Happy Monday!!! Thanks for joining our Live Brave Series! If you are just joining & would like to check out the previous weeks you can go here!

Today I am so excited for you to meet an amazing woman.. she just happens to be one of my neighbors, my fitness instructor .. but most of all my friend!

She is a friend to all, has the gift of encouragement & makes working out fun! (most of the time. )

Meet Sarah!!!

As a fitness instructor, new client introductions often come with a warning to me that they have not exercised in “forever” and that they “most likely will die”. That preconceived idea of what a fit person is, what they look like, how they move, what they eat, drink and even what they wear, is not how they see themselves. The idea of what fit looks like seems so far off that most of us feel like we could never get there, never be her.   The notion that one must be fit in order to get fit is common, but completely unfounded. How can we ever get to where we want to go if we are expecting ourselves to start at the halfway point? With fitness, the overwhelming majority of us start from zero. The amazing thing is that once you start the changes happen fast. You just have to be brave enough to start.

I am not a runner. I do run. I run at least 10 miles a week. I have run 15 miles in one morning but I still wouldn’t dare call myself a runner. Runners love running. They are fast and beautiful. They refer to themselves as “a runner”.   Runners are born, not made and runners didn’t start out huffing and puffing, struggling to the end of one block.   That was me. When I first decided to start running I was a 29 year old mother of an 18 month son.

The birth of my son had rocked my world. I was infatuated with this little boy. So head over heels in love with him. I poured everything into him and somehow I forgot about me. I swore it wouldn’t happen. I swore that our lives wouldn’t change. We would just slip this extra tiny human right into our lives, no big deal. Everything would be exactly the same. But everything changed. We went from a dual income couple to a single income family. We had to learn how to live on a budget and the baby needed our attention, all of our attention. Slowly it happened. I had a mental list of priorities and I wasn’t on it, I had fallen off the list. I was so preoccupied caring for my family that I forgot about me. I was pouring myself into everyone around me but I never stopped to fill up my own bucket. I was not happy and I needed to do something. I needed to get back on the list. I decided to run.

I got out the new jogging stroller, loaded up the baby. Snacks: check.  Water: check. Inhaler (I have asthma): check. And I started off and about 50 feet out of my door I realized this was a bad idea!!! I was dying. I couldn’t breathe. My legs didn’t want to move. What was I thinking!! I am not a runner. How was I going to make it 2 miles, my predetermined “I can do that” distance? So I made a deal with myself. If I made it to the end of the block I could walk the rest of the way. And I did. I made it a whole block. Seriously?! That was it?! That was my max, my limit?! Mind you this was one block. Not a city block, just five small houses. I wanted to go home. I was beat and defeated, but I decided to keep my promise to myself and I walked the rest of the two miles.

I don’t know why but I decided to do it again the next day. I ran a bit farther. By the end of the week I had added an extra block. Just one month later and I was at a mile. I was up to 3 miles in just 3 months. Running had become part of my daily routine. Running gave me something that was just mine. It gave me a goal, something to work toward and I felt strong, capable and I could see my body changing. This was the first time in my life that I had the courage to stick with a fitness plan. It was the first time that I didn’t let the discomfort of pushing my body stop me from reaching my goal. I felt proud. I was back on the list. I was taking the time to take care of myself.   Over the next few years, making that commitment to take care of myself would change my life.

Seven years later I am still running. My fitness is still a priority. I found and joined Stroller Strides/ Fit4Mom, a fitness group for moms that combines cardio and strength train in a 1 hour full body workout.   In this group I found my people. A group of women that wanted to live healthy lives and that knew that taking care of themselves meant that they could take care of their families. A group of women who for just one hour a day put themselves at the top of the list. This one little hour where they pushed themselves would give them the strength both physically and mentally to do so. Two years after joining this incredible group I decided that I wanted to become a fitness instructor. I have been teaching at Fit4Mom for 3 years now and it has been the most fulfilling and rewarding work. Every day I see women do things they never thought they could. I have seen women take 4 minutes off of their timed mile in 8 weeks. I have seen their pride swell when they do their first pushup and then immediately follow it up with their second, third, fourth and fifth. I have seen women that swear to me that they are not “runners” run every day. Each one of them had to have the courage to start. Each one of them was brave enough to push past their comfort level. Each one of them was brave enough to put themselves back on the list.

Here are a few ways you can begin to put your health and fitness on the list.

• Remember it is okay if you haven’t worked out in “forever”. You do not have to be fit to get fit.
• Start small and add to it. A walk around the block, then a walk around two blocks.
• Make an appointment with yourself everyday and honor it.
• Find a group of people to hold you accountable. This can be a group fitness class or a friend.
• Push yourself. When you think you can’t take another step, take one more then you can stop.
• Drink plenty of water. Your body needs water to function properly.
• Limit processed foods and added sugar. Stick with whole foods; fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, dairy, whole grains and healthy fats.

Sarah Fein is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor with Fit4mom Metro Phoenix. She lives in Tempe AZ with her Husband and 3 young children. Her family moved to the Phoenix area 5 years ago from Chico CA. Sarah attended California State University, Chico where she earned a BS in Geology. She is passionate about helping women to reach their health and fitness goals. You can reach her at [email protected] or visit her website at www.metrophoenix.fit4mom.com.