She warned me I’d be typing up a novel for this one as the girl loves to talk – no wonder she fits in so well here 😉

Kylie has been training with me for a good couple of years now and I just love her cheerful nature, with a touch of savage!  She loves the barbell, and makes a mean chocolate brownie that she’s been banned from bringing me because I just can’t stop eating them. 

Kylie is an excellent example of consistent, balanced effort paying off and is now easily maintaining her results with a combination of lifting weights and 30 min classes, and well established nutritional habits.

What is your exercise history?

Minimal.  After I had my first baby and returned to work, like so many of us I was trying to juggle everything and ended up with an unhealthy work/life balance where my own health wasn’t a priority. I’m a stress eater (who loves the right mix of carbs and fats!) and I wasn’t approaching food with the right attitude. When I had my 2nd baby, I decided that I would do something about incorporating my own health into my ‘juggle’ before returning to work. A good friend told me about how much her core strength had improved by doing Angie’s Pilates class, so I bit the bullet, I showed up to a class and that’s where it all started.

How has your training changed over time?

I started with Pilates as an entry into group fitness; I liked your down to earth approach and relatable nature, and asked what else I could try. I came to Metafit group classes after work twice a week and from there we worked on a fat loss goal that involved nutrition coaching for around 12 months and since then I’ve fallen in love with weights training to maintain weight and build strength and reckon I have a pretty good handle on nutrition.

What is your favourite part of training at the shed?

The people! Everyone is so friendly and approachable. I think we all share similar values and really enjoy coming here. We’re not taking ourselves too seriously, we all enjoy having a laugh!

And it’s a nice clean & inviting environment.  I like that there’s always a coach here to help with your training and you can use the gear you want.  It sounds strange but I actually also like the drive to and from Scone, its extra ‘me’ time!

What’s the biggest struggles you’ve had staying on track?

Probably keeping my own health as a priority in the constant life/work juggle. Time management can be barrier, but I try to treat my class bookings in the same regard as any other appointment; like a brow appointment – you can never miss a brow appointment!

What do you feel is the most effective training for you or has given you the best results?

For me its doing a mix of both MetaPWR and weights training.

I like lifting weights; I like the simple, methodical process and you can measure the progress.  I love the psychological hit you get from increasing the weight on the bar, it’s like when you’re working on a fat loss goal and you jump on the scales and see the progress each week. Its really gratifying when you set goal, work towards it and then achieve it.

I really enjoy the group MetaPWR classes. They are certainly not an easy 20 minutes but such an effective use of time and without fail I’m always completely spent afterwards and feel so much better for it!

One of your biggest lessons?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is how energy balance affects your body composition. You’ve educated me around nutrition and training to fit within my lifestyle and because of this I feel empowered having the know-how to manage a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

Something else I’ve learnt is to be comfortable in my own skin. We all have a different genetic makeup and I’m in a good place where I’m comfortable with that.

Any advice for someone wanting to get started?

It takes time to form a habit. Don’t rush in and try to change everything, start with one thing at time; like consistently getting to classes for a month and then build on that with the next thing etc.

I also think there’s a misconception out there – they should know that you can have a healthy balanced lifestyle without training 2 hours everyday and missing out on birthday cake! I’m certainly no swimwear model but I’ve maintained my goal weight for over 2 years and have never felt healthier or stronger. I probably train 2 hours total a week and still enjoy all the foods that I love!

Just get started. Biting the bullet and turning up to the first class is the hardest part.

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