I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. And I did OK. Well,  sort of…but as our son wheeled himself across the stage to accept his graduation certificate, I could feel them fill my eyes. Then when he received the Spirit Award for Courage, the tears started to spill over. Then his Valedictorian speech…well, we were all a wet mess by then! 

On Wednesday evening, over 100 young adults received their Dogwood Certificate at the Parkland’s Graduation Ceremony at UVic. The room was filled with parents, siblings, friends and supporters, all working hard to hold back the tears. I was in good company.

Thirteen years ago when our son was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the thought of him graduating seemed incomprehensible….I simply couldn’t contemplate it. I was awash in grief and fear, wondering what the future held. Then as we saw our son’s abilities diminish year after year, and as we struggled to create yet another ‘new normal’ every year, we faltered in our resolve. Who wouldn’t? But the journey continued, despite our silent protests and prayers.

But Wednesday night, when we watched Tristan cross that stage wearing the widest grin on his face, I said a silent thank you to above, for allowing us to be right there, right then, in that moment. And a sense of peace flowed through me: this is why we’re here, to enjoy the now. It was enough.

Our family has learned that it is a choice of where we put our attention: on future fears, the ‘what if’s, and the ‘why’s. Useless, really. There are no answers. And do we need them anyway? Searching and wondering is wasting precious time. So we learned to accept what is, and to live in the light of the moment. It has been my greatest lesson, and the greatest gift of all. No resistance. Let go. Accept what is…and move on.

None of us knows that the future holds, but a select few of us, our family included, has the inside scoop on things, and we live it every day. We no longer live in fear or grief, because it is simply a waste of time. Time waits for no one. So stop looking for answers. Stop pointing to the negative. Start now, today, and look to the light. Because darkness is not its own entity, it is merely the absence of light. It cannot co-exist when the light is on. So make that choice: turn on your own light in your own lives.

This, and other simple things, is what our son has taught us.

Love Karen, Neil and Tristan

It’s always sad when my 10-Week Best Shape Challenge finishes up. After 10 weeks, I feel like I’ve really come to know each woman in her own unique way, and they all bring something different to the Challenge. (My favourite part of the Challenge is when I do our one-on-one coaching calls, and I really learn just how different, yet the same, we all are!). 

What are the reasons women dive into the Challenge? Some women have fallen off course with their health plan and really need a structured program to get them back on their feet again. Others are confused about all the information out there and want to clear the air. Still others can’t commit to a set time in the gym and pay the fees of a trainer, and so an on-line program suits their time constraints and their pocket book. And others are trying to reverse the signs of ageing (yes, you CAN reverse it!) and reclaim their health and their bodies once and for all.

Regardless, what I know to be true is this: no matter where you are in life, no matter your challenges or health issues, there is always a different road available to you. Maybe not now, but somewhere, out there, on the distant horizon, lies your chance. And in that moment, when you say, ‘yes’ to re-claiming your life, the Universe will conspire to bring it on!

Many thanks to all you brave women who broke out of your comfort zone and dared to step into your potential! And you’ve found a new tribe….and we’re waiting in the wings to help support you. Because we all know that the world is not set up for healthy living, and  we must take the reins ourselves and carve out a new way.

And that’s why we call ourselves Warrior Women!

Karen

PS Challenger ladies, don’t forget to test-drive your free Healthy Living Program E-Workout for June, and check out the HLP Lesson tabs (along the top of the page) that includes your monthly coaching call, interview, Tips video, recipes and more!  Because getting to your fitness goal is one thing…staying there is another! Let’s keep the momentum! (If you didn’t get your June HLP Workout Card, email me!)

“Thank you Karen. I had no idea what an on-line program was all about. I assumed it was just getting a workout card and emails from you…so much more! And tons of support, and always from you directly! I am lighter, brighter and feeling great!”  – Melissa M, Alberta

“The Challenge was just what I needed! Down 11 pounds and loving the skin I’m in! Finally!” – Sandy B, Vancouver.

The next Challenge starts in the FALL! See you then!

In Week 8 of the 10-Week Best Shape Challenge, we are looking at the Law of Attraction and how it works in your life. What does this have to do with physical fitness and health, you ask?

