One On One Fitness

Tammy Sherrow

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You know you are doing something right when your teenage son has no problem going to the gym with you. Such is the experience of 52 year-old Tammy Sherrow.“Initially my family was doubtful about the idea of a fitness trainer, but recently my husband bought sessions for One On One during a silent auction, and I just won a chin-up contest against my son,” laughs Sherrow. A clinical nurse specialist and mother of a tween and a teen, Sherrow has had her hands full. Whether it was taking her son to hockey practice and games or completing home visits to families with premature babies, Sherrow found little time for herself. “I was active my whole life and had taught fitness for twenty years, but then I had children, retired from teaching fitness classes, experienced some health issues, and suddenly at the age of 50 realized that I had seriously become derailed,” admits Sherrow.“I had put my own needs way down the list and defined my life by my roles of being a mother, a wife, and a nurse. I knew I needed to put some energy back into myself,” says Sherrow. Sherrow also battled severe neck and back pain and spent a considerable amount of time and money going to physiotherapy and massage. “I kept being told at physio that I needed to start working on my strength. I knew I needed an individualized workout routine. Once I started at One On One, I didn’t have to go to physiotherapy or massage anymore.” It also helped that her personal trainer, Tad Desimone, was highly trained and had the background to design workouts that addressed her neck and back issues. “He knew all the baby steps, and I slowly started to not only get stronger but started to feel no pain at all,” says Sherrow. Admitting that the first six weeks to three months were the hardest, Sherrow says her personal trainer was the key in helping her commit to her workouts. “He helped me to stay on track. He also kept the workouts fresh and exciting, and I never had a chance to get bored.”

And as most of us know, training for the sake of training is often boring. “Tad helped me to set all these mini-goals—I went from only being able to do one push-up on my toes to over twenty. Recently, I decided I wanted to do chin-ups so I went from being able to do one at first to now being able to do seven or eight,” she laughs. Sherrow’s workout is not complicated. She does three to four days of cardio and three weight training sessions a week. She faithfully sees her personal trainer once a week and still finds time to engage in her favourite activities of golf and horseback riding.

“Last summer I took three months off from personal training and couldn’t believe how much my health levels suffered. I thought because I was golfing and cycling a lot that I would be okay, but I was shocked at how much I lost.”

This summer Sherrow and her trainer redesigned her workouts so that she could get in and get out in 40-45 minutes; thus, she maintained the benefits of her workouts but also had time for her summer-time pursuits. And, other than being able to beat her son in a chin-up contest, Sherrow has experienced numerous added bonuses to personal training. “My mom has osteoporosis which makes me more susceptible to the disease. Through resistance training, I am building up my bone bank,” she says. “I also can’t believe how much exercise has helped me to cope with menopause.  I have friends who can’t sleep and who are on hormone replacement therapy, but I feel like I am just breezing right through.”Another benefit to her increased fitness level has been Sherrow’s attitude toward nutrition. “It just seems to be a natural extension to my exercise. In the past I have been a notorious meal skipper, but just talking to Tad has helped me to understand the importance to fuelling my body so that I have enough energy to carry through with my workout and my day.” When asked how her attitude toward fitness has changed, Sherrow says, ““When I was young, working out was all about socialization. Now going to the gym is more about quality of life, longevity, and feeling energized.”Her knowledge, strength, and attitude have not gone unnoticed by her family. “I think I’ve been able to help my 12-year-old daughter form a healthy body image. We eat lots of fruit and vegetables and have almost no processed food in the house,” says Sherrow. “I have watched my husband gain a pound a year since getting married. Now that he is getting close to 50, he sees me as an example of what 50 could look like.”

Well, Tammy, he isn’t the only one!


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