A fitness novice opens up about strength training to improve bone density and beyond with her Equinox Coach.
Forged at Equinox is a series highlighting an Equinox member’s foray into a new workout regimen, with help from an expert Coach. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
After learning her bone density wasn’t up to snuff last year, Heather Gill knew she needed to make some lifestyle changes, especially since she has a family history of osteoporosis. So she took to the internet, where she learned that resistance training and “pounding the pavement” can help enhance bone density.
She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of going to a gym and working out; she describes her past self as being the type of person to take an Uber to travel just four blocks down the road. Still, Heather knew kickstarting an exercise routine was an important first step — and that a reputable training space like Equinox would hold her accountable.
In March 2023, Heather met with COACH Addison Norman at Equinox Van Mission in San Francisco for her complimentary session. “I was planning on doing it alone,” says Heather. “...But after I talked to Addison and she made me feel really comfortable and understood my needs and what my goals were, I said, ‘Okay, maybe I'll try this out a few times, maybe a couple of weeks, maybe a month, and then I'll get the hang of it.’ Now, a year later, I’m still at it. To be honest with you, I didn't really expect that. I wasn't anticipating that, but I'm so glad I didn't choose to do it that way.”
Since that first session, Heather has made major strides toward a healthier, pain-free life, thanks to a combination of strength and hypertrophy training, plyometrics, and mobility work. She’s increased her bone density, shaved 15 beats per minute off of her resting heart rate, and gained 8 pounds of lean body mass. Her posture has improved, and she no longer leaves her desk job feeling achy. “All this is kind of a revelation for me,” Heather admits. “I mean, I kind of viewed exercise as, like, the cherry on top in your life. Everyone knows exercise is good for you, but I didn't realize how good it was for you.”
Here, Heather and Addison open up about their training over the last year, sharing the highlights, the ever-changing goals, and the value of an Equinox COACH.
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How did you both feel during those first few sessions together?
Addison: “I think at the beginning, I could tell how there was, like, kind of skepticism. Like, how does this person know what they're talking about? And how can they provide this benefit for what we're going towards? But I remember breaking down a lot of the basics of form and kind of pointing out where Heather might have not had the most, let's say, competence, or just knowing exactly what the form was. Pointing those out I think really helped change her mind, like, ‘Oh, wait, I’m actually not squatting the most efficient way’ versus the way that she was squatting before.”
Heather: “I have to say, I was a little bamboozled when we first started…I didn't quite understand what we were doing. But I said, ‘I'm gonna go with the flow. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm gonna trust Addison.’ We were working on these different areas of the shoulders, this and that, in preparation to do other exercises. One exercise we would focus on a lot was deadlifts. Not that I minded them, but [I thought], ‘Why are we always doing these deadlifts?’ And I’d go home and Google it and go, ‘Oh, wow. I see exactly why we're doing these deadlifts.’ They basically target every muscle in your body. It's like a one-stop shop, which I love, and it’s completely efficient. I was like, ‘Brilliant.’ As time went on, I was understanding the long-term plan that Addison had already conceived in the beginning that I was clueless about.”
What goals did you initially prioritize, and what improvements did you begin to see?
Addison: “We looked at basic, fundamental movement patterns and pointed out where we needed to focus…Those fundamental movement patterns that we maybe don't think about every day, but we bend down and pick things up, we squat down, we rotate, we pull, we push — I kind of used them as a framework that I wanted to hit every single week. And in doing that, we would also be strengthening pretty much almost every muscle in our body and have access to those ranges of motion.
“Another big focus with Heather at the beginning was making sure we have access to being able to sit up with correct posture for long periods of time. It's pretty funny: Heather has said that she is now three centimeters taller. That's super hard to correct in a short period of time. It’s such a testament to the work that she's put in and how much she also puts it outside of the gym…I think building body awareness was a big part of that [beginning], too. So being able to know, like, ‘Oh, I know where my knees are facing, I know that my core is stabilized, my shoulders are back.’”
Heather: “When I first started, there was no way that I could perform, say, a deadlift. And Addison would have me working on my shoulder mobility, opening me up, my posture, my back. I mean, I would say it took several months before I could even feel my back muscles; my back muscles, I would say, were just dormant. What was great about our training sessions was that Addison was always essentially checking in with me, saying, ‘Okay, do you feel that? How do you feel about this? Where do you feel that?’ I was trying to communicate as best I could, like, ‘I don't feel it there’ or ‘I'm feeling it here.’ Then, Addison was quick to adjust the exercise.
“I think in the background, little did I know, Addison had a plan. She was like, ‘Okay, I'm going to target this area that needs improvement, target this area that needs improvement, and then we're just going to grow from that.’ In retrospect, that was huge because some of the things that I feel like I can accomplish in the gym [today] — not only with Addison but also by myself — I [previously] didn't have the comprehension to [achieve].”
What progress have you made over the last year?
