A New Chapter In Fitness

Every Fall it seems like God breathes new life onto things. After summer vacations end groups pick back up again.. activities resume full speed ahead. Sometimes it feels like we're being pulled in a thousand different directions.. feeling a bit chaotic, possibly even frantic at times. But all in all, fun things. A new chapter began in my life today. I started teaching a fitness class (yes, you can die laughing if you'd like) at the YWCA. It's called Boot Camp. I have never taught a class before.. in any arena. I had no idea what to expect. The fitness director just started promoting the class a few days ago.. so I wasn't even sure people would even show up. It starts at 5:45 a.m. Crazy early I realize. But it's the only time I can really workout due to my husbands work schedule. I had taken a similar class at the fitness center I belonged to in Kansas City. It nearly killed me. I thought it would be fun to teach here. Plus, by teaching we get a greatly reduced membership fee.. the facility has two pools which my kids are excited about.. and it pays. So, I'm getting paid to workout.. not bad. I wanted to leave my house at 5:25 a.m. It would give me enough time to get there, make sure I was organized, etc. I wanted to wake up at 5:00 a.m. Instead, I woke up at 5:18 a.m. My alarm didn't go off. I think I didn't set it right or something. I was now in a dead sprint. I had to nurse Presley and I didn't leave until 5:37 a.m. I got to the Y at 5:46 a.m... ran into the class.. told people to start running around the track.. and tried to look calm, cool and collected. That's when I met two sweet little ladies, Debra and Margret. Both 70 years old. There for Boot Camp. Neither one had ever worked out a day in their lives. Margret was wearing black jeans. Debra had on a shirt with sequins on it. I was totally unprepared for this. I just assumed everyone would be super fit.. dressed head to toe in their Nike Fit (for the record, I am soo not super fit). Just like my gym in KC. Well, not quite. I had four people in my class total. All different fitness levels, all different desires. I quickly altered how I had planned to teach the class. Debra and Margret would get the scaled down version (no pun intended). And they were quite simply, amazing. They tried so hard. They had wonderful attitudes. They never gave up. When they were done they gave me high fives.. it was incredible. I asked them how they felt. 'Awesome,' they said. It was awesome for me too.. despite the fact that I'm still in an aircast and can't do anything.. but other than that! I'm excited for this new chapter. To see the progress in Debra and Margret. To encourage others to lead healthier lives. To live healthier myself. Next time I'll just be sure to set my alarm for it.