Coming Up for Air

Hi family and support group!

I wanted to "come up for air" and update everyone on my life over the last week.  I have been at Life Time Fitness Personal Training Certification.  To people outside of the LTF culture, that doesn't mean much.  But those within, that phrase "PT Cert" is often followed by a dramatic..."Dunnn Dunn Dunnnnnnnnnn".  Just because it is an INTENSE week.  I know that what I've been going through and doing over the last week is probably pretty foreign so I wanted to share a little insight. 

This week has been incredibly intense but AMAZING at the same time.  Monday through Thursday I was up around 5:00am to get to the LTF in St. Louis Park by 6:00 to workout before class started.  It was an expectation that because we work for the "Healthy Way of Life Company", it is imperative that we practice a HWOL.  Each day we would have one or two of the different program leads there to facilitate our learning about the different companies inside Life Time Fitness.  For instance, the Metabolic Testing, the TEAM group Training options, the National Nutrition Lead (my favorite day), etc.  Life Time Fitness has its own Nutrition Philosophy, one that I have for quite a long time adapted myself, so that day was probably my favorite.  These were long days of learning and engaging (which is essentially what we are graded on, participation).  Most nights I would get home around 6 to repack my lunch bag, replenish my workout clothes, review what we learned for the day, practice some of the script, have some dinner, visit with Peter, and then completely zonk out. 

Thursday we had the opportunity to listen to a National Conference call (these take place every Thursday), but this one was special.  John Berardi of Precision Nutrition (basically THEE guy in fitness and nutrition) was leading the call.  I have to disclose that at one point in his presentation, I felt my chest and heart well up with utter joy and fulfillment.  Had I not been in a room with 7 of my peers, and the entire St. Louis park PT staff, I may have had a tear roll down my face.  John was talking about the current state of the Personal Training field, and where it is going.  The reason why this resonated with me so strongly, was because it is exactly what I feel my life's purpose is.  The Personal Training field is moving in the direction of psychology rather than physiology. It's about behavior change and coaching.  EXACTLY what my passion as well as my education (formal and life experience) is about.  So to hear THEE guy in fitness affirm this direction and basically affirm my decision to go into Personal Training was nothing short of powerful.  

So what now?  The test out procedure for Cert Week is completing a Training Solution Appointment on one of my classmates, in front of the Regional Education Director (Mitchell Keyes, reportedly the most strict grader) and Jen, my Department Head (and roommate/best friend). A Training Solution Appointment is an opportunity to sit down to discuss a potential clients goals, and to pair their resources with our solutions at Life Time Fitness. We are graded on our memorization and presentation of the script they provided us, as well as our understanding of all the tools Life Time has to offer, AND adding our own "art" or personality.  An average TSA appointment is 45 to 55 minutes long, and the script they provided us, is about 30-40 pages.  Just to give you an idea of the task ahead of me.

This is/was the most exciting and intense week of my career, and I am so incredibly excited for what is yet to come.  I want to thank everyone for their continued thoughts, prayers, and support as I make this change, and hopefully as I make positive changes in the lives of others.

Balentime's

Happy Foto Friday... and Balentime's Recap.

Wednesday afternoon, a coworker asked if I would be interested in Gopher/Badger basketball tickets.  She had forgotten it was Valentines, and therefore unable to use them.  I think my reply was "ughhhh Chya!"  Pete and I love any (free) sporting event, and especially those border battle games!

Our view of the Barn.  I have to admit, games at William's Arena are a lot more energetic than games at the Kohl's Center.  Like Pete said, a lot likely has to do with the different styles of play.  The Badgers being very laid back and the Gophers having more attack mentality on offense.  I just feel like there is a lot more energy in the barn than there ever is in the Kohl Center.  But then again, I haven't been to a Home Badger game in a while.

Twin Cities Skyline on our way home.

Scene 1: Yay Valentines Date

Scene 2: Ugh oh, we have a tied game!

 

Scene 3: OVERTIME!!!

Scene 4:  Gophers Win!

Scene 5:  Badgers loose, but we still had a fun Balentimes Date.  And yes, he left me hanging...he was probably already singing Ski-U-Ma or whatever.



Thanks again Liz and Lisa for the tickets.  We had a fun night out, and I think I might try out for the Badgers as a point guard.  Because I'm pretty sure my very poor ball handling skills as a post player are better than what they demonstrated last night.  Woof.

Have a great weekend everyone, and carry on the LOVE from Balentime's to the other 364 days of the year!

Ketchup 2: Paparazzi Post

As I previously mentioned in a post, roughly two weeks ago, I wanted to start taking and sharing more photos.  Well, I fell behind in that goal, so here she goes.  A little Paparazzi update on whats been going on in our world lately.

I love winter, but I loathe the boot monster.

Peter redeeming himself after forgetting to pick me up kleenex the night prior....gosh I love that guy.  AND he made me AH Ma Zing Homemade chicken 'n veggie soup!  And little factiod for you, the spice/herb Thyme is good for a chest cold because it helps relax and loosen mucus membranes.

