Before and After: a Fitness Love Story

Hi friends!  
This is a long one.  
But I hope you'll enjoy it.  
Please let me know if you do. 
Also, if you're friends with me on Face Book and have de-friended me because you are tired of my endless posts about working out, then this probably isn't the post for you.
Just saying.
.......................................................................................................................................................
Do you remember falling in love?

Remember when that person was all you could think about?

You always wanted to be with them.

You missed them if you didn't see them for even one day.

You felt like a better version of yourself just by being around them.

And when you did have to be away from one another, you talked about them all the time, to anyone who would listen.

Falling in love is pretty magical, isn't it?

I remember those early days with Aaron.

He wrote me letters all the time--illustrated and full of the funny, Aaronish, kind of things he says that I loved and thought were brilliant, and no one else really got.

But I made them listen to his letters anyway.

Because I was in love.

We went out with a friend of mine once and she later told me that if she saw us kiss, or heard us say "I love you" one more time she was going to barf.

"Just you wait,' I told her. "You're turn will come and then I'm going to remind you of this day."

It did and I did.

And I was happy for her, because she was in love.

Because being is love is wonderful, isn't it?

Love is also a lot of hard work.

I've written before about the hard work of love--that it isn't always pretty, or fun, or easy, but when you stick to it, the results are worth all that labor.

And I know you're wondering, "where is this going?  I thought she was going to talk about fitness.  Or is she talking about love? Is this a serious post or a joke?"

It's no joke.

I'm seriously in love with fitness.

Ha!

No, I'm not kidding.

I really am.

In love.

With working out.

For reals.

Let me tell you why.

January was my 6 month birthday with Long Beach Boot Camp.

I cannot say enough good things about this company, my trainers, and the people I work out with.

My Boot Camp classes are a highlight of my day.

And, I fully admit, on some of the harder days, they are the highlight of my day.
My trainers make me laugh, and smile, and work up a sweat.
They push me.
They care.

Morning work outs give me energy to face my day, and evening workouts help me shake off the stress from a long day.
The endorphins that begin coursing through my body the moment we start our warm up run, fill me with a lightness and happiness akin to, you guessed it, being in love.

Although I have been active all my life, I have never worked out like this before.

I've never put in so much effort to really changing my body and to getting fit.

And so, I have never before experienced the work out "glow" fitness lovers talk about.

"I feel so amazing when I run," they'd say.

And I'd roll my eyes and mutter, "yeah right," under my breath.  

Or, "I just love working out hard, and getting a really good sweat."

Whatever.

Turns out, they are right.

A good sweat does feel great.
And while I still don't feel amazing for an entire run, I do for parts of it, and I certainly do when I'm done.
You can tell I feel amazing in this photo, taken after we ran up and down giant hills, in the rain, at 5:30 am.

But it didn't start that way.

My relationship with fitness had a rocky beginning

I went to my first class not knowing what to expect.

It took a couple of weeks to even get up the courage to go.

In the 5:30 am darkness, I pulled up to the basketball courts at at school I'd never been to, to workout with a trainer and a group of women I'd never met, and to try to complete a workout I was woefully unprepared for.

But I stuck it out.

And I went back the next day, and the next and the next.

My entire body was sore for weeks.

Even my toes and fingers hurt.

I felt like I had been in a car accident or something.
But I kept going.
5 or 6 days a week, I'd wake up at 4:50, lace up my shoes and go.

I'd come home, a hot, sweaty mess, and fall into bed next to Aaron, moaning in pain, to tell him about our workout.

"It was soooo hard!" 

Before long, I was glowing when I said it.

And my Facebook statuses began to be filled with tales of runs on Signal Hill, mastering a "real" push up, and how many crunches I'd done before 6 am.

I wanted to tell everyone about it.
(And I know, I know, I've talked about this before, but I just can't help talking about it again)

I had fallen in love.

