Meet your PSP Fitness and Sports staff: Ashley Blanchard
SOUMIS
Hometown: Bathurst, New Brunswick
PSP employee since: May 2019
What inspired you to pursue a career focused on fitness?
I have always had a passion for being healthy and I enjoy motivating others to start or maintain a fitness routine. I love goal-setting and seeing others accomplish their health & fitness goals. Working in fitness has allowed me to not only meet amazing people, but to help create a positive, inspiring & proud community.
What do you enjoy about working in the CAF/DND environment?
I enjoy being able to contribute to the physical, mental and emotional health of our members by motivating them to live healthy lifestyles.
What are some of the challenges that come with the job?
I have a lot of passion for fitness and tend to be ecstatic when our members start a new program or set new fitness goals. One of the biggest challenges, for me, is seeing those people get discouraged or start believing their fitness goals are unattainable. It’s always disheartening when people surrender to those feelings and do not return.
What kind of exercise or sports do you enjoy in your free time?
I adore swimming and weightlifting!
What are your tips for staying fit while spending more time at home and practicing social distancing?
There are a lot of things I cannot control right now, but I can control my eating and fitness habits. The most important thing is keeping myself healthy, so I am able to keep my family healthy. I tend to only do short blasts of cardio during my workouts, but I have taken this opportunity to start running again (long distance) and working on body-weight foundation exercises… set new goals!
Tell us something unique about yourself outside of your job (hobbies, special interests, etc.)
I am pretty obsessed with baking and love creating/testing new recipes or flavour combinations. I have a little treasure chest called “Ashley’s Treasures”. For any recipes that still need tweeking or I have yet to try; once perfected, the recipes are moved to a new metal tin, called “Ashley’s Bulletproof Recipes”. I also love doing anything outdoors, including hunting and fishing.
