My Journey into Fitness
I have always loved to be active and dance was my chosen activity.
I was never one to be comfortable with team sports: the pressure of letting others down, missing the ball, not being fast enough etc. those things ate at me and made me feel bad. So I danced. But the funny thing was I was not naturally built to be a dancer, at least not by stereotype thoughts. I was born pigeon toed and was lacking in the flexabilty department. But man I loved it!
As I got older and ventured off to college I discovered I also loved taking fitness classes. I would attend the step aerobics classes on campus and started getting brave enough to try the stair master. Then came Pilates! I was attending the American College Dance Festival and one of the classes offered was Pilates. I had never heard of it but tried it and was in love!
Next came my move to New York City were I started discovering a little more about Pilates and yoga and found it balanced my dancing well. Every once in awhile I would go to the gym with my roommate and attempt to use the weights. But, to be honest I was too intimidated and didn’t know what to do or how to do it so I dropped that idea of fitness. Besides, as a dancer I told myself I didn’t want to “bulk up” or get big (I had a lot to learn) So I turned to doing charity fundraising walks and built my fitness health that way.
Next came the move to Las Vegas where my husband and I joined a gym and I got my Pilates certification to teach mat classes. Even though I loved teaching Pilates I still wanted to learn more, get fit and conquer my fear of weights. Well, the fear of weights remained and I decided to try running instead. My husband and I registered for a marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and began training. The 26.2 miles was hard and took months of training but we did it and it felt great to tackle a fear and raise money for a great cause at the same time. Next came babies, work, and general life…and well, who has time for the gym, fitness, marathons, nutrition, health etc.
So everything was put on hold and I threw myself into caring for everyone else. My children, my dance students and my husband as he tackled serious medical issues. A few years went by and one day, I did something for me. A neighbor offered a fitness class called PiYo in our park. It was close, inexpensive, outside and, (again just being honest) she had killer arms that I was envious of. So I took her class! I sweat like crazy, pushed myself hard and was sore for 3 days! But…I loved it. So I went back. Within a few months my 1 class a week became 2 and hen I tried a few other classes on guest gym passes. I saw my body, energy, mood and health changing. I wasn’t tired, I felt energized and I started realizing that I was worth giving myself some time and a little self love!
In 2018 I went a step further and became certified to teach PiYo and wow, do I love it! It is one hour of a Pilates and Yoga infused high paced workout. We sweat and work every cell in our body and even manage to laugh!
Next came the biggest fitness transformation of them all - I began training, (with the help of my fabulous coach) for a bodybuilding competition. I finally conquered my fear of weights and discovered that fitness is about way more then just how you look. I discovered that fitness is about how you feel, how you tackle obstacles, how you persevere and how you get to chose everyday how you want to manage daily challenges. Fitness looks different for each individual and there is no 100% right way for everyone. The right way is the way that, quite simply, just gets you moving. So…Lets get you moving! Let’s work together to figure out what fitness means for you and how to incorporate more of it in to your life. One day or day one…you decide!