We are really excited to announce our March Member of the Month - Sherri Nagorny. Sherri has been a member of Chicago Fit Performance for 1.5 years and we are really happy to have such an awesome client like her on board. Sherri is a true example of what dediacted and hard-working person is. She's also very friendly and outgoing and always willing to help the newbies.
As a thank you for being such an awesome clients and for winning Member of the Month for the month of March, Sheri received a Massage Gift Certificate as well as a spot at our blog.
Check out Sherri's video and be sure to congratulate her with a great comment in the COMMENTS section below.
Congrats Sherri!
1. What do you do for a living?
IT Consultant - Project Management & Business Analysis type work on IT projects.
2. How long have you been a member of Chicago Fit Performance?
1.5 years
3. Tell us about your fitness background?
I have always been somewhat athletic. When I was in high school I exercised all the time. Then when I got to college, I didn’t have as much time. After college, I would go in & out of exercise spurts but struggled to really commit long-term. I used to do a lot of step aerobics and general cardio but not a ton of strength training. Needless to say, I struggled to see results.
4. Take us back to your first workout with CFP... what was it, and how did it feel?
I have no idea what kind of workout it was. All I remember is that I didn’t eat anything before I came and about halfway through I felt really nauseous & dizzy. I tried to keep going but then finally had to sit down for a bit. I felt like the new girl who couldn’t cut it! But that also made me determined to get back into shape!
5. What is your favorite/least favorite workout exercise?
My favorite exercise is anything that works the core. I dislike most things involving a large quantity of squats, lunge jumps and pull ups.
6. What is your strongest attribute or favorite workout?
I gain weight in my waist easily so I have always focused a lot of effort on my abs/core so I would say that is probably my strongest attribute. My favorite workouts are the Tabata workouts and Dr. Arty’s core sessions.
7. When did you realize that Chicago Fit Performance was right for you?
Probably when I didn’t show up at the gym for a few days and then I got a text from Kosta checking in on me. I was like “ohh, you mean someone noticed that I haven’t been there the past few days?!” I would sometimes go 2 or 3 months without showing up to my old gym and I would MAYBE get a canned email at best. I loved the accountability that CFP offered. That really helped to motivate me to show up consistently in those first few months when my alarm would go off early in the morning & I really didn’t want to get out of bed!
8. What sort of changes have you seen in your body, health and fitness since starting Chicago Fit Performance (before/after)?
I have replaced body fat with muscle since starting at CFP. My diet was never horrible but I have made a lot of improvements in my food choices since doing 2 CFP Transformation Challenges. I eat a lot less carbs these days and a lot more protein and vegetables. Using the My Fitness Pal app to track my calorie intake really helped to put things in perspective for me too. I never used to pay much attention to how many calories I was taking in. Now I have a much better grip on healthy portion sizes and how all those sweet things I love to snack on can really add up in calories!. CFP has transformed me into a morning person. I used to always try to exercise after work or, even worse, after dinner but I often lacked motivation. I have been a 1,000 times more consistent since joining CFP and working out first thing in the morning. I have more energy and I fit in a lot more of the clothes that are hanging in my closet these days.
9. What do you think about the trainers and the staff at CFP?
Joe is a great trainer, he comes up with a huge variety of great workouts and he makes me laugh. If he ever tries to quit, I’m going to hunt him down & hurt him. Kosta is really passionate about health & fitness and it shows. He is always motivating & pushing people to their limit. I also appreciate his willingness to be flexible and understanding with scheduling conflicts and the unique needs of his members. He is open to feedback and is always trying to find ways to make CFP even better.
10. How would you describe yourself in one word?
I had to ask friends and family to answer this question for me before in the past and one of the common words that came up was “sincere or genuine”. I really like connecting with people face-to-face (not on facebook) and I love hearing people’s stories, etc.
11. What is your greatest strength/weakness?
I’m a perfectionist which is often described as a “double-edged sword”. It can be helpful in some ways because it really helps me to push myself, work hard, and strive to do things well. However, it is definitely one of my biggest weaknesses too because I tend to over-think things and it takes me a long time to get things done sometimes because I’m trying to make them perfect which is often not realistic or necessary. I’m working on finding a healthy balance though!
12. What is your favorite healthy food & “cheat” food?
Favorite healthy food is probably fish. Salmon, tilapia, perch, walleye, cod . . . I love them all! My favorite cheat food is chocolate covered pretzels. Hands down.
13. What is something that we don’t know about you? (Your hobbies, Interesting fact, accomplishment you are proud of, obscure/unique talent, funny story, etc.)
Most people are usually surprised to learn that after 14 years in the consulting world, I recently resigned from my job to pursue my passion of working with the currently or formerly incarcerated. For the past few years I have volunteered with a couple of programs doing really great & really effective work both inside & outside of prison. I finally decided to take a leap of faith & see if I could make this my life’s work somehow. It may not work out but I figured I would probably at least learn a lot in the process. We’ll see!
14. Do you have any advice for people just getting started at Chicago Fit Performance?
Don’t give up! If exercising is not your thing, don’t worry, it gets easier & if you put the work in, you will see results. Also, as Kosta has said before, you can’t out-train a bad diet. If you are really serious about losing weight, you will have to clean up your diet. However, if you are out of shape like I was, don’t feel like you have to do everything perfect right out of the gate. Start by being consistent with the workouts and getting your body used to moving like this on a regular basis and then start to work on the dietary changes once you are comfortable & committed to doing the workouts.
*Each month at Chicago Fit Performance are selecting a Member of the Month. This person will be selected based on a variety of criteria ranging from accountability, motivation, team spirit, results, and more... You can get more details on how you can qualify for Member of the Month by visiting this page =>HERE<=