I was so surprised to hear that I had been chosen as the August Spotlight Member! Thank you!
I was never athletic growing up. I never played sports because I was too shy. I grew up working out with 80’s exercise videos in our living room with my mom (remember the Jane Fonda videos? Yeah, those!), and because I had grown up knowing that being physically active was important, I continued working out on my own into my teens and early twenties. However, it was always sporadic, never consistent. As my 30th birthday started to approach in early 2011, I was a wife, a mom to two small children, and working full time. Basically, I had no time for myself. But as that birthday got closer, I started to freak out about turning 30 (I look back now and see how totally ridiculous that was!) and decided I needed to do something for myself. Running was something I could do on my own, as my schedule allowed, so that was what I did.
Then in 2014, I met 212. At the time, my employer was offering a 1-hour cardio conditioning class one day a week with a local trainer. I signed up because at the time, I was running several races each year and I thought a cardio class would complement my running routine. That very first class, Heather had me doing things I had never done before…all kinds of crazy things, and I remember thinking, “wow…this is tough!” That cardio class morphed from being held in the lunchroom at my work location to being held in Studio B. That was when I started to see what 212 was all about.
In 2017, I received an email about the Drop 2 Jean Sizes Challenge and I signed up! I guess you could say that was when I realized there was no turning back. Alicia was very helpful and knowledgeable and helped me so much with my nutrition requirements, and as part of the challenge, I had to get 5 workouts in per week (or push the sled as punishment 😊), so when the challenge was over, I really felt that I couldn’t just stop what I had become accustomed to doing each week. My children were now older, and my workouts had changed where I was running less, and instead going to the gym and getting comfortable with kettlebells…so I became an official member in January 2018. Since then, I have at times, fallen out of routine, but the 212 staff checks in with me and gets me back on track and holds me accountable. I have also experienced a couple of random injuries outside of the gym, but 212 has always aided me in recovering from those injuries quickly, even when I didn’t want to be there with the boot on my foot 😊. The entire staff encouraged me to get back to the gym, and I truly feel the reason I recovered as well as I did, without physical therapy, was because of their guidance, support, and expertise.
This year has been challenging to say the least. Back in March, when life started getting really crazy, 212 became one of the only consistent pieces to my day. My daily check in online for class became such a positive support outlet for me. It was the one hour per day, where I could clear my mind completely. It was so important for my mental health to stay consistent with my workouts, and it really made all the difference.
And now, with my 40th birthday not too far off, I feel great and I’m not freaking out at all!😊
I feel the best I ever have, and I have the entire 212 staff to thank for that!