Holly Edstrom

October 2009 marks the month I became certified as a PTS.  I am enthusiastic and excited to be undertaking this new career endeavour after being in the Business/Accounting sector for over 11 years. 

Growing up I was never that athletic, rather I dedicated myself to school studies and in the process gained alot of weight.  By age 18 I had hit a whopping 225 pounds. I felt sluggish, frumpy and unattractive. I longed to play tennis and go swimming, but my weight stopped me from experiencing so much, because I was embarrassed about the way my body looked and "moved" when doing any sort of physical activity.  By age 24, I had made a decision to loose weight and start living life.  I saw all my friends having fun, and I felt caged in my own body by being overly sensitive to how I would appear in the eyes of others.  None-the-less this feeling of entrapment motivated me to do something about it, and I started hitting the gym.  I got down to 175 pounds within the year, and plateaued there for quite some time.  But I felt much better about myself, and I started doing things with my friends.  At age 26 my best friend was getting married, and I was one of the brides maids!!  Well, this served to motivate me further into overcoming the plateau I had hit, and in three months I reached my goal of 160 pounds that I had set for myself.  And the dress that I had to wear, fit like a dream.  It felt great being slimmer, and that is when the "German" in me came out.  That German tunnel vision and drive - you know the one that never lets you be satisfied with met goals, the one that makes you push it even further...lol.  Well, I was now motivated by how fit I could get, and in the process of weight training and intense cardio training, I discovered that I loved to exercise.  It gave me energy and made me feel like I could do anything. It was then I decided to embark on a career change, and "do" the thing I loved to do most!! And so I set out to become a Personal Trainer through Can-Fit-Pro.  Today I weigh in at a muscular 149 pounds and am loving life.  Next goal??  Fitness modelling!!!  Through all my knowlegede I believe I can reach this goal by March!  I'll let you know the result of that goal at the end of March...haaa! 

Cheers to all of you in the fitness industry, you are all so motivating and so kind :)

Holly