 Wednesday night, Steph and I attended the Lady Gaga concert at the Xcel Energy Center.  And to sum it all up in one word: WOW.  I do have a new appreciation for her and her insane creativity as well as the message that underlies all of her crazy costumes and scenery.  Numerous times throughout the concert, she would pause to climb up on her soap box (while in crazy platform heels and intricate leather costumes), to express her desire for people to embrace who they are, whether they are gay, straight, bi, transgender, black, white, yellow, etc. Pretty cool.

This is how I have been surviving the last 48 hours.  After my shift on Saturday, I came home and crashed.  I started feeling miserable, with a likely sinus infection, and crazy fatigue.  I never like taking over the counter cold medicine, simply because it only quiets the symptoms, and doesn't help the root issue.  So I opted to just sleep, hydrate, drink tea (Gypsy Cold Care & Chamomile Citrus), and use my neti pot.  Additionally, I am starting a 14 day detox on Monday (today, which I will explain in a bit), so I didn't want to take any medications; therefore I sought out some natural home remedies.  I read about the "healing" powers of Apple Cider Vinegar.  A concoction of 1 TBSP ACV, 1 TBSP Honey, and 8 ounces of water, is said to help clear the sinuses and kill bacteria.  It was amazing how well it worked.  Within 2 minutes of choking it down, literally choking (it does NOT taste good), my sinuses would clear up.

14 Day Detox, this actually will deserve a blog post on its own, but announcing that today is my first day on Life Time Fitness 14 day Detox!  Goals of the detox are multiple, but some include dextoxing from Caffeine, sugar, chemicals, and in general allowing your body to be cleansed so it can be more efficient.  The detox consists of two dairy free Fast Fuel Shakes with a Fiber supplement, multi vitamins, fish oil, and a packet of Liver Detox supplements.  Additionally, the nutrition protocol consists of clean whole foods, primarily clean protein sources (free range chicken, grass fed beef, and wild caught fish), cuniferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, etc), and healthy fats (coconut oil, EVOO, nuts/seeds).  Items you are NOT allowed to ingest are dairy (milk, cheese, eggs, butter to name a few), Sugar (in any form other than in foods/fruit), gluten, caffeine, among a few other things.  Basically NO processed foods also, which isn't an issue for me as I eat pretty clean.  The only big adjustment that I've been working on is the caffeine.  More to come.

As I mentioned, I've been under the weather, and my boys have been taking great care of me.  Diesel has been super snugly and comforting, and he is at the foot of the bed now as I type.  Peter just brought me a bowl of his yummy soup.  I am hoping to make a return to the real world tomorrow!  Can't wait to get back at it!

Ketchup 1: Shadowing

I have quite a few blog thoughts to catch up on, but instead of having one massive blob of blog I wanted to break it up; at least this one.

Last week I officially was granted the Personal Training position at Bloomington North, so I started to do some shadowing with the other fitness professionals.  Since I do not have specific Personal Training experience (other than the numerous experiences of being on the receiving side, and my experiences in the Health & Wellness field), I sought out the opportunity to shadow basically as a brief internship.  I began this experience also to start preparing myself for my new schedule and getting up at 5:00am.

The first morning was amazing.  Instantly I fell in love with this profession, and pretty much had perma grin all day.  I was asked what demogaphic I thought I would work most with; and I honestly don't know, time will tell.  I enjoyed working along side all of the clients this week.  Ranging from those in Boot Camp, to assisting an incredible older gentleman rehabilitate from a total knee replacement (something I have a lot of experience with "thanks to" my mom's numerous knee surguries), to observing a myHealth score and other metabolic assessments.  I love it all.

I am so excited to get going on my onboarding week, once I kick this sinus infection and chest cold!  Before Personal Trainers are let loose to change lives at Life Time, it is required that you attend a week long certification program.  That will start next week, and I'm oh so anxious!

Again, stay tuned for more on my journey!

Furry Friends...

Received a heart breaking email this morning from my mom.  Late last night they took my step dad's older dog, Shyla, to the vet.  They found out she was experiencing heart failure.  Therefore they decided to put her to sleep.  I have a heavy heart and tears in my eyes seeing this last picture of them together.

As someone with an enormous soft spot for dogs, I can not begin to imagine his heartache upon losing such a great friend.

Shyla ("big dog") was a sweet old black lab, who often woke Pete and I up whenever we would stay at my mom's house.  Not by licks or barks, but by the sound of her tail waging and THUMPING on the floor above us.

I'm snuggling my own furry four legged friend a little extra today, and appreciating his eager greeting at the door when I come home from work.  Although not everyone agree's with dog ownership, you can't deny the unconditional love that they give you day in and day out.  It truly tugs at your heart strings when you learn someone you care about has to experience a loss of a furry friend.

Thankfully, all Dogs go to Heaven, and I would like to think that there is an endless supply of bacon.  Rest in Peace Shyla.