Learning How To Workout

For as long as I can remember, I did everything that I could to avoid physical activity. Getting hot and sweaty and hurting for a week afterwards was not my idea of a good time.

I have joined a number of gyms over the years only to quit shortly thereafter. I quit for a number of reasons, whether it be because I just didn’t enjoy myself, I was bored, or I ended up with a minor injury that resulted in taking some time off and then just not going back

I swam for a few years as well and really enjoyed it, including a couple of years with the local Masters Swim Team. However, over time it got harder and harder to motivate myself to get out of bed early in the morning, sometimes in the middle of the winter, and head to the pool for a swim before work. And again, I quit.

Soon I was doing as little as possible, working at a desk 8 hours/day and getting to the point where my joints constantly hurt. At this point, I couldn’t even kneel on the floor due to the pain and doing stairs just about killed me.

In 2018, I realized that I needed to do something for myself or I was going to end up full of arthritis and unable to move. I was also struggling with a bone spur in my right foot which was causing me major discomfort.

In early June, I came across a Facebook post for ACE Athletik Club in Chateauguay. I read all of the content on their Facebook page and their website and learned everything that I could about the gym. My interest was piqued and I reached out to them. I was invited in for a free consultation and spoke with one of the trainers at length. I told him about my history of failures at the gym and my physical limitations. What I came away with was the assurance that they could develop a rehabilitation-style program for me and get me moving again.

Before I even started working out, the trainer did a postural and bio-mechanical evaluation which allowed him to determine my weaknesses, instabilities, strengths, and any other problems in my muscular structure. With the completion of this evaluation, he then developed a personalized training program for me, in order to re-balance my muscular structure, to guide me on my way to achieving my goals with a constant progression and reducing the risk for injury.

We were now ready to start and on July 23 it was onward and upward. I signed up for a semi-private training program and I was working with a trainer three times a week for an hour. My workouts change every 4 weeks and different exercises are added in based on my improved flexibility.

By the end of November 2018, I had dropped two pant sizes and ten pounds. My posture is so much better than it has been in years. My knees don’t hurt as much as they used to and I can kneel without a problem. I can also do stairs without feeling like I am going to die.

I have been doing a Transformation Challenge at the gym since January 2019 and I am now working out 4 or 5 days/week. I have a long way to go to regain full mobility and flexibility, but I can’t believe the difference that 7 months of physical activity has made in my life. It only goes to show that you just need to find an activity that you enjoy and that you don’t have to kill yourself doing it. In order to ensure my success, I schedule the training sessions into my calendar and don’t allow anything else to be scheduled during my workout time.

Physical activity that you enjoy as well as a wholesome diet will set you up for a healthy future. What are you doing to make things happen in your life?