BelovedHeather
Cathlete
I am fired up tonight and ready to take on hell with a water pistol! After wandering around in circles for months, I experienced a series of breakthroughs last month and this month as well. As icing on the cake, I had a defining moment tonight that was totally empowering. For most of my life, I have battled my weight. I have been very self-conscious and allowed myself to be defined by other people’s comments and perceptions about me. I started meeting with a counselor from my church family last month and started a Bible study called Breaking Free. I am blown away by how much healing and freedom I am experiencing through this journey.
I wasted an expensive fitness club membership for months because I was intimidated about comments and what people think, and I felt insecure about my size. Aquajock shared some cardio drills that I could do in the pool. Armed with her water workout, I returned to the club 2 weeks ago. It took a lot of courage to walk into that place and start working out in public again (in a swimsuit no less!) after retreating to the safety of home workouts. The first week was so uncomfortable for me emotionally. I kept pressing on, and I actually started to feel “at home” there last week.
In my excitement, I promised one of the regular members of a precious friend’s cardio boot camp class that I would return to class this week. I made a commitment to attend that class once a month. Her class is like Cathe’s Boot Camp, High Step Training, and IMAX3 combined. It is an extremely challenging workout. It is a good 45 minutes of non-stop cardio drills (and what I imagine Drill Max will be like) followed by circuit training. For a variety of reasons, I dropped out of class in March, quit going to the club, and did Cathe’s workouts exclusively. I was making progress and getting fitter. Then I flirted with some other workouts just for fun. My endurance and cardio capacity went down the toilet. I visited this class again in July and got humbled. I could only endure 40 minutes, and I modified like crazy. I returned to Cathe’s workouts exclusively on the 4th of July to reclaim the stolen ground. I have been maintaining my size and wanted to test my fitness progress.
I ate some whole wheat pasta for lunch today to give me energy, packed my workout bag, and spent my free time mentally preparing for the challenge. I read Janie’s thread before I left the office and started thinking about how I would respond to her post. Pondering my personal journey and how far I have come reminded me that I do have the power to change my life. I am more than a conqueror. This is my destiny. I am not helpless. I am not hopeless. I am not stuck. I am not the wimp I act like I am at times.
I arrived 15 minutes early and paced the hallway hoping the butterflies in my stomach would settle down and praying that I would not throw up during class. I knew that I would be facing 45 minutes of intense cardio drills followed by endless leg presses and walking lunges and other forums of torture. I visualized the pictures from Cathe’s blog and got totally fired up. If that was not enough motivation, I thought about the looks I get when I tell people about doing video and DVD workouts at home. That inspired me to rise up and defend the honor of home exercisers everywhere!
I had the benefit of a new pair of Nike Shox and a suspended wood floor. I pushed myself hard, and I did it! I survived cardio boot camp! I stayed for the entire class with very few modifications! I even cranked out a few pushups on my toes! Glory! It took an act of will for me to get through the core work at the end because I did not have much left to give. My face was as red as my t-shirt, and I was drenched in sweat. I did not look pretty when I left, but I am basking in the afterglow of an endorphin high! I am so delighted!
I am not sure if anyone here will understand why I am so excited. I realize that it is nothing for most of you to get through a tough workout, but I have never been athletic. I was in a room full of fitness queens, and most of them weigh a good 70-80 pounds less than I do. It was such a satisfying feeling to look around and realize that I was keeping up with the best of them. Thank you, Cathe! It dawned on me tonight that I limit myself needlessly by unbelief and all the negative things I believe about myself and say to myself. All things are possible for me when I believe. Yes, I can conquer the rest of this weight, reach my goals, and see the day when dreams become reality. This is my destiny! Glory! Bring on Drill Max!
Blessings,
Heather B.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
I wasted an expensive fitness club membership for months because I was intimidated about comments and what people think, and I felt insecure about my size. Aquajock shared some cardio drills that I could do in the pool. Armed with her water workout, I returned to the club 2 weeks ago. It took a lot of courage to walk into that place and start working out in public again (in a swimsuit no less!) after retreating to the safety of home workouts. The first week was so uncomfortable for me emotionally. I kept pressing on, and I actually started to feel “at home” there last week.
In my excitement, I promised one of the regular members of a precious friend’s cardio boot camp class that I would return to class this week. I made a commitment to attend that class once a month. Her class is like Cathe’s Boot Camp, High Step Training, and IMAX3 combined. It is an extremely challenging workout. It is a good 45 minutes of non-stop cardio drills (and what I imagine Drill Max will be like) followed by circuit training. For a variety of reasons, I dropped out of class in March, quit going to the club, and did Cathe’s workouts exclusively. I was making progress and getting fitter. Then I flirted with some other workouts just for fun. My endurance and cardio capacity went down the toilet. I visited this class again in July and got humbled. I could only endure 40 minutes, and I modified like crazy. I returned to Cathe’s workouts exclusively on the 4th of July to reclaim the stolen ground. I have been maintaining my size and wanted to test my fitness progress.
I ate some whole wheat pasta for lunch today to give me energy, packed my workout bag, and spent my free time mentally preparing for the challenge. I read Janie’s thread before I left the office and started thinking about how I would respond to her post. Pondering my personal journey and how far I have come reminded me that I do have the power to change my life. I am more than a conqueror. This is my destiny. I am not helpless. I am not hopeless. I am not stuck. I am not the wimp I act like I am at times.
I arrived 15 minutes early and paced the hallway hoping the butterflies in my stomach would settle down and praying that I would not throw up during class. I knew that I would be facing 45 minutes of intense cardio drills followed by endless leg presses and walking lunges and other forums of torture. I visualized the pictures from Cathe’s blog and got totally fired up. If that was not enough motivation, I thought about the looks I get when I tell people about doing video and DVD workouts at home. That inspired me to rise up and defend the honor of home exercisers everywhere!
I had the benefit of a new pair of Nike Shox and a suspended wood floor. I pushed myself hard, and I did it! I survived cardio boot camp! I stayed for the entire class with very few modifications! I even cranked out a few pushups on my toes! Glory! It took an act of will for me to get through the core work at the end because I did not have much left to give. My face was as red as my t-shirt, and I was drenched in sweat. I did not look pretty when I left, but I am basking in the afterglow of an endorphin high! I am so delighted!
I am not sure if anyone here will understand why I am so excited. I realize that it is nothing for most of you to get through a tough workout, but I have never been athletic. I was in a room full of fitness queens, and most of them weigh a good 70-80 pounds less than I do. It was such a satisfying feeling to look around and realize that I was keeping up with the best of them. Thank you, Cathe! It dawned on me tonight that I limit myself needlessly by unbelief and all the negative things I believe about myself and say to myself. All things are possible for me when I believe. Yes, I can conquer the rest of this weight, reach my goals, and see the day when dreams become reality. This is my destiny! Glory! Bring on Drill Max!
Blessings,
Heather B.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
