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Jack had a busy weekend so mom is taking over the blog for a week while he rests. A few things happened last weekend that I am very happy about and I wanted to share with everyone just in case it might INSPIRE YOU!
WHY I am hoping it will inspire you is because fitness is NOT all about weight loss. It is about building friendships, being inspired by others, and finding new activities that you just may enjoy. It also helps to:
- Lower blood pressure
- Increase bone density
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Heart health
- Increases lung capacity so you can walk up that flight of stairs!
- Increases strength so you can pick up your kids, grandkids or groceries!
We have changed the format of Leash Your Fitness this year. Our goal is to attract people into our classes that really want to commit to their fitness goals. Gals that want to see results and get stronger & gain endurance. We still have the hikes and yoga classes once a month for people that want to drop in for fun and the occasional adventure with us. Our hope is to have something for everyone so that you can get out and have fun with your pup and explore San Diego! (see schedule)
We are in our second month of our new class format and it has been really fun to see strength & endurance gains, inspiration, lots of smiles, camaraderie, and friendships forming. We witnessed all of this happening in our Trail Dogs group. Many of those gals starting out over weight and walking the trails and now they are training for a team trail 100k! I don’t think many of them ever thought that would be possible. That is what happens when you surround yourself with people that push you to be your best!
Not only is that group super strong, they are super close. MANY friendships have formed, and all of the girls have lost weight and are very fit. This is what one of the gals had to say:
“… After the first Ragnar we did as the Trail Dogs, I felt like we became like glue. To me we became like family and some members have left and we have new ones join and they become family too. Each run we do, each race we conquer glues us closer together. We learn from each other and challenge each other, but Naomi is the leader, which we need, otherwise we would be a little aimless. It is hard to put in words how much this means to me. Leash Your Fitness has changed my life.”
We are excited about it happening in our other two groups. We have found that when you find a group that have common goals, that exciting things happen!
These are a few of the things that we are doing for our committed monthly members, so even if they can’t make it to all of the classes during the month, we got them covered…..
- They have their own private facebook group to help with motivation, homework and other “bonuses”.
- We give them educational articles that may help them with their fitness goals
- We offer “bonuses” such as hikes, outings, private educational classes, etc.
One of the “bonuses” is that we are training for the 5 Peak Challenge in Mission Trails. We did our first bonus hike this past weekend in the rain and I wanted to share with you a few things that happened.
First off, at over 65 years old, Carol has been a VERY committed person in our classes for the last few years. She started off not knowing how to do anything. I would follow her in the classes and help her each and every time. She now can do pull-ups, every single hike that we do, AND she even runs in our Saturday run class. She never gives up! On the hike she casually mentioned to me that she used to have osteoporosis but on her last Dexa Scan (bone density scan) the doctor told her that she no longer needs to be on medication because her bone density is much better and attributed it to her exercise routine. Carol said she cried when the doctor told her that and honestly, I almost cried when I heard it! It made us BOTH very, very happy!
We had another lady on our hike, Debbie. She has been coming to our classes for over a year. She has had some health issues that restricted what she could do BUT she continued to try to do what she could. She walked a half marathon last year even with a injured knee! (which we would not recommend!) With some PT and our advice, she rehabbed her knee and now she is joining us weekly in our trail running classes. Debbie is not the fastest runner but she never gives up! The 8 mile hike this past weekend was challenging enough but the rain and cold did not help! We got to the top of the first peak (Cowles) and a few of the gals turned around, Deb asked me if she could join us and continue. I almost teared up! Deb was struggling and was in the back but she wanted to continue on! She completed BOTH peaks! We were all so proud of her! She is working on doing what it takes to keep up with the pack and feel the best that she has ever felt!! I texted Deb the next day to check in on her and this is what she said:
“I woke up feeling GREAT! Way less muscle soreness than I expected and just the slightest irritation to my knee. Looking forward to being more fit on the next hike…..”
One more for ya! Jen has always been known to HATE the rain. It is kind of a joke with all of us. We converted Jen to a rain runner without her even knowing it! Not only did she come to the last two runs in the rain, we caught her smiling and having a great time!
Jen has become a faster runner and she does not give up! She joined us on a Ragnar race last year and we were all so very proud of her! She conquered some health issues that was holding her back and now she runs with BOTH of our trail running groups! This is what Jen texted me last week:
” Just wanted to send you a quick thank you for helping me commit to fitness and health. It was hard to get out of bed to go workout in the rain. But I’m glad I did! Bear and I actually had a lot of fun and feel better for it. Thank you!”
Her and Bear have BOTH come a long way as Bear used to not get a long too well with the other dogs. Now they have found their pack and they are both doing AWESOME!
WHY am I sharing all of this? BECAUSE it makes me so happy to help people find what gets them to MOVE! To find friends that INSPIRE them to improve. To see people smile when they accomplish something that they didn’t think that they could do. To find an activity that they can eventually excel at. To watch people IMPROVE their health and get off of their medications! It is honestly what makes my heart so happy and the reason that I began Leash Your Fitness in the first place!
I also HOPE that it inspires to you find your TRIBE that inspires you to push you out of your comfort zone & improve! Find what you like to do to get you to MOVE, have fun and stay active and fit. It is a SUPER big bonus if you can do it with your DOG! Try new activities that you didn’t think that you would like, you just never know what it will be. We have had people go purchase a kayak or SUP after doing those activities with us and we have seen MANY people go buy new workout shoes!
Working out is so much more than losing weight, of course that is a huge bonus but it helps:
- Lower blood pressure
- Increase bone density
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Heart health
- Increases lung capacity so you can walk up that flight of stairs!
- Increases strength so you can pick up your kids, grandkids or groceries!
Find a group that motivates and inspires you. It does not have to be trail running or working out but if you feel like you want to give it a try, we would LOVE to have you JOIN US! We LOVE to help people of all ages, shapes and sizes! The gals in our group have all been beginners and they know what it feels like. They are SUPER encouraging and helpful AND you get to have fun, get fit and meet new friends that have at least ONE THING in common–we LOVE our dogs!
Our March classes are forming now. What are you waiting for? There is fun to be had!
For more information and / or to sign up, click HERE!
Give us a month and we may just convert you too!
