Within 30 seconds, my hands stopped shaking. I sat on the floor, appreciating the pattern in the carpet. Breathing. That’s a sure sign that the workout preceding the metabolic meltdown was epic.
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Tomorrow morning, at 4:00 AM, my alarm will chime and I’ll roll my bike down off the porch, ride to the martial arts dojang where I train in Taekwon-Do and I’ll push the reset button on another comprehensive workout, courtesy of Elite Urban Fitness. Then I’ll bike to work and start another day, here in the land of the Midnight Sun.
Completing 'The Challenge', Ti Conkle
photo courtesy of Elite Urban Fitness
In addition to working full time as a government auditor/investigator, I’ve run a small business and worked as an American Council on Exercise (ACE) and AFAA certified personal trainer since 2001, only recently allowing my certifications to lapse while I took on my most difficult client of all: myself. I’ve consistently trained inside and outside of the gym for nearly twenty years. I’ve climbed mountains, I’ve sunk ice axes into vertical frozen waterfalls, I’ve traversed glaciers and hiked for hundreds of accumulated miles over terrain stretching from Alaska to Hawaii. I completed the P90x program, training six nights per week, for fourteen weeks, without missing a single workout and while maintaining a consistent presence at the martial arts school and the climbing wall (it was Winter, people). All that is to say this: I’ve never experienced a series of workouts as comprehensive, intense, physically demanding and fully functional as those I’ve completed, while training with Stephanie and Charles Allen of Elite Urban Fitness, these last couple of weeks.
If you live in or around Fairbanks, AK and need a righteous kick in the pants to adjust/define/explore/achieve your lifetime fitness objectives: this is your place, your space. I’ve warmed up a spot on the mat, just for you. Wait. That didn’t sound okay.
Yeah, you’ll sweat. You’ll deplete glycogen stores. You’ll remember muscles that time forgot. You’ll be a kid again. You’ll bring YOUR 100% to the workout and that will be Enough. You will be Enough.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I save my endorsements for really important things (like Italian import espresso and Handpresso Wild). This? Is a Really Important Thing. Your health, your fitness, your Life. You don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from the discipline of showing up for your own life. You have to start somewhere. Seriously.
Start where you are.
Whether you’re here, or there, or not anywhere you ever wanted to be- find your place. Find YOUR space. Make time for your health, for a lifetime of fitness. You're worth it.
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6 comments:
I like when you post about yourself. :-) But I'll pass on the torture though I'm sure it's very good for you.
def make time for your health...it will keep you around a lot longer than if you dont...you can only ignore it for so long...and the longer you do the harder it is...
All can say is HELP!! I've been working out regularly for well, a very long time. NOW, I'm working out with a trainer, because I need to see a difference. I need to feel it... all I feel is pain, and my stomach is STILL not tone... ugh, it's making me nuts. I almost approached a very fit looking woman in the gym today, and begged her for help. She might have been terrified though, because I watched her the whole time I was in there.
Maybe you can train me through Skype? I need to do something... I need to change something. I'm a "crazy about my health person"... so I don't get it.
My stomach issues alone keep me from eating unhealthy foods. I measure every calorie, every gram of fat, every freakin' thing I put in my mouth. I freak out when we go out to eat, and I can't find the calorie counting, fat content of what I want to order, online.
I read what other people post on FB, on Pinterest, blog sites, their recipes and such, and I wonder what on earth they do to stay firm, because the food they're eating isn't a factor apparently. ::sigh::
Sorry for the vent... I am just at my limit with all of this right now. Overwhelmed and frustrated! It makes me want cake! Pffft
JTC: First of all, let me say this: you’ve done a world of good for your health simply by making fitness a priority. From what you’ve written, it sounds like you’ve dedicated a lot of time both in the gym and at home to working toward your goals.
There are few things in life more frustrating than committing to something, only to discover that the tools you need to accomplish the task simply aren’t in your toolbox. It sounds like you took the right step in hiring a trainer; however, a professional, certified, experienced trainer should be addressing those concerns with you PRIOR to initiating the first workout session.
At this point in time, I am not training clients (in-person or remotely). I can, however, make a strong recommendation regarding your choice of certified personal trainer. Look for an individual who is certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). I’m not just saying that because it’s my preferred certifying agency (in the US). I have worked at several different gyms, athletic clubs and fitness facilities and have encountered many, many trainers from all over the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada. Those trainers who have come up through the ranks with a fundamental understanding of exercise physiology, kinesiology, human anatomy and physiology and psychological/therapeutic communication skills are simply better equipped for the task of comprehensively analyzing an individual’s personal physical goals and interests and developing/implementing an individual plan to allow for achievement of those goals.
A good personal trainer is one who wants to be put out of business.
Nope. That was not a typo.
A good trainer wants to instruct, teach, coach, lead, build and develop their client’s personal resources, both physically and mentally. An excellent trainer is one whose goal is to give their client the tools to launch a lifetime of health and fitness, on their own. No umbilical cords.
So, perhaps a good place to start is here. Another consideration is seeking out high quality instruction through yoga/pilates studios, researching the resources available in your particular locale.
It’s not my intent to tap-dance around your (very legitimate) concerns regarding the state of your personal health and fitness. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to these things. Every individual has a different body type, different metabolism, different power-to-weight ratio, different medical/health concerns and different goals. Not every person who appears healthy, fit, lean and visually appealing is qualified to offer instruction/advice on your personal fitness goals; I’d recommend some caution in approaching random gym-goers in that regard.
I’d be happy to answer any further questions you have, as you embark on this process, this next phase of your fitness journey.
Travel light, be well.
4 am?! did i read that right - you work out at 4am? *hatsofftoyou* I get up at 4.30 to head to work and can barely get the coffee coordinated! And you make it sound tempting :)
I've never been through anything like what you're describing, but I do try really hard to make the best out of what I've got in the form of being able to move at all. :) I find age creeping up on me like an evil and hungry snake, but I'm not giving up yet. Thanks for inspiration to K.E.E.P. M.O.V.I.N.G.
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