Meet our member of the week - Shannon DeFord
Shannon is a 48 year old mother of one daughter who just finished her first year at college in Oklahoma. She has been married for 21 years this July and completed her 25th year as a teacher this year. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys photography and volunteering at her church on the tech team running cameras and lights. Photography led Shannon to start a local non-profit called Frames of Love about 5 and a half years ago with a friend where they photograph babies born still free of charge 24/7/365.
It was a friend, Blakni Riley who encouraged Shannon to give LiveWellFit a try back in November 2015 during a 2 week trial challenge. Shannon remembers being scared to start, but soon became hooked after those first two weeks due to the encouragement and support of the teachers. She quickly realized that she was worth it and that moving could actually be fun…especially dancing in Cize dance fitness class with Laci McCreary.
When asked what she loves most about LiveWellFit, Shannon says, “I love that I finally feel like I belong somewhere and that I have friends and instructors who will encourage me, pick me up when I am down and who will always push me to be a better version of myself even when I feel like quitting.”
Shannon shared this advice for new members at LiveWellFit. “Everyone is a little scared when they first start, but know that the women and instructors are there to surround you and make you feel welcome and that you can succeed no matter what your level of fitness might be. The instructors at LiveWellFit will always offer modifications for each and every exercise, so that you are able to be successful moving at whatever level you are starting. Please don’t give up on yourself, because those negative thoughts will creep in and you need to push them aside because it is time that you make yourself a priority…you are worth it.”
Shannon has tried all different classes at LiveWellFit over the past 2.5 years, but has settled in on TRX, Metabolic and PUMP/Kickbox for her regulars that she loves. “Getting up and getting it done at 5am sure makes my day go better and I feel good knowing that I have done something for myself before my day really even got started,” said Shannon.
Thinking about what she could do now that she couldn’t do when she started made Shannon laugh because she reported that when she started she pretty much could not do anything. Everything had to be heavily modified and she tired out quickly and did not have much strength. Now, Shannon has improved her strength and endurance and can push her heart-rate into the 90-100% zone . . The biggest thing that she can do now is maintain a fairly consistent positive self-talk, and that is huge and a big piece of what keeps her returning to LiveWellFit.
Speaking of goals for 2018, Shannon thinks she might like to brave a spin class at LiveWellFit as she has not tried a spin class since those first two weeks in November 2015 due to fear of not being able to keep up with the rest of the class.
So, we challenging Shannon to try the spin class and face her fears once more! Thank you for sharing Shannon!
If you would like to try a free class or two , contact Suzi at Suzi@live-well-fit.com and find out where the best place for you to begin is. Text the number 22828 with the message livewellfit, reply back with our email to get our latest newsletter of upcoming events.