a lot. Yeah, you're going to feel the pain Struggle's real, yeah.
Speaker 1So explain that to me. You hit this rock bottom point. You're like, hey, I want to be here for my kids, I want to make sure they have a fit and healthy mom, mom, yeah. And now your boys are I mean, your youngest is eight, yes, or nine, eight, eight, and your oldest is 21 and they're active, yeah, and they're going. All my kids are, yeah, and, and now you get to keep up with them?
Speaker 2yes, right, he's, except for my 21 year old he can outrun me. Well, yeah, but yeah, no, it's, it's been a major difference. And even kind of with like, even with the smoking, like I was starting to do this healthy thing, yeah, and that was one thing. It was like bite off little bits, and that was one habit. I wasn't ready to give up quite yet.
Speaker 2Yeah, I was trying to get better. Yeah, so I didn't try to change everything overnight trying to get better. So I didn't try to change everything overnight, but I did see kind of that future self. As in, if you really want to make this full circle, this is the last one. It's going to be the hardest one, but from all the other experiences I had, I knew I was very well capable of doing it. And would I fall? Yeah, absolutely, but it's just again closing that gap and trying to get back on it. But, yeah, I can keep up with the kids on those types of events. I don't dread them, I look forward to them, I enjoy them. So, yeah, it's been a blessing. It's huge.
Speaker 1Going through that transformation and now being, you know, obviously a coach for our clients, but being in the role that you're at, really being a leader to our team, yeah, let's kind of hit this in two parts. One what is your favorite thing about being a coach to our clients?
Speaker 2I want to say seeing them smile. Yeah, um. There's so many times you walk into a store, you get on a flight, you go to your kids game and people don't look happy anymore. Yeah, um, and it's like, like you I don't life is hard, yeah, and it's life. Life is hard, yeah. The person sitting next to me on the bleachers what they're going through, what's going on. They're here showing up, they're present, but not at the same time. If that makes sense, yeah.
Speaker 2So seeing people smile again, have light, yeah, and not just literal smile, but and they don't smile at me all the time, sometimes they frown, but it's their eye yeah the, the actions, the way they looking at you and even though they frown there, they can still feel yeah they're happy. Yeah, um, and I don't think we see enough of that in the world yeah so I think that's probably my favorite yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1What would you say is one of your favorite parts about now getting to lead a team?
Speaker 2oh, lots of learning yeah lots of learning, um so, and continue learning. I think the best part is getting a group together and work, lots of learning and continued learning.
Speaker 2I think the best part is getting a group together and getting them to work well with each other. Yeah, that is probably. And watch, it's just kind of like that bird's eye view. You get to see You're in the mix of it, but you can step out every once in a while and just watch all these guys do their thing. It's really cool. Yeah, and enjoy again, smiling and enjoying what they're doing. Yeah, um, and feeding off of each other. And yeah, just the way you know, things can shift in a matter of seconds and they're so good about quickly making that happen maneuvering, oh, working together as a team, yes.
Speaker 2So I think that's my favorite part, and then, too, just helping watch their personal growth. Yeah. A lot of our coaches. Again, they're going through all these things, whether it be professionally, personally wrestling with stuff and then watching them, or being there for them, for them to lean on and saying you know what? Let's put our heads together, let's try to figure this out and having their trust.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, it's been definitely a blessing to have our team grow, yeah, and then just to, like you said, being able to kind of step back and I remember for me, with our team as we grow. This gym is so meaningful to me, impacting these clients' lives, pouring everything we have plus even more that we don't have, into them just to help them believe that they're worth it. But, like you said, being able to step back and see the energy on the floor, to see them high-fiving, fist bumping, getting down, helping our clients just one more rep, grab one more heavier weight, doing one more, whatever it is, and being able to know that that is happening while maybe we're not there, it means the world to me and we just had a team meeting just before we shot this and I was away for five, six days and knowing that I have you and the team continuing to do what we're doing and allow me to live a life where I don't always need to be at the gym, that's amazing, it's a game changer. To be at the gym, that's amazing, it's a game changer, yeah, it's amazing. And to know that we are here for each other as a team, I mean, we've been through a lot together, lots of ups, lots of downs. Yeah, because while life doesn't stop for any of you watching or listening, it also doesn't stop for us coaches and having each other.
