Gawd I don't love running. For a number of reasons.

1. It hurts.

2. It's not in my blood. My short, stalky limbs just aren't designed for it.

3. When I was in elementary school we had to run around the block and these little inch worms would dangle from the trees and make a break for it and land in my hair, my clothes and my mouth. Ew.

Why am I talking about running?

I recently completed an 8 week fitness program with my favorite YouTube channel: Fitness Blender. All their full length work outs are free on their website and the YouTube. Quantity. And they know what they are doing. Quality.

You can purchase programs through their website that show you which workouts to do on which day for the 8 weeks. Rest days are included. As are fit tests. So there is no funny business, I am not an affiliate.

I took about 10 weeks to complete the program. I tend to take about 3 days off when I have my period because energetically that is a time for rest and recovery in a woman's cycle. I missed a couple days because of travel, etc, (which is also why I didn't post last week.)

The fit test is a way of measuring your improvements in strength, endurance and flexibility from the beginning compared to the end of the program.

The test includes a timed mile- run, maximum number of push-ups and squats to exhaustion, a held plank and a sit and reach test.

I do not love running.

On February 22nd I did my first fit test. With every step I kept saying, "Gawd. I hate running." "Ow my knees hurt." "I'll just walk a bit." "Why I am doing this?"

Well. I was doing it to have a baseline. I wanted to see what was possible when I committed to it.

To be clear the program did not involve any running. It was a combination of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts, upper or lower body and core regimes.

And to be honest the 5 days in a row of working out so intensely is a bit much for most people including me I think, but I wanted to experience it as close to what they prescribed as possible.

There were definitely days that I did NOT want to do it. But I checked back in with my why or healing goal. This is something I teach to all of my new patients. We don't get healthy just for the sake of being healthy.

Health is a vehicle to drive us to the thing that lights us up

My whys behind committing to this program to the best of my ability were:

• feeling strong

• increasing my endurance

• reconnecting to my flexibility

• strengthening my core

All so that I can:

• comfortably do my work bringing more love, joy and health into this world for a long, long time,

• dance, connect with people and have fun,

• easily spend time exploring nature and having outside adventures.

All so that I can:

• FEEL HAPPY.

That is the trick to putting together a healing goal. Start with, "I want to be healthy so that I can _________" (usually verbs go here).

But don't stop there. Add another, "So that." Then another. Keep going deeper until you feel you've got to the core of it. That often involves a FEELING. Happiness. Peace. Freedom. Love. (As examples.)

I want to be happy so that I can ________ so that ________ so that _______ so that ________ so that I can feel peace (for example.) Ah. Your healing goal.

Put that baby up where you can see her. Draw her out. Put her on your desktop background. Reconnect with her often. Chat with her. Let her help you take the steps you need to reach your goal. Your healing goal.

Thank you for bearing with me for that important digression.

So on those days that I wanted to watch cat videos instead of working out I would remember why I was doing it. I want a strong, flexible, able body to do the things that make me happy. Dance is my medicine, after all.

Fast forward to May 3rd. Time for fit test #2.

I was sooooooo tempted to look at my past scores before I started, but I didn't want to have those numbers skew my performance. I totally get that they could have been good mental drivers, but I wanted to see what my body would tell me.

Here are the results:

I cut 2.5 minutes off my run time! What?

I did more push-ups in total and doubled what I could do from my feet.

I added weight to my squats so although I did less in number I was able to do a lot more work.

I added 30 seconds to my plank time and a bit to my sit and reach (which was already pretty good.)

But do you know what the cool part was?

During my run I was talking to myself way differently.

I was encouraging and kind, "Tonia! You got this. You are already half way done. You can totally do this. Holy bananas! You are doing this!"

I ran with out pain.

I ran with out stopping to walk the last couple hundred metres.

I was so proud of myself. Yay me!!

The morals of this story are:

1. Small steps overtime add up to big results.

2. Big results can look like a lot of things - including a change in attitude.

3. Health isn't something you do once. You have to work at it consistently over time.

4. Identify your healing goal and keep it front and centre.

5. You can do what ever you put your mind to.

6. You will not likely ever see me representing Canada as an Olympian runner. Or Olympian anything for that matter. I'm just a short, curvy girl who is strong and flexible enough to do the things in life that make me happy. Like helping folks live thriving, delightful lives. And dancing. (For examples.)

7. It is important to check back in with where you started. Acknowledge how far you've come. My mom begs this of me all the time, "But look how far you've come!" Give yourself a high five to congratulate yourself on your progress. Yay you!! Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I love to hear in the comments below what you're proud of in your life lately. Where did you start? How did you get to where you are now? When you felt like giving up how did you recommit?

If you found this article useful please share it. Likely others will benefit to!

Be sure to sign up below so you don’t miss an article. Also you’ll get special offers and things I only send to peeps via email.

To your healthy, thriving, delightful life,