Down But Not Out

I've been quiet for a bit—over a week now!—but I haven’t lost sight of things.  I came down with a stomach virus on Saturday that had me knocked down until Tuesday.  It was pretty dang miserable!  It kept me out of the gym for four days, which made me even MORE miserable. I was getting quite twitchy!  But, I am recovered, so onward!

I started at a new gym this week: Over-Achieve Fitness in Chambersburg, PA.  It. Is. Incredible.  It’s not your typical gym; right now it’s just group fitness and personal training based. He eventually hopes to expand to be a full access facility. But the owner/trainer has equipment no one else in my area has—real lifting equipment.  Barbells, TRX systems, kettlebells, you name it he has it. Right now I’m just doing group classes; next month (once I get through my half marathon) I plan to start private training with him once a week.  Mike (the owner) is incredible. His passion is inspiring and contagious.  He truly loves what he does and really wants the best for his members/clients.  I cannot wait to start working with him one on one.  I have no illusions that it’ll be easy, but I’m 110% confident he’ll help me achieve both my short term and long term goals.

Wednesday night I went to a class called CRUSH.  It’s essentially the beginner level (though it’s still tough!) and is designed for fast, efficient weight/fat loss.  It was circuit training based.  Half the class focused on strength and then the second half was conditioning.  It was pretty much 45 seconds on 15 seconds off the entire time.  Let me tell you, I was crushed by the end of it!! I was a panting, sweaty mess but I felt like I was on top of the world!

Last night I got a bit more than I bargained for.  Thursdays at 530 is usually the Shredder class, which is much more advanced and is typically filled with fit/strong people and athletes.   It’s all strength work—a lot of barbell stuff.  Mike had to cancel the 630 CRUSH class last night, so he told us that if some of us wanted to come at 530 he’d have an alternate workout for us. Several ladies said they’d come and they talked me into it. Well, guess how many showed up? Me and me only!  Sooooo Mike decided that *everyone* was going to do the Shredder workout.  Oh my goodness. I was terrified!  But I did it.  It wasn't pretty, but I did it. My arms were so sore when I got home that I could barely get my sports bra off, but I did it.  It was nice to get an idea of what that class is like and what I want to work towards, but I will be the first to admit that its way beyond my current level. I need to stick to CRUSH, get rid of some body fat, strengthen my muscles, and then transition to that. But hey, everyone has to have goals right?!

I do have to say that the people in this gym are the most welcoming group of people I've ever met.  There don’t seem to be any of the cliques that come with normal gyms or workout crowds. In both classes everyone introduced themselves, cheered me on, high fived me at the end, and said they hope to see me at the next class.  In both classes someone took me under their wing and showed me the exercises and helped me through.   It’s just such an incredibly positive environment—even though I leave exhausted, I leave in a better mindset than when I got there.  And that, folks, is the power of positivity—which will be the topic of my next post. Stay tuned!