We hope you’ve been inspired this American Heart Month. We certainly are! Our members and employees have taken trials and turned them into triumphs. When we take care of our hearts, we set an example for others and that’s exactly what our next feature has done. We’re happy to introduce you to Chelsea, who has been a member at Oxford since 2021.

After gaining some weight and not doing super well physically, Chelsea’s fiancé expressed his concern for her overall health. That led Chelsea to reevaluate her priorities and start her health journey. She slowly got back into exercising, but faced her biggest challenge which she calls the excuse caboose. After reaching milestones, she faced hitting plateaus and worked to adjust her exercise routine and add resistance so that she could continue her journey with growth.

Chelsea is happy with the milestones she has reached from starting in the morbidly obese category to then dropping into obese and now just overweight. Shopping for new clothes after losing the weight was so exciting for her and showed her that she was truly doing it and making a difference. When talking to Chelsea she said, “Oxford has really supported me in that they made me feel welcome and that is a huge thing when you come into a fitness routine overweight. All the instructors have really shown that they care about me and my journey and have taken time out of their day to just say hello or compliment me or give me advice. All those things have encouraged me to continue coming to this club. I felt so welcome and a part of something.”

At Oxford, Chelsea’s fitness routine consists of aqua aerobics, spinning classes, Les Mills body pump, and a variety of yoga classes. She is thankful for instructors like Roni, Pam, and Mandy for making her feel welcome and cared for, but that’s not all she loves here at Oxford. When discussing our club, Chelsea said, “I love that you guys have a café here, especially with all the healthy food options because I’m a busy girl, I’m on the go. It’s very convenient.”

We asked Chelsea what her best piece of advice is for someone who is just starting their journey and she said to simply stop making excuses. She said when she prioritized fitness, everything else came easily afterwards. Chelsea found that being fit and healthy causes her to feel good and have more energy. She said, “I am able to concentrate more on the other things I need to get done, and I’m more efficient now that I do get up in the morning and go workout. I can then just go on with my day and it’s also a mood booster. The positivity goes a long way for me after I work out.”

After joining our club and starting her health journey, Chelsea’s perspective on nutrition drastically changed. Before she viewed food as a reward system and felt that she could eat unhealthy foods all day because it made her happy, but as she thought about it, she realized she needed to eat to fuel her body and not just to make her feel better. She also realized she could have many other aspects of her personality and still work out.

To Chelsea, American Heart Month is more than just about your heart. She said, “If you have a healthy heart, you have a healthy soul and being.” Her view of fitness and health is that it comes first and everything else comes along with it. She hopes that she can inspire those who have also had mental and emotional journeys with their physical health. She encourages others to just jump on board and start because they’ll be much happier versions of themselves.

Visit Oxford Athletic Club’s YouTube to watch the full video of Chelsea’s journey. We hope that this American Heart Month inspired you to make changes toward a healthier heart.