Mom2Mom 1st episode

Morgan and Shawna discuss their fitness journeys and how they got started in the fitness industry. Morgan grew up in an active family and participated in sports and activities throughout her life. She struggled with body image issues in high school and college, but found kickboxing as a form of fitness and stress relief. She eventually became a kickboxing coach and expanded her fitness knowledge to help other moms find ways to stay active. Shawna, on the other hand, was raised as an athlete and played soccer at a high level in Washington state. She continued going to the gym and eventually started her own fitness journey. Both women emphasize the importance of resistance training and challenging the body in different ways. They discuss how their fitness routines changed during pregnancy and how it affected their bodies. Overall, they believe in the importance of finding a fitness routine that works for each individual and making it a lifestyle. Hi everyone, I'm Morgan from Mo Movement and I'm Shawna from Iron Core Fitness and welcome to the Mom2Mom podcast where we will navigate through motherhood at every stage from postpartum to menopause and aging. Okay so today we're going to kind of dive deep into how we each got started in our fitness lives and how it's led us to where we're at with our separate passion. So I will go first. I come from an active family. My mom's always been an avid runner. She did hood to coast runs, other 5ks and as a family we always kind of participated in them as well. So growing up in that world, I just, it was always instilled in me that I'm going to be an active person. I also come from my mother's side and we call that our athletic build, also known as a little fluffier. So definitely doing something, not quite the way I would describe a person to me, but okay. If you want to say you're fluffy. I was fluffy. I mean I'm fluffy right now but I'm also only three and a half months postpartum. We'll dive deeper into that in another episode. But it's very easy for me to just carry an extra 10 to 20 pounds if I'm not active and not focusing on my nutrition. So always doing volleyball or dance or drum corps or something. And then as many teenage girls, unfortunately, struggle with. I've had some body issues in my sophomore and junior year of high school that led to eating disorders. And after high school and stuff, you don't really have like the group fitness and guided fitness and so I kind of fell off the wagon on that. And yeah, because we're all used to having our moms cook for us. Yes. Or you know. And mom's not there anymore. And parents guiding us into sports and holding us accountable. And I was having to hold myself accountable for the first time ever. And being in college and there's food and drinks and everything. And I got the freshman 15, sophomore 20, junior 15, and so on and so forth. Fast forward to 2013, moving to Seattle away from my parents after college. And I found kickboxing as a form of fitness through a friend that I worked with. And also a form of stress relief from the daycare and parents I dealt with at said daycare. And I lost a bunch of weight and started actually working there. And that led me into an eight-year kickboxing fitness career. And that's the first place you've been. Yeah. Only place you've been. Yep. Kickboxing was like where it started and was really all I knew for a long time. That was the only real fitness that I knew prior to, you know, like high school and sports and stuff from back then. And so I just started coaching and helping people out. And through the years I kept focusing on my own fitness and was like, you know, I want other people to be able to find something, which at the time was me guiding them to kickboxing. But now I have opened up my avenue to other forms of workout, especially now having two littles of my own. You can't always just go to a gym for an hour and take a class. You know, I have to find 20 minutes here, 30 minutes here, get up early, do things. So being able to help new moms and even older moms, like if you've got teenagers or elementary school kids, you know, the minimalistic workouts at home that you can do, you don't need a ton of equipment. So yeah, that's kind of my long explained. Are your parents still together? They are. How long have they been married? I'm 35, 38 years. So you're 35. And how old are your kids? Two and three and a half months. How old's your husband? He's 40. And you're 35. Okay, so your parents, were they active? Yes, were they. They were athletes. I mean, as adults, they grew up, you know, my mom was born in 54. My dad was born in 58. Back when my mom was a kid, girls didn't do anything active. You know, they wore dresses all the time. It was a weird one. How old's your mom? She'll be 70 in December. Okay, so she, she had you older. She was kind of like me. I'm kind of on the same path as my mom where I'm mid 30s. And I've got two ones too. And how old were you when you had? See, Alexa's 25. Okay, 25. Okay. And then I had Cameron five years later. So what sports did your parents play? I mean, my mom really didn't do any sports. She did like would run around, she had an older brother that was five years older than her. She really didn't get active, active, like structure wise. I don't think until