Top 6 Lessons From This Year: Thanks, 2020!

I will start this post out my using the word "unprecedented" only once. Right there in that first sentence! You're welcome.

2020 was a whole lot of a whole lot for all of us and, as I like to do at the end of each year, I sat down to reflect on these last 12 months of IzzyFit. The highs. The lows. What we can leave behind. What we can look forward to. And, like I do with clients (talk about life stuff), I'm going to share what came to the surface. Here are my Top Six lessons from 2020:

1. The Laws of Thermodynamics Are Real. Very Real.

In VERY basic terms, the law states that if you want to lose weight you need to expend more calories than you're taking in and if you want to gain weight, you need to take in more calories than you expend. And sometimes "want" is a funny word and the weight loss, gain, or stall "just happen" (but not really, because: Science).

I most definitely gained the COVID 19. I mean, I actually HAD COVID-19 all the way back in the first week of March but then I made it official by gaining the weight, too. Why? Because all of a sudden I was working from home, hardly moving, and drinking 2 glasses of wine every night. The. Law. Is. Real.

I've come out on the other side now. I'm doing the work to choose things other than becoming one with the couch while clutching my pretty wine glass. I'm training three times/week and choosing a tasty light beer after work. (And I talk about this and exhaustion here; if might resonate with you or someone you love.)
 
In any case: If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. In fact, your favorite personal trainer might also be very, very human, too ;) (I'm going ahead and declaring myself your favorite personal trainer, BTW, hope that's OK.)

2. Don't Knock It Until You've Tried It

I would have scoffed at the idea of doing virtual training on March 1st. And then, by March 20, I had a training schedule that ONLY consisted of Zoom training. And you know what: I love it! I mean, nothing takes the place of being in person with people I care about, but being able to continue to coach my IzzyFit crew from the comfort of their homes has been a blessing, honor, and a blast.

The real point here is:  Is there anything nutrition or fitness-related that you've sworn up and down you'd never do? Or thought was "good for them but not for me"? If you tried that thing out, what would you guess the best outcome might be? The worst? Now, what might the value be in trying it, knowing you can bail if it really isn't for you? 

3. Creativity Is Our Only Limiting Factor

My personal training teacher taught us this: When it comes to programming, creativity is our only limiting factor. Clients went from pushing sleds around, deadlifting 100+ lbs and throwing medicine balls against the wall to having very minimal equipment at home. Did that stop us from sweating and being sore! Heck NO! We made it work!

Some of my favorite at-home equipment: Wine bottles, towels, pets, children, suitcases, pillows, beds, coffee tables, ladders. Heck, my brother-in-law created dumbbells by pouring concrete into milk gallon bottles. Again I say: Creativity is our only limiting factor. Here are some of my favorite examples:

4. Wearing a Mask and Lifting Weights: It CAN Happen!

Strength coach Tony Gentilcore likes to say that lifting weights isn't supposed to tickle. If that's the case, I'd like to point out that if you're OK squatting and lunging and doing pushups because they make you stronger and healthier (movements, I might add, that don't feel anything like floating on an inflated unicorn in a pool while sipping a mai tai), then adding a mask to the workout won't make that much of a difference*. So. Just do it. Wear that mask. 

5. Take Time to Reflect

It's funny how this year felt like we lived 10. Looking back and trying to differentiate March from April to May is hard. A lot of weird shit has been normalized (sometimes I forget I'm even wearing a mask and I don't think I'll be able to break the habit of talking to myself in a grocery store any time soon). And, while stuffing this year down the loo and giving it a good flush sounds like a good idea, I think we all deserve to mine from it the gold.

Take out some paper, a pen, and a timer. Give yourself 90 seconds for every prompt. Write your answers down to some or all of the following:
1. My favorite memory from this year was:
2. I'm proud of myself for:
3. What was the nicest thing someone did for me this year? 
4.  What was the nicest thing I did for someone else this year?
5. Who had the biggest impact on my life this year?
6. What could I have done, if anything, to make this year better? 
7. My support system consists of:
8. What do I want to do differently next year?
9. If I can go into January of 2021 with one word in mind, what would it be?

6. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller

Madeline in February being rocked by Mom doing sliding lateral lunges.

Madeline learning the glory of Zoom in March.

Madeline riding her red tricycle after (it would appear) tying up her Mom in the basement on November 30. They grow up so fast.

BONUS: I HIRED TRAINING ASSISTANTS!

A special thanks to Kaia, Scout, Sophie, Denali, Captain, Tillie, Walter, Oreo, Sweetie, Pumpkin, Ouch, and Bama. If the pet mom or dad are home, the animals WILL join in. This is also scientific law. 

Now, Onto 2021

What's ahead? Well, I speculate that winter and spring will look much the same as it has which means clients will keep getting new programs every month, we'll keep using things around the house to work out with and training with the windows and doors open at the gym (good thing we Evanstonians are good at layering!).

And we'll continue making our health a priority.

​There's not a lot we can control in life but we CAN take some stuff -- exercise, nutrition, and rest -- into our hands. And I'm here to help. 

Ready to join me? Reach out by scheduling a call here, or email me at izzy@izzyfit.com, or call/text 312-497-8999. 

Cheers to 2021, friends!