Fit Friday:: Morgan's Story

 

 

My friend Morgan reached out to me on Facebook about a week and a half ago with this message:

Needless to say, she made my day. Morgan and I have been Facebook friends for a while. I believe we've met a time or two in person, but it's been years. I'm glad we've stayed connected via Facebook because not too long ago, I realized that although we live about a hundred miles apart, we share one big love in common: fitness. Morgan is a certified trainer and Beachbody coach who teaches group fitness classes at her gym (more info below), as well as private training. I'm so glad she reached out to me: I'd been considering asking her to write about her fitness story for my blog! I love guest posts, and I especially love hearing others' fitness stories and how they've incorporated healthy, balanced living into their lifestyles. Morgan was more than happy to write a post for my blog today... I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! - Kate

 

How Fitness Became Part of My Life

Morgan's Story

     Growing up, I was a pretty active kid. I played softball from T-Ball through high school, and also played basketball. I can’t say that I was considered obese, but I would say that I had an athletic build; I definitely was not toned or anything like that. I pretty much ate junk food all the time. Fried chicken was most definitely my favorite food, and that’s what I ate for almost every meal. I also loved candy- and I had a horrible habit of eating JUNK before and after all of my softball games. (I mean what do you expect when concession stands sell nothing but junk?)  Anyways, on top of having horrible eating habits, I did not exercise the way I should have.  Yes, I played ball and ran a lot, but I was doing it because my coach made me.

     In high school, I was very shy and very self conscious of the way that I looked. My junior year, I decided to go on my first diet; my sister and I did the Weight Watchers diet, and to this day I can say that Weight Watchers is one of the best diets there is. While doing that diet, I lost over 20 pounds. I was able to keep most of the weight off through high school. After I graduated, I joined the wellness center in Amory with a friend, and she and I would go workout together about three times a week. We honestly had no idea what we were doing, so we basically just did cardio on the elliptical for 30 minutes and then left. That summer, I gained a good bit of my weight back and was up to a size 12 in my jeans.
 

     In 2009, during my second year of college at ICC, my sister ordered the beachbody program, P90X. She and I did the whole 90 days together, and I lost tons of inches and about 15 pounds! I was fitting into a size 8 about this time. I realized then that I LOVED to work out! I loved to lift weights and push my body to do things that it has never done! I finally felt strong, and I loved it! I could do REAL push-ups and real pull-ups; this was definitely motivation for me to keep working hard. Working out was something that I did for me and no one could take that away. After I finished ICC, I moved to Starkville and started attending Mississippi State University. At this time, I finally understood exercise, but I wanted to know more; so I majored in Exercise Science. I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist, but God had other plans for me. While I was at MSU, I was taking classes and learning all the benefits of exercise and how good it is for you! During my 2^nd semester, my parents agreed to pay for a personal trainer for me. I trained 3 days a week for 4 months and I loved it! I loved how I felt during my workout and also how I felt when I was finished! It just made me feel so much better, and I was finally starting to gain some self-confidence. 

     During the summer, I came home and I talked my dad into joining a gym with me. We joined Anytime Fitness in Amory, and started training with the personal trainer there. This was all a part of God’s plan for my family, because later on, this trainer became a huge part of our lives! All summer long, my dad and I trained with our trainer, Patrick Garth, 4 times a week.  By now, I absolutely loved working out.  I was very dedicated and very self- motivated. My mom FINALLY hopped on board after my drilling the importance of exercise in her head; and both of my parents lost over 60 pounds each! Also by this time, I had completely changed the way I ate.  No more fried chicken and candy for me! I did not want to put anything into my body that was going to harm me. During the fall I returned to school with 3 semesters left. The Sanderson Center at MSU offered a boot camp class for 6 weeks, so of course I signed up for it. Boot camp was every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00am. I LOVED it! I was the ONLY person who did not miss a workout! Boot camp taught me a whole different way to workout. It pushed me and changed my body. During this time, I would also attend aerobics classes at the Sanderson. I would do it all because I craved it! Exercise was now a lifestyle for me. I worked out at least 5 times a week, and I had a healthy diet.

