GGS Spotlight: Cara Turnquist

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/

Name: Cara Turnquist

Age: 36

Location: Salem, OR

What does being a Girl Gone Strong mean to you?

It means I am strong inside and out. I means that getting strong has bled into all aspects of my life. It means that I love my body for what it can do, not just what it looks like.

How long have you been training?

I have worked out for most of my life. My parents were both really active and instilled the habit in me early. When I was 5 my parents and I biked across the country to raise money for a cure for diabetes. It was an amazing experience that got me hooked on fresh air, heavy breathing and family. Since then, training has often been my social life, my stress relief, my home. Despite this, I probably didn’t start seriously lifting until about 5 years ago.

How did you get introduced to strength training?

I happened upon strength training by accident. I was in graduate school studying Feminist Anthropology in NYC. I worked all day, went to school at night and stumbled into bed each night with about four hours to sleep. I was exhausted, overreached and had started to fall asleep during my classes. There was a gym across the street from my school and I decided to start lifting weights between work and school to see if the adrenaline would keep me awake in class. It worked! Since my usual friends the treadmill and the elliptical were often taken, I started to make new friends with the weights. I was hooked! I loved the way lifting made me feel. I started to see changes in my body. I definitely stayed awake and alert in class. In fact, my time in that New York gym inspired me to write my Masters Thesis on women, body image and exercise.

What does a sample workout look like for you?

I really love using Jim Wendler’s  5-3-1. It gives me the consistency I like in my main lifts while also giving me a lot of freedom and variety in my accessory lifts. Most of my workouts look something like this:

• Warm-Up: I foam roll the areas that feel sticky. I do some kind of hip opener and/or thoracic spine mobilization. I also do some PRI (Postural Restoration) exercises each time before I lift.
• Set 1: Core and Power
• Set 2: Main Lift/Animal Flow
• Set 3: Accessory Movements

Favorite Lift:

TGU…it’s like dancing with iron. This lift makes me feel so strong and feminine at the same time.

Most memorable PR:

When I deadlifted 275 at the last Tactical Strength Challenge. I’m still chasing 300! 275 was a 25lb PR and it felt so good!

Top 5 songs on your training playlist:

Because I train with a partner I don’t actually listen to music when I lift. When I run outside I think it’s really important to be tuned into nature…so no music there either. But I like to dance in the car to these songs:

• “What a Man” – Salt and Peppa
• “Who’s that Girl” – Rihanna
• “Get Into the Groove” – Madonna
• “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” – Whitney Houston
• “Girl on Fire” – Alicia Keys

Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:

Chalk, lipgloss and a sassy outfit

Do you prefer to train alone or with a training partner? Why?

With a partner. I believe in training partners so strongly that my best friend, Jill, and I started our blog called Movement Duets. I love having her support while working out. I admit that we do spend a lot of the time giggling but we just count that as extra core work! I also like having gym dates with my husband. He usually does my programming for me. He is an extremely talented trainer. There is something incredibly sexy about how he tries to boss me around during my workouts.

Most hilarious pick-up line you’ve heard at the gym:

Oh dear. I don’t get hit on much at the gym. However, I do like a little inappropriate flirting with my husband while I’m there. I’d say the most hilarious conversation we had was about the snatch…and how the more you clean, the better you snatch. Mature stuff right there, people.

Most embarrassing gym moment:

I was doing Stuart McGill’s helicopter exercise to train for the hammer throw in the Highland Games. An exercise Jill and I coined the Hammercopter. It is only a 6lb ball at the end of a rope. It took me down…right in the middle of the gym…on a busy day…like I’d been hit by a bus.

Favorite meal:

Paleo fried chicken cooked in coconut oil and brussel sprouts

Favorite way to treat yourself:

I have a crazy leggings addiction.

Favorite quote:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

— Marianne Williamson

Favorite book:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

What inspires and motivates you?  

Nature. I know…I’m turning into a full-blown hippie in my old age! Hiking with my family can be one of the most inspirational things I do. I am so moved by the beauty of this world and my ability to experience it. I’m so proud of how protective my son is of this world. The beauty and wildness of nature is the reason that I am so motivated to move and eat and naturally as I can.

What does a typical day look like for you?  (From waking up to bedtime)

I just recently changed my routine. I really needed a change and started to focus more on really living a life that I was proud of and that served me. So, most of this is new to me. No more super early mornings and daily grind. I usually wake up without an alarm clock, this is usually between 6-6:30 each morning. I spend some time reading articles or my book. When my son wakes up we usually go over some of his homework or work on a project together. At 8:30 I walk my son to school. This just might be my favorite part of the day.

Three days a week I head off to work at a chiropractic clinic where I work as a mobility specialist and a personal trainer. On the days I work at the clinic I also lift in the evenings. The other days I have more freedom. Sometimes I will take the dogs to the park and run the hill. Sometimes I will head into the gym. Sometimes I will come home and write blogs and work on the website.

Every Tuesday and Thursday my best friend and business partner,  Jill and I will get together to work on our website. We are planning on launching our online training business in the next few months. When we meet I truly feel like I’m living a dream. It is an amazing thing to believe in yourself and follow your passion. This also might be one of my favorite times of the day.

Once I pick my son up from school it’s homework, outside play, chores, karate and gym. Once we get home from the gym the day just seems to race to the finish. Dinner, bathtime, story time, snuggling…and once I kiss that boy goodnight comes my other favorite time of the day. My husband and I usually crash onto the couch together and watch a show and snuggle. And by snuggle I mean that he usually gives me a foot rub.

What’s the coolest “side effect” you’ve noticed from lifting heavy?

Confidence. When you lift heavy you can’t help but shift your focus away from how your body looks, to what it can do.

Next training goal:

Get that 300lb deadlift!

If you had to choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?

Passionate, Idealistic, Audacious

How has lifting weights changed your life?

If I had never picked up a heavy weight I might not have ever graduated from The New School, and I would never have moved to Seattle where I met my ex-husband at the gym, and I would have never had my beautiful son. If I had never lifted weights I might not have had the self-esteem and confidence to leave a bad marriage. If I didn’t lift heavy I wouldn’t have met my husband and the other “family that I choose.” Time at the gym has always connected me to good people in my life.

What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start lifting heavy?

Don’t do it alone. Find someone who can help or mentor you as you get started! If you’ve already made it to GGS, you’re headed in the right direction!

Filed under: Fitness