Speaker 1: I've been in the fitness industry now for almost fifteen years,
Speaker 1: and if I were to go back way back when
Speaker 1: there's a lot of things that I would definitely say different.
Speaker 1: And it's not because I was lying, but I am
Speaker 1: such a believer that experience definitely teaches you things that
Speaker 1: you'll never learn out of a textbook. Welcome to the
Speaker 1: Transformation Station podcast. I'm Christina, owner, operator, and founder of
Speaker 1: the Transformation Station, and this is where we talk about
Speaker 1: getting stronger while navigating real life. If you're trying to
Speaker 1: stay consistent through the ups and the downs and everywhere
Speaker 1: else in between, this is for you. I remember years
Speaker 1: ago hearing someone talk about when people say that they're
Speaker 1: a guru or that they're the best, and they're like
Speaker 1: the top of everything, and there's that everything they know
Speaker 1: was one hundred and twenty percent accurate and they hold
Speaker 1: on to it for many, many years. But I do
Speaker 1: believe that changing your mind is actually a sign of growth.
Speaker 1: When I hear people say like this is the only way,
Speaker 1: and they're saying the same thing for ten years, twenty years,
Speaker 1: thirty years, and it doesn't change. I mean, like science
Speaker 1: is science, but science is also like evolving throughout the decades,
Speaker 1: and to me, if someone says like I'm a guru,
Speaker 1: i am the best, I'm gonna say, okay, that's not
Speaker 1: a sign that someone actually believes or participates in growth,
Speaker 1: And that to me is such like a hindrance of
Speaker 1: success not just for themselves but also what they give
Speaker 1: to other people. Growth is learning new things, having different experiences,
Speaker 1: sharing different experiences, evaluating what works what doesn't work for
Speaker 1: different types of people, for yourself, like there is such
Speaker 1: a learning curve to growth. But if we always believe
Speaker 1: only one thing is accurate for a everybody and b
Speaker 1: for a copious amount of time, then literally like nothing changes,
Speaker 1: Like that's that's not a sign of offering people or
Speaker 1: yourself any type of success. Something that I used to
Speaker 1: believe was that motivation got people results, Like do whatever
Speaker 1: you need to do to get motivated, And it wasn't
Speaker 1: that people needed more motivation or more discipline or more accountability,
Speaker 1: like they don't need another set of rules, Like that's
Speaker 1: something that they try to run away from, and then
Speaker 1: indirectly they're trying to chase a new set of rules
Speaker 1: because they have to listen to something or feel extra
Speaker 1: motivated in order to move forward now after it's been
Speaker 1: over a decade. People need fewer decisions. So it's not like, oh,
Speaker 1: just stay extra motivated and watch your favorite inspirational speech
Speaker 1: and then you can get motivated. I mean like that
Speaker 1: does have a time and a place if that's how
Speaker 1: you are motivated. Motivation means in movement. If you can
Speaker 1: start in movement and stay in movement, like energy creates energy,
Speaker 1: it's going to help to propel you forward. But the
Speaker 1: root of it to me is needing fewer decisions. So
Speaker 1: that means more of having systems, having routines in place,
Speaker 1: things that become automatic habits over time. So I know,
Speaker 1: like I've done different podcast interviews and everyone asks me, like,
Speaker 1: what's your typical mourning Like I'm like, well, my morning
Speaker 1: routine is literally the exact same thing, and I have
Speaker 1: systems in place where my laundry is kept, where my
Speaker 1: toothbrush is stored, like everything is that exact same thing.
Speaker 1: Because it helps me stay in a routine. And in
Speaker 1: order to have a routine, I have to have different
Speaker 1: systems in place. It also means showing up when you
Speaker 1: don't feel like it. It also can be making healthy
Speaker 1: choices your easiest choices. Having a system in place that
Speaker 1: maybe you're going to throw something in the air fire
Speaker 1: quickly as you're putting your dishes away out of the dishwasher,
Speaker 1: and then before you know it, your dishes are done,
Speaker 1: your air fyer is done, and then you can put
Speaker 1: yourself your lunch in the fridge and a container for
Speaker 1: the next day. Like, just something that is going to
Speaker 1: be a system to make your healthy choices much easier.