     During my last semester at MSU, I changed my mind about applying for physical therapy school because I knew I wanted to do something with fitness instead. Well, my parents decided to open a gym in my hometown, Nettleton, MS! Then they encouraged me to get my personal training certification. In April 2013, we opened BAM!Fitness; and that trainer that played a huge part in our life, Patrick, came to work for us! I’ve got to be honest though, even though I was a personal trainer, I still didn’t have the confidence that I longed for. For a while, I was embarrassed to even tell anyone that I was a trainer because I felt like they looked me up and down and thought I was joking. It took me a while to build up a clientele for myself, but God always provided for me. All of my clients were women and I started feeling more confident because these women trusted me and looked to me to help them change their lives. After our gym had been opened a little over a year, we decided to open our second location in Tupelo. We opened in December of 2014, and this is now where I am employed full time.

     In February of 2015, I was presented with the opportunity to become a Beachbody coach, something that I have wanted to do for years now. I know that God opened that door for me for a reason, and now I am not only able to train people who come to my gym, I am also able to coach and train people from all over the area online!  I have also been able to challenge myself with a new program called the 21 Day Fix Extreme and it helped me push my body to another level and also helped me change my eating habits and portion control! My clients were always asking me what to eat and how much to eat, so this program gave me the opportunity to learn and also share with them and give them the opportunity to change their lifestyle! Another product that has helped turn my health around is Shakeology. It is what I have for breakfast now every single morning and I love it! It’s a super easy way for me to get my nutrients in and get my morning started off right!

     My life has changed a whole lot over the years, and honestly writing my story makes me realize even more that God has had a plan for me since the beginning. It’s crazy to me how everything lines up perfectly when you trust God and follow His direction! I recently got married in March, and ever since then my view of exercise has changed quite a bit. I know that almost every person, especially females, wants to look good; but honestly it’s so much more than just looking good. It’s about feeling good and feeling confident with your body and most importantly being healthy. When I go to the doctor, I love for them to tell me to keep doing what I am doing because my blood pressure and everything is perfect! I love knowing that I am doing something every day for myself and I am creating a healthy life for my husband and my future children. I know that whatever God calls me to do, I can do it because I am physically able! I am not striving for perfection anymore, I am striving to be a better me every single day. My favorite scripture is 1 Corinthians 6:19, it says “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”  I am going to do everything in my power to honor my body and take care of my temple because that’s what God wants me to do! My heart’s desire is to encourage every person to be all that God wants them to be; not letting anything hold them back from what God calls them to do- especially their health. God has opened so many doors for me over the years. I have been able to help women reach goals that they never thought were possible, and it makes my heart so happy to see a woman’s confidence change so much! I have also watched my body change over the years, going from a size 12 to a size 6 and being more confident in myself!

      I am so excited to continue working in the fitness industry. I have my dream job, working at a gym and being able to help people! I love doing my workout every day, and I love switching things up! I may lift weights one day, or I may do a DVD; no matter what workout I do, I always feel good about myself afterwards because I know it is making me stronger and healthier! I can’t wait to see God help me grow my beachbody business! I am working on building a team of coaches who have the same desire as me to help people become healthy! In mid-August, I will be getting my certification to become a P90X instructor and will be offering classes at BAM!Fitness. This is just another one of my dreams being pursued and another door that God opened for me! I have also started a devotion/exercise class on Tuesday nights at BAM that is available free to everyone! There are no limits for what God can do! If you are reading this, I want to encourage you to start living a healthy lifestyle; start doing something for YOU! Become the strong person that God created you to be! The only goals that you can’t accomplish are the ones you never start working towards.

I have many opportunities for you to reach out to me. I want to help you in any way that I can!

My contact information is below:

Morgan Carr

Office number: 662-790-3295

AFAA Certified Personal Trainer

Beachbody Coach

www.teambeachbody.com/morganlknowles

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morgan-Carr/884651308243618

www.bamfitnesscenter.com

If you are interested in one-on-one personal training or at-home training, please contact me and let me help you get started!  -Morgan
 

Again, thank you, Morgan, for sharing your story! I  would love to feature more of you, my friends and readers, if ever you feel lead to share your story on my blog. Please email me at keepingpacekate@gmail.com, and I'd be happy to work with you!

Happy Friday, y'all! Start your weekend right--go work out!