Invictus Helped Me Use DEXA to See Results
Written by Invictus Member Mary Loeb
I’m an attorney in Downtown San Diego. I think I joined Invictus around 2009-2010, at the urging of my husband. We had recently moved to San Diego, and I had not had a regular fitness routine for some time. I didn’t want to join a regular gym, and I had never, and I mean never, been one to do any sort of fitness class! No aerobics, no kickboxing, no Zumba…nada. Never liked them – until CrossFit.
How I Fell in Love with Invictus
I have to be honest…I was not one of those people that was addicted right away. After my two-week intro, I was not sure it was for me. I had never done anything like it before and I was so sore!! But, very slowly, I started coming more and more. I did a couple years of semi-private coaching with Nichole, and that is what really kept me going. Every new skill I acquired felt like such an accomplishment! I still remember my first strict pull-up and Nichole ringing that bell for me. Everyone at Invictus is so supportive! Throughout the years I have broken both of my feet and had one surgery. None of that stopped me from coming to the gym because the coaches always helped me modify as necessary, and they still do even though sometimes now it is the intensity if I’ve had a particularly stressful day or week.
Stepping Off the Scale into Something New
After a few years at Invictus, I tried DEXA because I wanted to know more about my body composition than the scale could tell me. Before I joined Invictus in 2009 (I think that was the year), I wasn’t really thinking about fitness and body composition. I just cared about the number on the scale. But after a couple years of CrossFit, the number on the scale kept going up! That kind of bothered me, so I just stopped weighing myself. I knew my pants size wasn’t necessarily getting bigger, so the scale didn’t matter anymore. Enter DEXA.
A year or so ago, Invictus was doing one of its 8-week fitness challenges so I signed up and got my first DEXA. They frequently bring in outside services that align with and support members’ health and fitness goals and needs which is one of the added benefits to members that I love. I then focused on not only regular gym attendance, but also my nutrition.
Community of Support
Coach Michele helped out a ton! I kept a food log for a few days and she went over it with me a gave me few thumbs up or down on my choices and we talked about how to implement the suggestions I decided to go with. I actually really liked that she made “suggestions”, let me decide what would work best for me, and then help me with a plan to implement it all. It was nice to know that she wasn’t just giving me a blanket prescription but really cared about tailoring it for my needs. At the end of eight weeks I got another DEXA and could really see in numbers what the scale couldn’t tell me – my weight gain was lean muscle. Invictus also helped me understand the results. It was very affirming.
Lately, my work schedule has been pretty hectic, so I’ve been bouncing around from class to class. There’s a great group of women from my office who do the noon class Downtown, so I try to come with them. We carpool, although I know a couple of them have been known to run the mile or so to the gym and if we have to slip in late or leave early, the coaches understand and are great about accommodating us while keeping us safe (like if we have to miss the group warm-up). If I don’t make noon, I can try to catch a late afternoon class either Downtown or Point Loma. I have also been known to do the 6am class in very desperate times.
Editor’s Note:
We love members like Mary who are always striving to not only be their best! Not only does Mary reach out when she’s in need of educational resources, a goal setting consult or modifications – she also makes it a point to chat with her coaches about how to implement her new findings into her busy lifestyle, which can look different for every person. DEXA was something new to most members when we first invited their mobile unit to the gym but Mary was one of the first to jump in and try it after she learned it is one of the most accurate ways to measure body composition.
Join Us for a DEXA Scan!
We’d like to invite you to jump in on a DEXA scan too! This is your opportunity to gain access to the most thoroughly and scientifically validated, comprehensive technique for quantifying your total body composition. It’s a quick 5 – 10 minute, head-to-toe, fully clothed full-body scan where you lay comfortably on your back.
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