Speaker 1: Something else that I've changed my mind about is definitely
Speaker 1: the hardest workouts being the best workouts. I used to
Speaker 1: think that sweating more meant you worked harder, and then
Speaker 1: I used to I told this story actually yesterday because
Speaker 1: I was talking about a couple times I was riding
Speaker 1: hot yoga and I'm like, I used to go in long,
Speaker 1: baggy yoga pants and like wool socks, and I always
Speaker 1: wore like my sports bra and like my undershirt, and
Speaker 1: then I would wear a T shirt and then I
Speaker 1: would wear a sweater because I'm like, oh, thermogenesis. I'm like,
Speaker 1: yoga isn't hard enough. I need to sweat, sweat, sweat.
Speaker 1: How come my heart rates not elevating. I'm like, well,
Speaker 1: there's different types of movement for different types of things
Speaker 1: and different types of people. I mean, like stretching into
Speaker 1: mobility and yoga is going to be for all different bodies,
Speaker 1: I'm sure, like in different ways. So I practice like
Speaker 1: mobility and stuff like that still to this day. But
Speaker 1: I no longer think like, oh, if it's not my
Speaker 1: heart right going through the roof and me being laid
Speaker 1: out for three days, obviously it's not good enough. I
Speaker 1: now think fast forward. I believe that those types of
Speaker 1: workouts have its place, especially like let's say you're just
Speaker 1: trying to stay in routine by having a workout and
Speaker 1: having movement. Then it's like, okay, not every day has
Speaker 1: to be raw raw raw. Someone once taught me about
Speaker 1: maintenance mode workouts. It's like, even when you don't feel
Speaker 1: like it, you just show up and whatever you have
Speaker 1: is what you're going to give. Instead of having such
Speaker 1: high expectations on yourself, just get through the door at
Speaker 1: the end of the day. To me, the best workout
Speaker 1: is going to be the one that you're going to
Speaker 1: keep doing. Consistency. I'll always say this, consistency beats intensity.
Speaker 1: You could have an intense I don't know, three weeks,
Speaker 1: four weeks and you want to go crazy and like
Speaker 1: do all your workouts so hardcore, but then you literally
Speaker 1: just went intense for a month and then no one
Speaker 1: sees you and you don't see your workout for another
Speaker 1: six months. To me, having that consistent routine is going
Speaker 1: to be and maybe not as intense. Having that consistent
Speaker 1: routine is going to be better at that six month
Speaker 1: mark when you're still in the game of having your movement,
Speaker 1: because again, less expectation. Another thing Number three is progress
Speaker 1: equals weight loss, and weight loss equals progress. I've watched
Speaker 1: so many people lose inches. They've gotten off their medication.
Speaker 1: That's a big one we talk about around the gym.
Speaker 1: They've lowered their blood pressure, they're sleeping better, they're making friends,
Speaker 1: they now have a social life outside of work, which
Speaker 1: is important. They walk upstairs without stopping, like so many
Speaker 1: people are, like I just want to get to the
Speaker 1: top of the stairs at the school without people hearing
Speaker 1: me huff and puff or pretending like I need to
Speaker 1: tie my shoe. I'm like, ooh, that's a good idea,
Speaker 1: pretending tire shoe, and like they're also smiling more like
Speaker 1: something I noticed also when I look at pictures. Is
Speaker 1: I smile more? And this is something I just thought
Speaker 1: about it. That's why I pause. There's the podcast episode Danielle,
Speaker 1: one of our members, she had spoken about this and
Speaker 1: it's not a secret, and she said it on the
Speaker 1: podcast and she's like, I notice my smile is back
Speaker 1: when I look at my pictures. That is so incredibly important.
Speaker 1: That to me is progress. It's not always weight loss.
Speaker 1: And people don't even have weight loss goals. They couldn't
Speaker 1: care less about weight loss goals. Some people have weight
Speaker 1: gain goals. Sometimes the scale barely moves and people they
Speaker 1: get discouraged, especially if their goal is weight loss. But
Speaker 1: weight loss and fat loss are not the same things.
