New Year, New You: Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem's Story
Need a little inspiration to get fit in 2015? Look no further than Midtown Athletic Club in Willowbrook, IL member Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem. Late last year, Heidi joined an online weight-loss challenge program that required her to log a 30-minute workout every day, for one month. She decided to use Twitter to hold herself accountable, figuring that if she announced her workout to her followers, then she had to get it done. We sat down with Heidi to ask her some questions about her workout challenge: What was your challenge goal? I wanted to get fit, but I don't believe in weighing myself on a regular basis. Weight loss should be slow and steady. I step on the scale once per month and instead, I focus on how I feel, my energy level, and how my clothes fit. What were the biggest challenges of your 30-day workout commitment? With 2 young boys, ages 2 and 4, and a full-time career, I'm exhausted by the end of the day. It was hard to get the energy to get to the gym, but I did it! What was the key to your success? Being organized! I had to have everything prepared for myself and the boys the night before. I set out clothes, prepped food, had my music playlist ready and my iPod charged. All it takes is one little excuse to find a reason why it won’t work today and I wanted to avoid that all together. How did you keep yourself motivated to do a workout every day for 30 days straight? I kept telling myself, "It's just 30 minutes. I quickly discovered that no matter how busy I was, with the proper planning, I could squeeze in a quick, 30-minute workout each day. And I did! Why Midtown? Midtown offers a working mom many conveniences, the biggest one being Kidtown. I love having the ability to drop the kids off in a place where they are safe, happy, and well-taken care of while I work out, go to the spa, sauna, and steam room, or relax in the tennis lounge or café. The ability to grab a nutritious snack or meal for the kids in the M Café when I'm really short on time is great too. I also love the people at Midtown. Many of the associates and members took notice of how hard I was working during my challenge, and I really appreciated that. I also love to use engage on Midtown's social media channels because I received a lot of support to keep it up there as well. Heidi summed up her 30-day workout challenge with this: “The goal to be healthy is great, and for me, it was about setting the goal and reaching it!” We're so proud of you, Heidi. You can find Midtown Athletic Club in Willowbrook, IL on Facebook at facebook.com/midtownwillowbrook and on Twitter @midtown_will. Tweet Heidi at @heidi_mcsista.