On Fitness
When I started on my get fit journey, I was so out of shape that I couldn’t even do a single bodyweight squat. I remember going to the gym with my husband and getting into an argument because he just couldn’t understand how I wasn’t able to do it. That was some years ago and I am happy to say, that I can do way more than just one bodyweight squat.
After I had our youngest daughter, Noelle, I decided that I wanted to start walking to lose some of my pregnancy weight. Walking turned into running and fortunately for me, around the same time, my sister-in-law became a personal trainer and I hired her to help me move forward with my fitness goals.
When I started training with Kat, it was hard. I liked it. It was challenging in a way that I had never experienced before and I liked feeling strong. The high intensity workouts kicked my ass! But, I always felt better afterward.
When we moved to San Francisco, I had to motivate myself to workout because I no longer had Kat in my corner. Fortunately, Leo agreed to do it with me. He had other fitness goals, and at the time, I wasn’t about running up and down the steep San Francisco hills. But, he was willing to be my motivator and workout partner. So, we did bodyweight exercises and incorporated some crossfit stuff into our at home workouts. Very very hard.
I’m not sure when I decided to start running, but I remember the feeling of accomplishment when I was able to make it up that steep hill from Frederick Street in Cole Valley to Buena Vista park! Or from my house in Corona Heights to the top of the very steep 17th Street. It was great running up and down those hills! I felt so good about myself and the fact that my fitness was improving.
Bodyweight exercises were great, but after doing it for a while, we decided that it might be time to change it up a bit. We bought a sandbag and some dumbbells and started adding a little bit of weight to our workouts. Before I knew it I was joining Leo in doing barbell squats and deadlifts. We had our own little weight lifting gym and when we moved, we set up our equipment on the deck of our bedroom and had an incredible view of San Francisco while we exercised. It was great!
I’ve done yoga for a time and some high intensity interval training. Fitness challenges with friends and even became a member of an online fitness community.
These days, I do weight workouts with my girls three times a week. I’m trying to get back into running. It’s just so hard for me to motivate myself to leave the comfort of my warm house to go out into the cold for a run. I’m hoping to change that soon though. It’s part of my New Year’s resolution!