I’m embracing 2015 as the year to say YES!

I have to be honest, I’m REALLY excited about this! There are so many things that I want to do and try this year and I’m opening up myself to it all.

The top thing on my list? Taking care of myself. It’s time to get fit and it’s time to be healthy. Health is one of the most important things and it’s something many people take for granted. We’ve learned the hard way in my family. My husband had cancer 3 years ago (we just found out in November that he is cancer free), so it really showed me up, close and personal how important it is to take care of your body, mind and soul – I am committing to taking better care of me this year.

I’m saying YES to health and fitness things that scare me and challenge me. Things that I’ve said NO to many, many times before in my life… I’m saying YES to now.

I’ve partnered with Fiber One to bring on 2015 in the best way I possibly can. I love that Fiber One is passionate about strength and camaraderie of groups, so it got me thinking… it’s time to say YES to something I’ve dreaded and have been ultra-scared about in the past – group fitness classes. I’m going to be honest here, about 8 years ago, when I first moved back from NYC to Rhode Island, I joined a local gym and was totally amped up to take some classes. The first class I attended, I couldn’t keep up. It was a cardio kickboxing class and I just failed miserably. I was sweating like crazy. I was completely out of shape. I felt like all the eyes in the class were on me. I remember leaving that class and just crying the whole way home… all I could think about was, when did I get so out of shape?

Fast forward to present day. I’m not totally out of shape. I run here and there, but not consistently. I have 5 kids, so I’m always on the go and trying to keep up with them, but I don’t do anything for my body, I just sort of exist and go, go, go.

Well, I tried 2 group fitness classes at my local gym over the last week and a half and I survived! I was scared to go – almost chickened out a few tines, but I didn’t. I went with butterflies in my stomach and knuckles gripping my steering wheel.

The first class that I tried was a Tread-On class. This class is done on treadmills and it’s BEYOND challenging. You really need to work hard and go in with a mindset that you’re there and ready to work hard. The instructor is AWESOME, she’s been someone I’ve known for awhile now and she’s tough, she doesn’t want anyone there who isn’t working hard. I think that’s what scared me before I went, I didn’t want to not be able to work hard. I wanted to be able to impress her and do what I could do in the class without stopping or feeling like I was going to be sick! The best part is that you can go at your own pace on the treadmills and really work yourself up. I started out WAY TOO FAST and I could tell I was starting to cramp up and get tired, she immediately helped me bring my pace back down and get myself to a steady, but challenging pace. We ran on and off for 45 minutes. She incorporates in steps and incline. It’s an insane, but awesome class. She also motivated me beyond anything, which was great because all of us in the class (there were 6 of us) pushed each other together, too. With “come on, we can do it!” chants and “let’s go!” we did it. We all worked together and it felt like we accomplished something at the end of the class. It was truly amazing. I’m actually going to start taking this class once a week because it really fueled me.

The second class I tried was a spin class. Spin Class. Let me say this, spin class is something I’ve been terrified to try. It’s a dark room. It’s a bike. It’s sweating and pushing and peddling as fast as you can. It’s something I’ve always thought people were crazy to do, but always curious about… so I decided to give it a try. It was hard and tough and crazy, but I did it! I was in class with people who do it regularly, so I was intimidated going in, I almost didn’t do it! But I pushed through the fear and hopped on the bike, strapped my feet in and did it! I wasn’t the best in class by far, but it was a very cool class to be part of. The instructor kept the music really fun and enjoyable! The momentum of the class was cool because you built up to a good groove. It was really fun to see everyone laughing and pushing each other, too. And they took the “newbie” in class and helped me through the 60 minutes.

Saying YES in 2015 is something I’m excited to do.

I said YES to these 2 classes and saw something within myself I haven’t seen in awhile.

I did it.

I was motivated by the group.

I was pushed to a level I didn’t think I could do.

Thank you Fiber One for the opportunity to say YES to something I was scared to do.

2015… bring it! ☺

Disclosure: This is a sponsored posting with Fiber One and SheKnows Experts. #BringBackDessert #skexperts