Moving Forward Toward The Goal

Ahhhh, Friday! The day I sleep late, even if “late” means 6:30am. First time bootcampers are probably more excited with a few extra hours snuggled up in bed than those of us repeat campers. Getting up early does get easier. It’s kind of like squat thrusts. The first few times you’re thinking “Really?? No way!” but after a few weeks it becomes “Alright, let’s do this”. It’s still a struggle but not an impossibility. Impossible to me would be the evening bootcamp, so hat’s off to ya’ll. My energy level is highest in the morning so I have great respect for the workout-after-work crowd.

To say this week of camp has been a challenge would be a tremendous understatement. Coaxing my weak and flabby muscles into giving a power performance isn’t an easy task. But baby step by baby step I’m growing stronger and seeing the results. I find motivation in the oddest places. This week it was the Grammy Awards. Running a lap, I gasped out my mantra “Tina Turner legs, Tina Turner legs”. Hey, whatever it takes, right?

Knowing that my body is firming up, getting leaner and trimming down is what keeps me moving forward. Aching muscles and stiffness eventually get better and go away. Even when I wobble out of my car after camp and toddle up the driveway toward my front door I feel good. So what if I drop my keys then try as I might can’t seem to squat down to get them? The people waiting at a nearby bus stop watched me hunker down like an arthritic senior citizen, reach for my keys and fail, reach for them again, groaning into a deeper squat and then finally tumble over into the lawn. Who knew my bootcamp experience would provide such great entertainment for the world at large?

But I’m pressing on. I’m rubbing liniment on my aches and diligently stretching several times a day. I won’t let anyone, including myself, stop me from my goal of becoming a healthier person. I’ve never been a skinny chick. I’ve never been athletic. I’ve lived my entire life fighting the battle of the bulge. Most of the time it won but I’ve had enough. I’ve put my foot down. I’ve drawn the line in the sand. I’m determined to transform myself into a physically fit woman. Every morning I look into the mirror and tell myself that I can do this. I can and I will.

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."

-Nike ad