Personal Training Success Story: Barbara Hendrick

I first met Barbara about a year ago. She came to SolCore Fitness because she was having a lot of back pain and she couldn’t get rid of it. She had been on a trip with her husband and they were horseback riding when all of a sudden she “tweaked” her back. It was one of those times when it hurts, but you fully expect it to loosen up and get better after a week or so. It didn’t, and it started to bother her even more. She tried Physical Therapy, Osteopath treatments and a 3 set of really expensive Prolotherapy shots. As always, we sat down and talked to her first in a consultation to make sure we understood exactly what she was looking for, if we could help her, and if she was ok with working hard and being a little uncomfortable in order to get better. She was.

A little background on Barbara. She is an excellent bookkeeper who is ridiculously active. She works out, does water aerobics, pilates, paddle boards, hikes (her favorite), and I am sure a bunch of other activities that I am forgetting. You get the picture. In fact Barbara said that if she couldn’t hike with her husband, Chris, “then what’s the use in living?” Wow! If you didn’t get how much she loves being active from hearing all she does, that quote pretty much sums it up.

I chose Barbara as the May member of the month because of the amazing progress that she has made over the past year. She has come leaps and bounds from where she was, and continues to make progress even after a year in our group classes. I hope that you can take a little of what Barbara has done to be successful and apply it to your own exercise program. I know I will!

I am proud to announce Barbara Hendrick our April 2015 members of the month’s Personal Training Success Story:

What made you decide you wanted/needed to start a program? Back pain. I had hurt my back horseback riding and it was getting unbearable. I was desperate.
What did you do before? I had done PT, Osteopath treatments and a 3 set round of Prolotherapy, and none of it worked to ease my back pain.
What results have you achieved since starting your program that you are proud of? I have much better posture now. My spine is much more flexible and has a lot more mobility. And now even when I do activates that really cause my back to tighten up (like gardening) it goes back to normal really quickly. Editors note: Barbara got hurt in August of 2013. She started classes in May 2014, and by August 2014 she was able to go horseback riding without pain!
Do you have a favorite exercise? Least? What do you like or don’t like about them? Frogs (a series of stretches for your inner thigh) and butterflies (an exercise to strengthen your upper back) are my least favorite even though I know they are good for me. I love all the other exercises, because I know that I am doing a lot of good for my body by making it stronger and more flexible. If I did have to choose two movements that I especially love and which have been really helpful to me it would be the 90/90/90’s and the sliding back and forth move with my spine. The sliding back and forth (a lateral translation of the upper body) really started to open up my spine, and the 90/90/90 (Obturator internus myo-fascial stretch) has really balanced my pelvis, which has helped my back stay out of pain.
What are some challenges or goals you are currently working on? To keep my body in a place where I can keep playing. I want to hike, horseback ride, paddle board, work out, garden, etc., without having to worry that I am going to get hurt.
What do you like best about our program/ having a trainer? You guys make it so comfortable to come and work out. And it is a lot of fun in class. Really humorous.
What advice would you give to the other SolCore Fitness members? Do your homework! (I swear I didn’t make her say that) ***Side note*** It took Barbara about four months before she started doing her homework. When she did, her results started to be extremely rapid.
What would you say to someone on the fence about joining our program? Give it a try. To try it for three months is nothing.