In a nutshell, everything. Well, almost everything (you still gotta lift that iron yourself…you can’t manifest muscle!). But this is where some women get stuck – life happens to you, some things are not within your control, some things just are.

Sure, this is true, but I don’t believe we are in a position to say which events this is true for. But I do believe that the concrete world – your finances, your earthly possessions – all fall under the rule of the Law. So for me, when I thought about building a small fitness studio on my yet-to-be home on Vancouver Island, I called in The Law.

For 8 years, I envisioned my studio. Heck, I even have the small brown napkin I penned my plan on 8 long years ago, while living in Ottawa, Ontario. I was sick, depressed, and my son had just been diagnosed with a devastating disease. I couldn’t work, no family around…very tough times.

I knew that I needed to move forward in some small way, to start to create a hopeful feeling in my body, to feel excited about life again, amidst terrible odds. So one night, I sat down and drew out what I wanted for my work future, on a brown napkin (I’d show it to you but there is a 4-part plan on it, and well, I’d just as soon leave it private…helps me to stay more focused). I had no idea how it was to transpire, given our dire circumstance (I’ve learned that it’s not my job to have the ‘how’ figured out. In fact, that halts the whole magical process.)

Here I am, 8 years later, with an active online health and fitness business (Part 1), and a great new training facility that I have opened up to small groups of women on my amazing property here, on Vancouver Island (Part 2). Parts 3 and 4 will also unfold…it can’t NOT unfold, if I keep the focus…

Studio 8 is rockin’! And I’m loving it. And so are my clients! It’s a true testament to the envisioning process, and to the continual action of focus and faith, and yes, there was hard work involved (these things don’t just fall out of the sky, you know!). You gotta meet the Universe half way, I always say.

With over 100 women on my on-line fitness programs, I’m living proof, and so are they, that online CAN be a great way to train (and emailing a workout and email support is NOT what I call an on-line program…sorry, I call that an email program. For our HLP gals, we have audios, videos, recipes, seminars, webinars and more!). And now I can branch out to those women that would prefer the in-gym experience, because for those women, they want and need the in-class continuity. So now I’ve reached both types of clients. Cool!

Whatever your goals, know that you need to start the envisioning process, and take action on it every second of every day. Don’t just wish for it (that’s a sure-fire way to NOT get what you want), walk and live like you already have it! And voila! In time, you will (let go of the ‘how’ too. It’s not your business!). Me and the clients I have in my Women on Weights classes are living proof of that!

Many thanks to Menuccia, Nancy, Brenda, and Alison (pictured above), and to my evening class mates- Christine, Heather, Samantha and Liz for showing up every week to our new digs here at Studio 8! Let’s keep on rockin’!

Karen
PS For more info or to inquire about our classes, please CLICK HERE!

This past weekend, 3 lovely clients of mine graced the stage at the Kelowna Figure and Bodybuilding Show. It was the first-ever show that offered a Grand Masters (over 45) category. And they rocked it!

After 5 months of hard work (we work hard year round, but the pre contest months are toughest!), these ladies shed the fat, and toned and tightened their 50+ physiques into their best shape yet! Their stage presence and posing was spot on! They simply radiated!

As older mature athletes, we are building in numbers. There is no mistaking the energy when a mature woman steps on stage…there is something intoxicating and real about it! (No offense to you younger gals, but you have age-related bonuses that come with being young that you won’t understand until you are older!). And each of my competitors did it the Warrior Woman Way – without drugs, fat burners or estrogen blockers….real, organic, and honest.

As older women, we have come to honour our bodies, to respect its yearly changes and work within this moving landscape of ours, and to know that we stand proud as a tribe. We work hard. We eat plentiful and clean. We train with intention. We are focused and committed. 

Many thanks to Francesca McCallen (center, 2nd place), Sherry Findlay-Russell (left, 3rd place) and Lynn Willard (right, 4th place) for putting their faith in me. But more importantly, thank you for believing in YOU! You are a moving, gaining force and you are parting the waters for other mature women to enter through a door once thought to be closed to us older gals. You are redefining what over 50 is….

Because 50 is not the new 30. Fifty is the new 50!
Rock on ladies!

Coach Karen

I love teaching fitness and wellness, but running all over the place – from gym to gym – isn’t my cup of tea any more. I want to spend more time at my oasis I call home, a home we’ve been building and adding to for over 10 years. I want to spend more time with my family, rather than travelling, and to provide clients with an intimate setting in which to train, learn and grow!

