By Jill Farr

A “fit life” isn’t something that one achieves and then just sits back and enjoys; fitness is an ongoing pursuit, something that has to be maintained and cultivated. Setbacks occur, both large and small, and sometimes ground is lost, and has to be regained…and then surpassed, if we’re committed to progress.

“Setback” seems too small of a word to describe what happened to Carissa Johnson in May, 2011; she was struck head on by an SUV going full speed and pinned against a steel rail fence while working a promotional modeling gig in downtown Denver, CO.

She sustained bilateral tib/fib fractures and a compound left ankle fracture, and underwent surgery immediately; doctors inserted rods in both legs.

Carissa had just competed in her first NPC show the previous fall, and fallen in love with fitness competitions, winning 1st place in the Short Fitness Model class just a month before, at the WBFF Fitness Atlantic Championships. Before the accident, she had started training for the World Championships taking place in Toronto that August.

Although relieved to be alive, Carissa says that immediately, her thoughts went to how her world had changed.

“Not only were my legs destroyed,” Carissa says, “But my heart was broken. I wasn’t sure at the time if I’d ever be able to bounce back from this terrible experience.”

And she didn’t just “bounce back”. Progress was slow, and painful.

“My life post-accident consisted of 3 months on the couch,” Carissa says. “I was in a constant state of excruciating pain, even with medication. Even making it from the couch to the bathroom was an extremely difficult task. With both legs broken, even using a walker was challenging and painful as it felt as if I was crushing each leg with every step. I was essentially helpless, and never felt so low in all my life. I relied on my mom for assistance nearly 24/7.”

Despite the debilitating pain and the effects it produced on her outlook, Carissa was still able to break through the depressing circumstances by resolving to do whatever she could, whenever she could.

“Even though most of the time on the couch I ended up sleeping time away because being awake felt too difficult to handle at times,” Carissa says, “I had to do something. My solution became doing arm exercises with dumbbells off the side of the couch. Every morning I would spend 1 – 1 ½ hours simply lifting weights off the side of the couch and doing ab exercises. Even though my legs were smashed, and I wrestled with the idea of not having any hope of furthering a career in the fitness industry, I couldn’t accept defeat. I knew there was a possibility I’d be disabled, but for some reason I could never let go of my passion.”

The drive to maintain the level of physical fitness that she still had, coupled with the determination to do what was possible to do helped Carissa’s recovery, both mentally and physically, as did having health care professionals who were sympathetic. (Going back to the gym after physical injury should always be cleared with your doctor first, with an eye towards protecting your long term health.)

“Thankfully my PT at the time was a former bodybuilder and competitor,” Carissa says, “So he understood my undying drive to get back to normalcy. Even while my bones were broken, and I was still limping, I begged the PT to allow me to go back to the gym. I couldn’t move much, but I had to get back for my sanity.”

It was a slow process, but Carissa’s determination paid off; she finally made her Pro debut at the WBFF World Championships in 2012, just a little more than one year post accident.

“It's been a journey of epic proportions,” Carissa says.

And it’s a journey that’s still ongoing. Carissa underwent two additional surgeries at the end of 2013 to remove my hardware in each leg, and has struggled with PTSD, a battle that she says has been more difficult and paralyzing than she could have imagined.

As anyone facing a setback will discover, Carissa insists that maintaining her momentum came out of a desire to keep her dream going.

“In spite of the numerous challenges,” Carissa says, “I could never fully let go of my love and passion for fitness.”

Carissa also offers the viewpoint that we can embrace setbacks as challenges to our inner strength—similar to the way our physical muscles are broken down and built back up even stronger—and that we can not only overcome them, but look at them with gratitude, ultimately, as opportunities to see just what we’re made of.

“I’m so thankful for my journey,” Carissa says. “God has blessed me and strengthened me more than I could ever ask or imagine!”

“We all have our individual strengths that make us unique. We have no idea what we're capable of until we actually try - we are stronger than we think.”

“It's rewarding and incredibly empowering when you see how strong you really are.”

carissajfitness.com

By Jill Farr

Natasha Hopkins was in probably the best shape of her life, training for a figure competition, when an auto collision derailed her fitness track and put several aspects of her life on hold.

The carpal bones--the one that allow for full functionality in your wrist--were broken in Natasha’s right hand, and her recovery has been a process.

