This is going to sound funny, but I never thought of myself as “out of shape.” In fact, fitness has never really been something I’ve thought about through the years. I just never paid that much attention to my body, I guess.
I teach high school biology. I’ve always been more academically inclined and never really into sports or anything. My wife has never complained about my body. I would play with my kids, but if I got tired, I would just stop. It wasn’t until the age of 37 that I really started thinking about my lack of fitness.
My parents had moved out of state, and on my next vacation, we went to visit them. The first time I had flown in years. I couldn’t believe what a pain it was to travel. Carrying our luggage through the airport. Going through security checks, carrying my two-year-old as we rushed to board on time. I seriously felt like I was going to die.
I looked at travelers around me and couldn’t see anyone else struggling like I was. Out of breath, shaky. Totally stressed and on edge. After complaining to my wife enough about the experience, she suggested I start going to the gym.
I tried it a few times. I wandered around checking all the equipment without any clue on where to start. I didn’t know what machines to use, or how to use them. I really felt out of place, plus I pulled a groin muscle on my first attempt at using a leg machine. And that pretty much sums up my gym experience.
I wasn’t about to pay for a gym membership to just sit there unused, I wanted to go another direction. I started jogging once a week. I couldn’t go far, it honestly felt miserable. I basically became very aware that I was in terrible physical shape, and I was going to have to make some changes if I didn’t want to become a weak, frail man as I got older.
When I signed up with my fitness trainer using CoPilot, I was ready to let someone else take the wheel… to tell me what I needed to do, and how to do it. My trainer started teaching me about the muscle groups, how to properly warm up, and he created a routine for my lack of fitness.
I know it sounds funny, but it was like discovering how my body works all over again. Like a baby learning to walk. I began feeling much more comfortable with movement, breathing, and stretching… new territory for me. After I began to get used to the muscle soreness and worked out some joint issues, it was starting to feel quite good.
I realized that I had been withholding something from my family. An active lifestyle was not of high importance to me until I got to that point of desperation. Being a teacher helped me keep an open mind, as I’m always urging my students to keep an open mind to learn, so I had to live up to my own lectures.
With a willingness to learn something new, trying this program just seemed to be a perfect fit. My lack of knowledge and experience with health and fitness is what led me to this training program. I didn’t know it would make such a difference, however now my whole family is more active, and I can see a healthier, happier future for us all.
Now, I must tell you about the next trip to visit my parents. My wife, kids and I took an economy flight, a couple of checked suitcases, several carry-ons, a stroller, and a car seat through the airport. I had a flashback to that terrible trip the previous year. What a difference!
I felt in control. I was not exhausted. I felt like I was leading my family with confidence. I cannot tell you how much better I feel. It’s as though I had a vision of myself in the future, what I would have become had I not really cracked down and made these changes. I am even more physically animated in my classes, more alert and vibrant than before. My students notice and seem to be more responsive and anxious to learn.
So, this matter of health and fitness is truly a life-changing deal. You just never know until you are willing to step outside your comfort zone, make some changes, and try something new. I probably would have laughed a few years ago, if you told me I would have a personal trainer and workout on a daily basis. Now I’m doing burpees, push-ups, mountain-climbers, and these things that I had no idea even existed. And it feels good!
Sharing my personal journey to a happier, healthier lifestyle is something I like to do because I know that there are others out there who are like me… struggling just to do basic activities because they haven’t made health a priority. I will never go back to the sedentary lifestyle that I had. There is so much potential available, just by changing a few habits. It is life-changing.
The story of CoPilot member Josh P.
