I joined Our Team Fitness in March of 2019. I had two things in mind that I wanted to get out of a workout program: One was to move my body and work up a sweat consistently, since I have a 9-6 office job and I felt like I was barely moving throughout the day. The second thing I wanted to accomplish was to get off the diet culture/exercise rollercoaster/yo-yo I had put myself on for all of my adult life. I wanted to work out from a place of self-love, not from a place of punishment because I ate something earlier that I felt guilty about. I wanted to work out consistently because I knew that it would benefit my mental and physical health overall, and because it truly is a privilege to be able to work out and I shouldn’t take my body for granted. I really wanted to shift my mindset about exercise in general, and I am so grateful that Our Team Fitness has given me the ability to do that.
The thing that has made me keep getting out of bed at 5-something AM, is that I know that if I didn’t show up, someone would care. Jon, Rickie Lee, or another coach would surely follow up with me and ask why I didn’t come. Or check in with me via email. Or ask the next time they saw me. The classes are small enough that you notice if one person doesn’t show up. The fact that the Our Team Fitness trainers really do care gives me the accountability that I need to keep showing up in class. As I write this, it has been six whole months of waking up early and getting a good sweat in before work – which is something I could have never, ever imagined myself doing even just a year ago.
Jon and Rickie Lee have really helped me take my goals and break them down into measurable, doable achievements. I got advice on how to keep myself limber at my desk and small things I could do during the day to keep myself moving in the office. The most important thing, though, is that Jon and Rickie Lee both really listen to what I want to get out of my workout experience and they never pushed me to make drastic changes or extreme commitments. I had gained and lost weight using extreme methods in the past, and I was just done with the short-term successes and wanted to really look at the fitness component of my life in a big-picture way. I feel understood and validated by Rickie Lee at our goal-setting sessions, and she has the patience to answer every little question that I have.
When I first joined Our Team Fitness, I was afraid of doing Burn class because I was so out of shape. I couldn’t do any exercises on the sliders at all. I was picking up the lightest weights I could find out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to do more. My attitude has totally changed since then. And so have my measurements – I’ve Iost 10 inches all around so far.
A few months after joining, I felt comfortable asking for more feedback in class and accepting more challenging weights. One of the major catalysts for this attitude change was getting the MyZone® Heart Rate Monitor. I thought I was pushing myself and working hard – but as soon as I strapped the monitor on and started seeing real-time stats, I realized that I could be doing a lot more. I was comfortable at the level I was at before getting the monitor, and I thought I was burning a lot more calories and putting more effort in than I actually was. Now, you can catch me checking the screen during class to make sure that I am truly working hard and really challenging myself. It was a reality check for me and it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone at the gym. I have such a sense of accomplishment after each workout now, knowing that I can see my hard work recorded and hit the MEPs that I want to ensure I leave the gym having put in a good effort.
I love Our Team Fitness. I have never been in a consistent exercise routine this long ever before. Motivation is fleeting – a passing feeling. You’ll always be chasing it. The only true way to make a positive change is consistency and discipline, which I have cultivated at OTF. The level of dedication that the trainers have surpasses any other kind of fitness experience that I have participated in. They are all of our personal cheerleaders, and they make sure that we show up, mentally and physically, at each of our workouts. I am so excited to achieve new things and see how I will grow in the next few months as well. The support that I have from the coaches and the workouts that we do make it easy for me to want to keep coming in time and time again, even if I have to force myself out of bed. After all, it’s what we do day-to-day that shapes who we become. And Our Team Fitness plays a major part, 3 – 4 times a week, in helping me be the absolute best version of myself.
