In this month’s member spotlight, we celebrate one of our long-term members Shirlie Williamson, but sadly we also bid her a farewell as she entered that retirement lifestyle this week.
Shirlie has been a member on and off for 15 years and coming consistently for over 5 years and becoming a familiar face around the club with a legendary laugh. Before the Covid protocols hit, she was attending our barre and Thursday dance classes, while also getting some weightlifting in once a week by herself and once a week with a trainer.
The biggest difference we saw in Shirlie during her time at Purdy’s is how much her confidence grew, especially in the weight room. Like a lot of people, Shirlie started off with a lot of self-doubts and was hesitant about trying new exercises. But after being pushed a little during her personal training sessions, she began to realize what she was capable of. She’s also comfortable enough now to go into the weight room and put together her own routines.
“I am much stronger than I was, but I think the biggest difference is my attitude. I now like to exercise and miss it when I don’t work out for a few days”, she tells us.
Along the way, Shirlie also learned the importance of pushing herself to achieve results, “I like to challenge myself to lift heavier weights or to increase reps. I love the feeling of accomplishment after finishing an exercise I find really difficult.”
Sometimes the difference between liking and dreading the gym is just a matter of finding something you enjoy and understanding the importance of doing it.
“I like to lift weights. I think it is very important, especially for women as they get older, to keep up their muscle strength, not to mention increase bone density.”
We asked Shirlie before she departs PWFC, what would her advice be to someone who is new to the club and she provided 2 great pieces of advice;
” Number one, don’t worry about other people watching you. They are mostly too busy doing their own thing and you really don’t know what they are thinking when they look at you. A couple of times after doing what I thought was not a great workout I’ve had women in the locker room tell me how much I inspired them. Just do your best.”
“And two, hire a personal trainer. Dominic kept me coming back to the gym long after I would have, in the past, quit. He challenges me to do things I always thought were beyond my abilities and he is very encouraging.”
We watched Shirlie make great strides in her fitness journey over the years and we wish her the best in the future and hope she continues to kill her workouts from home. We will miss you!
https://youtube.com/shorts/-gVvfrMJsA0
In this month’s member spotlight, we celebrate one of our long-term members Shirlie Williamson, but sadly we also bid her a farewell as she entered that retirement lifestyle this week.
Shirlie has been a member on and off for 15 years and coming consistently for over 5 years and becoming a familiar face around the club with a legendary laugh. Before the Covid protocols hit, she was attending our barre and Thursday dance classes, while also getting some weightlifting in once a week by herself and once a week with a trainer.
The biggest difference we saw in Shirlie during her time at Purdy’s is how much her confidence grew, especially in the weight room. Like a lot of people, Shirlie started off with a lot of self-doubts and was hesitant about trying new exercises. But after being pushed a little during her personal training sessions, she began to realize what she was capable of. She’s also comfortable enough now to go into the weight room and put together her own routines.
“I am much stronger than I was, but I think the biggest difference is my attitude. I now like to exercise and miss it when I don’t work out for a few days”, she tells us.
Along the way, Shirlie also learned the importance of pushing herself to achieve results, “I like to challenge myself to lift heavier weights or to increase reps. I love the feeling of accomplishment after finishing an exercise I find really difficult.”
Sometimes the difference between liking and dreading the gym is just a matter of finding something you enjoy and understanding the importance of doing it.
“I like to lift weights. I think it is very important, especially for women as they get older, to keep up their muscle strength, not to mention increase bone density.”
We asked Shirlie before she departs PWFC, what would her advice be to someone who is new to the club and she provided 2 great pieces of advice;
” Number one, don’t worry about other people watching you. They are mostly too busy doing their own thing and you really don’t know what they are thinking when they look at you. A couple of times after doing what I thought was not a great workout I’ve had women in the locker room tell me how much I inspired them. Just do your best.”
“And two, hire a personal trainer. Dominic kept me coming back to the gym long after I would have, in the past, quit. He challenges me to do things I always thought were beyond my abilities and he is very encouraging.”
We watched Shirlie make great strides in her fitness journey over the years and we wish her the best in the future and hope she continues to kill her workouts from home. We will miss you!
