How long have you been doing our classes?
D: I started my PT’s with Chris December 2017 and joined the classes January 2018.
R: I think I did my first ‘free’ session with Coach for Life Chris in December 2017. It took me 6 months to steel myself and mentally prepare before I committed to my first step on the 7 Mile journey and did a PT in June 2018. I should have done it sooner. It got way better!
What made you decide to give 7 Mile Strength & Fitness a try?
D: Years ago I joined another CF because I wanted to get back into shape after having Bodhi. I made great progress while there, but it didn’t last long. I had a new baby, a new job and I ‘thought’ I was just too busy to continue so I quit. Fast forward about 6 years and Robert and I met Chris (our new neighbor). I remember reaching out to his wife Jenn and asking if Chris was taking on new clients, and shortly after I set up an intake meeting with my soon-to-be Coach for Life. I have always been into fitness but I was getting bored and unmotivated at my current gym, and looking to make some change. I also knew Dona and Jon and wanted to support them as they supported me years ago. Seemed a perfect fit. I jumped in. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
R: Simple. Dawn was doing it and I can’t let her one-up me!
What was the hardest part when you started out and how did you overcome that?
D: Realizing that lifting is an Olympic sport and it was going to take time to ‘get it right’. I was hard on myself for not getting, for example, a squat clean PERFECTLY. I was a little afraid of the barbell at first, mostly because I didn’t want to mess up or make a mistake. Chris called out that self-doubt talk on the spot. So I kept the weight low, worked on form, and kept practicing! I now LOVE barbells and look forward to LIFTING days.
R: Ego; leaving it at the door. It was one of my first classes after Fundamentals. I grabbed the 45lb bar and wanted to use bigger looking weights (rubber 10s!). “Are you sure?”. “Yes damnit! Let’s roll”. It was never-ending push press. Lesson learned. Know thyself.
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work, and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must go beyond them.” – Bruce Lee
We are currently going through the Level Method assessments. What has been the biggest accomplishment for you during these workouts?
D: It’s been fun seeing gradual improvements across the board and narrowing the gaps in my fitness levels as well as correcting my body imbalances. I won’t lie…accomplishing a strict chin up just recently felt pretty darn awesome! I am also noticing some major muscle memory happening with the more technical lifts. I’ve also been working with Chris on my deadlifts and seeing some real progress.
R: Level Method provides a clear picture of current capability and a roadmap of areas to improve. Clarity on weights, reps, duration etc. Compared to the RX/Athletic approach, the Level Method provides a wider array of options aligned to your current progress. This approach brings a clearer focus on the purpose of the workout; the expected stimulus.
If you could be anything for a day, what would it be and why?
D: Love to go back in time, Christmas morning, with my grandpa and grandma and whole family, catch them up on all our lives, introduce them to Rob and Bodhi.
R: I’d like to be my 10 year old self (again) and hang out with my son while he is 10 years old.
We only have a few more months to go in 2020 – were there any goals you set out to accomplish checked off the list? Are there any current goals you’re planning on working toward for 2021?
D: Steady as she goes for the rest of this year for me. Keep showing up, keep living my best life. Next year I hope to keep up to my ‘present self’ and maintain this active lifestyle I am enjoying. Believe me, I am so grateful that I feel strong and move like I do. It’s not always easy to prioritize time for my WOD, but I do and I am a better mom, wife, teacher, friend for it. Robert and I support each other and motivate each other to GET IT DONE. Even Bodhi supports us as you may have seen him around on a school night, chilling, while mom and dad work out.
R: I found my hamstrings! Through a series of strange events in 2020 (looking at you Covid-19) I had the rare opportunity to workout a bunch with Chris during lockdown (we’re neighbours). Three words: deadlifts, deadlifts, deadlifts. For 2021 it’s 100 unbroken double-unders and a ‘smooth series’ of kipping pull-ups.
Gotta ask….where is the first place you will travel to once we can travel?
D: Canada to see the Fam!
R: Wherever Dawn says. (hoping that is Japan)
Anything people at 7 Mile Strength & Fitness don’t know about you?
D: I am a Montessori teacher. I teach wee ones.
R: I have a credit on IMDB.
Anything crazy on your bucket list? (bungee jumping, sky diving, hiking?)
D: Our family would like to travel to Japan to see the cherry blossoms in the spring.
R: Hike Mount Fuji.
What is your favorite WOD and why?
D: Murph! Nancy! Love the GASSY workouts and anything with running. I also love the feeling of lifting the bar over my head! (split jerks, push press, OHS, even thrusters!)
R: Fight Gone Bad. Anything where you have to play the mental game to complete the WOD. It’s a continuous balance seeking exercise between the throttle and brake. My challenge is to avoid the pitfall of going all-out and hitting the wall 20% into the WOD or holding back enough to finish but knowing you could have pushed harder.
What is your least favorite WOD and why?
D: I have a love/ hate relationship with double unders.
R: Anything with a high volume of pull-ups. Volume pull-ups is a 2021 goal!
Would you recommend 7 Mile Strength & Fitness to others and if so, why?
D: One of the best memories I have when I started at Seven Mile was working out beside someone who was doing modified burpees and deadlifts. Chris had set this person up with a bar bell in the rack to raise the floor for burpees and set plates on the ground to raise the floor up for a deadlift meanwhile someone else was deadlifting a very heavy weight on the other side of the gym. THIS! THIS kind of ETHOS and community was the place for me. I knew in that moment my fitness journey would be supported at 7 Mile no matter what life throws my way.
R: Absolutely. Primary reasons to recommend 7 Mile Strength and Fitness is the unwavering focus on performing proper movements, attention to pre/rehabilitation opportunities, and a holistic approach to well-being. And the whole crew at 7 Mile including the member community vibe where you’re only competing with yourself and everyone wants you to win.
Thank you Dawn and Robert! We are proud to have you as our November 2020 7 Milers of the Month!
D: Wanda, Carl, Dona, Jon, Chris, Jenn, Meredith, Megan, Larissa, Cera, Ashley: Thank you so much for your continued efforts, your tireless dedication, and your exceptional skills and knowledge. You are changing lives here! Robert and I are so happy to be a part of it.