Why do you work out? No, seriously. What does it take for you? Let me share my story as to how I found my way to a personal trainer. I have always been a little bit fat, I guess I kind'ove liked it that way. It gave me something to obsess about. I was uncomfortable, but acclimated to my body.
Until the day everything changed "little" old, 220 lbs of me is driving down Coburg road when I am side swiped by an SUV. I went through months and months of rehab for my spinal cord injury. My legs were constantly numb, the pain was unbearable. Four months of laying around crying, eating only Vicodin for the physical pain and sugar for the emotional pain. It never once occurred to me that my physical state was a catalyst to the severity of my injuries.
My injuries were not fatal, but I would have rather they been. I had fully lost my body. I lost my ability to walk without hand rails, I had lost control over my hormones, my metabolism, my ability to use the bathroom without help. I was no longer capable of truly being a wife, a mother, I had fully lost myself.
So, I got up and ran. I cried through the whole mile, which mostly consisted of limping. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was practicing some sort of swag flow, but that was just how I walked. I felt like I would rather die trying to get better, than die everyday waiting for the doctors to fix me. I wanted someone to fix me. The doctor, the food, the Vicodin.
One day I just woke up and realized I didn't want to live like this.
Until the day everything changed "little" old, 220 lbs of me is driving down Coburg road when I am side swiped by an SUV. I went through months and months of rehab for my spinal cord injury. My legs were constantly numb, the pain was unbearable. Four months of laying around crying, eating only Vicodin for the physical pain and sugar for the emotional pain. It never once occurred to me that my physical state was a catalyst to the severity of my injuries.
My injuries were not fatal, but I would have rather they been. I had fully lost my body. I lost my ability to walk without hand rails, I had lost control over my hormones, my metabolism, my ability to use the bathroom without help. I was no longer capable of truly being a wife, a mother, I had fully lost myself.
So, I got up and ran. I cried through the whole mile, which mostly consisted of limping. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was practicing some sort of swag flow, but that was just how I walked. I felt like I would rather die trying to get better, than die everyday waiting for the doctors to fix me. I wanted someone to fix me. The doctor, the food, the Vicodin.
One day I just woke up and realized I didn't want to live like this.
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Now I understand that maybe it might not seem as severe for you from the outside. Maybe you can walk. Maybe you are barely overweight or just a little bit soft, but we don't start searching out help because things are okay. I wasn't okay. Something inside me knew, that I had to regain my power. Seeing a trainer is more than having abs. A trainer is about making a commitment to saving yourself. Sometimes you have to let go and follow someone in order to regain your control. I need someone to guide me, not someone to fix me.
We are all scared to come in for the first time, but it is worth it. My accident was a few years ago now. The doctors told me they couldn't help me, but Mike was optimistically excited to help me. We assessed my weaknesses, and started building from there. There would be well known body builders squatting a semi truck next to me and it didn't matter, because I was proud of myself. Today I can hike, run, squat with minimal resistance. Losing 50 lbs, feels like a bonus. The most important part of my journey is when my family says "I love who you are when you are going to the gym"
If you are lost or in pain, physically or emotionally the first thing I suggest to everyone is a trainer. Are you ready to change? Are you done suffering? I was.
If you are lost or in pain, physically or emotionally the first thing I suggest to everyone is a trainer. Are you ready to change? Are you done suffering? I was.
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I regained my backbone with fitness- both literally and figuratively.
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