How Having the Shit Scared OUT of Me Got Me INTO Core40
TMI alert: Poop talk ahead. The title of this post reads “having the shit scared out of me” and that would be pretty accurate. After a business trip early last month, I got sick. I couldn’t keep food in and anything I ate either turned into vomit or liquid poop. It was like I had prepped for a colonoscopy. Except I hadn’t. If you’ve never had one, you know you’re not peeing out of your butt, and yet there is this sensation that you most definitely are peeing from the nether regions of your behind. I had sworn it was food poisoning, but this was was lasting much too long to have gotten sick from bad soup. After a visit to the doctor’s office they sent me home to scoop my poop so I could go back and deliver, in a brown paper sack, four test tubes of my “waste” to be examined under a microscope. A few days later, I was told I probably had a virus. To cover all bases I was prescribed antibiotics anyway. I began to feel better, but not quite “there”. Still, there was an eleven-day business trip ahead. I sucked it up and hopped on a plane.
Everything was going fine. I was jet-lagged, but I’m used to that. Then in Chile I had a dizzy spell. It was to the point the entire room was spinning and when I stood, I completely lost my balance. I freaked out. Memories of being a kid in college and passing out in the bookstore where I worked came flooding back to me just before being diagnosed with my first form of cancer. I forced myself to push any, “Oh my god, has the cancer relapsed?” thoughts down as far as I could, laid down before another dinner with customers and colleagues and forced myself to keep trucking the rest of the week. I was in another country and did not want to seek medical attention there.
Finally, I was home. I felt great! The happiness of knowing I wouldn’t have to get on a plane for awhile had me walking on air. Then, out of nowhere, my throat started hurting. And I got sick again. I didn’t go to the doctor because I thought I caught a virus. I had already been on antibiotics and figured I had the flu. But I didn’t get better. I got worse. The stomach issues re-appeared. And I freaked out. So back to the doctor I went…
Tests were run and a chest x-ray was taken. I was prescribed a longer course of new antibiotics. And I was beyond relieved that it was anything other than some sort of relapse.
For awhile, I had told the hubs I really needed to make a decision. I preach so much about how our health is the most precious thing we have, yet I was running myself ragged. I was in the process of choosing between a physical trainer and a class when I saw a post in one of my blogging groups that led me to Core40. The system uses 600 (not a typo) muscles in ONE 40-minute full-body workout! I was invited to come in and give it a try at no cost, so I figured, “What do I have to lose?” Other than the weight I’ve gained…that makes me feel badly about myself. That I want to get rid of not because I need to meet a number on a scale, but because I want to feel good. I want to be able to fit into my clothes again. I went through seven pairs of jeans the other day – not one pair fit. I took them all off their hangers and put them in the top of my closet. I didn’t dwell, though I wanted to. I want to be healthy. So I am doing something about it…
I arrived and Dean, one of the co-owners was teaching the class. The truth? I did not ease into it. It was HARD. I felt uncoordinated and I had to really think in order to make an attempt at keeping up. There was a woman in her 60’s in the class who had a body some 25-year-olds would kill for and she was kicking butt. So was the pregnant woman. And just about every other person in the class. And there I was, hoping not to fall on my face. After the partial hysterectomy, even eight months later, my abs definitely felt it and I had to modify. One of the instructors coached me through the entire time. She was, of course, perfect. I couldn’t help but remember when I once looked that good. I felt a twinge of jealousy, but she was so nice I liked her instantly.
Though I struggled to keep up, this workout was different. I felt my muscles getting a healthy stretch as I worked out. The carriage complemented me as I moved. Movements were much more fluid than using weight machines. Dean’s energy was fantastic. I knew I would do it again. After the class I spoke with Dean’s wife, co-owner, Lisa. You could not meet a nicer person. I asked her why they started the studios and she explained she had chronic back problems and with six weeks of Core40 they completely went away. They are attorneys and left the grind. I love that. She challenged me to try it for one month. Well, I have taken her up on it. So far, I’ve had four classes. The truth? It’s not easier. I’m still pretty uncoordinated. I still have to modify. My legs and arms SHAKE hard throughout the workouts. Still, somehow the 40 minutes goes much faster than I anticipate each time and I know I am getting stronger. I am able to do a little more each class and I feel the proof in my muscles for the next two days. The instructors are all wonderful at making sure I have the modified forms down, too. They’re patient and because the classes are small I don’t feel lost in the crowd. I have the best of both worlds – a trainer and a class. I truly think it was meant to be.
Several days during the work-week, very early in the morning you’ll find me doing Core40. You’ll find me taking 40 minutes of my day to make myself healthier again. You’ll find me practicing what I preach. You’ll find me putting my health first again. Finally.
Everybody, I ask that you don’t get to the point that you have the shit scared out of you before you do something about your health. I will definitely keep up with my progress. If you’re in San Diego and you want to join me one morning, email me! Oh – and I’ll be sure to let you know how the hubs does during his first class in December!
