2015: Happy new Me

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and happy New Years Resolution! Although I do not participate in New Years resolutions, it was around this time last year that I decided I wanted to pursue a career to become a Certified Personal Trainer and started doing what I needed to do to bring that to fruition. I am happy to report that I start class, TODAY! I am a nervous nelly right now but I have faith that if this is my path that God will guide me. If it turns out I am a total failure, I will just keep blogging about my life anyway! HA!

So what about those millions upon millions of people out there making New Years Resolutions and swearing off smoking, sugar, dieting, past relationships and making positive plans for a whole new year? Well, if the influx in people at your average globo gym tells you anything, they will be rushing into the gym and overdoing every work out they have ever seen on Pinterest and Television until the point of exhausting their muscles and causing injury, thus leading to the inevitable “I quit the gym” statement.

Maybe the gym scene isn't your thing and you’re a work out video person, here is my friendly PSA: News flash, Insanity is called Insanity for a reason! Watch those trainers in the back crying, they aren’t making that up, that work out is INSANE. As an owner of this program I can tell you this is intended for people who are already active and looking to push themselves, so when you feel like throwing up after the warm up, relax, you’re human. If you want to do at home videos or programs, all the more power to you, I am terrible at motivating myself to do them and can spend loads of time giving you my personal excuses, but I will refrain.

If you don’t fit those two categories maybe you have decided to take the Crossfit plunge, you have heard the good, the bad and the lies people post because they’re hostile towards the sport. You have friends that do it, you have seen their gains, you want to understand why bleeding while working out is a right of passage and then you see the cost. Crossfit isn’t cheap but there is a reason behind that. With Crossfit you are paying for programing, coaching, community and accountability. Those coaches in class don’t just yell at you, they train you and if you’re anything like me, you will get a lot of ONE on ONE attention! (Our Crossfit box does offer personal training for anyone and individual programing for advance athletes.)

Ok, so yes, Crossift classes can be intimidating but it works for me, however, that hasn’t always been the case. What has also worked for me is working with a Personal Trainer in a fitness club/facility. I have had the luxury of having a few PT’s in my life that really opened my eyes to proper training so that I could meet my goals, avoid and or reduce injury and made me feel good about myself. Personal Trainers are like your Hair Stylist, you start telling them your personal life once you get comfortable and with a PT you get weighed and measured right off the bat so it’s best to pick one you feel most compatible with.

If all goes well, I should be done with school by May of 2015 and out there changing lives, which is my real goal with this profession. As I sit here today, I am still not where I want to be. I am still working towards my own fitness goals and I hope that my personal experiences can transfer into my career and help others. I know what it’s like to plateau, to feel like the biggest girl in the room, to realize your pants no longer button or to just feel like there’s no hope in ever loosing weight. I know I am not alone in these feelings and I know there are a lot of people out there that have been here or who are living this today.

Even if I never get the chance to train anyone, or you specifically, I want the world to know that weight isn’t everything. Your pants size, your number on the scale, the amount of cookies you just consumed, none of those things define you or say who you really are. What really matters is how you feel about yourself, that you love yourself and that you make the world a better place. Don’t set unobtainable goals, be realistic where you are today and where you want to be. If you spent the first 27 years of your life on a couch (me) you aren’t going to be a world class athlete in 6 months, or in my case, 9 months.

Be patient with yourself and be kind to yourself. The weight gain didn’t happen overnight and it isn't going to go away over night. Don’t become another globo gym 2 week athlete, don’t try to do the Insanity Challenge as fast as Shaun T unless you are in fact Shaun T. Do not join Crossfit because you want a miracle cure and you saw how cut the athletes are in the games. A journey to a healthy, happy you is not instant and it’s not just for a few weeks, this is a lifestyle change and you have to be ready for the forks in the road. To be successful in your endeavor you need to be proud of your progress, no matter how small you may feel it is, you earned it.

Happy New Year.

#newyear