Programs, get your programs here! You can't tell the players without a program!!
Has it really been so long since I have blogged? So much has happened, so many changes. It is going to take several posts to catch you all up, so I thought the first order of business is to do a new "team" list, since all my original team members have moved on. Some of these, you have met briefly in past posts, but I have not given you a formal introduction. Others are totally new to my list. My team has expanded. The original 5 were all gym employees. My team is now a balance of employees, instructors, and other members. I am truly blessed to have so many great people helping me in this journey.
Lets start with gym staff (in alphabetical order so no one can claim favorite):
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Angel: Angel and I have know each other for YEARS. We worked together long before I got on my fitness kick. Then we lost contact. Back then, we were only co-workers, but now we are truly friends. She works the early shift at the gym most of the time, so I don't see her a lot in that role, but when I do she is always very sweet and helpful. As our friendship has grown, we have actually started working out/taking classes together. She is my cheerleader and sounding board. Being raised with brothers and mostly male cousins, I tend to gravitate to the guys. Angel is a nice balance for me. She is there to talk about the emotional aspect of things that sometimes the guys don't fully understand, try as they might.
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Austin: ex-marine, big, intimidating, but with a heart of gold. I jokingly say he is a big bully. When we took this picture I told him that I needed to show the world just how big of a bully he was. It took us a long time to get this picture right because neither one of us could keep a straight face. It never ceases to amaze me that I have the opportunity to work with him. He pushes me in a way that no one else does. I say that, but they all have their own unique way/personality. He is quick to smile and is even quicker with his encouragement. There are people that are scared to work with him, and it BREAKS MY HEART. It is truly their loss. This man is a force. I am beyond lucky to have him on my side.
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Josh: When I first met Josh, I declared he was "over-hyper, over-happy" and wanted to grab him and give him a good shake. In time, he grew on me. I started to see that all the energy he has is fueled by his passions. He has a heart for helping people. He seeks out those that may be overlooked by others, taking time to speak encouragement into their lives. He is a self-declared introvert which cracks me up. I swear he is about as introverted as I am. From time to time, he lets his eagerness get ahead of him. In those moments, I call him a dork, but I can't help but smile.
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Levi: Levi is a trainer at the gym. If I were ever to decide to get back to working with a trainer again, Levi would be my choice. Luckily for me, he also teaches the Power in Motion classes. He teaches early mornings, so I don't get to workout with him as often as I would like, so when I get the chance, I take it - no matter what. Today is a good example. I am running on almost no sleep. I get a call in the morning saying, "I have to go in early, you want to go to the gym?" I said, "Give me 10 minutes to get ready!" Levi is a bit of a goofball. Working out with him is more like playing with my brother. Don't get me wrong, it is still HARD work, but he has a way of making it fun. He pushes and talks trash, but instead of doing it loudly like some of the others, he just calmly comes along beside me and almost whispers it (which is sometimes bad since i'm half-deaf..lol). He looks me in the eye and truly cares about what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling.
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Now for the instructors:
Janae: I think if you look up the word sweet in the dictionary, somewhere you would find her picture. She is one of the BodyFlow instructors. After torturing myself all week, I like to take BodyFlow on Saturdays to stretch out my muscles. Janae has a gift for looking into a person's heart and seeing exactly where they are hurting and finding exactly the right words to bring healing to those hurts. What BodyFlow does for the body, Janae does for the spirit. A true gem.
Shawn: I take RPM with Shawn. What can I say about him?...hmmm. He is loud and at times obnoxious. He is a call you out in the middle of class and talk a lot of trash kinda instructor. He pushes hard and expects the people in his class to do the same. Behind all the vibrato is a heart that just wants to see people get better, and if he has to be the bad guy to get it done, he will be. Gotta love him!
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Now to other gym members:
Christi: Christi is a fellow gym rat. She is at the gym almost as much as I am. In fact, her health profile for work recently told her that she works out too much. I told her that mine said that I needed to drink more, so we may start skipping the gym and having a drink together. While we rarely take class together, we often see each other in the locker room, and we have a standing lunch date on Fridays. She and I have very similar senses of humor (poor woman), so we have a blast encouraging each other while making jokes (often about our own shared clumsiness) about the latest thing that has happened. She has become a dearly loved sister on this journey.
