This past Saturday, after a tough workout and some extra jump roping work, I met my wife over at my moms to help her put out patio furniture and clean out the shed in her side yard. Since my mom’s spouses passing, I’ve been called on a lot to do things like this and I don’t mind one bit. That would have been a totally different story just a few short months ago.
You see, I was ALWAYS the person who tried to get out of helping people move or do anything that required heavy lifting and stairs. I didn’t try to get out of it because I didn’t want to help or because I didn’t like the person who needed the help; I did it because I COULDN’T. It was painful. I didn’t have the strength. I hated sweating. I was embarrassed because I didn’t think I was as helpful as I needed to be. The conversation I had with myself internally was much louder than my friends needs for help.
When we are deemed morbidly obese which, (in my opinion) is a doctor telling you you’re killing yourself with food and then telling you to eat vegetables, you carry that phrase with you. You hear it over and over again in your head. I know I did.
When I joined 13 Stripes last August I knew I needed to change. Seriously change. Seriously get healthy. Seriously stop messing around thinking I was going to ‘walk around the neighborhood’ when the weather got nice. Seriously stop eating dinner when I got home from work and then later when it was actually time for dinner. You guys, I used to be able to eat a block of mozzarella cheese in two days.
When we were helping my Mom move her patio furniture out and up the stairs to her deck I viewed it as an extra workout. An opportunity to work on some balance. A chance to use the muscles I have gained. I wasn’t afraid. I wasn’t exhausted. I wasn’t in pain or worn out from lifting and moving. I lifted. I went up and down stairs. I walked things back and forth to the curb for trash. I sweated, sure. My heart rate was up and I was breathing heavier than normal. The point is… I was able to do all of that, with ease, because of the hard work I put in at fitness.
Here’s the best part. You can do all of this, too. Have we trained our brains to think we’re not worthy of healthy? Have we talked ourselves out of being who we were meant to be? Have we listened to that inner voice for too long and lost our courage? I don’t think so. I think that we can change it all around and make a difference in ourselves. It takes a lot, though. I just want to prepare you. It takes being vulnerable and admitting we need help. It takes courage to walk through the doors at 13 Stripes Fitness so we can have our No Sweat Intro. It takes strength to keep coming back to classes no matter what the workout looks like.
Come workout with me. I’ll be there. Waiting for you. Ready to high five you. Ready cheer you on. We’ll all be there. All you have to do is come in. The rest is easy.
See you at the Box!!!!
#fromcouchtofitness #mystandardsmyway #courage #fitnessworks