Some thoughts and discussions from me.

I haven’t always loved lifting and working out.

In fact, I can remember groaning every time we had to run the mile in college volleyball, and thinking of weight training days as blow off days in practices. Now, I look back, and wish I would have taken those days more seriously. I wonder how much my sport would have improved if only I liked to deadlift then as much as I do now…

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Of course, now I know that having strong glutes and being sufficient in power exercises would have made me jump that much higher when coming down on top of the ball, spiking it into my opponents’ court.

And now I absolutely love the feeling of crushing a heavy dead lift and feeling strong and powerful in the gym.

But it wasn’t always that way. I used to be one of those gym members who would walk in the door and make a bee-line to the elliptical. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a fitness message board and joined a community of women who inspired me to give a go at lifting weights.

I remember picking up a copy of The New Rules of Lifting (not NROL for Women)and going through the program. It was in that first workout of the first program in the book, and doing the squat for the first time with an open mind. I felt inspired, strong, and empowered in that knee dominant move.

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I had my training aha! moment!

I still respect co-writer of the New Rules books, Alwyn Cosgrove, and have bought each subsequent book in the New Rules series (for Women, for Abs <—my personal favorite, for Life, & Supercharged) but it was the very first one that caused my aha! moment. The moment I realized that resistance training was effing awesome, and it was going to change my life.

And it did! After (and while) completing that program, I read everything I could get my hands on about lifting. Then a couple years later I decided to get my personal training certification and worked to become a qualified PT.

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Since that moment – that feeling – was what made me fall in love with lifting and enjoy and look forward to my workouts was SO rewarding, I wanted to make it my career to help others find that feeling.

I’ve mentioned before that when my clients and I figure out what their goals with me are, those goals become my goals. Some of them come to me absolutely hating exercise at first. For some, the gym is the last place they want to be, and the only reason they came to see me is either health or aesthetic reasons. And I feel for them – I really do. Here they are, coming to me begrudgingly, but willing to take that first step.

Then and there, I make one more goal, but this one is for me. My goal is to help them discover their training aha moment.

It could be something as simple as being inspired by someone in the fitness industry. It could be doing a set of push ups on the ground, being able to complete a chin up, have gained some muscle – and that’s BA, or when you finally see your body for what it can do. Or, it might just be a feeling while you’re leaving the gym after one particular workout.

Whatever it is, nearly everyone I know who loves fitness has their own training aha! moment. And if you haven’t experienced yours yet, don’t sweat it! It’ll come. My #1 tip is to keep making those in-the-gym goals. Instead of focusing so much – or even entirely – on aesthetic goals, like losing x amount of pounds or toning the arms, start focusing on what you can achieve in the gym.

PS – Last chance to sign up for my 8-week online boot camp! Sign ups go through Thursday at 11:59p OR until spots are filled – there are currently a couple spots left SOLD OUT!

Have you experienced your training aha! moment? If so, what was it?

For more workout inspiration, tips, and shenanigans, you can find me here!

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