Speaker 1There have been times where Vicki and I have been going through whatever we've been going through. We'd literally be in my office or her office trying about whatever it is that we're going through, because life can be hard, yep. And all of a sudden we looked out at the watch like, oh, we got to get out there, we got to go the door's open Like clients are coming. Yep, we look at each other Like, no, you look great. I'm like am I still crying? No, you're good, all right, let's go do it. And then you pull yourself back up, you get on that floor and you give everything you got.
Speaker 1And it isn't about what's going on in our life For that 30 minutes. It's about us making sure that we give everything we've got to our clients. And I have seen that in you and I don't think that there's a mistake or a chance that you've gotten to where you've gotten within what we do at Fit Body, because I can see that and I have clients tell me that you know, vicky goes over and above to make sure that I'm cared for and, like I said, life doesn't stop for us, yeah, but we understand that our clients need us and a lot of times, like you even said, the world isn't a happy place, and so, if we can be that happy place, that makes what we do worth it, and so I just love it.
Speaker 1Vicki, if there's a piece of advice that you could give anybody watching or listening, what would that advice be? Uh, as we sit here today, what would the advice be that you'd give them? Uh, as maybe they're thinking about starting a health and fitness journey, or maybe they're on one, they're at a plateau, wherever it is, what advice would you kind of give them?
Speaker 2Um, first thing that comes to mind is just take care of yourself. Um, I know it sounds a little weird. Be selfish. Yeah, don't look at that as a negative thing. I used to think for so long that I gave all everywhere else and I needed to sit down here and thinking that I was giving 100% to my kids, to my family, to my work, when in actuality I probably was barely giving 50%. It wasn't until I started to honestly be a little selfish. Take care of myself, and maybe it is a 30-minute workout, maybe it's a five-minute meditation, wherever that sits right now for you, make that work, because that goes such a long way and that 100% you can't actually give attention to.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think the world does a very good job on trying to tell us what fit and healthy looks like, what fit and healthy does, what fit and healthy should be, when, in all reality, fit and healthy to you is different than fit and healthy to me is different than fit and healthy to you.
Embracing Self-Care and Encouragement
Speaker 1Watching or listening Because also, too, wherever we're at, we're fighting different battles that the person next to us isn't, and so for you, you had to fight the battle of giving up smoking. I, thankfully, have never had to fight that battle. But obviously, if we're at the same spot and we're starting an element fitness journey, yeah, well, now you have a whole different curveball to deal with, and I do. But while we're in a workout together or maybe watching someone else work out or seeing what someone does in a workout, yeah, we don't tend to remember that we're all at different starting points. Yeah, or all at different points along the journey, yeah, we don't tend to remember that we're all at different starting points, yeah, or all at different points along the journey. Yeah, I love that you said that your advice would be to be selfish, because that's something that Jason and I talked about as well.
Speaker 2Oh really.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, because the world says that being selfish is bad yeah.
Speaker 2I was going to say I was a very negative and same with failure. Failure is bad.
Speaker 1Yes, not very negative and same with failure. Failure is bad. Yes, I seen a post on one of the 17 million social media platforms we have now, but it said a person was holding. I'm going to get it wrong, but it had a picture of a person holding a cup and the person had spilt it. And it said why did you spill the tea? And it said because someone ran into me. And then it said, no, you spilt the. And it said why did you spill the tea? And it said because someone ran into me. And then it said, no, you spilt the tea because tea was in your cup. Had you had coffee in your cup, you would have spilled coffee.
Speaker 1And so the whole point of this little meme was that whatever's in your cup, whatever you fill your cup with, is what's going to come out when you get bumped. And so if you're not being selfish and filling your cup with love, with compassion, with understanding, with belief in yourself, when you get bumped, something negative is going to come out Absolutely. And so that's why it's so important to be selfish in a way that, when life does bump you, you can have who you truly are and who you truly want. To be selfish in a way that when life does bump you, you can have who you truly are and who you truly want to be.