So I built a fitness studio. I’ll be offering small fitness and nutrition classes for women, and I’ll be teaming up with various practitioners in the field. (First up, my Spiritual Intuitive teacher, Cheryl Forrest of Kelowna. Look out Universe! More info to come!) 

Studio 8 is here. Funny, I still have the tattered napkin that I first scribbled out its plans on (as well as a few other things I want to accomplish), because creating is about envisioning, and putting it out there to the Universe. But it’s not magic: we had to work very hard to make it happen, but happen it did!

Please take a tour of my lovely space (video below). I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty cool place to hang out and get healthy. Once I get my feet wet and start getting a schedule of classes and programs in place, I’ll put it out on this blog or on my McCoy Fitness Facebook page at …So stay tuned! We’d love to have you join us!

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Our recent 10-Week Challenge Luncheon at my home is always something I look forward to. Each participant brings something yummy to eat, and we eat and talk about our journey over the last 10 weeks.

It’s so interesting how each lady weighed in on a different facet of the journey. Some ladies said they now look at a plate of food differently, or they look at what others are eating and realize they too used to eat that way (and they too thought it was healthy). They can now see more clearly when / how they procrastinate with their own healthy living efforts, and recognize how and when they question their success and sabotage their efforts.

See, something like the 10-Week Best Shape Challenge is not just about losing weight (there is always some woman who says she doesn’t need to join because she doesn’t need to lose weight). It’s about finding your power again, recognizing your worth, and knowing that life can indeed begin at 40 (or 50, or 35), and that the body can change, indeed, in amazing ways, regardless of its age.

See, us older women (in my book, that’s 40+) are the largest population group on this planet, but we are still not being catered to in the proper way. (If I see another 20+ trainer putting another 40+ woman through burpees, I think I’ll go insane!). We need someone who knows about hormones, juggling career with family, having acquired injury, being on medication….we need someone to validate us and hear us!

That’s why I do what I do…because I know how women feel. I’ve been there. Heck, I’m still there, juggling career with family, struggling to fit in fitness amongst all the other things I must do in a day, watching certain bodyparts sag, mopping up after hot flashes….LOL!

And all the women on the Challenges have these, or similar, issues. We share, support, and know that we are not in this alone. That’s why so much of what I teach is spiritual / emotional stuff, life stuff, really. And I don’t pretend to have all the answers…but we just keep on trying…

We are a powerful force, us women, and we deserve to be supported and aided along in our journey in the best way possible, for the Warrior Women that we are! And that’s my promise to you: to try to give you what you need in a sincere, supportive and honest way, and to help move you forward in whatever way I can.

Onward Warrior Women! We’ve still got a lot left to do in this lifetime…!
Karen

PS We have 3 days left to sign up for my Spring / Summer 10-Week Best Shape of Your Life Challenge….we starts Friday April 11th! Next Challenge does not run again until September! (Challenger Graduates, you now qualify to join the 12-Week Advanced Best Shape Challenge…!). Let’s get Summer-Ready, ladies!

After 30 years in the business, I thought I had heard it all.

But when a woman sheepishly told me she decided to not joing the  April 10-Week Challenge after all, I had to ask why. First, she said she didn’t want to do it because she would ‘lose her social life’. 

Did she mean she wouldn’t have as much time to socialize? Or she wouldn’t be able to indulge in excess food choices like she used to? Or perhaps she didn’t want to pair back her alcohol consumption. (All of these, by the way, are workable ‘lifestyle’ habits we can still maintain under certain conditions…). I told her that wasn’t the case.

Then she spilled the real goods. “I fear my friends will be jealous of me. You know, it’s kinda vain, don’t you think?”

To what…want to get into awesome shape? Too look and feel great? To be able to have energy to spare and stay strong and healthy?

I was dumb-founded. Nope. Nada. No Way. That’s something I would hear from someone from my mom’s generation (sorry mom!). For this woman, the explanation I would have offered her would ahve been way too much trouble for me to get into, and probably way too much for her to absorb. She just wasn’t at the proper place to listen.