she was in her 20s, like she was out of the house and grown up. And then she started just jogging, doing that kind of stuff. But when from what I remember, we would go to the gym, and so she would take aerobics classes and jazzercise. Yep. That was the thing back then. Yeah. Who's the other fitness aerobics? Oh, my gosh. She's from 3's company. Oh, Susan Summers. Yep. Yeah. Yep. She did the sign master. Yeah. But I mean, we that's what we grew up with. That's how I grew up is jazzercise. Women were not in the gym lifting weights. No, it's not doing it. The only time a woman was in the gym is there was a class. Yep. That's what we're trying to change. Yeah. I mean, my mom always went to classes. I went to classes. My dad and I went to the gym before school when I was in high school. Wow. And we would do there was like an ab class or a strength class. And then we would each do our separate cardio that we wanted to do and then meet up in the sauna afterwards. Nice. So a lot of people would come back at you and say, but you've been doing this a long time. Yeah, but I guess I don't consider it a long. I mean, I guess I've been doing this for like half my life, a little more than half my life, but I've taken breaks. I would say, you know, I went to college. I did the party five year journey of college and yeah, I went to the student gym, but that was only to work off the six or 12 pack that I had the night before. Like I wasn't actively focusing on my fitness. So then where would you say starting kickboxing? How did that start? Well, I had moved up to Seattle to be with my then boyfriend because my parents were moving across the country to Florida for retirement and I didn't want to go to Florida. I had a boyfriend in Seattle. So I came up here and I was still probably like 20, 25 pounds heavier than I felt comfortable being. And just running wasn't working. You can't just do cardio. And this is, this is where I'm excited to talk about the lifting and strength training side of things, especially with your expertise. Because a lot of us women just think running, cardio, that'll get the weight off. No, you need resistance training. So one of my friends that I worked with went to kickboxing and so she brought me in for a class and loved it. Got to punch something and not get in trouble for it and got the resistance training that I needed. And then like six months I lost 40 pounds just from adding in that resistance training and not just cardio. Because little do a lot of people know when you're doing just plain cardio, yeah, you burn calories while you're doing it, but you're not burning anything after. But if you're adding in that strength and resistance training, you get to continue burning calories. Yeah, a lot of people don't understand that. So that was the game changer for me. Got in really good shape, got super duper confident and now I'm here helping other people get confident and making it a lifestyle. Eight years is a long time. Yes. Long time to play at one place. Yes. Just for one thing. For one entity. That was my cock block is why are we doing the same thing? Yeah. I was actually listening to a podcast earlier and she was kind of talking about the same thing where she had done the same consistent workout for such a long time and you get bored or you're not open to any other options. When your body doesn't react. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, you only do it for so long before your body just stops reacting. I mean, that's just what it is. That's why we lose weight when we change our food. Yeah. Well, and so from my first pregnancy to my second pregnancy, because with my son, when I was pregnant with him, I was just doing kickboxing. Yeah, I might go to Planet Fitness every once in a while and lift some weights, but I was just doing kickboxing. And then after I had him, I was just kickboxing and it was great. Don't get me wrong. And I got back into shape after about nine months. But now after I had my daughter, I've been doing different types of cardio and resistance training and challenging my body in different ways and designing my own at home workouts. And I'm only three and a half months postpartum. My body looks completely different than it did three and a half months postpartum with my son. Well, and even even just my birth stories, I feel like changing the way that I was working out during Brooklyn's pregnancy versus Connor's pregnancy. I mean, both kids, I was very fortunate. I had, quote unquote, easy births. But with Connor, I still I tore and it was a longer labor. It was like 13 hours. And with Brooklyn from water breaking to her arriving, three hours, no tearing, nothing. Yeah. Well, let's let's kind of dive into you. I mean, where did you get started? When did you start with fitness? So I never really had a start to it. I've just done it. OK, so I was raised as an athlete. I was a soccer player, like very, very high level. Back then. You were gauged on your college level. I had Harvard after me, Harvard Neo. OK, but my grades sucked. I did not have good grades. But I was a soccer player, very high, high level soccer player in the state of Washington. And so I guess I was just kind of raised being an athlete. My parents were not athletes. My dad was my coach, though. So I was there. I was raised in