Just Do It!

Honestly, sometimes I have absolutely no idea how I do it - exercise that is. I constantly have people looking at me day to day like I am some super human because I exercise regularly and lead a fairly healthy lifestyle. As if it's like second nature. Right!

Today I drove myself halfway across the city in this ridiculous weather. (note the date - Jan 28, 2009). I left my client and practically skated in my car to get to the gym which is down the street from my house. As I'm sliding (with snow tires!), I'm asking myself is it worth risking my life to go back out and see another client in the afternoon just to make a few bucks? That's not my style and thankfully for me, I have wonderful clients who would like to see me again alive.

So as my ABS brakes save me more than once, I park across the street from the gym and go inside; just to see only a few others as crazy as me to leave their homes/offices/ whatever, to get in a workout. And let me tell you, there's nothing more de-motivating than an almost empty gym and a blizzard waiting for you on the outside. But I suck it up, put on my iPod and let the tunes take me anywhere but here and get my sweat on. Because I know that on days like today, when it seems like everything else is stacked up against me, that's when I need a good old fashioned workout the most. It's my one thing that I do for myself that gives me peace, space and something else to focus on other than lunches, homework and whatever else that hits me head on when I walk in the door. If I don't go burn off steam with some heavy weights and old school funk blasting in my ears, I can even notice my mood is lower and I just don't have the energy I need for my two girls.

Having said that, we are not all the same. Although sometimes I would rather have a root canal that workout, I'm pretty diligent about getting my ass in gear and doing what I need to do for my sanity and my health. It's part of my type A personality. Not only am I a personal trainer, but I am a mother and I know what could potentially happen in the long run if I did not get to the gym at least three times per week. Not only could if affect my health, but I would be one unhappy person. And that's no good when I'm trying to raise two beautiful girls.

Battle Scars

Now that the New Year is amongst us, the resolutions and good intensions are at an all time high. But especially for two women very close to me right now (they are clients and new moms), the ever hanging question in the air is…. “Will I ever get it back”? – Their body, that is. And my answer always is, well yes… and no.

You see during pregnancy, not only have you gained 20, 30 or 40+ lbs, but there have been physiological and hormonal changes as well. Things take time to get back to normal, or the “new” normal as only another fellow mom would understand.

Over the course of 9 months, your belly grew, but depending on your size, height and weight pre-pregnancy, the physical stress of carrying a person around in utero forces nature to adjust your skeletal frame to accommodate to the growth. There is a wonderful hormone called relaxin that attacks every joint in the pregnant woman’s body that makes them hyper mobile. This is why you want to be cautious during some degrees of physical activity. But relaxin also helps the pelvic girdle to widen in preparation for child birth as well as expand the rib cage to make room for the growing baby. For a lot of women, once the baby is born things never go back quite the same way; clothes fit differently and things are just, well, “different”.

The same can be said for feet. Have you ever heard women say that since giving birth, their feet grew? Well that’s not necessarily the case. In fact, what has happened is the added weight during pregnancy put additional strain on their feet, compressing the arch of the foot farther into the ground and making them wider and shoes tighter. And again, for most women, their arches don’t spring back postpartum causing them to now buy shoes ½ or 1 whole size bigger.

But my favorite one is… now my knees crack and my hips hurt. Ahhhh the glamour of motherhood. We have to remember that gaining a large amount of weight is going to reak some havoc on our bodies, similar to overweight people having aches and pains associated with extra weight load. This weight can cause wear and tear on joints and ligaments and destroy what little cartilage some women may have under their knees to start with.

But it doesn’t have to be all bad. While some things we can’t control, (like relaxin) weight gain during pregnancy can be managed with proper eating and regular physical activity. As for the other stuff we’re left with; just look at it as your battle scars. It’s a small price to pay for making such beautiful children!

Get ready, get set, GO!!

Well it's the new year! Isn't this the time when you're supposed to make all those resolutions about health, wealth and anything else you desire?

Don't take this the wrong way, but I hate New year's resolutions! It's almost guaranteed to fail because instead of making the choice based on the need to make a lifestyle change and invest in yourself, people fall in line with everyone else and use the New Year as an excuse to make a difference.

Year after year, personal trainers like me get overwhelmed with people making resolutions to lose weight and eat right. And with all my heart, I cross my fingers and support them to do the right thing and take the first step in improving their health. But what happens is after the thrill is gone and the hard work continues (it's a commitment, not a quick fix), clients fall off the wagon, get discouraged and quit.

It's tough to watch goals and dreams fall by the way side just to be replaced by old habits that do nothing but make you feel worse than before you started. Sound familiar?? We have all been there, but the trick is not to follow the flock of others who give in to defeat. The trick is to get right back on that wagon and not give up! Gyms all around the world love people who pay for a 1 year membership in January just to stop going 6 weeks later. Ever notice the gyms never seem crowded anymore by March?

Well it's easy for me to say, right? I mean, I'm a personal trainer and I must exercise all the time!! Hello... I'm also HUMAN!! Don't even ask me how much I worked out over the holidays (sshhh), but I was back at the gym today like I had never stopped.

I guess what I am saying is New Year's or not, when it's time to make the change.... MAKE THE CHANGE!! Be realistic in what you are asking from yourself and know that it's going to be hard work all the time! I love to work out yes, but I also like doing nothing (I have 2 kids remember?). I made a choice to make a lifestyle change a long time ago and for the most part, I have stuck with it. I love the rush I feel after a workout and for being a woman, it's very important for me to feel strong.

So let this be the year (at some point) that you take a good look at your life and make a decision to change it, if you so choose. Because if you do, you will only benefit from the endless results!

You can do it!