In any case, she simply isn’t ready. When women have a burning desire and a sense of excitement about positive change in their lives, then it’s an easy fit. And I simply love being the catalyst for these transformations! I’ve always said I have the best job in the world!

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” so goes the saying. Maybe one day you’ll be ready, S.T., and I’ll be here waiting for you. Honest!

karen

P.S. Sign up has begun for my Spring session of my popular 10-Week Best Shape of Your Life Challenge, now in its 5th year! It’s the last one before we break for summer! Only 20 seats! Registration closes April 9th. we start April 14th! JOIN US! (I’ll save you a seat, S.T…..in case you change your mind!) For a more detailed description, GO HERE!

“As I look back on the challenge I can see that I have learned so much and for that I am grateful to you. I have gained strength, a smarter way of eating and a stronger belief in myself. I realized that lifting weights and seeing results in how we look and feel is a product of a few things: Consistency, Patience and Lifestyle. This has been a journey for me and it is not done. Thank you for the inspiration on so many levels Karen…you are truly remarkable.” – Alison West

Today my son is off to Canuck Place Hospice in Vancouver for a visit. It’s an amazing place for kids with terminal illnesses, a place for them to get away from it all, and to offer up a rest to parents.

Many years ago, Tristan was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Since then, we have learned to live every day to the fullest, to treasure what we have while we have it, and to accept the lot we have been given. Because to deny the truth, and to live in resistance to what is, is surely damaging to the body’s delicate cells.

I know. I lived there for many years. And for years, my body was awash in pain, depression, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. The labels or the diagnoses never mattered to me: I knew it was a result of a broken spirit, and the subsequent 8-years of my ill health were due solely to this single event.

As a coach and a trainer, I am keenly aware of my health, and the health of the people I coach. I know when something is amiss, it has its physical manifestations, sure, but the emotional and spiritual are running the show. Truly. If you are sabotaging your eating, if you just can’t motivate yourself to go train, then you need to go inward….what’s standing in your way? What are you really saying to yourself? Maybe you’re just not ready to change, or don’t want a healthy physique just yet….believe it or not, this is true also.

Fitting in yet another training session, and having to spend the extra time to shop, cook and prepare clean food can be time consuming. But it’s a choice we need to take if we want a healthy, fit, active body, and a healthy mind. Because good health never happens by accident. It is a constant choice and a movement into action. Period.

So when people ask me why I continue to train well into my 50’s, I say I train because I can. Because my son does not have the luxury of living in a strong, capable body. So when someone makes an obvious excuse for not training, I listen to their reasons, but deep inside, I silently wish I could trade that moment of opportunity and give it to my son, so he could feel the wonder of being able to move his body with strength and purpose. Sometimes health is wasted on the capable among us.

So next time you go to over indulge in poor food choices, ask yourself why you want to hurt yourself. Next time you feel you are too busy to train, think of those who cannot experience the pleasure of that movement, people like Tristan, and the many others struck down with disease and ageing, who can only hold the dream of one day being able to enjoy what we all sometimes take for granted.

karen

I love muscle.

I love watching it move. For me, muscle represents life and vitality. It’s graceful and sensual. It oozes health and confidence. 

As a competitive bodybuilder, it was only natural that I write a fitness book. In fact, this book was originally written as a how-to training book about a year ago. Then I threw it out and started again. I needed to tell the real story, my story, of what real health and wellness means to me and to women everywhere.

One Rep at a Time is a book about women and health told from a very different place. It is carved out from that most mysterious of all journeys, the dark night of the soul – as described by mystic John of the Cross – that moment in time when we are faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges that offers us a kind of rebirth, and the chance to live life from a greater place. It’s a journey we must all take toward wholeness, perhaps more than once, in order for us to live our best life physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I have spent most of my life teaching women how to build strong, shapely muscle, yet I gave birth to a child with a terminal muscle-wasting disease. The irony has not been lost on me. Looking back, I see that I had no choice really. This story needed to be told and I had to tell it for women everywhere.

My own dark night spanned eight years when my son was first diagnosed. Needless to say, I was ill-equipped for the ride. My body, which had once been my pillar of strength, became the focal point for all my anger, fear and confusion, and I lived in constant pain. I had to learn how to listen to its language, and open up to my journey in order to heal. Our bodies hold all our past stories, and I was a walking, breathing example of this, and so are you.

