2015: Your Year to Surprise Yourself

I was not a sporty kid. I was the 4th grader who, when she jumped over the Pommel horse in PE, somehow fell onto her all-the-moms-call-him-cute gym teacher, in front of EVERYONE, causing them to fall to the ground together with this girl — ME — on top of him. Beyond my newfound fear of Pommel horses, I was afraid of sports that demanded any running or catching. I pretended to have my period every day we had to swim. And I could NOT understand how the kids in high school that smoked the most ran the mile test the fastest. So I figured it was all rigged and I was not born to do anything athletic. Meh, so what? This all carried me into my theater-major adulthood, where I survived mainly on pots of coffee, Pop Tarts (cinnamon and brown sugar, please), Lean Pockets and wine.

Fast forward to four years ago. People I hadn’t seen in eons were SHOCKED to learn I’d become a personal trainer. Even my parents were confused.

And now, this week, I’ve begun my official training program to prepare for my Strong First Level 1 kettlebell certification, one of the most challenging certs to get in the industry. (Let me tell you: Signing up for this was an out of body experience with my 4th grade self watching my 35-year-old self clicking the "submit" button to process the sign-up.) While I am doing this partly to have a much bigger toolbox to bring to my clients, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you my major motivator is to prove to myself that I CAN get through this. Because for 30+ years, I lived in a world where no one expected any physical feats from me beyond doing a great job in a dance recital or looking pretty. Not that I had any desire to deadlift 200+ lbs or perform any pullups back then. It just took a special coach to see what I might be capable of and to open my eyes to my potential. What he did for me is what I try to do for my clients every single day.

THIS is why I love my job. Yes, I help you learn how to breathe more optimally and how to squat without pain and I give you life tools for how you can eat your veggies every day. But more than anything, my job is to stand by you and show you all the things you can do now to get you to places you may not have considered before simply because you grew up thinking you couldn’t do fill-in-the-blank because you weren’t fill-in-another-blank. 

Coaches are people who help you figure out what stands in the way of your success. Heck, we help you figure out what success really means to you (hint: It might not be what you’ve always thought it was). We help you separate fact from fiction. We help you stop saying, “Sorry,” or, “I suck.” We help you figure out where your priorities are and where they might need to be. Yes, we personal trainers and coaches teach you how to do exercises but it’s more than that, it should be more than that. A good coach will know where your limits are and will help you stretch those limits in a safe way to turn you into the Superyou you didn’t know you could be. 

As we approach the end of another year and the start of the next, here is my challenge to you: Find people you can trust, who will help lift you up to where you want to be. This might very well be a coach but could also be your friends, family, partner, etc. Build your village of lifter-uppers and start to see your accomplishments accumulate as the year goes by. Who knows: You may even surprise yourself.

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If you are looking for some guidance in the New Year with your health, fitness and/or weight loss goals, please don't hesitate to reach out to IzzyFit Personal Training in Evanston to see if it might be a good fit! Set up a consultation by calling 312-497-8999 or emailing izzy@izzyfit.com. 
Also be sure to check out IzzyFIt's Clean Slate program to start 2015 on right foot!