So much so, that I dreaded the day my one month membership to Boot Camp expired.
On my last day, I hugged my trainer Sammie goodbye, and got in the car crying.
Around lunch time, I opened my emails and read this from my sweet, sweet 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!
Isn't he just the best ever?
It is one of the greatest gifts I've ever gotten.
I am so incredibly grateful to that man of mine.

I've done my best not to let him, my trainers, or myself down.
That means still waking up at the crack of dawn to work out in the freezing cold, (34 degrees!), or to go running when it's so cold it makes your teeth hurt.
These are things I never, ever thought I'd do.  (remember this?)

It means doing things I am afraid to do, like wall push ups.

And it means doing things like plank jumping jacks and spider man push ups, even though my first thought is, "no way".

It means going to class at night if I missed my morning class.

It means sweat stains, sore muscles, and making unattractive grunting noises as I try to do one more tricep dip.

So, here I am, 6 months later, and nothing has changed.

Except for the fact that I love this fitness thing even more.

Oh yeah, and my body.

My body has changed a lot.

Aaron recently told me that my toosh looks better now, at 36 and 4 kids later, than it ever has before.

I guess he's pretty happy with my Boot Camp results too.

These pictures were taken after 1 month of Boot Camp and after 6 months of Boot Camp.

The thing that amazes me is that I felt so proud of my progress after just 1 month.

And I had every right to be proud. 
I had started the work, and was already seeing changes in my body.

But when I look at those after pictures, just 5 months later, I feel even better.

I'm not going to lie, I feel amazing!

These pictures are terrible quality, I know.
Obviously I am not a great blogger, or I would have taken the time to take better before and after pictures.

Or at least have taken the time to clean the mirror.

But even with these bad pictures, you can see the difference, right?

I can too.

And I am still pretty blown away by it.

But far more better than any difference I see, is the difference I feel.

I feel like a new person.

I am happy in my skin.

I am happy in my jeans.

You know that chunk of fat that's hanging over my pants in those before pictures? 
My muffin top?

It's gone.

Hallelujah!  It's gone!

That is what hundreds and hundreds of crunches, bicycles, single leg pikes, romans, and all sorts of other tortuous ab workouts will do to a muffin top.

Yes, this love thing is hard work, but it is so worth it.

I really could go on and on.
Love will do that to you, you know.
But I'll end with this.
Beyond feeling great and fitting into smaller clothes, I also am so excited about the things my body can do now that it couldn't before.
In fact, it can do things I never dreamed it could.
When I started, I couldn't run a quarter mile.
Now I run an 8 minute mile.
I could hardly do 1 burpee.
Last week, I did 150.
I couldn't complete 20 push ups, on my knees, without stopping to rest often.
Today I did 215.
It's been hard work, but it has also been so much fun!
It feels good to be strong.
It feels good to be fit.

I don't plan on quitting anytime soon.
In fact, I have dreams for my future.
Like taking my grand kids for hikes, the same way my dad does with my kids.
It's not a crazy notion.
I run bleachers with a grandma.
She inspires me.

And in the meantime, I'll keep working out and having fun.
And I'll enjoy fitting into dresses that I haven't worn in 10 years.
That's pre-kids!
(and yeah, I keep my clothes for forever.)

What do you think, do I look like a woman in love?
Love from,
Greta
*If you made it this far, thank you for not giving up.  There's just a touch more.
I just have to reiterate how much I owe to my Aaron for all of this.  He has been endlessly supportive and giving.  From the financial investment, to the way he always says, "I've got the kids, you go to class"--he is the reason I have been able to make it happen.  He never begrudges me the time  spend in class.  So yes, I am a woman in love. Twice over!  Thank you, darling!

And, if you live in the Long Beach area, and are looking for the best workout around, come to Long Beach Boot Camp with me.  I promise, you won't be disappointed!

*If you are interested, you can find my previous posts about my journey to fitness here and also here.

