Strength comes from within! – by Pepnchar

I am not new to exercise. It’s been a consistent part of my life since I was young. I discovered Cathe in 1997 after I moved to Texas and stopped teaching my regular aerobics class. I wanted a workout that would challenge me as much as a hard-core step class at the gym. “Power Max” delivered and instantly I was hooked. But my true success story comes 12 years later.

For years, I had been in a relationship that was draining me emotionally and physically. I didn’t have the energy to stand up for myself and my daughter. We continued to endure months of verbal abuse and mood swings caused by my partner’s untreated bi-polar disorder. My workouts were my escape in a way — it was time I could carve out for myself; an hour out of my day that I was strong, confident and in control.

It was after my father passed away in 1997 that I realized that I deserve more than just an hour of empowerment a day. My daughter deserved to have a mom with the resolve to stand up for her and her best interests. Life was too short to endure pain and sadness. In early 2008 I did three things: I told my partner our relationship was over, I quit a very mentally draining job to spend more time with my daughter, and I began training for a marathon. While my cardio activity consisted of running, I used Cathe’s strength workouts to build muscle and strength to keep me going for all those miles. Not only was my outer strength improving, my inner strength was growing in leaps and bounds. I knew I could lift that weight — and I knew I could run that 26.2 miles — and I knew I could take care of my daughter alone — and I knew that I had what it takes to be happy and make my daughter happy. I completed my first marathon in September 2008 with a time of 4 hrs, 00 min and 37 seconds.

In early 2009, I took another step and moved an hour away from my ex. I enrolled my daughter in a special-needs pre-school so she could get the speech therapy and social interaction she needed. While my ex continued to call and harrass us (sometimes as many as 30 calls a day), I didn’t curl into a ball and cry. I stood up, took my daughter for a walk, wrote in a journal or logged in an STS workout.

So now the success story you’ve all been waiting to hear. Even though I have worked out regularly for years, I have never received so many compliments on my physique since I began the STS program. The checker at the grocery store told me she’d kill to have my arms, and my personal training clients have called my muscles amazing. I have even received compliments from other trainers at my gym — and I’m sure they wonder if I’m moonlighting at another club since I do not log in hours and hours of lifting there at the gym. I got these results at home! But the physical transformation is just the cherry on top. My true strength comes from within… from my heart and soul. Cathe, you have helped me recognize my true potential as a mother, a woman and a person. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!