For as long as I can remember I have hated the gym and exercise classes because I always had the feeling that everybody was watching me – the really unfit girl who had no idea what she was doing. Even in school I was always the last to be picked in PE class because I was so unfit and terrible at everything except basketball and floor.
The one class I absolutely loved doing (and would still do today but can’t find anywhere) was step aerobics. I went for 3 months, religiously every Tuesday night but they didn’t put on another class after that. So that was that… back to unfit me…
When I was 21 my friend was on her way to the gym and I decided to go with her to do a trial hour. An instructor asked me what I wanted to gain from the gym, took my measurements, showed me the equipment and basically set up a routine for me so I knew exactly what equipment to use and how, how many repetitions to do, how long to jog/bike etc. I’ll admit that I actually liked it. But it lasted 3 months because after that I moved away to college…
When I was uni there was a student gym, so I eventually joined that but between exams, my dissertation, classes and work I never really went and when I did I walked around looking at the equipment without a clue what to do… so I ended up just going on the rowing machines, bikes (which were sooo uncomfortable) and the treadmill (attempting to run which I could only manage for 30 seconds…) with no aim, just pedalling or rowing until I got bored. I was slowly beginning to hate gyms…
Then a few years later my colleague was going to the gym and I mentioned that I finally needed to do something about my fitness level so I decided to sign up with her. After that I met her a couple of times after work and we just walked around the equipment testing different things – still with no clue if what we were doing was right but nobody ever asked if we needed help… after she left the company we lost touch and I started going alone. Eventually I started doing the C25K podcasts from the NHS and managed to stick to them for 7 weeks until my knee couldn’t cope anymore and when it was too warm outside I’d go to the gym and use the treadmills to do that and then go on the bikes, crosstrainer or rowing machines but I wouldn’t go anywhere near the equipment. Eventually I gave up completely and quit. I hated it. There were so many people there that were obviously so much more fit than I was and I always felt so out of place among the weight lifters. And don’t get me started on the (probably non-existent) stares in the changing rooms… Because I had just missed the cut off I ended up paying for a full year even though I never went back. That was a waste of money!
In June 2018 my husband and I started doing Weight Watchers (now WW) but other than the odd basketball 1-on-1 or throwing a rugby ball about we never did any sport but I still lost nearly 14kgs before I fell pregnant in September, 3 months later. So WW and the basketball games were scrapped…
Before Conor was born I made my first insta page and started following fellow mums, one of which later turned out to be my fitness coach and inspiration. I watched her stories practically every day and was amazed that even with a small baby and a 3 year old running about she was managing to do daily workouts and was getting fitter by the day. I meanwhile sat on the couch eating rubbish (which was alright for 6-8 weeks after my c- section but even after that I didn’t move other than walking the dog…)… I wished I had the courage to click ‘yes’ when she asked if anyone was interested in what workouts she was doing.
Stefan and I always talked about going back to WW because we knew we both needed to lose our post-pregnancy weight (yes, I said both of us…) but we had so many problems at home (if you’ve been following me for a while you’ll probably know why) and with our flat(s) that it just kept getting postponed… but once I saw a terrible picture of me at Christmas we knew things needed to change… so we gave ourselves until after we had been to visit my gran (because we’d end up eating takeaway etc there) and we decided to start WW again on the 2nd February.
While I was at my gran’s I continued to watch the insta stories and one day my now coach asked the question again. Are you interested? I hovered over the yes button for so long that I think I watched that part of her story about 6 times until something made me hit ‘yes’… it was a split second and suddenly I felt myself touching the screen. Here was a fellow mum who had been working out at home with 2 children every day with no excuses. If she could do it why couldn’t I with one? The moment I clicked yes, my life changed for the better.
As I was still at my gran’s I moved my start date up until I was home and had space to workout. I joined my coach’s FB accountability group and met lots of women in the same boat as me. Mums who worked around their children, teachers, nurses, women who like me hated the gym and maybe didn’t have time for it. Even after a few days I was hooked. I started my first 21 day programme, not expecting to finish it and after my two weeks free trial I was so happy with it that I ended up changing from a quarterly subscription to a yearly one because I wanted to challenge myself. I couldn’t have done it without the help of those girls and my coach though.
In the 4 months I’ve been a part of the group, I’ve felt so much love. I’ve been able to cry (virtually through my posts), spill my guts, laugh and sympathise but I’ve learned so much from them as well. I’ve learned how to love myself, how to take care of myself, how to ignore what the scales say (although we are still doing WW but I don’t focus so much on that number anymore) and how to fit a 20-30 minute workout in with being a mum to a now one year old. And now I’ve not only finished the 21 day programme I started off with but I’m 4 days away from finishing my 2nd 100 day(!) programme and am now deciding what I want to do next. I have a list so long I’ll still be working on it next year…
Those girls showed me so much love that I feel ready to pay it forward and inspire other women to do the same. So I’ve made the biggest decision of my life and have signed up to be a coach. Me! The girl who hated gyms! Me! The girl who hated workouts! And now I love it so much! I’ve even taken my weights with me on holiday!
Ok, so I’m not quite at the point where I jump out of bed and workout at 7am like some of the girls but I show up daily and that’s all that matters. If I can do it – the absolute gym-hater (I may have mentioned that more than once…) – then anybody can!
If you’re interested in joining me or would just like more information and have a UK, US, Canada or France address, feel free to contact me. Sorry boys but it’s girls only for now…
The Dowis Go Fit 