How I turned a set-back into a six pack

From an early age my parents supported my participation in various sports, as a result, I gained confidence in my physical abilities and loved how it felt to be “in my body”.  I also came with lots of energy, which  earned me the nickname, “superchunk”, my dad said was after his favorite energy bar.

My sense of security in my body was crushed one day when an excruciating pain shot through my hips and back causing me to fall down to the floor.  It felt like a lightning bolt hit me, and I couldn’t stand up. Thoughts raced through my mind and I heard them say, “is this permanent? Will I ever run or walk again?

The MRI showed herniated and bulging discs impinging nerve roots at L3, L4 and L5. I was given cortisone injections, topical pain relievers, NSAIDs, a back brace and ice baths to deal with the pain.  I played under a high pain tolerance for four years of college basketball, and the treatments only masked the pain.  I changed my major from pre-med to business communication, to reduce stress by having to balance both athletic and academic scholarships to get my college education.

After college, I was accepted by the Jesuit Volunteer Corp to serve as the legal assistant for a housing attorney in San Francisco, CA. During my year in the JVC, I fell in love with San Francisco’s fitness and healthy living culture, so when my year of service ended, I took an opportunity to work as a Physical Therapy Aide with Presidio Sport and Medicine. As a PTAide I absorbed vast amounts of knowledge and experience about physical rehabilitation, corrective exercise, yoga and pilates.  I gained more insight as to how my back injury may have occurred and most importantly how to strengthen my intrinsic core musculature to support spinal stability fo life.  Working at the physical therapy clinic gave me experience I still utilize with clients today.  I started working for myself in 2005, I did personal training, lead outdoor group exercise classes and did Swedish massage.  I wanted to take my experience in fitness and bring it back to sports, especially female basketball players, who would benefit from learning to “workout smarter, not harder” to prevent injury.

I earned a Master’s degree in Sport Management while I worked full-time for Michael Johnson (3-time Olympic Gold Medallist).  I continued leading bootcamp fitness classes, did personal training, and massage therapy. When my work with MJ ended, I was hired full-time as the Health and Fitness Manager of OnLok’s 30th Street Senior Center. A year later, I was offered the opportunity to become the new owner of “Workout on the Hill”, an outdoor bootcamp company. I enjoyed learning more about a completely different niche, the older adults (60years and older), some of who were self-managing chronic diseases. My ambition led me to these opportunities of gathering more knowledge and experience, but I eventually had to learn one of my greatest lessons about work-life balance, and Michael said it best, “You are doing too much Elaine, you have to focus your energy and choose one thing to be excellent.”

In 2011, I hit my “rock bottom” from the stress in my lifestyle. The day I received a call from my doctor suggesting I have an “Emergency Surgery.” I knew my physical body required more of my focused attention to restore balance. I sought second opinions, (actually 8 second opinions) but every doctor told me I needed surgery. The idea of surgery felt like it was going against every cell in my body, so even though doctors would say one thing, when I listened to my body, it was telling me to seek alternative solutions. So, I stopped working, and started my deepest quest for harmonizing health in my body. I listened to my back pain teacher and developed better life-skills to manage the highest stressors in my life. I realized I had to prioritize things and develop healthy boundaries for improving my work-life balance. I implemented consistent spiritual practices to stay grounded during a time of uncertainty and intangible results.

The turning point came when I enrolled in the CHEK Institute advanced education program for Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching. The HLC level 1 program helped me change my nutrition, exercise and lifestyle habits immediately. I noticed significant reduction in my pain and increase in my functional movement. I was hooked, so I enrolled into the Exercise Coach program and the subsequent HLC levels 2 and 3. Empowered by lifestyle habits that helped me prevent pain, manage stress and restore optimal health and fitness changed my life!

When I walked into the neurosurgeon’s office, he was amazed that I was smiling and walking so well under the physical condition I had been diagnosed with and the severe disc derangement he saw on the MRI. The words that came out of his mouth were an answer to my prayers. He said, “If you were my daughter, I would not do surgery, but it’s up to you.”  With that, I said, “consider me your daughter,” and I left his office with a smile that I still carry on my face today, as I continue my journey of applying holistic health and fitness principles in rehabilitation and gaining strength in my body to achieve greater levels of stability and endurance for an active lifestyle.

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