CHRISTINA HOOPER

ABOUT ME

My love for fitness started from a very young age. Whether I was playing, badminton, volleyball or ice hockey with my brothers outdoors, I always loved to exercise. During high school I decided to join some of the football guys in the the gym one day and was instantly hooked. Lifting weights with the guys became a norm for me. Everyone always told me, ‘oh girls shouldn’t lift heavy or weight train to much because your going to get bulky.’ But that statement never bothered me as I always was the ‘tom boy’ in the weights area at the gym. Lifting weights and being fit gave me a feeling of empowerment and strength. After high school I began to experience the stresses of ‘adult’ life and decided to go for a run one day. Because I had experienced asthma in my junior years, it kept me from running longs distances. But after months of training and growing out of having asthma, I eventually grew up to run and complete over 10 half marathons. In my early 20’s the university years of party’s and unhealthy eating, got the best of me. I ended up in and out of the hospital with various serious health problems and surgeries, and decided enough was enough. Once back at the gym, I had a former fitness competitor approach me one day and tell me that I should compete for a show. My love for lifting and working out obviously was there, and I trained for my first bikini competition, finishing and very happy with 7th place. Continuing my love for fitness, I decided that working as a trainer was a great fit for me. I worked in and out of the gym for a number of years and really grew to love training others. Over 8 years ago I met my wonderful husband Joe and his 3 beautiful children, and became an instant step mom. Or family quickly grew, and Joe and I quickly had 2 more children together(kids ages 16, 16,11,6, 4). Being a stay at home mom for a couple of years and having some time off, I soon missed the dedication that I had for fitness. After having each of my babies, I set goals and got right back into shape. I was an entrepreneur at heart and my husband encouraged me to start doing what I loved, helping and inspiring others. After being a participant in the Dynamis Challenge that Tea Cuk ran last year, I lost all my baby weight and more, but gained that passion back. Over four years ago, we moved our growing family to the country, just outside of Winnipeg. After adjusting to our 80 acre Ranch, it was time to bring my fitness passion to our community. Christina is the owner at Backcountry Fitness & Conditioning, where she runs Boot camps classes, offers online training influencing hundreds of clients to live a better lifestyle and teaching health and wellness programs. 3 years ago, Christina began running Boot camp classes out of the local community hall and eventually moved over to the school to run extra classes. In the summer time, or fitness classes move outdoors to the beautiful Rubber Ducky Campground, where we flip tires, challenge ourselves with battle ropes and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. She also has organized and runs a local community running club where runners of all ages come out to learn the sport of running and join like minded athletes to train for various races and marathons. This year we will organize our 4th Annual Kicking Cancer Fundraising Community Run where we have raised over $10,000 for Cancer, in honor of my late grandma, and two grandfathers who have all lost their fight with cancer.