Anisa's Story

"Fitness doesn't have an expiration date. It's a lifelong commitment."

Words EF trainer Anisa Cox lives by. A lifelong resident of Metropolis and a trainer at EF for the last seven years, Anisa has always loved fitness. "My husband and I try to stay active."
At the beginning of her own fitness journey, she felt that she was missing out on time with her husband and family. In hindsight, she realized that was not the case and it is now a motivator to help others in their journeys as well. "[In training sessions] I try to teach women that you're not neglecting family time to get in shape and be fit and have a healthy lifestyle."
The best fitness advice she can give to anyone needing some help? Moderation in what you eat, instead of sacrificing. And baby steps. "It really is about baby steps." Another thing she likes to point out is that "you never failed as long as you keep trying. If you had one bad meal, you don't have to feel like you failed."
"And you never have to start back again on Mondays," she says with a laugh. "A lot of times people will make a mistake on Wednesday and then wait til Monday to start over. If you have that bad meal on a Thursday, hit the gym and get back to it on Friday."
When she’s not leading classes or helping clients work on their fitness needs, Anisa strength trains three days a week, and twice a week hits either the AMT machine or the stairmaster.
Being on the go a lot usually means quick and simple meals for Anisa. She enjoys grilled chicken [marinated in Smoke’n hose sauce] with a salad and brown rice. For a quick snack, it’s usually a V8 with celery.

When she works with new clients just starting out, she prefers a total body workout:
1. Assisted Pull-Ups or pull downs
2. Freemotion Squats
3. Dumbbell incline press
[Anisa’s tip: Do this in a circuit. ONLY break when you’re going to the next exercise]
10 reps each, repeat 5 times.

“Listen to your body. Over-indulgence will hurt you in the long run. I’ve seen people all gung-ho, doing all of their prescribed workouts the same day. Your body needs that recovery too. So listen to what your body tells you in your workouts. But also remember, you will get out of your workouts what you put into them.” – Anisa Cox, EF Trainer