Very Bad Timing ... Or is it?

So I'm out for at least three weeks. I can't teach my beloved Get Ripped classes. Why? Because of an injury. Not my hamstring, or shoulder, or knee. I have an overuse injury on my big toe on my left foot. Can you believe it? Who injures their big toe? So basically no impact exercises on my feet for a while ... which is pretty much a lot of what I do when I teach. What upsets me is I worked my way up the Get Ripped ladder and now I'm teaching four regular classes plus a boot camp. I had my Mondays and Fridays at Fitness Plus South and my Thursdays and Saturdays at Talisman Centre. I was a few weeks into that routine and an old injury popped up. An injury I was trying to "play through". An injury I should have dealt with a long time ago. So it basically didn't go away ... I just ignored it ... and it got worse. (Hello ego!) Very bad timing ... or is it?

After I left the physiotherapy office ... wrapping my head around the diagnosis ... I quickly sent an email to my Get Ripped boss Jari explaining everything so they can start to fill my classes with other instructors. I felt bad. I felt sad. All I was thinking was ... "All the participants are going to forget about me." Silly ... I know. But as I started to relax and slowly accept my situation I actually felt a little relief. Yes that's right ... relief. You see, I was starting to get burnt out. Fatigued. Almost falling asleep at the wheel a couple times in the middle of the day was a big wake up call for me (no pun intended). Unfortunately my ego gets the best of me and I felt I could do it all. Wrong. I'm tired. And I need to rest.

I've been going non-stop for about a year now. It started with practicing for the Get Ripped DVDs and my group fitness certification, plus training for my figure competition. That spilled right into more classes in the spring and even more in the summer. Then sprinkle in a few fitness and nutrition courses. And that's all on top of a work schedule that wreaks havoc on my energy levels. It's all AMAZING stuff! (except waking up at 3:00AM ... not so amazing). I loved it all! It was my decision to do all of those things ... but what I should have as well was scheduled in some good, solid rest time ... rest for my body, mind, and spirit. Well, it looks like my "toe" did the scheduling for me. So let me move my mega ego aside ... *ugh* ... and do what I have to do to rest, heal ... and come back stronger!

Falling in L.O.V.E. ... Again!

If you think I'm going to spill the beans about my love life ... You're right! But wait! I'm talking about my first and only true love ... I'm falling in L.O.V.E. with ME!

I never stopped loving ME. But to be honest, I was having a difficult time liking ME. Well the physical ME I'd see in the mirror every day. You see, it's been well over 3 months since I competed in my 7th figure competition. And it's only been about a month since I started loving how my body looks. That's the thing about physique competitions. My body doesn't stay that lean, ripped and stage-ready all the time. Post-comp I don't do nearly as much cardio, I have "dirty" food whenever, and if I want to skip a day in the gym ... I do it.

However, after 5 years of being in this lifestyle, each year I've adopted more and more healthy habits in my EVERY DAY life. And it has paid off. I may have my curves back but they're sexy, not sloppy. I may not always have a "leg day" or "back day" every week but I'm active at least 4 days a week. I may not pound out a solid 60 minutes of cardio daily but I'm teaching several fitness classes a week ... working up a sweat with my class participants. And sometimes as I'm calling out the next move, I catch a glimpse in the mirror and there's still some definition in my arms and shoulders. There's still some strength in my legs as I put my class through dozens and dozens of squats.

But what's best of all, after every workout, I feel good. And isn't that what it's all about? L.O.V.E.!

I've Come a Long Way

It was the winter of 2006 when I started to train for my very first physique competition. It was the fitness model category. Hahaha! Wow! I've come a long way since then. After that first show I did 6 more in the figure category. Some were not great experiences. Most were pretty awesome! Through it all, I developed my passion for all things fitness and health. I wanted more of it. I wanted to challenge myself to see how much farther I could go. I wanted to hang out with people who lived the fitness lifestyle. I wanted to live that uber healthy lifestyle too. I wanted to share with everybody how good it feels being fit! So I got certified as a group fitness instructor. I started out doing the odd class here and there. Now I'm a regular at "the largest multi-sport complex of its kind in Canada"... the Talisman Centre in Calgary. It's an awesome way to motivate a large group of people and have fun at the same time!



So why stop there ... right? Right! I've mentioned this in a previous blog entry ... I'm actually going to take a personal training course. In fact, it starts next week. I was on the fence about actually getting certified as a personal trainer. I had all kinds of excuses. "Everybody's a personal trainer." "I'm too old." "I've got way too much to learn." "There's no way I could make a decent living." Then I recognized those excuses for what they really are .... FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.

I'm inundated with positive quotes and messages from Twitter and Facebook friends about living my best life and following my passion ... and that the only thing holding me back is myself. So I'm doing my best to get out of my way and I'm going for it!



So even though if feels like my journey has just begun, I know I've come a long way and I'm stoked about the journey ahead!