“The surgeon said mine was the worst he’d ever seen,” Natasha says of her injuries. “Steel rods were placed in my hand to allow it to repair properly--I just had the surgery to remove them, 12 weeks after the wreck. Now I’m looking at extensive physical therapy, to get as much range of motion back as I can.”

Needless to say, the weight lifting inherent in preparing for a figure competition became impossible, and Natasha went from being in peak condition to recovery mode.

Natasha went from being in peak condition to recovery mode.

“I literally couldn’t do anything for the first 9 weeks,” Natasha says. “I knew my body couldn’t do it.”

Natasha learned to focus more on other fitness facets, while her physical activity was limited, in order to hold on to health gains. “I have learned so much,” she says, “I’ve had difficulties that have challenged me, because I went from prep mode to nothing. I bloated up 20 pounds almost right away, after being the leanest I’d ever been when the accident happened.”

“Nutrition has been huge for me during this time.”

In addition to putting more focus on her eating, Natasha has taken baby steps to get back to training--with respect to what her body can handle.

“I’ve been to the gym a couple of times,” she says, “Mostly just doing leg stuff, but a lot of it is mental. I can’t lift at the same rate, but I’m starting to get back. I was ramping up, but having surgery again, to remove the pins, set me back again.”

“I will never be the same as I was before. But I am committed to be as dedicated.”

In addition to her figure competition aspirations, Natasha does personal training--a passion born from another challenging time in her life, when she struggled with postpartum depression.

“I haven’t always been fit,” Natasha admits. “But I’m small, a more petite person--I’ve never had to deal with being overweight. I was “skinny fat’ when I was younger, though.”

“Fitness and health came to me when I became pregnant. That triggered me--I wanted my baby to be healthy, I wanted to be healthy. I’d also gained a lot of weight and I had terrible postpartum depression.”

“The fog finally lifted--it took a few years--but after my second son was born, my doctor said, “You’re going to have to take medication, or exercise.” That’s when I got passionate about it...it was my response to postpartum depression. I was doing a great job with the kids--breastfeeding, feeding them good food--but I wasn’t taking good care of me.”

“Shortly after my second child, we moved to England, and my husband (who is in the military) was deployed….I just turned to exercise. It became my drug, literally.”

A benefit for education for military spouses prompted her to look into the requirements for becoming a personal trainer, since it dovetailed with her personal fitness pursuits.

“I signed up for training and finished it without having any real intention of doing anything in particular with it,” Natasha says, “It just sort of happened, and grew.”

Physical gains are secondary, in Natasha’s mind, both for personal fitness and the growth she helps others to achieve.

“Because I was already small, and didn’t really need to lose weight--fitness for me has been mental. It’s about developing a mindset. It’s not just about grinding it out at the gym, it’s about finding yourself. Sometimes I think that’s the most challenging part--clients think “I want to look a certain way” and I feel like, “No, you have to know yourself. You won’t follow through if you don’t learn that.” You have to learn how to help people dig deep and deal with things they may not want to deal with. I don’t believe I wanted to know how badly postpartum depression had affected me, but once I saw, I could address it.”

While she knows that the day is coming when she can get back to the gym, Natasha understands that physical recovery is a process, and the trauma she suffered may have long lasting effects that will change how she trains.

“I have no flexion,” Natasha says of her injuries, “And I have a ton of scar tissue. I’ll never have full range of motion in it again, but the goal (of physical therapy) is to get me as close as possible. I’ve been told that I’ll never be 100 % again.”

“I’ll have arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome...sometimes the body doesn’t allow blood to flow to heal, and the actual bone itself can die. There’s no way to predict.”

When asked how she handles the uncertainty, Natasha points back to the lessons that physical challenge can provide for mental strength, and encourages other women facing setbacks--both mental and physical--to not only dig deep...but reach out, as well.

Reach out to the people that you know motivate you--don’t give up on yourself.

“Reach out,” Natasha says. “To the people that you know motivate you--don’t give up on yourself. There’s a reason for everything, and you always have the choice to come out stronger. I have a coach, and I reached out to her, and she’s been instrumental in my healing, even though there remains a long, long way to go. It’s hard for me--I tend to be one of those people that don’t open up, but you have to be vulnerable...it allows people to help.”