One Month To Change My Life

When I signed up for a month of classes with Long Beach Boot Camp, I had two hopes: to begin losing baby weight, and to get regular exercise.
Those two alone seemed like a lot, and I didn’t think beyond them.
In fact, what I thought about most was getting skinny.
That seemed a worthy goal: to be thin, to fit into my skinny jeans, to not have a muffin top, and to feel good amongst all my, “I’m skinny, but I just had a baby” friends.
As far as I knew, being thin meant you were healthy and in shape, so that is all I wanted.
Little did I know how much my understanding of health and fitness would change over the course of just one month.

As the end of my one month membership drew near, I began to dread my last day.521431_10151131597670426_1451498983_n
I never thought I’d look forward to sweating, being sore, or running at the break of dawn, but I did!
And now I couldn’t bear to see it end.
But I could see no way to continue, it just wasn’t in our budget.
So I didn’t talk to my husband about it, or even say, “I wish I could keep going.”
I just kept it in and on my last day,  I hugged my trainer Sammie goodbye, and got in the car crying.
Yes, crying!
Boot Camp was changing my life , and I couldn’t see how I could keep going without it.
I’d found a fitness routine that didn’t just work for me, but that I loved, and I was terribly sad to give it up.

Later that day, I opened my email and read this note from my husband:
Greta,I’ve seen such an amazing transformation in you over the past month.
I just want to tell you how proud of you I am!
And I was so sad that today was your last day of Boot Camp.
Or is it…
I just got off the phone with Jo.And, we’ve extended your Boot Camp indefinitely.
I do not want you to have to end what has been such a great experience.
I love you,
Aaron

Then the tears really poured!

It was truly one the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.
It was the gift of health and fitness, but beyond that, it was the gift of confidence and happiness that came with every single workout.
It was the gift of a new appreciation for my body, and seeing its strengths instead of its weaknesses.
It was the gift of a new understanding about nutrition and eating well.
It was the gift of a whole new way of life.
I was, and still am, so grateful.

With each week of Boot Camp I found myself doing things I never dreamed I could do.
Handstand pushups?Screen shot 2013-02-03 at 10.45.07 AM
No way!
OK, I’ll try.
I did it!
Plank jacks?
Got it!
Spiderman pushups?
Done!
Burpees?
Yes!
Getting up at the crack of dawn, in the freezing cold, to go running?
You bet!
I have never experienced anything so empowering as doing things I once thought were impossible for me to do.
Do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Over the next 6 months, all those small steps led to big changes.
And I promise, I’ll show you those before and after pictures to show you those changes.
But not until next week.
So be sure to come back!
Now keep on Living Fit!
Greta