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean that nothing has changed. Like in our
Speaker 1: check and Champion Passports, it says like, hey, chant place
Speaker 1: your sticker here, wins wins for the month. It doesn't say, hey,
Speaker 1: what could you have done better? It says, okay, let's
Speaker 1: talk about what your wins are because that's important. And
Speaker 1: getting to twelve classes in a month that's three classes
Speaker 1: a week essentially, like that is a high five. You
Speaker 1: don't have to do seventy five classes in a month
Speaker 1: to be like, oh I'm holier than now, what's your
Speaker 1: body need? What's your goals need? If you need to
Speaker 1: be at the gym six seven days a week because
Speaker 1: you're like, hey, this is really good for my mental health,
Speaker 1: then I support that. I don't care if you come
Speaker 1: into a class and you march on the spot for
Speaker 1: forty five minutes. If that's going to make you feel
Speaker 1: good about yourself, that's what you're gonna do. Another thing
Speaker 1: is there's back then. I used to think that there
Speaker 1: was only one way to lose weight. There's not just
Speaker 1: one right way to lose weight. And I know in
Speaker 1: one of the last episodes we talked about like when
Speaker 1: I think the title was something about like since one
Speaker 1: is other people's bodies, everybody's business. I've seen so many
Speaker 1: people have success with lifestyle changes. I've seen people work
Speaker 1: with personal trainers. I've seen people a lot of people
Speaker 1: have success through strength training and walking. Some people love
Speaker 1: getting to the gym to do two classes back to back.
Speaker 1: Maybe e They're going to do a strength class and
Speaker 1: stay for a cardio or vice versa. I've also seen
Speaker 1: people hit their goals using medications or having surgery, and
Speaker 1: the common genomen isn't how people got there. It's that
Speaker 1: they found something that they could stick with. They found
Speaker 1: something that makes themselves feel proud, and they stopped caring
Speaker 1: about the internet's opinions and everybody else's opinions. That to
Speaker 1: me tells me that that person chose to put themselves
Speaker 1: first and they wanted to try something different. So instead
Speaker 1: of just throwing shade, I used to I did used
Speaker 1: to be that person. Like we talked about this earlier
Speaker 1: in the podcast, Like I wasn't actually rude to anybody,
Speaker 1: but in my brain when I was twenty years old,
Speaker 1: I'd be like why. And I used to like there
Speaker 1: was someone that was like, I think maybe two hundred
Speaker 1: pounds at five foot ten, and she said she was
Speaker 1: like a size fourteen to sixteen and she had weight
Speaker 1: loss surgery. And I remember being like what, So I
Speaker 1: was that person in that specific case. I was like,
Speaker 1: why would you do that? I'd judge that decision. I
Speaker 1: will say that out loud. I wasn't rude to her.
Speaker 1: I would never demean somebody's opinion, like things like even
Speaker 1: back then, right but even now, like I still find
Speaker 1: myself like hot in a thought. Sometimes you'd be like
Speaker 1: beside fourteen and sixteen, Like you're still perfect, why would
Speaker 1: you need to do that? But again, that's not my
Speaker 1: decision to be made. If that's a decision that they
Speaker 1: made for themselves, that is going to be okay because
Speaker 1: it has nothing to do with me. Something else that
Speaker 1: I realize is that community definitely does matter more than programming.