Heather: “The results from just within a year are just staggering. We mentioned the three centimeters, and my bone density has increased, which was my main goal. I've gained eight pounds in lean body mass, I have decreased my body fat percentage from 28 to 16, and my resting heart rate has dropped by 15 points, which is huge.
“Not just on paper, but my day-to-day life is so much more enhanced: walking, sitting, going up and down stairs, lifting. I work mostly sitting at a desk for super long hours, and years ago, after a day, I would be aching in my neck, my shoulders, my back. It was pretty painful. And now because my posture is so much better and I have more strength in my back, neck, and shoulders, I can have a super long day and walk away from my desk and feel great.
“Having that efficiency and effectiveness in everything you do is huge. All this is kind of a revelation for me. I mean, I kind of viewed exercise as, like, the cherry on top in your life. Everyone knows exercise is good for you, but I didn't realize how good it was for you. My goal was to do something about the risk of osteoporosis, but the more I exercised and the more time went on, I started reading all about the prevention of different diseases, whether it be heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and how exercise can impact your longevity. It's something I kind of regret not taking this up sooner.”
Addison: “I think that's one of the reasons why you're such an inspiration to me as a trainer; even though you started maybe later than most people, what you've been able to accomplish is so incredible, even beyond just the numbered results, and it keeps me going as a trainer. I can see it working in your brain: You set this goal in your head, and you're like, ‘Well, I'm gonna do it,’ and then you do it…[Heather] makes the necessary changes to do it; she went from not going to the gym to going six days a week. She has carved out the time to do it and then even does exercises at home. That determination is a huge part of it.”
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What challenges have you faced and overcome together?
Heather: ”There was a low point in our journey. I do regular body scans: a DEXA scan every three or four months, we do the InBody at Equinox. I like to verify each reading to make sure it's accurate, but I may be over the top there. Maybe six or seven months in, I was losing muscle and I was losing fat. I was pretty disheartened, to be honest. I took it to Addison and I was like, ‘Hey, am I not working out hard enough? Am I not doing the exercises right?’ She quickly was like, ‘How much protein [are you eating]?’ What I was doing wrong was I was loading up on protein first thing in the morning. I would do a 60-, 70-gram protein shake, thinking it was kind of a one-stop shop to get my protein and I can add on to it throughout the day. Addison was like, ‘You have to make sure your body's fueled throughout the whole day, so space out your protein.’
“I was a little skeptical at first. I was like, ‘How could that make such a big difference?’ I thought I was just not lifting enough weight or pushing myself hard enough. But lo and behold, muscle started going back up. It was incredible. You can't know everything straight off the bat, right? You don't know your own body and what improvements you're going to make. But as soon as something was faltering a little bit, boom, we're back on track.”
What’s next for your training?
Addison: “Building Heather's confidence without me is in the back of my mind. Heather comes in so much on her own, so I want to set up the form so that she feels like she can do it on her own. Who knows, maybe down the line, if Heather doesn't have a personal trainer, she’ll still feel like she can do all these exercises on her own and do them effectively and efficiently.
“Also, we have goals as far as increasing some of the load we're doing with some of our lifts right now, like deadlifts we've been increasing, as well as increasing our connection to form. We also recently added in a lot of plyometric exercises. We've set up such clear form on all these lifts, so now having explosive movements with it, too, is helpful for building that mind-muscle connection, proprioception, keeping the brain active, and different types of activation of the muscles. So it's not just strength, but it's explosiveness and power with strength.”
Heather: “As far as my goals, I think probably looking to add maybe three or four more pounds of muscle and perfecting my form more. And to just keep learning about exercise, know the benefits of exercise, to keep me motivated.
“Learning how to exercise by myself in the gym, knowing how to do the exercise properly, and understanding what weight load and my form is really important. In the beginning, I would come in and exercise by myself and I would be kind of lost. I'd be like, ‘What should I work on right now? How should I? How heavy should it be? Do I need to keep my arms straight or my arms bent?’ It was pretty discouraging, I have to say, but as time went on, [I’d think,] ‘Oh, yeah, that exercise and you do it like this.’ I would hear Addison's voice in my head: ‘Make sure your shoulders are back. Make sure you're lengthening, you're straightening your back, or your knees are bent.’ I've had Addison's voice in the back of my head on how to do things, which is huge.
“I'm completely grateful and indebted to Addison. She’s truly revolutionized my life in so many different ways, not just exercise. The teaching, the patience, the conviction, and the confidence she had in me to keep going with me. I would say I’m probably not one of the most favorable clients to have because you start from ground zero. For her to not give up on me and really try with me — and I feel that there was this care, that she really cared about my health journey — that was huge.”
Addison: “Having you as a beginner is actually such a treat for me. All these things that I've learned throughout the years of training, when implemented, I was able to see your progress in real-time. Like, when you do these exercises, you can completely change the way your body looks and feels. I have that now as proof to other people that if you stick to it, and you know you are doing it correctly, you can come a really long way.”
Photos by Tylor Norwood