Guest Post by Lisa Bullock
“I LOVE being 48!” I exclaimed the other day. And once I had recovered from the shock of hearing myself actually express such a sentiment, my conscious mind took over and followed it up with a “Hallelujah!!! “. Why, you ask? I had been chatting to a friend about a new, young trainer that was starting a business in our small town. She was telling me he was a little nervous with her but once he relaxed and let down his guard he was a friendly young man and should eventually do well.
I’ve evolved and learned so much since I started in the fitness industry well over 15 years ago. I’m comfortable in my own skin, I have learned a lot of difficult life lessons, I understand people pretty well and have quite a little fund of wisdom stored up for those times I need to impress my teenage children! Of course, it wasn’t always so and I was thinking back to my late 20’s when I learned a lesson that would shape the rest of my life. I found Fitness Religion!
Twenty years ago when my kids were toddlers I would spend an average of 3 days every week lying on the couch with a migraine. If a migraine hit, I’d have to sleep. One eye was always open of course to check on the children but sleep was the only cure. One of my most awesome skills to this day is the ability to sleep through anything! Toddlers bouncing on my back, cats and dogs fighting like, well, cats and dogs! When my daughter was about 4 I was ill again and had to stop the car and vomit. I heard a little voice saying through the car window, full of awe “wow, Mum can walk AND throw up!”. Awesome skills indeed! It was time for a change; I needed to be a positive role model for my children and I wanted to be more active with them instead of a semi-invalid!
I had no idea about nutrition, was totally ignorant about fitness and wasn’t sure where to start. There was no on-line fitness back then. Actually, there was no “on line” full stop! I had to be very careful with any impact activity because of my headaches and my weak neck muscles so I bought a second-hand mini trampoline and negotiated with myself to bounce/skip or jump for 5 mins to start with.
One Spice Girls song lasted about three and a half minutes, could I bounce for two songs? (Spice Girls you ask? Yes, I know! Don’t judge me, it was the 90’s!) Could I then keep going for three songs etc, you get the picture. I added in arm movements – doing some air punching, doing some star jumps trying to get my whole body moving. My fitness improved slowly and day by day I kept at it working my way up to 30 minutes at a time.
One day I had the bright idea to try a Taibo class at a local gym. I was terrified! I had to be reasonably close to the front so I could see without my glasses but not too close that people would laugh at my unfit, untoned efforts. About 45 minutes into that class I had an epiphany. It was one of those life changing, light bulb moments that I will never forget. I had spent the whole class dreading that inevitable time when I’d have to stop and rest, when it would get really hard. But that moment never came! We were approaching cooldown and I was smashing this workout! My smile was huge, I wanted to cry with pure joy. I had made it the whole way through, I was coping comfortably, I was officially FIT!
Nowadays of course, that level of beginner fitness is a distant memory, I went on to succeed with fitness challenges that I could never, never have envisaged back then. I started weight training and then I discovered boxing and commenced a lifelong love affair with punching things. And occasionally people (but only in the boxing ring lol). I’ll still occasionally get a migraine, but only occasionally and my fitness propels me through life’s physical challenges with ease. My fitness also propels me through so many other challenges as well because I know how to work progressively, how to be disciplined and how to be consistent. Life is a work in progress – fitness is a work in progress and same with nutrition. One small step for womankind – and another, and another and before you know it, you’ve changed your life.
If you’re ready to find YOUR fitness religion, check out Shawna’s program and get started in the comfort of your own home. As well, continue to follow the blog and you’ll be hearing lots more from me.
Did you enjoy my post? I’d really appreciate ANY and ALL feedback you can offer since Shawna will be having me guest post in the future. I’d like to be able to offer tips and advice on any topic that you’d like to hear about.
Lisa Bullock is a Personal Trainer based in Melbourne, Australia. She’s run her successful fitness business for over 15 years and has trained over a 1000 clients helping them reach their health, fitness and wellness goals. Married for 27 years and mother to a daughter (22) and son (19), she is a proud proponent of the philosophy “keep on keeping on”. She believes that consistency is key to achieving goals. Lisa loves weight training with a passion; she’s boxed for over 12 years and sees no reason to stop soon! She’s faced her own health and weight issues and come out fighting. “I believe in training for the long haul” she claims, “I fully expect to be doing handstand push ups when I’m 60!.”