Shannon Collins is a fitness influencer. She is also known as The Gym Nurse. She shares a lot of fitness tips and her journey on social media. Collins shared before and after photos on her Instagram recently. She captioned the post, “My how times have changed. In turn, my body and mind has changed and more importantly feel better at age almost 45 then I did at 35. One of the biggest changes was in my self confidence (in all aspects of life) and a major decrease in anxiety which is something I’ve battled with since high school. For that, I’m so grateful.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Shannon Collins stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.
Collins likes to plan out her meals and schedules ahead of time. In the caption of this Instagram post, she says that this helps burn fat. “Meal prep. Especially PROTEIN!! It will be very difficult to meet your goals having nothing prepared and ready to go. This will make meal choice easier and less likely to hit a drive thru or just eat a bowl of cereal for dinner. Pre-plan and pre-log your day. The majority of people cannot just wing it every meal and expect to meet their numbers successfully at end of day.”
Collins likes to lift weights and build muscle. In the caption of this Instagram post, she shared her muscle building tips. “I know I say this a lot, but just because you are lifting weights, doesn’t mean you are building muscle!! You need to be pushing yourself!! It’s supposed to be hard and uncomfortable. To be honest, I rarely see this from women at my gym 😢. This doesn’t mean we neglect form and execution and just throw the heaviest weight we can pick up around. But it should be intentional and controlled through the entire movement.
In the caption of this Instagram post, Collins says that she is very dedicated to wellness. “The key is setting self up for success and also not putting self in a position where you get discouraged and disappointed. That comes from having realistic expectations and reasonable goals. Putting the weight of the world on your shoulders and then being upset with self when things don’t work out is not fair to you!! Frustration leads to giving up and quitting. Quitting will not get us closer to where we want to be.
Collins loves to walk to stay in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself walking on a treadmill. Collins captioned the post, “Is there anything walking can’t do?! Only thing I would suggest is that it’s even better outside in fresh air, but hey when it’s negative degrees out. Inside works too. I’m committed to getting my walking back on track because I’ve realized it affects my physical and mental health so much! I was a lot more sedentary last week and everything felt off! The less I move, the more lethargic and low energy I feel.”
In her recent post, Collins revealed that she decided to change her habits, and how it has helped her. “Things can’t help but get better when you start changing your habits. I’m not perfect. I’m still building upon my goals as I feel comfortable and have mastered current ones even 8 years later. A forever student trying to just get a little bit better each day, all while having grace for myself as I enter a new chapter with changing hormones and aging.”