The Rhapsody of the Day: Train-a-versary #2

As of today, it's been exactly 2 years since I started working with Trainer Guy. What better way to celebrate than a work out, right?

While there wasn't anything special about today's workout, it does tend to make me a bit reflective.  For example, part of today's workout involved 185lb back squats. Back when I started, I'm pretty sure 45lbs back squats (aka, the bar) were "heavy". Now, the pieces have come together where I can back squat over my body weight on any given day...

That's not a brag - but rather a reminder for me. As I train others, I see reflections of where I was in them. Many of them surpass where I started. Many of them were like me, intimidated by the thought of walking into a weight room. Now, the weight room is my 2nd home. Now, I'm that 'crazy girl' with the 300+lb deadlift, on some platform in the corner putting 100+ lbs over my head on a near daily basis, because I have 2 competitions coming up.

Aside from remembering the past in my training life, I also had a few highly memorable moments that properly express my day-to-day life pretty well.

Moment 1 -
I get this a lot on Facebook, but I've gotten it a few times in person too. It usually is a comment to the effect of "You're lucky. You can work out whenever you want. You live a lifestyle that makes you be healthy." 

No amount of 'luck' can help flip a 400lb tire, 60 yards, up hill....

 While it's usually well intended, I can't say that I'm not offended on some level by the assumption that this life I live was carved out of sheer 'luck'.
 Yes, in general I do consider myself a pretty lucky girl.  But that said, I have to give more credit to dogged determination than 'luck' in this case.

After all, I'm an underdog long-shot that doesn't know when to quit.

I can honestly say that I have every excuse (and then some) to  do less than I do on the health front. My schedule is hectic (days often start at 3am and end around 8pm).  I have health conditions that don't always making working out comfortable. I could throw in the towel at any moment, and it's likely no one would blame me. But the truth of the matter is I worked very hard for this life. The reason I haven't fallen into those traps is one of long established habits and sheer stuborness. Day by day, I changed my life from an office worker to an athlete.
Now, not everyone is meant to be a Personal Trainer or even an athlete, and I'm not suggesting that's the path for everyone, but I do take offense to the assumption that I got here because of luck. Luck had little to do with it. Yes, I was lucky to get hooked up with the right people, but it wasn't like I bumped into them on the street. I got here because I worked my ass off. I'll stay here by working my ass off. Luck, fate, and destiny may very well play a strong role in my life, but hard work can't be discounted and diminished to just 'luck.'


Moment 2 -
Walking out of the gym today, with Bella across my shoulders, a little toe-headed girl, no bigger than my hip, followed me out, mesmerized.
"What is that?"
"It's a barbell."
"What's it for?"
"It helps me make people stronger."
She jumped up to touch the barrels. "Do you always carry it like that?"
"Across my shoulders?" (My usual method of getting Bella across the parking lot includes hoisting it across my shoulders.)
"No. Like wings!"
I couldn't help but smile at her fearlessness and her observation. I paused and crouched down, letting her touch it further. "Yup. Sometimes things are lighter when you carry them like wings."

Shortly there after, she ran off to find her mother again.



So, thanks little girl, for reminding me why and how much I love what I do. I get to work with awesome people who inspire me daily in their journey.

 Best. Job. Ever.