a very strict household. I wasn't allowed to do anything else but play soccer because if I got injured and I couldn't play, the world came to an end. But so after obviously high school and all that stuff. Yeah, I don't think there was ever a thing. I just kind of went to the gym. OK, I would always go with my mom. And then I started going when I got married. We moved out to Lake Stevens and there is a local gym out there. And I started going. And I think it was about a year into it. I was like, you know, I kind of want to try the bodybuilding thing. And the guy that owns the gym there, he's like, well, coach you through it. And back then we didn't have the Internet. We had nothing. I had to have a coach. He had to tell me what to do. He didn't really know what he was doing either, but we did it. So that's kind of where that started with the bodybuilding. And he didn't want to keep coaching for that year. So I was like, OK, but I just kept working out. Yeah, I didn't need to keep doing bodybuilding. So I just kept working out and kind of raised my kids with it. I think there was about six years I took off to raise the kids and then I went into CrossFit. And that was a whole different world. Did that for about 10 years. That was a different journey because on a different subject, I've used to have breast implants. So now that they are no longer involved with my life, I've noticed there's a lot of things that I couldn't do that I could do now. OK, because you had the restriction of the breast implants. I didn't know that, though. Interesting. I couldn't jump on a box. I just thought I couldn't jump on a box. Was it like, did it hurt? No. Or were they just not do it? I could not jump on a box, but I thought it was because I wasn't strong enough. But it was because the implants restricted those muscles. Probably. Or the brain fog, because it's something with the brain and triggering and swelling of the joints. Interesting. But I'd say that's another subject that's a completely different day. So I did CrossFit for 10 years. I competed in that and everything. Lots of level. I never could be good at it because I sucked at it because of the implants. I slain them. So then, let's see. I was always raised in the corporate world as a mom, too. You had to be in the corporate world and raise your family and either be a stay at home mom or be out in the world and work. So that's what I did. So I never everybody always would say to me, you should coach, you should be a personal trainer. I never, ever, ever had the desire ever. And I'm glad I didn't. I don't think I could handle it. Not to the level I have now because I didn't have the knowledge. OK, now I have that personal knowledge where I was taught by many different people. And so I have that knowledge. And now I feel like I can take it and apply it to people. So it's like I rather than starting much younger and trying to figure it out on your own, allowing yourself to just stay in the corporate world, go through life, let the kids kind of grow up and everything and use all of your experiences. And now that the kids are grown and out of the house, really being able to. Yeah, but I never thought I would be. I didn't want to do this. OK, I didn't want to. The thing that pushed me for it was I had just started a new job and the guy says to another co-worker that I look like a dude walking towards them. So all the employees told me this. Of course, I laughed. Yeah, but you don't say that about people. So I left. And that's when I thought and that's when the kickboxing gym got into my lap. OK, and that's when I thought as well that this might be that opportunity for me to put my knowledge out because so many people don't understand. And I've been doing it for so long that I have that knowledge that I understand that now I just need people to break down the barriers to let me help them understand themselves. OK, so it's just kind of one of those things that I've been in it my entire life. I never had any driving factors except myself. Yeah, I'll be the first person to say extreme body dysmorphia. Even me today, there's lots of issues. Today, I'm more comfortable than I ever could be. I don't like the bulking season. I don't do well in that, but that's what we have to do in my industry. So, yes, I have all that stuff, too, even at 20, 30, 40, 50 year old. Yeah, I'm going to have it. So I try to find all of those, I did keto, I did paleo, I did those and they didn't work for me. Because that wasn't the right things for me, eating the right food is the right thing for that. I mean, I could try nine carbs all day long. I was like, that's not what my body wanted. Yeah, I gain weight. Yep. Then I had to find what my body wanted. And that's why I felt like because I did multiple CrossFit gyms and they would help me with nutrition. So that's where I think some of the knowledge and the macro knowledge and stuff that I have comes from them, too, because I wanted those goals. I had dreams. So what keeps you motivated now, especially during the bulking season that you talk about, like you hate bulking season? Why do you keep doing it? What's your why now? Well, my why is, I do have that why and the why is, so when I hit 40, we always think 40 is old. Once I hit 40, 40 is not old. 40 life is just starting. And when you