“You didn’t come this far, to only come this far.”
It’s 7 pm, and I’m running (out of breath) on the treadmill. Just one foot in front of the other. I see my heart rate creeping higher and higher. I try to talk myself out of this 6 M.P.H. pace I’m running at. (I know I’m still pretty slow.)
“Fifteen seconds in. Fifteen to go. You can do this.”
My glasses start falling. It gets harder to catch my breath. It’s only 15 seconds. The longest 15 seconds of my life apparently. If I give up now, everyone will see. The person at the end of the line is twice my age, and she is booking it. I can survive another 5 seconds.
“Walking recovery.” Like music to my ears.
Hopping the scale at almost 230 pounds and borderline obese was the wake-up call I needed. I was mentally exhausted, struggled to keep up with my kids, and almost in a full-blown depression. I had to change something before it continued to spiral out of control.
I was ready for a change. I needed an outlet, a way to burn off my emotions and focus on my mind. Being in the middle of this beautiful chaos of raising two young kids wasn’t a piece of cake.
Mmm cake.
My neighbor told me about Orangetheory Fitness. I brushed it off. She’s really fit, and I’m really not. Then another friend said she started there, too, and loved it. I thought to myself, “Okay. I’ll go to one class, die, and then maybe start watching what I eat. Maybe.”
I was afraid the classes would be too hard, or I was too overweight to complete them. I thought nobody would accept me. I thought I was too out of shape. Guess what? I couldn’t have been more wrong! I didn’t die, and I found a new family that I didn’t know I needed.
I was hooked from day one. The coaches see things in me that I can’t see myself. They coach me, provide support, help me to pace myself appropriately, and are actually present.
They are always pushing me to be a better version of myself.
This is a family environment. I don’t know half of the members, but we support each other every class. I’ve had some members and coaches offer up a ride to the airport at 3am or to watch my kids when I was in a pinch and needed a babysitter. It wasn’t what I was looking for in a “fitness center,” but it was everything I needed.
I have only been attending Orangetheory classes for 5 months, and I’ve lost some pounds and inches, but the confidence I have gained has been the most valuable to me. I feel better, both physically and mentally. That is just something I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.
I am so glad I took a chance on something new and scary and found everything I’d been looking for and more.