Jane Kantz
Winter has a way of making one feel like the Pillsbury dough boy. Unfortunately I had been feeling that way all summer long and into the winter. I had seen my younger and fitter friend compete in the FA Bikini Challenge and was astounded by her transformation. Inspired by her, I started to peruse the FA website and found the Winter Body Challenge staring me in the face. It must’ve been fate. I was not looking for a bikini body. Heck, when I was in my 20s, I had a bikini and a friend said “Almost perfect!”. At that point I decided I could die right then – that’s the kind of exercise enthusiast you’re dealing with.
Back to the present, I was overweight, out of shape, with medical issues and approaching retirement age. What the heck was I thinking? Was I going to join a class with a bunch of bikini bodies when I get out of breath just climbing a flight of stairs? But something about the body challenge seem to call to me so without thinking too much about it I signed up.
Listen, I hate vegetables, crave carbs, hate to cook and loathe exercise but the challenge is special. And here I am a cook, counting my proteins and spiralizing my veggies!
No one is ever alone here. Bonnie is watching over everyone and everyone supports everyone else.
In the boot camp, if I couldn’t do an exercise the instructor gave me a different way to accomplish the same until I grew stronger. This gave me confidence. If you didn’t do it right they showed you how to do it right. In another gym, I would’ve spent months doing the exercise the wrong way and being foolishly proud.
The entire challenge, I avoided the pull up. I was petrified I would fall and afraid the band would break. I got to practice them on the floor. I got to do semi-pull ups without leaving the platform. Last week I did my first real pull up with the band. This is how this gym works.
And I lost weight and I grew stronger. I used to have trouble climbing a flight of stairs. Recently a friend of mine wanted to show me his art studio on the fourth floor of Symphony Hall. No elevator, panic time! And I did it. It felt amazing!
This is a challenge, and there are smaller challenges within your teams, but the real challenge is within you and you are worth this.
