Dear Fellow Practitioner
I thought you all would enjoy this breath of fresh air and encouragement today.
Meet Zoe. She is one of triplets: Her identical twin sister Ally, and her brother Stephen. She also has an older brother named James. Zoe’s family and my daughter Morgan grew up playing together. I have watched Zoe grow up to be a strong and beautiful young woman, all while she has overcome a lot in her life. The most challenging was the death of her husband when she was only 22, and their baby had just turned 1. Zoe is a great inspiration for inner strength, remaining positive and becoming amazing by choice, not by circumstances.
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I remember picking up my daughter after playing at their house, and all of the kids (including some cousins and neighbors) would be covered in scrapes and bruises and huge smiles, from playing tackle football and wrestling on their gravel driveway. Those kids played HARD, and they are the kindest, most respectful young ladies and men that you have ever met.
Zoe has been through a lot and has persevered with grace and determination and continued to stay true to herself. Enjoy…
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“My love for fitness started like many other women; I was a fat kid growing up and was always made fun of. I started my journey by running. My dad was a pretty consistent runner, and he would always invite us along with him. I hated running in the beginning. I was not able to make it two hundred feet before calling it quits and shamefully walking the rest of the way. But I kept trying.
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After what felt like forever, I got to where I could do a 2 mile route. I pushed myself just to get out and do it and, in time, really began to enjoy running. Once I started feeling the emotional benefits of regular exercise, I started focusing on getting my mile time down, and this gave me an additional measurement of personal success. The discipline and reality to achieve the two-mile turning point has ultimately changed my life.
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I started losing weight and eating better, which made me gain confidence, something I didn’t have when I was younger, and it was new and exciting. I eventually fell in love and got married, and we moved to Hawaii, where its bikini season all year. I loved living in Hawaii, but it definitely came with being a little self-conscious of wearing a swimsuit all the time. I stayed a runner the whole time I lived in Hawaii.
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Pregnancy is so exciting, but so scary, especially if you have a fear of gaining weight. I ran my entire pregnancy and ate as healthy as possible, but even with all of my running and keeping my diet in check I could feel certain parts of my body start to jiggle. I then sprinkled in some bodyweight training like pushups and air squats. I could feel myself get stronger and stronger. I studied nutrition plans, muscle groups, and proper forms for weight lifting. I started lifting small weights at home. I was so afraid I would end up looking stupid, so I would not exercise in public or at a gym. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with lifting weights.
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After the birth of my son, was when the fun began. I really got to push myself with lifting weights, and surprisingly all of the areas of my body I was self-conscious of that jiggled when I ran were now tone and muscular.
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When my husband Joey died, my life was spinning out of control, but exercise was the way I could keep some normal in my life. I would get bad anxiety attacks, and I would run to kind of trick my body into thinking that was the reason I was panting, and my heart was racing. It’s hard losing people you love.
Lifting weights for me now is my therapy; it is such a great stress relief and something that has helped me through some really rough times in my life. I get so excited about seeing my progress, and I’m proud of how far I have come. I believe the training I do in the gym helps me so much outside of the gym. The way I push myself to lift more or run further has given me the mental strength and determination to push myself in life. No matter what comes at me, I am mentally and physically stronger than any life stress.
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As a widow and single mother there are days when life is hard or seems like too much and you want to give up, but I built a mindset of never giving up by not giving up on my workouts. Life is hard and we’re told that from the day we’re born, but feeling strong makes me feel like there is nothing I can’t make it through.”
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I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ HER LAST PARAGRAPH AGAIN.
What great insight that we can all use in our own lives! Feeling physically strong can help get you through emotionally challenging situations. Just another reason to take care of yourself.
Let's spend this time at home in a positive way. Let's get back to taking care of ourselves. No excuses! You don’t need a gym or a trainer. Just get up and get moving with focus and determination.
There is not a better start than getting out for a brisk, arm-swinging, walk out in the healing sunshine. In addition, you can’t beat bodyweight training which can be as easy as stretching to as difficult as gymnastics to get diesel strong to the core. There are no limits! So quit watching Tiger King garbage, and get outside and become a better YOU!
Be strong. Be healthy,
Jennette Rerucha
P.S. I would love to see some of YOUR before and after pictures! Stay tuned for MINE!!!
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