Hey friends! 

As some of you know I have been on a fitness journey for the last seven months with Motion Fitness Okotoks! 

Since January I have been working out twice a week with a personal trainer from the gym and up until this point I've gotten the opportunity to work with three of them; Jo-Anne, Kirianna and Britt. 

Three different expertises, three different styles of training, three different personalities and I can confidently say, I've enjoyed every minute of it! Seriously! 

I've never been a gym person but I've quickly realized why it's so important to always make time for some sort of fitness in your life. 

Here are some of the things that the gym has given me during this journey:

- Serotonin! - After a long day, hitting up the gym is so nice before going home. I feel like my mood improves immensely after the gym, it's almost like a fresh start before heading back to your partner, family, pets. I always feel more productive as well, rather than sit around and nap, I have the energy to get stuff done. 

- Stress Relief - This ties into the point above, I just find after a stressful day you can kind of leave it all in your workout. You get to escape your stresses while you're there and most times work through them, leading to a fresh mindset after the gym. 

- New friends - Now if you're not looking to make friends, don't worry. People aren't bombarding you while you're trying to lift weights. But everyone is super friendly at the gym, whether it be the staff or other gym goers. I've met a handful of people that I look forward to socializing with when I'm at Motion Fitness! 

- A boost in confidence - Y'all my clothes are fitting better, I don't feel as sluggish, I just feel better all around and it's not just me noticing it! Others have made a point of commenting and that feels really really good knowing my hard work is showing. 

- Security - This is a big one. When I say security, I'm talking about getting in good shape now and working on strengthening my body now so it helps in the long run. So many of us end up with bad backs, joint pains, and knee aches....but if you make small adjustments now it helps so much in the long run.

To be honest, it's never been about the number on the scale for myself, I could care less about what I weigh, it's always been about how I'm feeling and on every level (mentally, physically and emotionally) I have felt a lot better since going to the gym! 

And I think I remain shocked because yes, I have a PT that's working with me while I'm there, designing a custom workout that will have me seeing results but I am always stunned with how much of a result I'm seeing with how little it feels like I'm doing. 

As I said, I work out two times a week and by choice, I've made no change to my diet (I love food lol), other than walking my dog I do almost no cardio and this is the change I've seen: 

A year difference in Shayne's face.

(Left, October of last year and right, just a few days ago!) 

I know it's not a huge difference and it's hard to see in my face but it's a HUGE difference to me! 

I just want you to know that if you are thinking about joining the gym, you should just dive in and do it. Everyone's journey is different but that's the beautiful thing about Motion Fitness Okotoks - the PTs recognize that and they want to see you succeed the way that's best for you!

And if you're not in a position to afford a PT, though they do have some awesome deals right now, just get into the gym and try it out yourself! You have to start somewhere right? =) 

~ Shayne