Consistently Inconsistent Pt. 2

In my last post I mentioned that I had been working out consistently for a year…for the first time…EVER.

Actually this upcoming Sunday, as the time changes, will be the official one year marker. Summer of 2022 will be the tenth anniversary of my being a fitness professional too, and you might be asking yourself a few questions:
”Does she just not practice what she preaches?”
”Does she not believe in what she does as a profession? Is the disconnect that huge?”
”Does she not like working out?! Is a fitness professional not into fitness?!”

All fair questions. And honestly, prior to these last 6 months, if you would have asked me if I enjoyed the act of working out, my answer would have been "no, I like it when the workout is done though”. While my favorite part of a workout remains the stoke and sense of accomplishment one experiences post sweat sesh, tied for first is also the feeling of being strong. I, for the first time, am feeling what it actually feels like to have muscles, strength to do things I couldn’t come close to before, and the confidence that comes with it.

At first, I didn’t work out because I had no freaking clue what to do, how, why or how many. It was overwhelming to say the very least and I was so intimidated by just about everything from the machines to the people using them. The only self explanatory thing in the commercial gyms I attempted to go to were the stair master and the treadmill. Not surprisingly, those two machines failed to capture my attention for long.

Once I got into the industry (man, another story for another post), I didn’t work out much because I felt like I should probably be in shape before I work out. I know how absolutely crazy this sounds, because it is, but I know I am also amongst the many who think/thought that at one point. In my opinion, it is actually a very real issue for a lot of people, and a huge barrier of entry into a healthy lifestyle.

Fast forward a little bit to when I was coaching full time in a facility, I realized that I got most of my fitness from setting up equipment and breaking it down for my clients. I also had a good amount of clients and thus was demonstrating a lot of exercises throughout the day, 5 days per week. I would sometimes join my co-workers for a lift or maaayyyyyybe jump in on a group class but that all happened in sporadic little burst at best.

So how in the hell did I go from a fitness professional who would rather get 100% of her workouts outside than inside, to now having worked out more days per week than not, in a gym, with consistency, for a year?!

Misery loves company.

But not in the way you might be thinking. See this journey actually began months into quarantine when I finally got fed up with feeling squishy, weak and lazy. I tried following along with virtual workouts and hated it, I tried doing my own and meh…and I had a tiny bit of success with using a pre-recorded workout by strength coach Kelsey Heenan. I believe it was her HIIT Burn Ignite program. I liked that the videos were looped and timed or rep based and I didn’t have to worry about if she could see me, and I didn’t have to keep up with her either.

Thank gawd for facing the sun in the left image! And my baby muscles making their debut in the right image! :D

Finally, Drew had been back to coaching at our gym, Paradigm Sport, here in Santa Cruz. The classes were outside only and the staff were wearing masks 100% of their working hours. My only window to use the gym was from 5am-6am and it just so happened that when this opportunity came about, the clocks were about to “fall back”. Waking up at 5:30am is freaking early but doable, whereas waking up at 4:30am on a regular basis seems a bit much. Since our bodies didn’t know the difference, we capitalized on the opportunity and it actually worked!!

At this point, I was going to the gym 3-5 days per week with Drew and because my brain typically doesn’t fire up until 5:30-6am ish, I decided to suck it up and buy a strength program from the same coach I just mentioned, Kelsey Heenan. I loved that it was strength based, which seemed like a “lazy” workout when compared to a more high intensity and cardio based workout. I love even more that I didn’t have to think about it and could just do the thing.

I gained a little bit of momentum too when I caught a glimpse of my shoulder muscles in the mirror one morning.

This may make you giggle a little, and when I read it back I image little kids flexing in the mirror in their super hero costumes. Though silly it may be, motivational it was too. A few more months went by and low and behold, seeing some muscles kept me going as did the early morning endorphins and a willing partner who wakes up no problem.

Then, there was Amber…

Amber is the front desk manager (amongst many other things) at Paradigm Sport, and also one of the most fit people I have ever met. This girl loves to move and I’m fairly certain she was born partially caffeinated! What started with a couple of curious acquaintances doing a random Saturday morning workout together quickly turned into what is now a beautiful friendship brimming with genuine support and encouragement for one another.

Despite the fact that I am perpetually trying to keep up with her (she’s shaking her head right now in modest disagreement), it has been an absolute game changer to have someone to workout with who is fun, pushes me, and purely wants good things for me in life. She can compete with me and we push each other, but no where does any hope for the other’s failure exist between us. (A lot of the ladies reading this will likely, and unfortunately, have a good understanding of why this is so amazing.)

Presently, I lift heavy about once a week, take anywhere from 3-5 group classes (HIIT format), play volleyball at the beach, hot yoga about once per week, sometimes do stair repeats and sometimes go for walks.

Though Amber and Drew remain the two most inspirational and integral pieces to my recent fitness progress, there are a few other amazing contributors. Our friends Carlie and Philip are our beach volleyball buddies and we often play for hours on the weekends. Our friends Nic and Jon are all around very fit humans and they introduced us to hot pilates and heated yoga. Our other friend Lauren is another badass chick in the gym that I am always trying to keep up with. One of our favorite ways to be in nature is hiking, we recently fell in love with white water rafting, and when we finally get to Kaua’i in two weeks, we will be doing all the things!

So you see, in order to not only keep up with some of our favorite humans, but to fully enjoy playing and enjoying life all together, we are continually inspired to maintain our health. None of the people I mentioned make us feel like we have to be fit to be friends but rather the common thread is the priority of health via movement and play. The saying “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”* reigns true!

Whatever kind of movement you are drawn to, I hope this inspires you to do more of it and make it yours. There is no one way to do it and the only right way to do it is the way that works for you!

*Quote by Jim Rohn
And the link to the program I mentioned by Kelsey Heenan in case you are curious here.

OkayThankYouLoveYouBaiii!