This week I had the pleasure of joining our Inspirational Member of the Month, Gemma Loomans in her home gym. It's clear to see why Gemma is our Inspirational woman for July. Enjoy our Q & A with Gemma!
Q. Tell us about yourself Gemma…
A. I’m 31, a mum of 6 (3 human children, and 3 dog children), a wife, and honestly wherever the snack table is, is where you will find me. I was born in Brisbane, and raised in Melbourne. I met my now husband Damian during a weekend away at The Bool. Together, we have a 3-year-old daughter Sunny, and twin boys Fox and Tully that just celebrated their first birthday. We’ve had many adventures, from the wineries of Tuscany to the peaks of the Himalayas, but Warrnambool is my favourite place in the world. My job at the moment is predominantly at home as a mum. Outside of bottles, bums and filling my camera up with 10,000 pictures of my children, I work out of the house as a personal trainer, and do the HR/Marketing for our business, Southwest Dairy Services.
Q. What's your outlook on health? Why do you exercise?
A. My outlook on health, is much like my outlook on life. Life is just a big juicy fruit, waiting to be squeezed. It doesn’t last forever, and you can let it sit on the bench untouched to go mouldy, or you can suck as much juice out of it as possible. Fitness is the fridge you put the piece of fruit in to make it last a bit longer.
Q. Tell us about your own health and fitness challenges:
A. At the age of 25, I was diagnosed with Endometriosis and PCOS, after years of being dismissed by doctors and told that my pain was ‘normal’. Plot twist, it isn’t normal. My journey with endo will be a lifelong one, and I am currently waiting to see a specialist in Melbourne for another surgery. Being open about my endo has helped me connect with many other women that are either newly diagnosed or suspect they have it too and steer them in the direction of how to get help. There is power in community, and I can help just one person feel less alone in their journey, then I am happy.
Q. Why do you exercise?
A. I exercise mainly because of how it makes me feel. It is empowering to lift more than your body weight. It is empowering, as a mum of 3 to compete in a weightlifting competition. Fitness is something you cannot buy, fake, or cheat your way to obtaining. It is solely gained through consistency, determination, and challenging yourself. I love that. I love that my kids, particularly my daughter are growing up in an environment where going to the gym is just part of their day, not a chore, or a punishment.
Q. How do you juggle family life, and business, and find time? It can be a juggle. What's your secret?
A. How do I juggle, oh how do I juggle. Not very well! It all looks good on the gram, but I’m sure we are all having the same struggles. My typical day starts at around 5am, and finishes at around 8pm. For me, mindset is the biggest factor. If you choose to have a good day, you’ll have a good day. If you choose to focus on the rain, you’re going to notice more puddles. Fitting in my workouts doesn’t always work the way I would like, but if I am short on time I will just do a quick wizz-through of dynamic movements (exercises that use more than one muscle at a time). That way, even if I can only hit 4 exercises in say, 20 minutes I know I’ve still done something beneficial.
Q. What do you love to do outside of the gym?
A. Outside of the gym, you’ll mainly catch me either cooking food, or eating food haha! My favourite thing to do in the world, and when I am at my happiest, is when I’m sitting around a table eating a beautiful meal with my friends and family. There is nothing better.
Q. What do you see in the future for your health and fitness goals?
A. For my future health and fitness goals, I would love to compete in a few more weightlifting/Crossfit comps and keep training for my old lady body. I think we should all shift gears from training to look good, to feel good. Lift weights and get our heart rates up to be functional, healthy, strong, densely-boned dudes rocking our grey hair as we get older.
Q. How do you feel about being a role model? So many women would look up to you!
A. I don’t know how I feel about being a role model! Very honoured and very bashful haha. I hope that I set an example to others that the cards you are dealt don’t need to determine the projectory of your life. Shit things happen, but the world keeps on turning. We’re only on this floating rock for such a short time, so let's make the most of it.
Here's Gemmas Leg Workout to try
-Warm up with some band wotsie-totsies (band exercises) and normally a lighter set of all the exercises.
Super setting the exercises together in 3-4 sets of 10-12 (takes roughly 35min)
-barbell back squats
-static lunges
-leg press
-deadlift
-seated back squats
-curtsey lunge
-hip thrusts to polish off the glutes
Leave a comment