SMFitness

💙 WHY I COACH

❤️ Still Showing Up.

For over a year, you’ve seen me coaching, training, celebrating my clients and showing up every day.

What most people didn’t see was what I was navigating behind the scenes.

Just over a year ago, I was involved in a car accident that changed my life.

Since then, I’ve been living with a spinal injury, constant pins and needles in my lower leg, and a recovery journey that has challenged me in ways I never imagined.

There have been countless appointments, setbacks, fear, frustration and more tears than I’d care to admit.

I’m incredibly grateful for my family, friends, clients and the people I work with. The ones who knew when to ask if I was okay, and just as importantly, the ones who knew when not to. Their kindness and quiet support have carried me through, and they continue to do so because this journey is far from over.

I’ve never felt the need to share any of this on social media.

Until now.

Because I wasn’t ready.

I needed time to accept that life wasn’t going to look the way I’d planned and to learn how to move forward instead of fighting the reality of my situation.

For a long time, I didn’t want to be seen as the coach who had a car accident. I wanted to keep being the coach who showed up for everyone else.

The truth is, there were plenty of days I went to work when I didn’t feel okay. Coaching gave me purpose. Helping other people kept me going while I was learning how to keep going myself.

This journey has taught me that strength isn’t pretending you’re okay.

It’s having the courage to keep showing up, even when life looks nothing like you planned.

Over the coming weeks and months, I’m going to share this journey honestly, the highs, the lows, the rehab, the setbacks and the lessons I’m still learning.

Not because I’m looking for sympathy.

But because if sharing my story helps even one person feel less alone or reminds someone that progress is still possible, then it’s worth sharing.

This isn’t the end of my story.

It’s simply the part I’m finally ready to let you see.

Because behind every post you’ve seen over the last year…

I’ve still been showing up. 🫶🏻

Most beginners think they can’t do chin-ups because they can’t do reps.

But strength isn’t built in perfect sets…

It’s built one quality rep at a time 😉

🔥 The Reality of Starting Chin-Ups

Lou didn’t start with 8 reps.

She started with:

1 rep → rest 30 sec → 1 rep → rest 30 sec → 1 rep

👉 That is strength training.

🧠 Why Rest–Pause Works So Well for Beginners

For beginners, the problem isn’t effort, it’s capacity.

You can:

Produce 1 good rep

But not sustain multiple reps in a row

Rest–pause fixes that:

👉 It allows you to repeat high-quality reps

👉 Without form breaking down

👉 While still building total volume

So instead of:

1 rep and done ❌

You get:

3–5 strong reps total ✅

💪 Why This Builds Strength Faster

Each single rep is:

Fresh
Controlled
High effort

That means:

👉 Better neural adaptation (you learn the movement faster)

👉 More strength carryover

👉 Less “junk reps”

🔗 Where the OTHER exercises come in

This is the part beginners miss completely:

👉 Chin-ups don’t exist in isolation

All Lou’s progress came from building strength in:

Deadlifts → total posterior chain strength
Rows → upper back thickness + pulling power
Lat work → actual prime movers for chin-ups
Core → stability so force transfers properly

🧩 The TRUTH

“You don’t get better at chin-ups just by doing chin-ups.”

You get better by:

Building the muscles everywhere else
Then expressing that strength in the chin-up

⚖️ Why both matter

Rest–Pause Chin-Ups = Skill + Specific Strength

Accessory Work = Muscle + Capacity

👉 One without the other slows progress

📈 What this looks like over time

Week 1:

1, 1, 1

Week 3–4:

2, 1, 1

Week 6:

3, 2, 1

Eventually:

👉 Those “singles” turn into full sets

Lou is currently 3-1-1

Next phase we will build to 4-2-1 😉

Alex has been a long-term client, and sometimes being a good coach means having the honest conversation, the one that comes from care, not criticism.

Small snacks had slowly been creeping in during the day, and his biggest meal was happening late at night. We set a simple, realistic goal: lose 6–8kg by Christmas.

No pressure.

Just progress.

Not only did Alex hit it 🔥 he went beyond and lost 10kg!!!

The powerful part?

His training didn’t change.

He kept his steps up.

The biggest shifts were in the small, everyday habits.

Instead of cutting snacks completely, we swapped them to green tea and a protein shake instead of mindless snacking (a handful of nuts 🤦🏼‍♀️)

Because it’s hard to remove a habit, but easier to replace it with a better one 😉

And the biggest change of all: eating more earlier in the day and having a smaller dinner.

This wasn’t about doing more. It was about doing things differently.

Small changes. Consistently 🫡

If you’re feeling stuck, let this be your reminder, you don’t need a full reset.

Sometimes, one better choice at a time is enough to move you forward.

(Time frame 1st Sept - 25th December)

“I’ll start Monday” is just comfort talking.

You don’t need a fresh week, month, or year.

You need a decision.

Pick one small thing you can do today a walk, a better meal, more water.

Small changes, done consistently, lead to real results.