All I Wanted To Do Was Get Skinny

Hey guys!
It's been a while, but you know the story: I've been busy.
If any of you are still bothering to check in, I'd be honored if you take a moment to read this long post and see what I've been up to.
Here goes.
Amongst other things, I've been working out.
A lot.
You might remember this post I wrote a while back, when I had just begun my journey with exercising again after a lengthy sabbatical.
Looking at it now, I am amazed at how far I have come.
About a month after I wrote that post, I started a new work out regime.
Here it is: for the past 3 months I've been waking at 5 am, 5 days a week, and going to Boot Camp.
And I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love it.

It has been a life changing experience for me.
There are at least 10 posts I could write about all the different things I've learned about myself, the ways I've changed, how I've grown, and the things I am doing now, but I don't have that kind of time.
Because of my early morning routine, I just can't stay up late writing like I used to.
And because there is just a lot more going on these days with schooling my kids, and with a busy, busy Davy, I never write during the day.
Hence the once a month, or less, posts on this little ol blog.
But I have to tell you, it has been so worth the break.

I am awake at 5 am every morning, facing the day with a smile, I work out in the dark with a smile, and I come home to my just waking up family with a smile.
I make breakfast for 6 people, pack Aaron's lunch, and start the morning chores all with a smile on my face.
It's a far cry from my old morning routine of begging the kids to be quiet while I simultaneously tried to wake up, make breakfasts and lunch, change diapers, wipe bottoms, get in a shower, and not snap at everyone because I was not a morning person.
Now I am doing jumping jacks while the coffee boils, and showing the kids how many push ups I can do while they eat their toast.
Who is this woman?!

(ps. how are there fingerprints at the top of the mirror?)

But the biggest change of all has happened in my head and heart.
I have such a new found appreciation for my body and the things it can do.
After 3 months, I am still not skinny.
And, if we're going by America's definition of skinny, I may never be.
I read somewhere that most Hollywood actresses are a size 4 or less.
I think the only time I was a size 4 was when I was 4 and wearing a 4T.
I'm OK with never being a size 4.
But, when I started this whole thing I really did want to loose weight, and that was pretty much the only goal I had in mind.
Oh, and being able to work out enough to eat whatever I want.
Because I don't want a skinny body badly enough to snack on rice cakes all the time.
I like good food, I like to eat, and I am not afraid to admit it.
So I thought: "I'll finally get skinny, stop hating my body and the way I look, and then get to eat chocolate and potato chips and not feel bad about it."
It hasn't worked out quite that way.
Instead, I started lifting weights, doing squats, running bleachers, working out my triceps, and doing crunches.
And I stared to see my body change.
And suddenly, my whole state of mind changed.

I wrote this testimonial for Long Beach Boot Camp, the boot camp I've been working out with.
I wanted to share it here, because it is a chronicle of my journey on this road to finding a healthy, stronger, leaner me.
It was not easy to write.
After all who of us enjoys sharing the things about ourselves that we don't like?
But it is my hope that you will share my joy in my triumphs, and if you've ever felt the same way I did, you'll be encouraged by my story.
Here it is.
                              ..........................................................................................................

All I Wanted To Do Was Get Skinny

I have boxes of clothes in my garage that range in size from 6 to 12.

5 pregnancies in 9 years can really do a number on a body.

And while I am always anxious to stow away that box of clothes I've lovingly labeled, "not pregnant, still fat," far too often I've fallen back on a great excuse for my weight gain, and why I never work out:

I just had a baby.

But that excuse can only last for so long.

My youngest turned 1 this summer.

Even though I had lost all my baby weight, I still couldn't squeeze into any of my shorts, my biggest pair of jeans were soon going to be too small, and every time I looked at a picture of myself, I cringed.

There was no way I was going to add a new size to my already too-big collection of too-big clothes.

Something had to change.

That's when I found Long Beach Boot Camp.

Just when I was at my lowest, feeling horribly uncomfortable, not just in my clothes but in my very body, I saw a coupon in my inbox for 1 month of unlimited Boot Camp.

"I'm sick of feeling this way, "I said.

And I bought it.

I was a little bit terrified to get started, and put it off for a while.