In today’s exercise-crazed world, most of us have missed the point: building great abs is great, certainly, but it’s not going to fix a broken marriage, or change destructive habits, or help us understand the connection between emotional pain and physical pain. We are multi-dimensional beings whose intuitions, dreams and energies are powerful tools we can use to create a strong, vibrant body and spirit, and build a life of meaning and purpose. I say we best get on with the journey.

That’s why I’ve included in this book the 8-Week BLISS Body Makeover Program, complete with videos and workout cards, and nutrition and lifestyle teachings to help you every step of the way. This is my thirty years of healthy living all wrapped up lovingly into one program, with hard-won lessons from my own life, which I know many of you will relate to. I guarantee you it is unlike any other exercise program you will ever encounter.

For me, my sport of choice has always been weight training, because I believe in that above all other exercise regimes. The skills required to build a strong, shapely body are the same skills needed to overcome intense challenges – strength, tenacity, focus, dedication and faith. The simple act of grabbing a weight and lifting it up is life-affirming. It’s simple, clean and succinct. There’s a start and an end. It doesn’t get any more basic than that.

Life is hard. Few of us get through life unscathed, but surviving your own dark night means opening up to what is. It’s about the intimate dance between holding on and letting go, and embracing its lessons. You learn to live fearlessly and with an open heart, and you learn to muscle into every moment like it was your last, because it just may be. This my son’s journey has taught me.

Life isn’t always lived in giant leaps and bounds. It’s often lived in the small steps in between, the good and the bad ones, the glad and the sad ones, and the ones we often take for granted.

Sometimes life is lived just one step at a time … and One Rep at a Time.

With much love and respect,
 Karen

 – Excerpt from One Rep at a Time, by Karen McCoy. Available at Tanner’s Books in Sidney, BC and on-line at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

Awhile back, I had lunch with a friend in Victoria who was looking pretty fit! When I asked him what he was doing, he said, “I just use a Fitness App.” Then he added, “and that’s what you’re up against in your business. Anyone can get this fitness stuff for free.”

I was struck by his comment, and I mulled it over all day. Was I really up against all that? And if so, how could I ever expect to keep my business going with all that ‘free fitness stuff’ out there, including the ever-increasing world of apps?

Then the clouds cleared. I got it. He was wrong (sorry Jose, I love you!) and it all made sense….it worked for him, but he’s one sector of the population. But I’ve always been on another horizon, one that’s getting brighter every day.

See, people can learn to tune their own car engine, but they don’t: they take it to Midas or something. You can learn to prime your own pump, dig your own well, or insulate your own attic. Heck, you can even build your own house (and often times it looks like it too!), but most people get the experts to do it for them.  

Some people choose to do it themselves because they want to save money, so they download free music, videos, apps, and the like. But many other people (especially women) are making their way back to the personal touch, something that’s been missing in our society (and in business) for years, when we drifted off course and away from the ‘family-run grocery store’ in favour of the big box stores, the cheap deal, the sales, the freebies. But the tide’s a’shifting…

I offer my clients the personal touch. Fitness – and our bodies – is our temple, and with all precious things, it deserves the personal touch (in my opinion), and I’m that touch. I’m the Mother Ship, so to speak, the lifeline, and I’m there every step of the way. And I know the road you women are on, the long journey, from ill health to good health, and all things in between, the struggles with family, responsibilities, motivation, temptation! LOL!

My programs are organic – built by me, overseen by me. Period. I’m at the end of every email – every email – and with over 100+ on line clients, it’s a daunting task, but it’s the way I run it. That’s my philosophy. That’s my promise. To you.

So go ahead you techies and download your fitness apps…that’s what they’re there for, for techie-saavy people like you who want it clean, simple, downloadable, free, and at your fingertips. That’s one niche market. But I’ve got my own with my growing female clientele that want and crave the personal touch, and who want someone – not something – that lives and breathes the journey alongside with them. For them, it’s about inspiration over information, I guess you could say.

karen

REMINDER: Both the 10-Week Best Shape and 12-Week Advanced Best Shape Challenge are starting again in April! Sign up has begun! Only 20 seats in the 10-Week and 20 in the Advanced 12-Week! Do it for YOU! YOU deserve it!