Yesterday I hit another milestone in my journey. July 31st, my 213th consecutive day of sweat, and the official completion of the 7th month of daily workouts for a year.
I celebrated with a 60 minute BodyPump class because celebrating with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne seemed counterproductive to the cause.
A new release was just introduced last week, full of some gnarly surprises, including a killer back track and a shoulder track that made me cry for my mommy.
I’ve been attending the 45-minute Pump classes for the past few weeks because I like the 12:15 time slot, which tends to draw a smaller crowd. Due to scheduling conflicts, I hit the late afternoon class, so I got the full 60-minute treatment. What better way to celebrate?
The instructor, who I had never had done a class with before yesterday, arrived a few minutes before the class started. I watched as she set up her bench and weights on the stage. When I say I watched, what I really mean to say is that I gawked at her. Stared at her every move. In a way that was wholly creepy.
What was so fascinating about her? She was heavy. Not just 10 or 20 pounds overweight, but a bigger girl.
And I was completely perplexed. My mind raced with questions.
How could she be the instructor? She didn’t look like the healthiest person in the room. Heck, she didn’t even look healthier than me.
I totally and completely judged that book by its cover.
And man, was I wrong.
Shannon was a beast. And while her bar bell wasn’t loaded with as much weight as many of us in the class, her form was spot-on, perfect. She led the class with a vibrancy that kept me fully engaged, smiling [which I never do] and striving to be every bit as good as she was with each rep.
She is not skinny. And to the naked eye she doesn’t even look fit. Yet she is an instructor of a very tough group exercise class at the biggest fitness chain in Canada. Not only is she qualified, she is excellent at her job.
I learned an important lesson yesterday. Despite my own well-documented efforts to focus on gaining health through fitness [rather than fixating on diets, deprivation and weight loss], I still rushed to pre-judge a person’s health and wellness based on the shape and size of her body.
As I enter month eight of my year of sweat, it’s clear I still have lots of work to do. Mostly on my state of mind.
Get moving!
xoxo nancy
my year of sweat 
Media does just as much damage to the person who’s big, as it does to the society that absorbs the message.
So true Joan. And hopefully a lesson learned for me.
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