As a girl, I hated sports; I would get my mother to sign papers that excused me from gym class in elementary and high school. I was always a little on the heavy side, but not overly so. I was happy with my body. But over time, my weight slowly increased without me really noticing; until the day that I realized I weighed in at 250 pounds.
That was when I decided to get myself into shape. I was working for Gameloft then, a company located in the same building as the St-Denis Énergie Cardio branch. The company had corporate rates with Énergie Cardio, which I took advantage of as I started on my adventure.
I still remember my first workouts. No matter how many hours I spent on the elliptical machine, nothing seemed to work. That was when I discovered group classes. I’ll always remember my first LesMills BODYPUMP class; right in the middle of the squat segment, I had to give up. I didn’t think that I’d ever be successful, but I kept going back and I ended up developing a passion for LesMills BODYPUMP, as well as other classes like LesMills CXWORX and Boot Camp. During the first year I lost 80 pounds and continued to lose another 50 over the following years. I’ve maintained a stable weight for the past 4 years and working out is now a part of my daily life.
What’s more, I became a group class instructor myself, so that I could share my passion. I now teach LesMills BODYPUMP, LesMills CXWORX and Boot Camp classes at several Énergie Cardio locations. I love what I do, I love this lifestyle; I couldn’t imagine living without these classes!
- Sophie Paquette.