Speaker 1: I remember, like I always wanted the programming to be
Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty percent perfect. I do think the
Speaker 1: program programming is perfect, but I don't overly think about
Speaker 1: it anymore. Like we have to change everything all the
Speaker 1: different movements, throw in extra extra different movements just so
Speaker 1: people don't get bored. But sometimes it's those boring same
Speaker 1: repetitions that are that's what's bringing like the most success,
Speaker 1: because like squats, you can be done many ways. Yes,
Speaker 1: squats are still going to be squats. They're training your
Speaker 1: biggest muscle groups in your body, like your butt, your legs,
Speaker 1: your core, all at the same time. But like, there's
Speaker 1: also bicep curls. There's like five six different ways using
Speaker 1: just a pair of dumbbells that you can do your
Speaker 1: basic bicep curl. There's also like decline and incline and
Speaker 1: all those other things. If you want to throw all
Speaker 1: the different rotations in there too, there's definitely more than
Speaker 1: five ways. But I thought people were just staying because
Speaker 1: of the workouts. Don't get me wrong. I've had people say, Christina,
Speaker 1: I've had the best results. I've lost the body fat
Speaker 1: that I wanted to lose because I've done your programming. Yes,
Speaker 1: that's amazing. Also, the community and the environment is what's
Speaker 1: kept you showing up. So that's why I'm also very
Speaker 1: particular of what I cultivate within our four walls. I'm
Speaker 1: very particular about how classes are run, in particular about
Speaker 1: the ambiance and the level of skill that the coaches
Speaker 1: are also omitting to people. Are the coaches causing people
Speaker 1: to feel bad? Are the coaches causing people to have
Speaker 1: their soul set on fire in class knowing that they're
Speaker 1: doing good? And that's also something that keeps them coming back.
Speaker 1: I thought people just stayed because the workouts were awesome,
Speaker 1: But now they stay because somebody notices when they're missing.
Speaker 1: And like, when I look in the four walls of
Speaker 1: the Transformation Station, like there's so many friendships that have
Speaker 1: been developed. It's always one of my favorite things to
Speaker 1: see people like high five each other, and they cheer
Speaker 1: each other on super cool. On another note, something else
Speaker 1: that I've changed is I've changed a lot as a
Speaker 1: business owner. I used to think that everyone needed to
Speaker 1: be like me inside the business, but I don't think
Speaker 1: that anymore. And I don't mean like when I first
Speaker 1: started the Transformation station. I mean way back when I
Speaker 1: started in business twenty years ago. I don't want anybody
Speaker 1: to be like me. Like, firstly, I own the business.
Speaker 1: I don't expect anybody to act like they own the
Speaker 1: business because they don't. Another thing is is everyone has
Speaker 1: their own unique attributes about themselves. I didn't think I
Speaker 1: was gonna use the word attributes, but I definitely am
Speaker 1: doing that right now. But like, everyone has something that's
Speaker 1: beautiful about them. Everybody has something that is exciting and
Speaker 1: they have a good quality about them. So I want
Speaker 1: everyone else's unique personalities to shine in the exact same way.
Speaker 1: As long as you're kind and you're welcoming to me,
Speaker 1: that's the only thing that matters. I've still been speaking
Speaker 1: with a therapist. I know I was very transparent about that,
Speaker 1: like a handful of months ago. Now she asked me.
Speaker 1: She asked me this like very quite often, and she
Speaker 1: asked me, She's like, what is something you're proud of?
Speaker 1: And at the time, like, I published a book, I
Speaker 1: implemented these things at the gym, like things were going
Speaker 1: like super good. And then I looked at her and
Speaker 1: then I'm like, what do you mean something I'm proud of?
Speaker 1: Then she's like, you're always raising your standard. But I
Speaker 1: talk to you every week every two weeks, and you
Speaker 1: change a lot of things very quickly, but like you
Speaker 1: make them to be better and you're improving things. And
Speaker 1: I'm like, I actually don't feel like I have a
Speaker 1: reason to celebrate. Then she's like, did you celebrate that
Speaker 1: you incorporated? I was like, no, I didn't do that.
