Push it real good

When I started personal training a couple of months ago, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do and if I could manage the intensity.

I remember the first time I did a lower body workout. I got through it, but it was so hard. I left the gym and cried the whole way home. It was too tough. I was too fat for it. How did I let myself get this out of shape? I wasn’t always this way.

Did I mention I was a black belt?


After my mom died in 2000, I decided I needed an outlet. I took up Choi Kwang Do and eventually earned my black belt. The test was no joke. It was two hours of sheer endurance. Defense drills, belt patterns, shield attacks. There were times I wanted to give up, but I had trained hard for it and I couldn’t let myself fail. After receiving my belt, I was so proud to actually call myself an athlete for the first time in my life.

Fast forward seven years, and I’m crying after lunges and squats at the gym. I talked to my fabulous trainer (Hi, Jessica!), who told me that it should always be tough. The stronger I get, the more she’ll intensify my workouts. It was hard because of her, she told me, not just because of me.

That changed the way I look at training. Yesterday, Jessica really upped the workout. I did things I didn’t know I could possibly do. Bicep curls on a Bosu ball? Push ups? Chest presses with ab curls? Did I really do all that?

Yes I did. And I didn’t even cry. In fact, I pushed myself harder than ever yesterday and I loved the sense of accomplishment I felt.

And today? I’m sore. But I’m also wearing a shirt I haven’t fit into for nearly three years. Booyah.