Note from Elizabeth: Working out has its ups and downs. Not all progress is big, and not all progress is visible or measurable. Sometimes just “showing up” – mentally and physically – is progress.
Brie is at the point in her workouts when many people quit without the proper support: it’s a busy time of year, moves are becoming more challenging (and she’s strong enough that we can begin to focus on some of her bigger fitness opportunities), and the initial thrill of doing something new has worn off. The low-hanging fruit has been tackled, and now we have to start finding bigger long-term solutions for her health and success. She keeps putting in great effort and finding way to sneak in her tiny changes like walking, better food choices, and her assigned home workouts, and she will continue to see amazing progress day by day, even on the rainy days. I can’t wait to see what she makes of next week’s workout!
Hey Guys! I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the beautiful weather.
The holiday season is always a challenge for me. My mother is from Louisiana and is a phenomenal cook. Everything she makes is rich, buttery, and super yummy. Although I have had gastric sleeve surgery, there are ways to make your days calorie packed by over-indulging in delicious food. I have conveniently gotten off-track with my food tracker, and as with many of us, once you stop doing a healthy behavior, sometimes it is hard to pick it back up. Good thing that I have Elizabeth to help create solutions when I get sidetracked.
This week’s workout was especially difficult for me. I was very frustrated. At one point in the work out my legs began to shake and I was having issues with stability (I have restless leg syndrome and sometimes I get tremors in my leg, especially if I have been doing a lot of walking). I had eaten breakfast (because of course Elizabeth asked me if I had eaten), so the shaking was even more frustrating.
I really wanted to be successful at the TRX lunge Elizabeth was asking me to do, and I was super disappointed when I could not do it – I just did it last week with no issues. When I first started working out, if I couldn’t do something, I would just chalk it up to lack of strength or being a novice regarding physical activity, but now when I can’t do something I get frustrated because part of me really thinks that I can do it or part of me wants to figure out how to do it.
During the work out, Elizabeth and I also tackled some “homework” issues I was having – since I only work out at the studio once a week, she gives me two strength workouts to complete at home each week. The dreaded “stability ball knee tucks” have been on my home work for three weeks and, at the point of my last work out, I had yet to accomplish one. I finally learned how to get my knees onto the ball without taking a nosedive, so I was actually able to do more than one (poorly, but I did it).
I have been working on the stability ball knee tucks and I am getting better. It is still a little more difficult for me than someone else because of dexterity issues from a medical issue, but I am pleased that I know how to do them and celebrating the changes I have made!