Speaker 2Fall out, oh onto those around you and so I did that with my kids. Um, I think the reason why I said that too is, uh, I remember my kids would come home from school and then all of a sudden, they would say they would start talking to me about their day and I thought I was listening, I thought I was present. Yeah.
Speaker 2In all actuality I wasn't yeah Because I had given up so much energy. Yeah, and now I find that's changed. I'll ask them questions back. I'll get excited about their day for them. Yeah. Way different than it was before.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you understand it, because that's something that fills you up is when people listen and instilling confidence in our clients and us, and we're doing it together because we can go out into our day and go through a whole day of yuck, but then we meet together for 30 minutes and we smile and laugh and we high five and we fist bump and it's like you know what I can do that, yeah, and then go home and conquer the rest of my day, and so I just love that our clients have this as an outlet For anyone watching or listening. If you don't have that outlet, or maybe you're looking for an outlet, and anything that Vicki had talked about maybe resonates with you I would encourage you so much to just come give Fit Body a try. I don't know that it's going to be right for you, it might not be, but I do know that if you never try, you'll never know. Yes, and the thing also, too, that I just love about what we do and I know that our whole team shares this belief that if Fit Body isn't the right fit for you, we will still be here cheering you on, encouraging you. We've been doing this for almost 10 years now. We obviously lose clients that is a natural part of business and we have clients that have been with us that are now doing other things, and I still get excited when I see them posting their wins, posting what their workouts are, and I'll still cheer them on and congratulate them, because it isn't about where you're doing it.
Speaker 1There's hundreds of thousands of people in Sioux Falls. We have two locations, we can't fit everybody in, and so if we can just be there to encourage one more person, and maybe that's for whatever period of time, but I know that the period of time that we get to be with our clients, hey, if we can just make a little bit of an impact, exactly that's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. Well, vicki, this has been awesome. I feel that it's just been really fun. To kind of shoot.
Speaker 1The Meet the Coach episodes gives our clients, and even those that maybe don't know us at all, a little more my voice. Yeah, oh, I know we didn't touch that. Vicki's like could we have done this a different? I just lost my voice and I was like you know what that's part of being a coach. Yeah, you know, we have mics. We have mics and we try to use the mic when we're coaching, but a lot of times we just like to yell yep, and it's something about, you know, bringing the intensity and making sure that people like we want to have fun while we're working out.
Speaker 1Oh, I know and when we're yelling and screaming and oh man, it's just great. It is just great and it might sound intimidating maybe to those that have never tried it right, but it is. It is done in such a way that's encouraging motivating, not drill sergeant.
Speaker 2We're just more or less having fun at it loud.
Speaker 1Yeah, take it up a little bit. Yeah, take it up a little bit. There's something about when something is so loud you can't even comprehend what you're going through. Yeah, maybe that's why. So if we have the music this loud and we're also yelling this loud, you can't tell how sore your muscles are from getting more pushups. Just got to get through it. Get through it, and we just make it fun, and so it's every fitness level, wherever you're at.
Speaker 1But if you are looking for someone to believe in you, to be there for you, to surround yourself with a group of people that just want to see you win in life, I tell you what Vicki and I our team and our clients would love to be that person for you. There's a link down below where you can click on it. You can grab a free week, try it out, because heck, if it's not right for you. The last thing we'd want is for you to pay for something that is not right for you. So grab that free week, try it out, and you can find Vicki normally hanging out at the central location, at the C-side, that's right. Sometimes you'll see her at Westside, but she currently is our facility leader at the central location. She's also our integrator and man.
Prioritizing Self-Care and Positivity
Speaker 1It's just been awesome. Thank you, vicki, for taking the time. Friends go out there and be selfish in the best way possible, knowing that when you're selfish and you are filling your cup with that, that when you get bumped, positivity and love can overflow to others, that you will be doing better in this world and leaving a more positive impact. But, hey, thank you for joining us, thank you for taking time out of your day and, so that we can do this, make sure that you like, subscribe and share this episode and, like I said, if you're looking to get a free workout in, find that link down below and we cannot wait to meet you in the gym. We'll catch you on the next episode of the Fit and Healthy Sioux Falls Show. Bye, guys.
