BL Member Stories – Sheila Rodriguez Stanley

Sheila has been a member at Body Language Gym for several years now and we are so thrilled to have her as part of our #fitfam! She is the Field Medical Director for a Pharma / Biotech Company and is all about starting where you are and using what you have – especially when it comes to fitness.

As far as her relationship with Body Language goes…it’s simply all about relationships!

“Hands down, my favorite thing about BL is the people. Body Language is an atmosphere that attracts amazing, warm, loving people. As in all organizations, it starts from the top. Haley, owner and expert trainer, is one of the most sincere and caring people I have come across in my life. She has worked with both of my daughters during their HS basketball years, and myself, helping me to re-focus when life tends to pull from so many directions. I see her doing the same for so many. She has also hired like-minded trainers:  Sarah, Matt, Misty, Kris, Rusty, Lauren, Candace……..all of whom exhibit the qualities of genuineness and pure concern for the health and well-being of the members. I feel so lucky to have found this gym home. I’ve made so many friends at BL, and honestly feel like the trainers and members are my fitfam!”

Her favorite exercises to perform alongside the members of her fitfam? She prefers some with some intensity. Ball slams are her favorite with boxing/ hitting the heavy bag, as a close second. She likes how both are equally good cardio / strength / intensity, and as a bonus, she points out that both can also help release a little (or a lot) tension and stress.

“I also love working my back. I’ve been doing some personal strength training with Matt Green, focusing on the basics and proper technique, and I have loved the progress I’m making with barbell rows. It feels good to feel strong!”

Something she’s not so fond of doing? Burpees! She says it kind of goes like this…“I got 99 problems and burpees are every single one of them”. Can anyone relate? That being said, come to terms (sort of) with the fact that they are a great whole-body movement.

Sheila has been a 6am boot camp attendee for many years. “Haley’s bootcamp class works everything, including strength, core, balance and functional movements. Haley always finds new ways to to mix it up. This class has helped me get in good shape overall. It’s been my core fitness routine.”

Haley, Sheila, Sarah, and Kresha at the Edmond Turkey Trot,
November 2018

She’s recently suplemented boot camp with Barre, Spin and Strength classes as her travel allows. In addition, she’s also added strength training 2 days per week with Matt, focusing on the basics: squats, bench press and rows, with other exercises added in. Here’s what Matt had to say about Sheila:

“I have been training Sheila for the last 8 months where she came to me with shoulder impingement pain that was inhibiting her enjoyment of exercise. We started with a more rehab approach to get her shoulder loosened up and stronger, resulting in much less to non-existent pain and increased strength. Since then, we have focused on increasing her overall strength through traditional barbell movements. Sheila has been an extreme pleasure to work with and a dedicated client who has enjoyed everything I have thrown at her, where she always wants more. It makes me extremely happy to have helped her return a quality of life she has not had in years and push her farther than shes ever been before!”

Body Language really is a family affair for Sheila; both of her girls, Hannah and Tayler, have trained with Haley as a means of supplementing their HS basketball drills with more strength moves. Both benefitted from having Haley, a former basketball player herself, train and prepare them for their HS basketball seasons. They continue to periodically train with Haley, as their busy schedules allow.

I’m a very goal-oriented person, and my over-arching goal in life is to be the best that I can be at everything I do. I believe that being fit and feeling good gives me the strength, focus and confidence to achieve other goals that I set for myself, and have helped me pull through some tough times as well. That said, the programs offered at Body Language have been instrumental at helping me stay on track over the years.”

As far as the nutrition side to fitness goes, Sheila has some very specific ideas of what her favorite healthy (and also not so healthy) meal choices are. On a healthy note, she prefers salmon, green veggies, and a salad. The not-so-healthy note? Showing her New Orleans roots, she picks a fried seafood platter with oysters, shrimp, catfish, softshell crab, hush puppies, and coleslaw. (Literally, our mouths are watering…thanks, Sheila…)

Sheila has some great advice for anyone who wants to make a healthy change:

“My advice is to Just Do It! START small, with changing one thing at a time. It’s hard to wrap your head around starting an exercise program AND changing your eating. Start by incorporating one change, for example, increasing exercise, into your day. It may be a 30 min walk at first, graduating to a 45 min walk….then perhaps hiring a fitness professional at BL to train you or give you a program that you can do at home. As far as changing your eating, again, START with one thing, for example, eliminating fried foods, or maybe eliminating fast food. Increase your water intake and stop drinking sugary drinks are a couple of suggestions as well. Then, as you improve, talk to the trainers at BL, who can help you with a food/meal plan, incorporating foods you like into your specific lifestyle/job situation. The key is to START!”

Thanks, Sheila! We love it! And we love you!

Learn more about classes offered at Body Language here. We hope to see you soon!

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