Speaker 1: I didn't celebrate any of my milestones or any of
Speaker 1: the things that I've done because it doesn't matter what
Speaker 1: I do transparently, there's always someone that has an opinion
Speaker 1: of why that shouldn't have been done. So like at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, like there's some people that
Speaker 1: don't like cheese and like cheese's life. Like they always
Speaker 1: say like, oh, you're not going to make people happy
Speaker 1: because you're not pizza. Well, there's some people that don't
Speaker 1: even like pizza. At the end of the day, you're
Speaker 1: never going to keep every single person happy. You have
Speaker 1: to do what's best for the bigger picture. And also
Speaker 1: the same way I'm telling you this is the same
Speaker 1: way I tell myself that should not diminish your accomplishments,
Speaker 1: Like why do you not feel proud of that? Why
Speaker 1: do I not feel proud of it? And then like
Speaker 1: the last time my therapist asked me, she was like, like, Okay,
Speaker 1: what is something that you are very proud of? I'm like, girl,
Speaker 1: you asked me this like at least two three times
Speaker 1: a month. And then I was like, oh wait, And
Speaker 1: I opened up my phone and I've been using this
Speaker 1: Finch app. It's like a self care app, and when
Speaker 1: you complete your tasks, you earn rhymestone rainbow stones to
Speaker 1: buy like the latest released shirt, and every morning there's
Speaker 1: like the latest release furniture or like the latest release shirts.
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, I got to complete my tasks, so
Speaker 1: now I've built my little Finch its own little like
Speaker 1: house using the rainbow stones that I've earned. I know,
Speaker 1: I sound like a crazy person when I'm saying this
Speaker 1: out loud. If you've used it and you've loved it.
Speaker 1: It's always better with friends, Like, it's really cool. I
Speaker 1: have like probably like at least ten or twelve friends
Speaker 1: on it now, and like you can send each other encouragement,
Speaker 1: you can buty up with your goals. Excuse me, So anyways,
Speaker 1: I opened up my finch app. I'm like, this is
Speaker 1: what I'm proud of. And I showed her my phone
Speaker 1: and she's like, are you serious? She's like, is that
Speaker 1: your finch app? Yes, I'm really, actually really proud about this,
Speaker 1: and I'm really excited about it because I have been
Speaker 1: maintaining something that I've implemented, which is a system in
Speaker 1: order to keep my lifestyle a little bit more organized.
Speaker 1: Specifically my laundry. My laundry and my dressers have never
Speaker 1: looked so sparkling and clean because I need to get
Speaker 1: my little tiny bird its own little dress for the day.
Speaker 1: So like that, it's hard, like you're not ever going
Speaker 1: to please anybody, and that lesson goes way way beyond
Speaker 1: just gyms. If you're listening to this right now and
Speaker 1: you've changed your mind about something over the years, it
Speaker 1: could be similar things to what I just talked about.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's things that are uniquely your own ideas. You
Speaker 1: don't have to be embarrassed about it. You can be
Speaker 1: proud of it. I always say, like, if you don't
Speaker 1: like it, you're not a tree. You can change and
Speaker 1: you can change your mind. And it doesn't matter like
Speaker 1: literally everyone's opinions. It doesn't have anything to do with
Speaker 1: what you're allowed to think and how you're allowed to feel.
Speaker 1: It means at the end of the day is that
Speaker 1: you've kept learning. Holy shniss Okay. So I have one
Speaker 1: dogs with the that's a German shepherd in Malinwa mix.
Speaker 1: So I'm always afraid. I'm like, there's one day I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be yelling at my dog and I'm gonna forget
Speaker 1: to press pause right now she's trying to chase the cat,
Speaker 1: all right. Anyways, I hope that when you're listening to
Speaker 1: this five years from now, hopefully you're still listening to
Speaker 1: the Transformation Station podcast. Five years from now, I know
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be sitting here doing the right same thing.
Speaker 1: My opinions may have changed, may have changed. If you're
Speaker 1: in the future and listening back to this, however, you
Speaker 1: might notice too that as you're listening that you've changed
Speaker 1: your mind about things too, because to me, that is
Speaker 1: what growth looks like. Okay, we're gonna wrap up. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna leave you with a question. If you want to
Speaker 1: talk about it, come and find me. You know I'm
Speaker 1: always down for a conversation. What is one thing that
Speaker 1: you've completely changed your mind about over the last five years,
Speaker 1: or maybe ten years. I would genuinely love to hear it.
Speaker 1: Send me a message on Instagram, send me a message
Speaker 1: at the transformation station cell phone seven oh five three
Speaker 1: zero zero zero zero eight eight. Come and talk to
Speaker 1: me in a class. I'd love to hear your opinion.
Speaker 1: Enjoy the day.