On November 7th, 2019, I was six weeks post-surgery for an umbilical hernia and had just been cleared for full physical activity. My husband and I decided that my body had been through enough post-delivery of four warrior sons, and we’d made the hard call to end the baby-birthing years. It was time to get my body back to a place that felt strong, capable, and healthy.
Lucky for me, I have this pretty cool bro-in-law, Mike, who also doubles as a personal trainer. I signed up for his training and we started meeting 2-3 times a week to work out.
Mike takes a full-body approach to training and most workouts consisted of three sets with 3-4 exercises each. The workouts last about an hour. During our first session, I felt like dying halfway through. In time, I didn’t feel like death until the 45-minute mark. Eventually, I’d make it through an hour before feeling the full power of my misery.
When COVID broke out, I had just started to actually enjoy my workouts a bit. Sadly, the gym closed and Mike and I had to scramble a bit to keep our momentum going. We pooled our home gym items: some yoga balls, a kettlebell set, some resistance bands, and a TRX strap kit. It was weird working out at home at first. Home is comfy. It’s where the food is. It’s not where I wanted to sweat and struggle.
Home workouts continued and progress improved; by mid-April, I felt really strong! This was good because my life circumstances drastically changed and I returned to work in an almost full-time capacity.
Squeezing in workouts early, working long, scorching days for our family business, and doing it all over again as the world seemed to crumble in 2020 was not easy. And I was angry.
I was angry at the unfairness, at the worldwide misery, at the strangeness of it all. The workouts kept me calm. They kept the fire at bay and as my personal life continued to take hit after hit, I realized that the strength of my body was disciplining my heart to persevere through the hardships.
It’s been a year since I set out on this journey, with Mike as my fearless leader. I’d like to say my body is ripped and I have a six pack, but I can’t lie to you. I’m stronger physically than I ever was before, but the only six pack around here has 5% abv.
I trust my body to handle tasks on the job that I know it couldn’t have a year ago. My energy has increased in a time when I know it should be waning due to defeat and exhaustion. I credit the training for this.
But my greatest accomplishment is that I am still showing up. I am still breaking a sweat. I continue to surprise myself by getting up before everyone in my family and pouring my anger and heartbreak into the med ball slams and the squats. Each morning I leave the gym with the knowledge that if my body can keep this up, maybe my spirit can too, with God’s grace.
Obviously, I recommend a personal trainer to anyone that can afford to pay for one. But I recommend regular exercise to everyone as often as I can. Nothing can bring satisfaction, peace, joy, and strength like taking care of your body. It’s kept me going, fostered my sanity, and sheltered my heart in the time I needed it most.