Alicia Henry | You Only Have One Life
What got you into fitness and working out?
Ever since I was a little girl, I was always playing sports with the boys that lived next to me. From there I started out with things like soccer and swimming, but have tried everything from wrestling to football. As I got older Track and Field and cross country became my passion. From there I learned that working out in the gym can help a lot with improvement in sport, so that’s what got me into it.
How do you find time to balance work, the gym, meal prep, etc?
I work in a gym as a personal trainer. As much as people think that would be easier to balance work, workouts and meal prep, it’s been hard with such long hours. I find what personally works best from me is getting my workouts done in the morning when I have the most energy. For meal prep I find it best to prep for the whole week on Sunday since I always have that day off.
What has been the highlight of your journey?
The highlight of my fitness journey would have been when I ran Canada University Nationals back in 2016 my rookie year. Despite it being my first year, I placed 95 out of about 200 of the best female runners across Canada!
What are your short and long term goals?
My short term goal would be to gain about 12 more pounds while staying lean. I would also like to start running again. My long term goal would be to squat and deadlift 225. I’m currently at 185 for a 1 rep squat max and 200 for deadlift. I only weigh 100 pounds at 5’1, and another goal is bench 100 pounds. I haven’t tested 1 rep max for bench yet. I would also like to beat my half marathon time of 1h36m
How has fitness changed your life?
Fitness has changed my life by giving me goals to strive for. It’s helped reduce my anxiety and depression. It has also kept me away from partying in my high school and university years.
What is your favorite muscle to work out and why?
My favorite muscle to workout is my shoulders and my abs! I love having definition on my stomach, because I feel confident on the beach and also have a goal to keep eating healthy to maintain that look. I also love shoulders! I find the round look of shoulders definitely just makes me look really fit and it’s fun to train
Where do your weaknesses lie?
My weakness for me is definitely mentally. I do have a history of mental health that does definitely does hold me back. I’ve missed workouts, practices and competitions in the past because of it.
What defines health and healthy to you?
Health and wellness is feeling great physically but mentally as well. They go hand and hand. You only have one life and you have to take care of yourself the best you can.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to get into the gym?
For someone just starting the gym I’d say ease into it. A lot of people want to start sleeping 8h hours a night, drinking lots of water, cutting out all the junk food and working out 6-7 days a week to get the best results. If you start out with this mind set you’ll get disappointed when you don’t get results. Results take time, just start going 2-3 days a week. Go consistently then pick one lifestyle to work on at a time. Also, don’t believe everything on the internet. A lot of people aren’t qualified to give fitness advice. Talk to a trained professional that’s certified as a personal trainer and invest in even just a handful of sessions to get off on the right track and reduce your risk of injury. Trust me it’s worth it!
Most women shy away from working upper body because they don’t want to bulk. What advice would you give these women?
Ladies don’t be afraid you’ll bulk up. I’ve been trying to bulk up for years and this is a very hard thing to do. Females do not produce as much testosterone as males and we have a very different genetic make up therefore, it is hard to look bulky. You’d need years of training, loads of food to gain size and substances such as steroids.
What do you think is harder gaining muscle or losing weight?
Gaining muscle and losing weight can be equally as hard. People who are overweight tend to build muscle faster while people who are underweight tend to lose muscle faster or having a hard time to gain muscle (because of a naturally higher metabolism). Ether way whatever body type you’re working with it all comes down to the proper nutrition and workouts for your goals.
What does your diet consist of, and if you had the power to make one junk food healthy which would it be?
My diet consists of protein shakes in the morning with banana, chocolate protein, soy milk and chia seeds. Usually I’ll have some oatmeal or eggs as meal. I eat pretty basic usually just mixed frozen veggies, rice, pork chops and chicken and potatoes or sweet potatoes. I also have a lot of rice cakes, Greek yogurt with berries and protein bars for snacks. If I could make any food healthy it would be pasta! Now that I run less pasta doesn’t burn as fast as it used to.