One primary goal of this blog is to bring attention to the Infant Mortality Rate, but equally as important is our desire to share tips and information about living a healthy lifestyle. From time to time, we’ll have an interview with a health, fitness, or medical expert and get “deep” into the how, when, and why questions all of us have when it comes to diet, exercise, and wellness. Today, we have our very first interview with nurse & fitness extraordinaire, Allison Click.
Lets start out by getting a little information for our readers. Where did you grow up and where do you live?
I grew up in Arlington, TX and I now live in Midlothian, TX
How long have you been a nurse and how long have you been a group x instructor, and where do you teach?
I have been a nurse for 12 years. I work at Baylor University Medical
Center in the Trauma ICU. I have been teaching group X for 5 years.
I started out teaching Cycle classes and now teach BodyPump,
Turbokickboxing, Boot Camp, Nike Training, and soon to teach Yoga
(after my official training in May!!) I teach at 24Hours in Cedar Hill and
Mansfield.
Wow! With such an active schedule, you must love what you do. What led you to nursing? What led you to teach?
I began my love for the medical field in college when I took an EMT
(Emergency Medical Technician) class. I began working in the local
Emergency Room as a tech, thinking that I would pursue a degree in
medicine to be a doctor. I quickly realized that it was the nurses
that did the majority of the work and were the ones that had all of
the interaction with the patients and their families. I love caring
for people and helping them recover from injury. Plus, I am drawn to
blood and guts – gross but true! 
I began teaching group x after another instructor made me. Seriously,
she made me! I had been attending cycle classes 4-5x/week and she came
to me and told me I needed to be teaching. After that she wouldn’t
leave me alone until I agreed to try a training session. After I got
over the fear of the microphone, I was hooked! Since that first cycle
class I have been constantly wanting to add more classes to my resume!
I can definitely relate to being hooked on cycling, there’s not as much blood and guts, but I’m not complaining! How do you see the future of wellness coaching?
I see this exploding faster and faster in the near future. With the
obesity crisis in this country and all of the media attached to it,
people can not help but be aware of the epidemic and begin to do
something to change it. Most individuals want to change but don’t
know where to begin. Wellness coaching is where it all starts.
How do you deal with your own self-defeating behaviors? Do you feel more pressure as a nurse and fitness instructor to “walk the walk”?
I do feel a slight pressure to walk the walk but more importantly, I
WANT to walk the walk. I am inspired each and every day from the
members that take my classes and want to be better in their daily
lives. I am not perfect, never have been, never will be. I just want
to be happy with my body and my life. I try to preach that too. There
is always room for improvement.
That’s a great philosophy to live by. I know I’m only perfect at being imperfect, and that’s always reinforced when I visit my Dr. If you read the news it sounds like primary care is a thing of the past and the new idea is to focus on wellness care. Do you think people are transitioning from reactive care to proactive care?
No! The general public is still in the fix it now phase of their
health. They are still using the emergency department as their
primary means of healthcare and not carrying health insurance. I know
the information is out there, but the vast majority are having
difficulty getting on board because they don’t have the means to get
on board. The insurance companies are the biggest supporters of
wellness care, but if you don’t have insurance, how do you know where
to begin?
I never looked at it from that perspective. You’re right, it would be hard for a lot of people to get on the wellness train. What tips can you share for someone who would like to be proactive with his/her health?
1) Take everything minute by minute. Not even day by day. If you eat a
horrible lunch, don’t be defeated and say “I’ll start better
tomorrow”. Start better at dinner!
2) Move more. You don’t have to “work out” everyday. Take the stairs,
park farther away from the store, jog in place during commercial
breaks on TV. There are so many simple ways to move more without
being crazy about it.
3) Remember that your body is 70-80% created in the kitchen. Exercise is
important but water and food intake count the most! DRINK MORE
WATER!!!!!!
I think you hit the nail square on it’s head with your three points. Someone told me recently that she didn’t like to drink water and I’ve read that lifestyle-induced chronic diseases are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 3 adults is obese, 43 million adults smoke, and 25.8 million suffer from diabetes mellitus. So it is true that what we are doing and dying of is largely related to lifestyle. Do you think the general public accepts that a big part of the health crisis is related to lifestyle?
I think the general public thinks that hospitals can fix all of your
problems. Although healthcare is more and more superior every year,
there is no way that the medical profession can fix everything.
Especially if you have been bad to your body for a multitude of
years.
What lifestyle changes would you suggest for someone looking to improve his/her health?
Don’t drink alcohol, don’t smoke cigarettes, drink more water, stay
away from fried foods, move more. It’s not rocket science, its about
choices and control.
Once again you’re right, it’s not rocket science and with a little discipline amazing things can happen. I know everyone checking out this blog will appreciate the information and advice. I’m certain some folks are going to checkout your classes so, can you let us know your class times and location again?
24 Hour Fitness Bodypump: Monday Cedar Hill 6pm, Tuesday/Thursday Cedar Hill 9:30am, Wedensday in Mansfield 4:30pm
My first Nike Training Club class is on March 31!!
Thanks for wanting my input on healthy living, and thanks for allowing
me to be a part of your mission and journey! Best of luck on achieving
all of your goals!!!
Thank you for your support. Time is ticking and we’re getting close to the kick-off date for iRide4Shiloh. We’ll break out the bike for a ride this upcoming weekend at the Beauty & the Beast rally and race down in the sweet woods of Tyler Texas.
- Low Cost Wellness Strategies (notsocorporatewellness.wordpress.com)
iride4shiloh
vivistarr
