Hi, my name is Shawn Stevens. This is my before and mid way transformation photo. I am well on my way to being in great shape!
The sad part is I have always had a love of health and fitness….
So how on earth did I let myself get to that point?
I remember as a young girl watching Denise Austin and Gilad on ESPN. I loved the way working out made me feel. I still do! So what happened?
I was married at a young age (16 years old). My ex husband was an abusive man.He was verbally and physically abusive. Once he put the window out of his car because I walked too close to my brother in law (not really but in his over reactive mind I was). Then there was the time he ransacked our house because I disappeared at a party… I was talking with a gal that worked with him. I didn’t disappear! It was the alcohol that clouded his judgment. And there was the time when he was sober that he took a knife to my throat.
The breaking point
At first I would pace after an episode or leave and come back when it was safe. One day that all changed. He attacked me with a video cassette tape box (the old hard plastic kind). It had very sharp edges, so sharp it sliced the side of my nose. I needed stitches….I lied and told the hospital I fell down the stairs carrying a beer bottle and it cut me…I am sure they knew better!
The next morning after he was at work I went to the kitchen to clean the blood off the floor. Something snapped in me that day….
I collapsed to the floor in tears, surrounded by my blood. I sobbed and sobbed that day. After that day, food was my new best buddy, my comforter. It took me 14 years, busted teeth, scratching my way free from his hands around my neck, and countless jealous rants for me to finally break free for good. I left and came back so many times I can’t count them.
Fast Forward
Today I am well on my way to taking back the control and self confidence that was taken from me in those early years of my life. Once I left it wasn’t that simple…. I wasn’t automatically all better! It has taken me years to reprogram my eating habits and regain my self confidence.
My passion and mission
I have lost all this body fat because I found a program on the internet a few years ago. It is called Turbulence Training. I lost the weight that I have lost without spending hours and hours on the treadmill. I fell in love with TT instantly! What’s not to love about not having to do hours of long, boring cardio! Don’t get me wrong….it’s no picnic. You must work hard to see the changes!
I am so impressed with TT and Craig Ballantyne’s 10 million mission. If you haven’t heard of Craig Ballantyne he is a Strength & Conditioning coach in Toronto and the author and creator of Turbulence Training. He writes for Men’s Health magazine.Craig is a member of the Training Advisory Board for Maximum Fitness and Oxygen magazines.Craig’s mission is to help 10 million men and women transform their lives by 2020. And yes, that is Craig in the picture with me! That was taken this past November when I decided to become a CTT (Certified Turbulence Trainer) and help in the 10 million mission! I have decided I will help transform 1,000 men and women by then end of 2015. I am Fenton’s only CTT.
My Credentials
I am ACE certified for group fitness since 2003
I am a CTT
I am also a Functional Aging Specialist (FAS)
I have completed Intensive Mat and Reformer training at Equilibrium Pilates Studio in Bloomfield Hills, MI
I have had many other trainings along my fitness journey as well.
It is time….
Transformation Time 🙂