Cathe Helped Me Find My Passion for Fitness! by Margie Langweg

My story isn’t about weight loss. It isn’t about increasing strength either. Nope. It’s about finding my true passion in life and, more importantly, doing something about it! You see, I consider myself lucky to have someone inspiring me each and every day. She is someone who pushes me to do my best and has encouraged me to work hard. The best part? This person has played an important role in helping me pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a Certified Personal Trainer. This person is Cathe Friedrich.

It all began with my first Cathe purchase, Butts and Guts. I didn’t have a lot of fitness equipment at the time so I bought a high step and some dumbbells and was on my way. After the birth of my youngest child in 2010, I wanted to focus on tightening my abs and toning my lower body. Butts and Guts proved to be the perfect ensemble of exercises that I needed to get back into shape. I eventually purchased a few more of Cathe’s workouts and slowly started building my “home gym” (which, at the time, was just a corner of my basement).

I eventually learned that I had Diastasis Recti (abdominal separation) and had to modify a lot of Cathe’s core exercises but I kept at it, eventually owning nearly all of her workouts. I now own an impressive set of exercise equipment, including my latest purchase, a spin bike! So, how did Cathe manage to keep me engaged in my daily workouts? How did she motivate me and drive me to follow my dream in getting certified? Quite simply, she got me interested in learning about how the body moves. Through her cues and tips on proper form, I started to become interested in human anatomy. I became interested in understanding the different mesocycles of her STS program and learning about how each cycle has a different effect on the body. It all became fascinating to me. And it’s all because of Cathe.

Diagnosed with scoliosis as a child, I never realized the impact a curved spine would have on my body. I stand tall at 5′ 10″ and my significant spinal abnormalities are not noticeable to the average person. But as I began to build strength through Cathe’s workouts, I started to realize that my body was full of muscle imbalances. My inability to put my body into certain positions didn’t frustrate me though. Instead, it motivated me. This motivation inspired me to learn as much as I could about muscles, the core, and Diastasis Recti. After earning my Personal Trainer Certification, I created Lucy Fit Personal Training (www.LucyFitPT.com). My goal is to help other moms live a fit life and to educate women on Diastasis Recti and other post-partum health issues. I’m living my dream right now and I owe so much to Cathe (I mentioned her in my very first blog post!). I enjoy reading the posts on the Cathe Forum and I owe a shout-out to my fellow Cat hletes on Facebook. That group is such a positive and encouraging source of daily support.

While this brief message cannot possibly communicate to Cathe the special role she has played in my life, I hope that these words offer some insight into the impact that she has had on me. Perhaps I’ll be able to elaborate to her in person when I attend the Glassboro Road Trip later this year! I simply idolize Cathe Friedrich and without her, my dream of training other moms would be just that…a dream.