Wellness By Elin

20/04/2024

You really can’t take me anywhere 😆

Had an amazing time road tripping across the west coast with my Mom last week! Spent most of it upside down…

07/02/2023

I have a confession to make.

I haven’t had a real training session in weeks. Besides climbing, snowboarding, and the odd handstand session in between clients, I haven’t exercised much in the last three months.

To be honest, I don’t really know what my goals are anymore. Last year, I badly wanted to break my strength plateau, and I did. I hired a coach that got me crazy strong. I kicked ass at my first meet… and then I got my ass kicked at the second one.

I’ve been trying to figure out what happened. Why I performed so poorly and burnt out so fast.

The first meet was about more than physical strength. My motivation was overcoming obstacles. Pushing through fear and self doubt. Showing up for myself even during one of the most stressful phases of my life. Channeling my frustrations into my lifts. Realizing my potential.

My motivation for the second meet was… nothing really. I just wanted to beat my previous numbers. I ultimately failed at that goal.

Was it my “why” that was the problem? Did I not have enough drive? Did I not work as hard? Did I not want it bad enough?

Did I just psych myself out? Was it all in my head?

Or was it really the perfect storm? The wrong choice in footwear through most of my training. Decreased appetite and low weight. Busy work schedule. Financial stress. Travel stress. Larger crowd…

The truth is, it was probably all of it. Sometimes everything goes right. Sometimes everything goes wrong. Sometimes some things go right and some things go wrong. That’s life.

One lesson I’ve had to learn over and over in the past few years is to focus on what you can control.

Could I have locked out that last deadlift if I’d eaten more? Probably. Could I have beat (or at least matched) my squat PR if I had stuck with flat shoes? Maybe. Would I be able to squat 300 lbs by now if I hadn’t taken so much time off? Also maybe. None of that matters.

I’m not sure if powerlifting is a forever sport for me. But I love picking up heavy things, and I’m going to keep doing it for as long as I can. Even if I never hit another PR.

This month I’m focusing on balance. Between work and play, between training and rest, and in the literal upside down sense.

19/05/2022

10/09/2020

Downward Dog 🐶 ⁣
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Adho mukha svanasana, is one of the most well known and frequently used asanas in yoga. However, it certainly isn’t the easiest! The deepest expression of this pose requires a significant amount of mobility in the hips and shoulders (check out my previous posts on hip and shoulder mobility!)⁣
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If your down dog looks like the first pic, then you probably have a combination of tight glutes, hamstrings, calves, lats, pecs, and/or delts. Most often, this causes a rounding of the spine. Flip through to see some of my favorite modifications!⁣
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Are there any other poses you want to see a tutorial for? Comment below!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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@ Vancouver, Washington

17/07/2020

Hey guys! Here is the first ! The bench-supported single arm dumbbell row. Have you tried this one? Comment below with any other exercises you want a tutorial on!

09/04/2020

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” - Jimmy Dean⁣
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📸: .photography ⁣
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26/03/2020

Fitness is a huge passion of mine, and I love sharing that passion with others. Personal training has been the most fulfilling and rewarding job that I have ever had, and I feel so lucky to have worked for two amazing gyms, and with some incredible coworkers and clients!

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of the gyms that I train at are closed until further notice. This leaves me without an income, and my clients without a trainer. So, in order to continue helping people reach their potential in health and fitness, I have started offering online personal training!

I don’t sell cookie-cutter programs, quick fixes, or magic pills. Every client that works with me will receive personalized workouts, nutrition guidance, and frequent accountability checks based on their unique abilities, goals, and preferences. If you commit to following my training, I will give you the tools you need to succeed in building a sustainable healthy lifestyle that works for YOU!

If you or anyone you know is in need of fitness guidance during this quarantine, or just in general, please check out my new website! I am offering a 20% discount on all training plans through the month of April when you use the code “2020” at checkout!

I am a NASM certified personal trainer, and my mission is to inspire, motivate, and empower individuals to reach their potential in health and fitness through building confidence and competence in and out of the gym.

13/03/2020

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” - Corrie ten Boom⁣
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08/03/2020

Note to self:⁣
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There are going to be times in your life when you feel like you’re in over your head.⁣
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There are going to be times in your life where you feel like you’re working your ass off and have nothing to show for it. ⁣
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There are going to be times in your life when you feel like you’re climbing a mountain and can’t see the top. ⁣
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One day you will get to the top. But there will always be another mountain to climb. Don’t forget to enjoy the view. ⁣
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📷: .photography ⁣
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11/06/2019

I’ve been falling deeper in love with yoga lately after being frustrated with it for quite some time. It’s so easy to look at all these pictures and videos on Instagram and wish that you were more advanced in your practice. It’s easy to feel like “less of a yogi” when you struggle with kicking up to handstand while another person is doing pike press handstands on the edge of a pool at a yoga retreat in Bali. But yoga is SO much more than a cool pose or a fun workout or a photo opportunity. •
Patanjali’s second sutra reads “yogas citta vritti nirodha”, which roughly translates to “yoga is the stilling of the modifications of the mind”. Modifications, in this case, is meant to represent any thoughts or emotions that pull you away from the present moment. Yoga is not simply a sequence of beautiful postures, it is a moving meditation. It is a method and discipline of quieting the mind in order to experience the reality and the beauty of the present moment. Some of the most blissful moments in my life have been a result of surrendering to a difficult pose, or perfectly linking my breath to a sun salutation, or allowing myself to feel discomfort in an extra long seated meditation. It’s not about attaining perfection, it’s about how you meet with your imperfections. And yoga doesn’t just happen on your mat. •