Updated 2/11/13
My girl [A], Myself and Cute Hubster in 2010
I was a pretty active child. I had long, blonde hair that my mom loved to
style in elaborate curls all the time but I would often come home disheveled
and worn from spending recess on the basketball courts or the soccer fields
with the boys. I was enrolled in dance classes from the time I was very little
and so activity was a pretty common part of my childhood. All of that changed
in the 5th grade when I contracted a severe case of bronchial
pneumonia and was out of school for an entire week. I don’t recall if it was
that year or the next year when it came back again that things really changed
for me because the damage in my lungs brought on the beginning of my life with
activity and allergy induced asthma.
Once I had asthma I
am sad to say that I really allowed the disease to control my life. When we
were required to run the mile in 7th grade I pushed as hard as I
could to the point of cutting off the oxygen to my arms and legs and my teachers
response was, “Well you came in at 10:20. 10:00 is the cutoff so you will have
to do it again.” I was so infuriated and scared by the reaction in my body that
we obtained a doctor’s note that excused me from such activities in the future.
At the Zoo with my girl [A], my sisters, niece and my mother - October 2010
I quit dancing to
focus on piano when I was 10 years old. I don’t recall exercise or physical
activity being present in my life at all during my teenage years. I went
through periods of time when I would try to get out walking but those brief
stints of motivation never lasted really long. Puberty hit my body hard with
curves galore and I spent much of my teenage years down on myself and
self-conscious but without the proper tools or knowledge to know how to change
things for myself.
I have never been
obese although I do think that I qualified as overweight at some points during
those 12 years between asthma onset and my change of mindset. I was (still am)
5’6” and topped off around 155-160 pounds. Never too bad but when you compare
yourself to all of the “pretty and popular” girls in high school it was easy to
feel down on myself.
Junior Prom 2005
After I had my
second (and most likely last) child I visited my doctor at my 6 week
appointment. I weighed in at 155 lbs which was 5 lbs above my pre-pregnancy
weight. Again, not too bad but I went home feeling down on myself and my body
and when I noticed a stretch mark developing on the top of my left thigh I
completely snapped. I decided that I was done letting things that I believed
were out of my control run my life and I decided to take control.
I started slowly –
only 15 minutes of exercise a day as I worked my postnatal body back into
health and got it used to the new influx of motion. I did postnatal videos and
a little bit of yoga. As I got stronger and more confident I started the Couch
to 5k program. This was really frightening to me because nothing triggers my
asthma worse than running; however, I pushed through and eventually I could run
for a mile without my asthma flaring up. This was a really pivotal turning
point for me because it helped me prove to myself that I could do anything that
I set my mind to. Once fitness seemed like an impossible goal and dream but I
was doing it and it was so liberating. I found a passion for fitness and
nutrition that I hadn’t felt for anything else for a long time and that is when
I decided that I wanted to share my love with other people and I started back
at school to become a Fitness Technician.
I went through a
running phase where it was my main focus. I visited with my family physician to
get the proper medications to keep my asthma under control and ran in two 5k
and one 10k races. (And I did very well.) I hurt my heel in the 10k race and
was out of running commission for a while so it could heal. During that time I
didn’t want to just sit idly by so I became a member at Gold’s Gym and started
attending the fitness classes there. Once I got to the point where I could
start running again (injury free) I found that I wasn’t as interested in it as
I once was. My goals and ambitions continue to change as I find what I love
most and where I really want to be.
Right now I exercise
six days of the week. I attend Boot Camp at SLCC on Monday and Wednesday
mornings. I attend Powerflex, Cardio Circuit and Step at Gold’s Gym on Tuesday,
Friday and Saturday mornings. Thursday I could attend another Powerflex class
at Gold’s Gym but typically I use the day as a “whatever I am feeling” workout
day. I devote at least 20 minutes of every day to meditation and stretching and
on Sunday I try to extend that even further (60 minutes) so that my rest day
truly becomes a day of rest for mind, body and spirit.
My primary goals
right now have to do with the assessments that we take in the program I am
enrolled in. My flexibility is terrible and I have always felt like I am about
as flexible as a fossilized tree; however I don’t believe in things holding me
back anymore and I understand that mobility and stability are the key
foundations to fitness. I was able to score a 12 on my sit and reach assessment
but I would like to better that number to 15 by the end of the semester. I plan
to do this as I continually make stretching and meditation a part of my daily
life. I would also like to lower my body fat percentage a little bit. I am
currently at 24% which I understand is perfectly respectable and falls into the
“fitness” category of the ACE guidelines; however, I feel like it is a
possibility for me to reduce that number as I continue with the exercise
routine that I have implemented into my life. As I focus on good nutrition and
arm myself with the tool of my target heart rate (which I now know thanks to
this class) I believe that I am already doing everything that is necessary to
get me to that point. I will re-evaluate my progress mid semester and if I am
not obtaining the results that I desire I will change my plan at that point.
I also desire to
pass the progression assessments in my Evaluate and Assess Fitness class. These
assessments include: deep squat, active straight leg raise, trunk rotation,
in-line lunge and hurdle step. I believe these will also come back to the need
for better flexibility which I will achieve with my new stretching/meditation
program.
As a personal
trainer in training I really desire to have the kind of physique and ability
that I would expect from someone I would want training me. I understand that
that will take a lot of sacrifice and work but I believe that I am willing to
do what it takes to get there. I seek to always learn and better myself and I
try to seek out new knowledge and ask questions. It has been a long road so far
but I am just unlocking the potential and possibilities and I love it.
My girl [A], Cute Hubster, Me, My boy {N}
December 2012
My girl, [A]
My boy, {N}
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