WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
And you must be dedicated to workouts.
Shonda mixes a little pre-workout powder in water to help give her
extra energy, so there’s “no excuse of being too tired,” and follows
her workout with a BCAA supplement to help prevent soreness and
replace vitamins lost while exercising.
Once a week, she treats herself with a cheat day when for one meal,
she can eat whatever she wants.
“I admit it, I enjoy it,” she said. “It’s great. You appreciate it even
more. But you can’t do it all of the time if you want results.”
Shonda’s exercise program also includes weight lifting, and she said
many of her female clients don’t want to lift because they don’t want
to look like a man.
“Lifting really burns the calories, especially with squatting and
resistance,” Shonda said. “And when the ladies who lift are not
‘pumped up,’ they do not have huge muscles like a man. They are just
toned and fit. There is no way that a woman could ever build muscles
like a man.”
Scores of clients have lost dozens of pounds working with Shonda.
“You have to ‘get in your zone’ and make it a part of your life,” she
said. “It’s definitely a part of mine. It’s a real stress reliever, too. “
But patience is important.
“Be patient with yourself; know that changing diet and exercise is
an emotional change. You struggled with eating before you started
working out, and you will continue to have struggles,” she said. “But
it will work if you stick with it, and your health will be improved, and
you will like what you see when you look in the mirror.”
Both of her children, Bake, 4, and Jamie, 14, work out. “They are
always around it, so it’s natural,” she said. “And Jamie is into
volleyball, golf, basketball – it’s important that they start early.”
Shonda also works in the childcare facility at St. Louis Children’s
Hospital. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook, and read her blog
at www.steelcompany.wordpress.com.
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Shonda and her friend and coach for her upcoming fitness competition,
T
asha Allen O’Hara, were recently featured on Fox 2 News in St. Louis,
where they discussed accountability for workouts.
Stretching and weight lifting photos courtesy of XM2 Photography LLC
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY