How did this happen?

OK, I've been MIA for a bit but I have good reasons. It's been a rough couple of weeks. My father passed away just before Thanksgiving and while going to the gym to relieve some stress I dropped a 45lb plate on my foot and totally destroyed my Big toe.(I did finish the workout before going to the emergency room) I had no idea that a Big toe was so important but breaking it in 4 places get you a lovely non-walking cast, crutches, and a lot of trouble. Three weeks in, I am finally in a walking boot that I can't take off even to sleep but believe me that is a huge improvement.

So the point of this post is not to get a bunch of sympathy, although it is welcome, but to examine how I feel sitting on the sidelines. Two years ago when I started exercising on a regular basis and lifting weights, I did it to try and look better and get healthy. It was not something I enjoyed all that much. I made myself go because getting close to 45 and being a wreck was not an option. Each workout was just that, work. 

What I have found out now, is all that changed somewhere along the way. Somehow working-out became one of the most fun things I do. My friends at the gym are a support system and my husband/workout partner, a great asset. Just thinking about how much time I was going to lose for being careless made me angry and I wanted to cry. Losing even a little of my hard won progress was not acceptable. At some point, exercise changed from work to fun. Don't ask me when it happened, because I can't pinpoint the time. But it did happen. Something that was a chore has turned into an activity I enjoy and that makes me feel accomplished. Believe me when I say I never thought that would happen. I was never an athlete when younger.

Even hurt and unable to walk, I went to the gym and watched my husband. I did as much upper-body work as I could and my non-injured leg is probably much stronger now. Who knew it was so much harder to bench press without your legs! Watching my husband hit a 15lb PR on Squat at 325 was bitter sweet. I'm so proud of him, but I wanted to be there with him hitting my own PR. The rush from bettering your last lift is addictive and I'm in withdrawal. I never thought this would happen!

I want to thank all the people at NBS Fitness that have been so supportive and not laughed while I hobbled around doing what I can. Everyone has cheered me on, asked how I was doing, and managed to not trip over my crutches.

The message of this story is that even if you don't like exercising now, you can grow to enjoy it. Sometimes things that start out as work become fun. I try and remember my favorite quote from Coach Bear Bryant (my hero), “There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.”