I get to work with so many amazing women week after week, and they all inspire me in their own unique ways. The physical strengths is one aspect of why they're inspiring, but the thing that lights me up and gives me goosebumps is hearing their stories - their "why's", their challenges, the obstacles they've overcome, their perseverance, patience, and determination to be the best version of themselves, no matter what that entails.

I'm so excited to get this first feature up on Jaclyn, who works full time in corporate Calgary by day and trains diligently by night on a mission to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics as a member of the Canadian National skeleton team.

What do you do for physical activity and how many hours do you train in a week?

JL: I am training to earn a spot on our women’s Olympic skeleton team, with the ultimate goal to win a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics!

I train about 20-25 hours a week – a combination of weight training to build strength, Olympic lifting to build power and sprinting for speed. We also do some technical work to practice our pushing starts (we push our sleds for 20m before jumping on!).

What drives you to train?

JL: My ultimate goal of going to the Olympics drives me to train. But underlying that is the feeling of accomplishment that comes from pushing and challenging myself physically and mentally! I love working hard, leaving the gym feeling like I have made myself better.

I love the feeling of trying something new or challenging; I find it so exhilarating! That could be trying to get a new personal best on a lift, or even working on technique. Sure, it’s uncomfortable and sometimes you fail. But I would rather go home feeling satisfied that I attempted it, than regretting I didn’t even try. This also helps keep me motivated to train, because every day is a chance to challenge yourself!

What are some of the benefits you've experienced from training?

JL: So many I can’t count. I think the biggest one is learning to believe in my abilities.

I’ve struggled with accepting and actually being proud of what I have and can accomplish. It never feels like enough, especially when I compare myself to others. But I’ve learned you can’t. This is my life, right now, in this moment. I think about how hard I’ve worked. Maybe right now, I’m not where I strive to be. But I have to give thanks to myself for getting this far. I have learned to appreciate that and know that it is what makes me, me. If I have tried my hardest, how can I ever be mad at myself for that?

Acknowledge, respect and appreciate what you have accomplished and the effort you have put in.

What challenges have you run into and/or overcome from training?

JL: Aside from the mental aspect, the most challenging piece has been dealing with injury. I had a hamstring tendon injury which took me out for 6 months. It was so frustrating to go to the gym to see your competitors getting better while you are just waiting to heal. I may have cried on the stretching mats more than once…

The biggest learning is LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! It knows what to do. Nags and niggles, are a sign something isn’t right. If you have those, stop and rest. If that doesn’t fix it, seek some physical therapy. Your body will find ways to compensate, it wants to complete the tasks you ask of it…but it will do so using other muscles, tendons and structures which aren’t designed to be doing that work. And that will only work for so long…

What was your primary goal for seeking nutrition coaching with Raw Fitness YYC?

JL: I wanted someone to take the stress away from me in telling me what to eat. There is so much information out there and I ultimately became confused about what I should be eating and when and how much. It was causing me a lot of stress and I wasn’t seeing any positive results – Quite the opposite!

After meeting with Nicole, I knew she was the nutritionist I was looking for. She understood the importance of my training and worked with me to create a plan that managed to help me lose some fat but gain muscle. She took away the stress of being scared to eat carbs and has created easy, nutritional habits that will stay with me for life!

Want to find out more about this amazing woman and follow her story? Or maybe help sponsor her road to the Olympics? Check her below:

Website: jaclynlaberge.com

Facebook: @jaclynlaberge

Instagram: JAXLABERGE

Twitter: @JaclynLaberge

It's pretty easy to post our successes and those moments showcasing ourselves when we come out on top. But how 'bout the rest of our lives? You know, the not-so-successful parts like burnt pancakes, bloated stomachs, crying kids, failed job interviews, the trips and the falls - aka, real everyday life.

The above picture is a screen grab from a video clip I did a few months ago after getting a random email from a lady inquiring if I'd like to audition for an UnderArmour commercial being shot in Calgary. She'd found me via Instagram, and they were looking for local personal trainers to be part of the commercial.

I could immediately think of numerous more fit and athletic personal trainers than me in Calgary, and actually considered writing back to the lady with the contact info for these 10 or so other people. I responded back instead to her email out of sheer curiosity, wondering perhaps if it was a scam and if I should expect a "just send us your credit card number and your bank info and SIN and you'll be all signed up" response. Turns out, it was legit. No request for sketchy money requests. So I made my video based on the audition requirements, submitted it, and told myself I couldn't be disappointed if I didn't get a call back because 24 hours ago being in an UnderArmour commercial had never even crossed my mind as a goal. Ever. Yet suddenly I wanted it. So of course I was disappointed when she emailed a few days later with, "sorry, but I will keep you on file for future spots."

As much as I tried not to I still fell into negative self talk. "I'm not fit enough / strong enough / if I had more time to prepare / eat better / train harder / etc." It probably didn't help that I'd already picked out a bunch of clothes on the UnderArmour website that I might possibly get to wear for the shoot (🙈II know, I know!). What this all turned out to be was a clear and great reminder for me of one of the things I bring up with clients - what are your goals, your values, your priorities? No where on my list of goals is "be in an athletic commercial". Would it be awesome? Of course! You know what else would be awesome? Being a top chef, or breaking a Canadian track record, starting the next equivalent bake shop to Crave Cupcakes, or maybe making the Top 40 under 40 list with a new business. But if I'm not working towards any of those goals every single day like my life depends on it, I absolutely cannot be upset when it doesn't happen.

For me, I value balance - balance between meals out with my husband on the weekend, brunch with my girlfriends, and family birthday dinners and holiday meals but also keeping it real 80%-90% the rest of the time to ensure I'm the healthiest version of myself to be able to do all the things I love to do. Will I get magazine worthy abs out of that? Nope, but I prioritize social time out with friends over being on such a rigid eating regime that I can't even go out for a meal unless I show up with my own tupperware. I have a goal to be a positive role model for my child(ren), being an example of balanced and stress-free eating by letting them see that you can enjoy ice cream on vacation while still being a healthy active person - it doesn't have to be a tug of war between the two. Point is, you cannot be mad at yourself for not having something if your goals, priorities, values, and the action you take based on those things aren't all in line with what you "think" you want. This balance is what works for me, keeps me sane, balanced, and happily able to enjoy all aspects of my life. There's nothing wrong with having goals that do involve tupperware meals or skipping social events to keep to your training and eating plan - but just make sure you are operating in line with your goals, values, and priorities. No matter what those are, if your actions match those, you will be able to look back at the end of each day proud of your actions. But don't beat yourself up for not reaching a goal that you aren't ready to throw yourself into 110% day after day. Be honest with yourself, and match your efforts to the outcomes you want. I guarantee if you look at the areas you're most successful in right now, they are the ones you've put the most time and effort into. Very rarely do we get what we want without hard work, consistency, and a great amount of patience to trust the process.

Try. And be ready to accept failure. Try. And be ready to accept success. In either case, keep moving on. Keep bettering yourself for you. Don't let someone else's opinion of you affect your day for more than 5 minutes - whether for good or bad. Know your worth, and be okay with all parts of you - the strong, the messy, and everything in between. All that real life human stuff.