think of a 50 year old, what do you think? Like you thinking, think back to when you were 20 and you thought 50 year olds, what did you think? I thought grandma. That's what we all think. You think like even now, my own mother, who is 70 and is a grandma, she doesn't seem grandma to me. Like, you know, when you see like actual grandmas and grandpas that are just decrepit and old and like they're driving funny and I'm like, watch out, grandpa, grandma. I don't think of my mom when I say those things. And I didn't want to be that. Yeah. I did not want to be that grandma or that elder person that can't do the thing. OK. And the only reason they can't do the things is because they didn't take care of themselves. Yeah, they're I'm sorry. I don't care what anybody has to say. Your knees hurt because you're not taking care of yourself. Your knees don't hurt because you hurt yourself. Your knees hurt because you your hips are messed up and you've got well, most likely you hurt yourself because you're not taking care of yourself. Yeah. So it's just I didn't want to be that. I want to get off the ground. I want to be able to get up off the ground with my grandkids. I want to be able to get back on the ground with the grandkids. If I'm 80, 70, 60, whatever it is, I don't want to be hunched over and miserable. So that was just kind of like I had to go and take care of myself. And that's the only way to do it is eating the right foods. I knew and I know instantly when I eat the wrong thing. And I don't like that feeling because I know my mentality is is like I can allow myself the bad thing once in a while, but I can't continue to do it because once you continue down that road, you're going to keep there. You're staying there. And that's not what I want. Because in 10 years from now, that's when you see it. Yeah. I'm not going to see it in two months. Yep. I'm going to see it in 10 years. I didn't get this way because I started two months ago, five years ago. I am the way I am because I started 30 years ago. And I know if I didn't keep doing it in 30 years from now, I will be dead and decrepit. Yeah. I mean, I mean, that's that's a good why. As a mom now, I can tell you half the reason I work out is to be able to keep up with these damn kids and I want to make them proud. Like I think about in 30 years, I want them to have grown up like I grew up seeing active parents and having an active lifestyle. The other half is I want to feel good about myself. Right. Well, and my thing, too, is is I don't want my kids to have to carry me. That's not their job. That is not what I brought them in. Some people say I have kids, so they take care of me when they're older. I don't want that. My kids don't need that because I don't like to inconvenience anybody. And that's the last thing I'm going to do is if I need help, I'm going to wipe my own ass. Thank you. Yep. That's my why. I want to wipe my own ass. I love it. Love it. So, yeah, there's a lot of why. Yeah. Well, there's so much that we're going to dive into throughout all of these episodes. But now you guys kind of know a little bit of background about us. And very little. Yeah. I mean, even just in this first episode, you can hear lots of different topics that we're going to hit on because there's so much to talk about. Well, there's a lot that you as a woman coming into these years that you guys don't realize some of the ailments that are happening to us, that your knees hurt, your joints hurt, your eyes are watering, you have a headache, you're hot. That's normal. It's not that you're dying. That's where we've got to understand that our hormones are jacked up now. Yes. And we've got to take care of ourselves. We can't take care of ourselves until we find that bottom line first. A lot of it's mental, but our hormones, we've got to figure them out. And to me, it's going to the naturopath and getting the blood drawn and, you know, educating people. Yeah. Well, and it's it's a continuous changing thing. You know, you can't just, you know, my hormones are crazy right now, postpartum, and they have been. And I didn't give myself a ton of time in between the kids. But even going and getting blood work done now, you still need to go do that again in another five years, another 10 years. It's like you can't just do a fitness routine for a couple of years and be like, OK, cool, I'm fit, I'm done. It's kind of like you're going to change with the time and you have to change your eating with that time, too. And that's where people don't understand is I ate so-and-so, but I'm still 250 pounds. Yeah. OK, well, that so-and-so isn't the right foods for you then. Yeah. So that's kind of where I want to help people with this journey and, you know, guide them to understand that just because the yogurt has 25 grams of protein in it doesn't mean you need to eat it. Yeah. I don't know. We'll see if we're even able to edit and all this stuff, though, you know, this is the fun in it. Hopefully you guys get to hear this podcast. We'll see. Sounds good. Or we'll just create a podcast where it sounds like this and there's no editing. I know, right? People love it that much. It says share. So we'll see what happens. I'm leaving editing into Morgan's hands, so you can blame her for it. Yeah. So wish us luck. All right. Bye, guys. Bye.