Fall is my favourite time of the year. It could possibly be my favourite because my birthday and anniversary fall within the same week in September. Perhaps it’s because the temperatures are consistently cooler but still pleasant compared to the humidity of the summer.
Or maybe because the sky can be an incandescent blue that seems close to turquoise and the leaves are glowing orange while the wind swirls and eddies fallen leaves in a wild rhythmic dance.
Perhaps the reason fall will always be my favourite time of year is because it marks the first time I signed up with a trainer to put functional fitness first in my life. Over the years, I have encountered minor injuries with major impacts, variously affecting how well I could carry out the activities of daily life. Even with interruptions for illness, the pandemic, work and family responsibilities, I have now been training for ten years this month, challenging myself to do more so I can feel better.
I won’t forget the first day I walked into the gym to get assessed by a trainer. I was petrified: what if I couldn’t do any of things? And yes, there was a pile of stuff I couldn’t do, and some I could but with the poorest form imaginable. I’m lucky I connected with two trainers who believed and still believe I could do all the things. While there are things that may scare me when I walk into a gym, I’ve learned I am strong enough to try the new things and keep going.
SamB has been sharing three good things daily these past few months. When I think of it, I jot down good things in my calendar to remind me that while the world sometimes looks like a dumpster on fire, there are some truly lovely things for which I am grateful.
In honour of my ten years of hard work, I offer five really good things that keep me going, inside and outside of the gym:
- I can pick up heavy things and put them down.
- I can bend my knees and not fall over with a weight on my back.
- I can feel my breath fill my body when I ease into a yoga stretch.
- I can stretch a theraband, pleat fabric, slice tomatoes, and pick up pretty beach rocks, even with arthritis knotting my fingers.
- I will always stand up.
What are the good things you find with embracing fitness? Tell us in the comments. And have a wonderful weekend Canadian readers.
