I’ve recently heard from multiple people, “How do you do it?” Well I’ll tell you. See, I’ve been with Extreme Fit for about 2 years. I took off for a few months here and there but it’s close enough. I’ve met so many wonderful people. I’ve met many not so wonderful people too. Like the woman who called me an ox and said she never wanted to be my partner or the person who didn’t know what deodorant was. Anyway, when I look back at the very first month compared to now, it’s like night and day.

I couldn’t run a lap. Our location has a track around a pond that really is beautiful when you’re not sweating, running around it and dodging geese. Yes geese. The first time I was told to run around it, well I didn’t. I walked 80% of it, thought my heart was going to come through my chest and I felt like a loser. Now I can at least jog one lap, possibly 2. Although, that hill gets me every single time. The amount of irony involving my battle over that literal hill could probably fill a football field. Please know I’m not bragging. Jogging is not running. I stink at both. I just know the difference in my first month and where I am today. I’ll proudly take the jog any day.

I never caught my breath. Ever. I would find myself needing to stop & try to catch my breath before moving onto the next exercise and I was so frustrated. Every single thought was “Is she crazy?” or “Why is she so mad at us?”. Rachel was my teacher at the time and she’s not crazy AND I’ve seen her mad. You don’t want that…I promise. Two years later, I can handle going from one exercise to the next. I’ve learned when, where and how to catch my breath. I’ve learned sometimes that if I just stop and count to 5, I can move on. Trust me when I say 10 is too much.

I wondered how people had conversations. I would be so out of breath and tired that I would hear people talking and laughing and it would make me mad. I wasn’t mad at them, I was mad at myself because I had no clue why I couldn’t talk at all. Not even an “OK”. I had to give a thumbs up, Fonzie style at anything. In the last few months, I’ve been able to talk and laugh some. It’s not much but it’s something. I was doing a parachute run around our track and my partner, not my usual but my next best favorite (shout out again – she knows who she is) and she talked while I listened. I muttered out a few words. I often laugh during certain parts of the class. I am now the person that I always wondered how they seemed to enjoy the torture.

I didn’t understand how it was an addiction. I’m the kind of person that if I pay for something – I use it. I might not like it, but I use it. I once belonged to a gym with a tanning bed & I would go there and tan just so I could say I went to the gym. Sure did. See, I enjoyed the first month of boot camp but I wasn’t addicted. The warmer the months got, the less I enjoyed it. I paid and went but I wasn’t thrilled. Why did I keep signing up? (Glad you asked) Chances are, I signed up right at the end of class for the next month because my endorphins were crazy high so I had to come back. It’s a vicious cycle and that’s how I roll. Now, I don’t think I could live without it. I don’t care if I’m behind everybody & running & crying. I am always glad I came and cannot wait until the next class. For the record, I have cried in the year of 2012 in boot camp. It was cold (ok barely below 50), it was well before 6:00 AM and I was able to conceal it and just pretend my nose was running. It does run when it’s cold. That’s not a lie but one time, at band camp, it was.

I don’t hate certain exercises – AS MUCH. That last part is super important. As much. When I heard any of the following phrases, I would get a knot in my stomach & want to go home:

“Burpee”, “Parachute Run”, “Mountain Climbers” or “Weights over your head”. I hated them all equally. No, I loathed them. I would rather go to the dentist than do any of those. Ok that’s a little dramatic but I’m trying to get my point across. Now, I dislike them but not equally. Probably because I’m not terrible at some of them. I’m not good either, but I can do more exercises than I used to. When I’m not good at something, I tend to quit. To quote a tv character “I never lose competitions. Mostly because I quit if I’m in last place”…..and Bingo is my Name-o! I would think doing 10 burpees really seemed like 100. Now, I’ll take 10 over 50 any day.

The point of all of this is that I don’t suck. You don’t suck. Nobody does. It takes time. Some people make it look so easy and effortless. Others make you want to call 911. I’m somewhere in between, or so I think. Whatever the case may be – give it time. Give it a chance. Rome wasn’t built in a day and as long as you’re trying YOUR best, the rest are just semantics.