👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
My name is Carmen Demske and I’m 51 years old. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky but have lived most of my life in Florida.
I’ve been a fitness professional and own a personal training gym in Florida along with my husband. We’ve been married for 29 years and we have two daughters ages 25 and 28 years old.
Our gym, Sports Kick is a one-on-one full service gym that includes nutritional guidance and different modes of training like Thai Boxing, Pilates, Functional Fitness, Mobility and Weight Training.
I competed in bodybuilding for six years and retained the top ten national recognition in the figure division during this time.
I’ve always been active my whole life from a child gymnast to dabbling in weight training as a teenager. I love to run and compete in different sports.
Marathons, triathlons and obstacle course training have been a few other sports I’ve trained and competed in years past.
Yoga is a big part of my life mostly as a hobby. Movement is important to my own body but yoga I keep for me.
The gym will always be my life as it is my work but I truly love the strength and power that comes with lifting heavy weights. There is no age limit in weight lifting. It’s great for everyone.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
I plan my week accordingly along with my work schedule.
Training can be life changing or it can be taken for granted. You make the choice on what you want from your own training. I, personally, want life changing always! It gets what you put into it! With this being said, this doesn’t mean that I spend hours working on myself.
I plan my week accordingly along with my work schedule. I block out time to spend on myself, which is usually an hour long session. During this hour, it will be a combination of weights and functional fitness. This is what gives me the results I desire.
Currently, I’m in a bulking session ending by the end of the year. Cutting usually begins after the new year begins. I am a vegan so bulking is a bit more involved than you would think. Vegans are generally carb-efficient so we must add more fats to bump up the bulking action.
When it comes to doing a cut, it’s actually pretty easy, more carbs, less fat, lots of water is the key. I will train with a client at times or my husband mostly five days per week.
I also teach several group classes so that can be a lot for a normal person. My physique is conditioned to handle the output without killing myself.
During my training, I like to drink a watered down PEScience Vegan Protein Drink. Afterwards, I’ll make sure that I eat sufficiently to support muscle growth and recovery with a vegan meal made just for me by a company called, Market Meals located in Tampa, Florida. They deliver my meals to me weekly.
My group classes give me the cardio I need without going overboard. I do wear a Whoop fitness watch that lets me see how intense my training is and if I’m recovered enough to do something long or short. This is quite helpful.
Sometimes training too often can be very detrimental so if my recovery is showing up low then I will reevaluate the training for that particular day. You only have one nervous system. Don’t kill it constantly!
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
I own a gym so it’s staring at me in the face constantly. But I do get tired and sometimes I just want to be out of my workplace.
When that happens, I will do more training outdoors like running, sled pulls, tire flips, anything that gets me out of the box of the room. The sun on my face is a awesome motivator.
Training for me is a way of life not just something to pass the time. I have quite a few injuries in my body from past accidents, non-gym related that have tested me and still test me on a daily. Motivation for me is to move well and feel good, and training does that for me.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I’m thriving today like a normal person. Being normal is not exactly how I wish to identify but that is where I’m at and I do accept it.
My goals for the next five years is to beat the odds of age and to function better and better each year on a personal level.
I will continue to bust ass in the gym and out of the gym paying close attention to my own mental health and give myself time to think instead of just do all the time. The fitness industry in itself is so unpredictable.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I’m a busy trainer that’s for sure. Rest is always a work in progress for me. I work on my sleep consistency constantly as that promotes high recovery. I will try to get extra sleep on the weekends when my schedule is a little less temperamental.
Meditation is awesome for your body and mind recovery. I meditate daily and find it even more necessary as I get older when the mind likes to work constantly. A timeout for your head will help your overall recovery in your body.
Water, water, water is a great supplement, lol. Recovery requires water! I will drink around a gallon per day. All of these things will aide in injury prevention and/or help your injury recovery.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I do change my diet every 12 weeks.
I am a vegan athlete. I do not eat any animal products whatsoever. I do track my macro-nutrients daily. How do I know how many calories to eat? Well, I do a test called the Resting Metabolic Rate Test in my gym that calculates your resting caloric expenditure, how many calories you expend training, and if your metabolism is working normally.
I’ve been using this test for years with my clients and myself. Having these numbers gives me an accurate calorie count for my own personal utilization.
I’m also a flexible dieter. As long as I eat within my own set of macro-nutrients I eat what I wish to eat. I stay within my protein, carb and fat grams daily. This allows me to have foods I may crave. If I can make it fit I can eat it. I use the myfitnesspal app for macro counting.
The supplements I use are Juice Plus Orchard, Garden & Omegas. Also, my intra protein drink I use is PEScience Vegan Protein (Discount code: BLASTERGIRL).
I do change my diet every 12 weeks. I spend 12 week intervals in either maintenance zone, cutting zone or bulking zone. It takes 12 weeks to make consistent changes in your physique. You must give it time to change. These blocks of time help with holidays as well.
I have four blocks of 12 weeks per year. I want to achieve the most work within my first three blocks during the year so I have the last block a little more relaxed for the holiday season. Deprivation is not in my lifestyle. This type of tracking allows me to enjoy my holidays without wearing the holidays.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
What motivates me is me! I’m driven to make change in my own body and I’m the only one that can do that.
I receive a lot of inspiration from activeliferx.com This business has help mold me into adding more mobility into my own personal training.
They keep people out of the doctors office and in the gym. We must be our own advocate for our health. They are a prime example.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Everyone needs weightlifting and cross training no matter if you do a sport or not. Everyone needs to eat food. Stop demonizing your food. Food is your fuel.
We must take responsibility for the damage we do to ourselves. Stop the blame game. NEVER forget where you come from and who helped you get where you are today. Respect everyone even if they don’t respect you.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
I am taking a select few additional clients right now. I assess each individual coming into our gym to see if we are a match and to see if I can help. If I can’t help, I’m very honest and will give a recommendation if I can.
Even though this is my job and I make my income from it this is also my passion. I don’t just want your money I want you to have results. I have clients who’ve been with me for 20 years who are still growing and getting results. We are a work in progress. I am here to help you succeed.
I do accept online clients as well but you must be able to self-motivate and hold yourself accountable. This type of client needs to be self-sufficient. Typically athletes are good candidates. The lifestyle client usually needs in person help.
Results vary with each individual and depend on your goals. I can promise you that you will feel great within the first week of training with me. Your body just wants to move and wants you to take care of it.
How much weight will I lose in one week? This is a common question. Healthy weight loss is one pound per week. It takes a calorie deficit with nutrition and training to achieve this. One pound is a great accomplishment. Most see one pound and think that’s nothing but we teach you how to keep it off. Now that’s something.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
sportskickinc.com is my website. You’ll also see me on Instagram @blastergirl and @sportskickinc as well as FaceBook at Sports Kick, Inc.
