Nicole Gilhuis

Being Lyle Dennis’ daughter, I grew up in a home that loves fitness and healthy eating. However, finding the time to work out and stay in shape has not always been a priority. I am 25 and about to start my PhD in History so as you can guess, school is important to me and takes up a lot of my time. In the past, my pattern has been to work out and feel great in the summer months but as soon as the books come out I would get consumed in the work and feel I didn’t have the time to work out. When I finished my masters and came home I was excited to get out of the library and back to the gym… and getting engaged that fall was another push to get focused so I could look great for my wedding! After my engagement my dad talked to me about my body and what I wanted it to look like. He challenged me to do the hockey camp that summer and he would build the body I wanted. That was the best decision I made about my fitness! He made every day more challenging and made me dig deep to find within myself the strength and confidence to do what was asked of me. My dad has always been my biggest supporter and I could always hear his voice when I go through challenging things, hearing him encouraging me and training with him was no different. I surprised myself at the abilities I had. I believed him when he told me I could do something and felt safe to push the boundaries in myself because he was there encouraging me through every phase of my transformation. I didn’t try to be the best out there because my goals were different and my dad altered my workouts to suit my goals. But I tried every day to beat the performance I did the day before and raise the bar higher. My dad taught me to always bet on yourself and watching my body rise to the challenge was so rewarding. Not only was my body changing dramatically, but I was no longer intimidated by what others could lift because I was working to my fullest and progressing. He showed me that fitness can find you wherever you are when you start trying. He taught me you can be the best YOU that day and that is worth more than the person who stagnates because he/she feels they are fit enough. I no longer feel satisfied in having a good workout; I want to have my best work out!

I love the way I look but more than that I feel good in my skin and feel able to tackle any challenge that is put before me. It may sound crazy but whenever I had to challenge myself and push the boundaries of what I thought I could do it taught me that all the limitations I put on myself are not real. My dad taught me that if I want to achieve something in life it’s about focusing my energy on that and believing it’s possible. Through that I learned that fitness is not a deadline or a hobby, true fitness is a lifestyle and even a mindset.

Over the course of the year, my body changed completely. Before, I was that skinny fat girl who, although she was small, had no muscle definition and little strength. Over the year my diet was good for the most part but I still enjoyed desert at the wedding showers, brunches and cake tastings, but made sure to work that much harder the next workout. My lean body weight has never been better and I lost 3 inches on my chest, 4.5 inches on my hips and 5.5 inches on my waist!! I get compliments all the time about my curvy athletic frame. He tailored my workouts to emphasize the curves that I wanted, like bust and butt, while toning my waist, arms and legs. I felt so glad that the dress I got had a lace up back because my waist was smaller at every fitting. In fact, on the day of my wedding the laces were a bit loose because my waist was so small! He definitely kept his word and I now have gorgeous wedding pictures that I will look back on in years to come and love the way I look in them! Thank you dad!