It’s Time

Hey there! It's Cassye, your trainer. Even though I haven't seen most of you in person, I'm still here. I'm still your coach. I'm still dedicated to help inspire you to stay active and healthy. I thought I would write a little post for you guys because it's been almost two months since the big shutdowns here in Colorado, and for my online clients in the rest of the U.S. So, it's been a minute. I know a lot of you have taken a break. You're just sort of shell shocked trying to get used to the new normal; especially if you have kids in school, if you have a job at risk, if you've had to completely change your job, or if you've been furloughed. I understand. Things have shifted a ton. Life has done a complete 180 for a lot of people and the task of adjusting to that is, in and of itself, a huge deal. Being housed so snugly with the people that you live with - it's a blessing and a curse. For some folks it can be a lot if you don't have your own space to go to sometimes. I really don't want to diminish your personal situation. I really want to appreciate where you are and what you're doing.

However, as your coach, and in keeping to my job description, it is my responsibility to talk to you about where you are at this point.

Let's assess your mindset in terms of where you've come from, where you are today, and what your plans are going forward. Because even though things have changed significantly, I'll bet you your goals are still the same as when you filled out that profile form. However long ago that was (and for some of you that's been years). I don't want you to give up. Being successful is only measured by the fact that you're continuing to reset, come back, and stay in it. We all have bumps in the road. We talk about peaks and valleys, and that's true for everything in life. This is just another one of those valleys. Granted, it feels like a huge crevasse the size of the Grand Canyon. BUT. As we get more used to it. As we normalize it. We are realizing that this is not a short-term thing guys. This is not something that, even with some loosened restrictions will be an all-out sprint back into the gym in the short term. My guess is that we have at least probably another month to go, so we really need to talk about what that's going to look like for you. The odds tell us this may not be the first time a pandemic changes the rules without our permission. And the goals don't go away. Right? You still want to be healthy, and living your best life, no matter what's happening around you.

So, I would like to urge you, if you have not done so already, to form a plan. I know that can be intimidating because that's what you hired me for. Here's the thing though. My goal as your trainer is to teach you how to get strong and stay that way. My goal is NOT to have you dependent on me for every workout. You learn the muscle groups, the form, and how to adapt those elements to your specific physiology and history. And then you go apply that knowledge. Forever. As my client you have some amazing options at your disposal. Even though you can't see me in person. Even though you can't get to a gym. Even though you have no equipment. You can stay on track. It won't look like it did before, but that's OK. Just get started. With something.

You don't have to do what I did, but I'll share my strategy because I wanted to be accountable to myself and to you during this crazy time. On March 23rd I decided I was going to make the best of this break. Because of my busy schedule before COVID-19 it had become too easy to deprioritize my own workouts. I was getting to the gym three times per week at best, and zero times per week at worst. And worst was becoming more and more the norm because that's what happens to us humans. Little by little, bit by bit we slide. Because it's just what we do. We get off track, then compound on that detour, and before we know it we've done a 180; facing the opposite direction of where we started. So as I contemplated my new position, with my back turned entirely on my personal fitness goals, I remembered what a few of my past clients had said. They said it was so much easier to stay on track if they had to train every day. That way it was just part of their routine. Brilliant! In fact that's was I used to do when I was at my peak of fitness and feeling my very strongest. I was training 6 days a week. I'm a huge fan of doing what works, so that's what I decided. I will train every day. I haven't stopped yet. And here's the cool thing. I only train for about 20 minutes per day. Knowing I don't have to dedicate a huge chunk of time helps me really concentrate on the work at hand, and not dread a long session.

So far I feel like it's been a pretty good challenge. As a seasoned lifter and someone who enjoys going heavy, I've been able to get some good work done. At the beginning I didn't use one scrap of official gym equipment. I began with a chair, cans from the pantry, and of course a roll of toilet paper to keep things relevant. I tried to make things fresh and fun as I set the new program. Now I've progressed and brought some exercise equipment home. I have 2 sets of dumbbells, a heavy kettlebell and 2 bands. Bear in mind the main goal is not to break any records, lift as much weight as possible or even do as intense of a workout as possible. It's really just to keep me on track, keep me in the mindset, and keep me accountable to you as your coach, but more importantly to myself as my own coach. I need to keep showing up, grooving the pattern, and stay active. I know my 'why' goes way beyond setting personal records. My 'why' is to live a longer, better quality of life, and to feel strong while doing it. I guarantee your 'why' probably looks similar.

I know many of you were lifting heavy in a gym environment where you had lots of equipment at your disposal; lots of variety which makes things cool and interesting; a reason to get excited to go. I totally get that. But do realize that you're probably not going to be in that situation again for some time. It's been almost two months. You've given yourself some space, hopefully a little grace to get used to this new normal. But if you're stuck. If you've truly been living in an all-or-nothing kind of situation, it really is time to stop and look at the reality of things. Understand that now is the time to get back on track if you haven't. And please know this is not a finger wagging type of situation. It's not me yelling at you or being mean. This is me holding you accountable like you asked me to. And instead of telling you what you want to hear, hopefully more of what you need to hear. Just BEGIN. Even if you can only get yourself to do one set of one thing. Pick your favorite exercise, and perform one set of that. Then leave it alone. If you feel like doing more, great. If you don't, great. No judgement. But come back every day. Keep after it.

If you don't know how to get started, request to join my Facebook group Mojo Masters. Even if you're not a current client, I'd like to invite you now to come on over. Just click on JOIN GROUP and your request will be sent. I've created almost 40 workout videos and posted them there for free. I've set them up so that you're working a different muscle group every single day; we do that for seven sessions in a row and then we start over again. There's plenty of variety, and every day you're doing something different. A key point is that we're doing the same exercises week over week so you are able to see some progression. Because progression is money in terms of strength and muscle development. Not into Facebook? Do the home workouts at your disposal in the 43fitness app. Not a client yet? Get a plan. These are full body and designed to be performed 3 times per week. These are the longer sessions that you're used to, just without equipment. To keep to a daily plan, simply sprinkle some HIIT cardio workouts on the days in between.

Also, I'm still offering sessions virtually. I've got a few clients doing that with me at home using their equipment. We've revamped their entire plan to incorporate many exercises they were doing with me in my gym, or in their commercial gym, and it's working out great. You can apply the sessions that you've already signed on for to do that. We can do half sessions. We can do full sessions. We can dedicate our time to Nutrition Coaching. Whatever it is that you want to do. I want to just make sure you understand all of the resources at your disposal.

I hope you're doing okay. I hope you're well situated with your family and loved ones. I want to know that you're still committed to your fitness, and if you need to chat, we can do that via text or email or even if you need a quick phone call, we can do that too. Remember that the longest journey starts with just one step. One foot in front of the other. You will do this. I know you will! Okay, I'm stepping down off the soapbox! Love y'all, miss y'all, and you're always in my heart.