Sure, I chase my kids around all day, take them for hikes and walks, I'm an active person, but I hadn't truly worked out in years.

Lifting weights, doing sit-ups and push ups, running, I just didn't know if I could do it.

But I had to.

I wanted to get skinny.

That was my goal.

I was sure that if I lost weight, if I got into that one pair of jeans that I love, then I would be happy in my body, and life would be so much better.

I went to class all 6 days that first week.

My entire body ached from morning until night.

I huffed and puffed each time we ran, always coming back in to our mats dead last.

I could only do a few push ups on my knees before I'd have to stop and rest.

And every time we did crunches, the burn made me practice my labor breathing techniques.

It was hard!

But by the end of the second week, I could already see some little changes in my body.

Even more exciting were the changes taking place in my mind and heart--changes I never thought would happen.

I was falling in love with exercising.

Determined to get the most out of my 1 month membership, I attended class 5 or 6 times a week.

I slept in my workout clothes, and set 3 alarms so that I would be sure to wake up at 5 AM for class.

The terror of having to do extra burpees if I arrived late was a big motivator.

3 weeks in, my family went on a camping trip for 4 days.

I hated missing class, so I did my best to copy Boot Camp workouts on my own.

I walked through the middle of the campground doing lunges, and then sprints.

I did jumping jacks in front of my tent and ran on the beach for the first time in my life.

It was kind of amazing.

Even more amazing was the fact that I could now walk down the beach in my bathing suit and not hate every second of it.

I hadn't lost a pound, but the changes in my body felt so much better to me than just losing weight.

I was losing inches.

My stomach was getting flatter.

There were muscles growing in my arms that I had never seen before.

I looked at my legs and loved the way they were becoming strong and firm from lots of squats and running bleachers.

I couldn't recall the last time I looked in the mirror and felt proud of my body.

But there I was, standing in front of the bathroom mirror, flexing for my 4 year old daughter and saying, "look how strong Mommy's muscles are getting!"

That's when I knew that I wanted so much more for myself than to just be skinny.

I wanted to be strong.

I wanted to push myself, and see myself doing the things I'd always said I couldn't.

I wanted to worry less about what size I was wearing and focus more on how good it felt to be fit.

A short time later, something happened that made me realize fully the incredible change that had taken place in my life.

It had been a hard day.

All 4 of my kids had been very needy and by the time my husband arrived home from work, I was spent, cranky, and wanting to escape.

The usual way those nights play out is he says, "you should get out of here, honey," and I do.

I go get a coffee and a cupcake or a brownie, read magazines at the book store, or wander the aisles of Target.

But that night I said, "I think I am going to go for a run."

I never, ever, ever, thought there would come a day when I would choose a run over a cupcake.

When I got back home, I sat on the front steps breathing heavily, and feeling a sense of disbelief.

"Who am I?  And where did that other girl go? The one who hated running, and said she'd rather sleep than get up early to exercise?"

I think that girl is gone for good.

Because every morning when I'm at Boot Camp, I find myself grinning from ear to ear and whispering to myself, "I am so glad to be here!"

And I run a little harder, or hold that plank a few seconds longer.

It's not an exaggeration to say that attending Long Beach Boot Camp has been a life changing experience for me.

I started out wanting to get skinny.

But getting skinny was just about changing the way that I looked.

Instead, I am now changing my whole state of mind.

I am changing inside and out.

I owe such a debt of gratitude to my Long Beach Boot Camp coaches.

They have encouraged me every step of the way and helped me find parts of myself I never knew were there.

I can't help thinking that this is just the beginning and I am so excited to find out what lies ahead!

           .............................................................................................................................
Like I said, there are at least 10 more posts I want to write about all of this.
I'd like to talk about body image, and mindful eating, about becoming a runner, and how supportive Aaron has been in all this.
But I'll have to save all that for later.
Do check back in for those posts--they're sure to show up.
Eventually.
And now, I must sleep.
5 am comes early.
Love from,
Greta