Shape Up Kickboxing gave me my body back! In 2019, I arrived in Georgia, 39 years old, 45 pounds heavy, and 10 years since I had last been in shape. I committed to my body and started making a change at Shape Up Kickboxing.
At first, I felt like it was hopeless. I felt too heavy to move fast. I got completely exhausted after just a couple minutes of effort. I laughed about myself, “wheezing like a water buffalo,” but I was scared – was it “too late” to get myself back in shape??
I stayed with the workouts. I trusted the magic of a consistent routine. I ignored the many days I thought, “Nothing’s changing! This is impossible!” And over the course of 18 months, I had a brand new body! I was capable of longer workouts! I felt so much better, I looked better, and I felt that amazing confidence that comes from success.
The workouts at Shape Up Kickboxing were a crucial part of my success. Even when I hadn’t seen any of the visual results yet, I knew – every time I finished a workout – that I had done something amazing for my body. You can feel when some parts of your body are healthier. You breathe more easily, you sleep more deeply. Your joints hurt less, and it’s not as exhausted to carry yourself around day to day.
Even my skin improved! I frequently felt a lot of stress about my health and appearance, and that stress manifested in blotchy, easily damaged skin that became far more vibrant, resilient, and healthy as my condition improved. I started feeling like the guy who could run further than most people, instead of the guy who’d be lucky to cross the starting line.
The workouts were fun, too! I hate being bored during a workout. The conditioning was always a little different, so it never felt too predictable. The bag rounds always gave me something diverting to think about while working out, and made me feel like I had a powerful body, instead of a useless one.
And Shape Up Kickboxing provides a wonderful, friendly, safe environment, too. I felt BAD about my body. But no one at Shape Up Kickboxing made me feel that way. I felt welcome, and that the other students and the instructors were happy to be there, so we all ended up smiling, joking, and having a great time while being in such a vulnerable, insecure place emotionally. I couldn’t have asked for a better environment in which to challenge my fears about my body.
When people mention their health, and being out of shape, or wanting to be more healthy, I know I have an amazing answer for them. Shape Up Kickboxing can easily do the same for you that it did for me. Commit. Attend class. Work your body into a sweat, and keep working and do it again for as many tomorrows as it takes. You’re going the right way, and you’ll know it too, once you start on your personal health journey!
For more information about Shape Up Kickboxing Locations, visit here. Also follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/ShapeU