Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself or something that would surprise us.
I am a native Houstonian, grew up in West U and attended college in Brooklyn, NY. where I studied painting at Pratt Institute. I married my wonderful and supportive husband 5 years ago and we have a 1.5 year old daughter, Ardemis. Before I became a stay-at-home mom (2 years ago), I taught art at several schools in the Houston area including the MFAH Glassell School and had a few exhibitions, including a solo-exhibit. Art is a big part of who I am, I have been creating art since I can remember, but I have taken a little break from it to raise Ardemis. I now live in the Cypress area but we have dreams of moving further out to of town to own some land, to expand our vegetable garden, raise some chickens and maybe a cow or two.
I guess something people wouldn’t be able to guess about me is that I enjoy riding motorcycles and ATV’s with my husband. I love animals and for many years I was involved in dog rescue and fostering. Also, I am first generation American-Armenian, and I love to travel, I think the coolest places I have visited was Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
How and when were you introduced to Behemoth?
I was fortunate enough to meet Leah and Aja through the Katy Birth Center. After I had my daughter I needed help losing some serious postpartum weight, so I joined the 4-week Postpartum Series with Leah and Birthfit. I had no idea that the Birthfit series would change the course of my health and fitness in a way that I couldn’t have imagined. I am so glad I took that leap of faith and found a new strength and motivation that I struggled to maintain in the past. So a 4-week class turned into a year of BirthFit classes and then I joined Behemoth Gym, 7 months in and I am loving every minute of it, well except the burpees.
What are you most proud of, physically, mentally or both since beginning with us?
Since beginning at Behemoth I am most proud that I am setting a healthy lifestyle example for my daughter. That I am breaking the cycle of poor health and weight issues in my family. My daughter is my motivation, I am proud that I am setting an example of self-love and self-care that will hopefully inspire her choices in life. I want her to know the real meaning of health and not fall into the generational pattern of unhealthy choices, such as poor diet, medicine dependency and sedentary lifestyle.
What has been your biggest, yet most rewarding obstacle to overcome, whether in the gym or on your health journey to date?
My biggest obstacle has been my mental endurance, the wanting to throw in the towel because it is getting too hard or I am not fit enough mindset. But, it is most rewarding when I see a beast of a workout and I attack it, it reassures me that I need to keep going and to keep seeing the gains. In the past I could only maintain a workout regime for a few months max, but this has been the longest I have stayed committed to a workout routine and I am damn proud of myself. There is no turning back.
Why Behemoth?
I have had personal trainers in the past, I have done the group classes at big box gyms but nothing has engaged and motivated me more than Behemoth Gym. I love the energy, the community, and the training is top notch! I am so fortunate I found Behemoth when I did.
What next? What are you excited about pursuing here in the future?
I am excited to see myself do more things that I never thought I could physically! I want to keep getting stronger and build my endurance even more! I see how far I have come already and I am excited to see where I can take it.
“3, 2, 1…Go” Mad Lib section
-My favorite lift (movement) is… barbell back squat.
-My most frequent class I come to is… Monday or Wednesday at 6pm.
-I have always wanted to… do a full pull-up, I will get there eventually.
-When I’m not crushing weights, my favorite thing to do is… create art, cook healthy meals and play with my daughter.
-If I could make ANY of the Behemoth coaches do 100 burpees it would be… I have too much love for the coaches to make them do that, but if I had to pick I guess it would be Leah, since she has been training me the longest, sorry Leah.
-Favorite “application of fitness” outside of the gym is…Walking or hiking with a good chat buddy.
-Favorite band/genre/Pandora station to workout to is… AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Linkin Park or any high energy rock music.
-Beast mode engaged when this song comes on…AC/DC Back in Black.