Luke: Luke is CRAZY. You know the type I'm talking about. Every gym has one. He is the one that is willing to try anything and everything to find the limits of what he is capable of. He has a degree in Exercise Science and is in the process of going for a PhD in Physical Therapy. He knows his stuff. One day he said, "So if I break you, I know how to fix you."- very reassuring...lol. I was honored one day when he asked me to join he and his friends in a workout. Little did I know where that would lead (this is one of the topics that will require it's own post). With Luke, I get the much needed variety that I was missing when Kevin left. I never know what he is going to have me try next. He has me doing things I never imagined doing, all the while working along side of me, treating me as a friend and an equal.
Scotty: I met Scotty through my workouts with Luke. Both of them are MUCH younger than I am and are in top shape. Scotty is in the trenches with me for the workouts that Luke comes up with. He is great encouragement to me. He seems to sense those moments when I am feeling like I can't go on, it is too hard, I can't keep up. In those moments, he looks at me and says, "yeah, I'm dying too." He lets me know I'm not alone. One day, he and I are going to stage a coupe. We outnumber Luke. It could happen.....
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Josh: When I first met Josh, I declared he was "over-hyper, over-happy" and wanted to grab him and give him a good shake. In time, he grew on me. I started to see that all the energy he has is fueled by his passions. He has a heart for helping people. He seeks out those that may be overlooked by others, taking time to speak encouragement into their lives. He is a self-declared introvert which cracks me up. I swear he is about as introverted as I am. From time to time, he lets his eagerness get ahead of him. In those moments, I call him a dork, but I can't help but smile.
------------------------------------------
Levi: Levi is a trainer at the gym. If I were ever to decide to get back to working with a trainer again, Levi would be my choice. Luckily for me, he also teaches the Power in Motion classes. He teaches early mornings, so I don't get to workout with him as often as I would like, so when I get the chance, I take it - no matter what. Today is a good example. I am running on almost no sleep. I get a call in the morning saying, "I have to go in early, you want to go to the gym?" I said, "Give me 10 minutes to get ready!" Levi is a bit of a goofball. Working out with him is more like playing with my brother. Don't get me wrong, it is still HARD work, but he has a way of making it fun. He pushes and talks trash, but instead of doing it loudly like some of the others, he just calmly comes along beside me and almost whispers it (which is sometimes bad since i'm half-deaf..lol). He looks me in the eye and truly cares about what I'm thinking and how I'm feeling.
------------------------------------------
Now for the instructors:
Janae: I think if you look up the word sweet in the dictionary, somewhere you would find her picture. She is one of the BodyFlow instructors. After torturing myself all week, I like to take BodyFlow on Saturdays to stretch out my muscles. Janae has a gift for looking into a person's heart and seeing exactly where they are hurting and finding exactly the right words to bring healing to those hurts. What BodyFlow does for the body, Janae does for the spirit. A true gem.
Shawn: I take RPM with Shawn. What can I say about him?...hmmm. He is loud and at times obnoxious. He is a call you out in the middle of class and talk a lot of trash kinda instructor. He pushes hard and expects the people in his class to do the same. Behind all the vibrato is a heart that just wants to see people get better, and if he has to be the bad guy to get it done, he will be. Gotta love him!
------------------------------------------
Now to other gym members:
Christi: Christi is a fellow gym rat. She is at the gym almost as much as I am. In fact, her health profile for work recently told her that she works out too much. I told her that mine said that I needed to drink more, so we may start skipping the gym and having a drink together. While we rarely take class together, we often see each other in the locker room, and we have a standing lunch date on Fridays. She and I have very similar senses of humor (poor woman), so we have a blast encouraging each other while making jokes (often about our own shared clumsiness) about the latest thing that has happened. She has become a dearly loved sister on this journey.
Luke: Luke is CRAZY. You know the type I'm talking about. Every gym has one. He is the one that is willing to try anything and everything to find the limits of what he is capable of. He has a degree in Exercise Science and is in the process of going for a PhD in Physical Therapy. He knows his stuff. One day he said, "So if I break you, I know how to fix you."- very reassuring...lol. I was honored one day when he asked me to join he and his friends in a workout. Little did I know where that would lead (this is one of the topics that will require it's own post). With Luke, I get the much needed variety that I was missing when Kevin left. I never know what he is going to have me try next. He has me doing things I never imagined doing, all the while working along side of me, treating me as a friend and an equal.
Scotty: I met Scotty through my workouts with Luke. Both of them are MUCH younger than I am and are in top shape. Scotty is in the trenches with me for the workouts that Luke comes up with. He is great encouragement to me. He seems to sense those moments when I am feeling like I can't go on, it is too hard, I can't keep up. In those moments, he looks at me and says, "yeah, I'm dying too." He lets me know I'm not alone. One day, he and I are going to stage a coupe. We outnumber Luke. It could happen.....
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