Member Spotlight – Valerie Gillis

JOINING THE CLUB HAS BROUGHT HER WHOLE FAMILY TOGETHER

Meet Valerie…age 44, working long hours downtown in Toronto at a high-paced, hectic executive job AND a mother to 2 kids. She is consistent, committed and leads with a “no excuses” example.

Valerie is a true example of how to lead a fit and healthy life with your family. Shortly after she became a member at One Health Clubs, her husband joined her for workouts and now her kids have been inspired and motivated to follow suit.

Here’s what Valerie had to say about her fitness journey since joining One Health Clubs…

“I have always been athletic however, after 2 kids, a busy downtown executive career and an ankle injury I was feeling less physically fit and overall, not feeling as healthy as usual. I joined One Health Club in January 2015 given its convenient hours and proximity to my home. The energy of ONE was inspiring and I was aligned with a Personal Trainer, Jaime D., who was a great fit for my personal objectives and style. Jaime and I set up a schedule of working out 2 times a week. Having a personal trainer inspired me to start taking a closer look at my diet and about a year ago, I started to cut down on empty calories. I even got my Fitbit going to help keep an extra eye on this.

Since the start, I’ve lost over 12 lbs, I feel strong and less at risk of injury when I do other things I also love like golf and sailing on the weekend. I haven’t had a single cold all year – not sure if this was just luck but I think my overall resilience to germs has improved through my fitness and diet efforts.

As an added bonus, I’m hitting the golf ball an extra 30 yards off my drive and it’s easier to lift my 5hp outboard engine when I’m setting up for sailing. I’m more conscious as well about engaging my core – I can actually feel my stomach muscles now which I didn’t before when I do lift heavier things or focus on a golf shot!

Being a member of One Health Clubs has also impacted my family connections. My husband has started joining me for workouts and my kids have been inspired and motivated to follow suit. They take the lead from us and have been also eating healthy and train here at the Club in the High Performance Training Centre with Mark McKoy’s junior conditioning program. They love the fact that it helps their sports like hockey, gymnastics and their running speed. We all share in a smoothie together at Revitasize after our family workouts!

My advice for those members out there that might be struggling with their fitness goals:

I’d say that having a trainer and committing to appointments makes a huge difference. It’s easy to put off workouts when you have a busy job or other things on the go, but having it scheduled leads to follow-through.

The Personal Trainers are a great source of motivation and work hard to ensure that you don’t get stuck in a workout rut. Training, together with clean eating and proper sleep really pays off in terms of your physical and mental wellbeing. I can tell you that you’ll feel stronger and younger!” – Valerie Gillis.