May
10, 2017
Brent,
I greatly hesitated writing this letter, but am doing it
anyway. So, take it for what you will, be it a letter from the crazy lady in your
MSCR 45 Strength or a client testimonial.
I simply want to express my gratitude that you were my instructor
for 45 Strength September 2016-March 2017. There I was a stay-at-home-mom of a
6-year-old son, Gus, and almost 2-year-old daughter, Lucy. Our family had
recently moved back to Madison after living in a small town in Iowa, where
minds were mostly small and opportunities to meet people outside of a church
were scarce. I was really looking forward to taking a strength class. I was
looking forward to have time alone without the needs of my kids coming first. I
was looking forward to doing something for my four children in Heaven, Oscar,
Bella, Tittle and Firefly, as attention for them is sometimes hard to come-by
with the tasks of everyday family living. I was looking forward to getting
stronger and feeling better about my body, knowing we are done having kids.
I was nervous about having a male instructor for an exercise
class, as I had never had one before, but you were just what I needed. You fit
exactly what I needed: some goofiness, lots of motivation, modifications for
each exercise so I could choose which level to try, and so many reminders that
my fitness journey was my own, where I was on that day was not where I had been
in the past or where I would be in the future. At some point, I’m not sure
when. I began to believe you, that I was making progress, that I could choose
heavier weights and that I was getting stronger. And then, after that, I wasn’t
going to class to show Oscar, Bella, Tittle and Firefly what their mom could
do. I was going to class because I liked it. I liked that I felt stronger. I liked
that I was doing something for me. I liked that I was taking time for myself
and using it to improve my mind and body.
And now here we are today, about two months since my last
class with you. In that time, I tried out the new instructor for 45 Strength
and it was NOT a good fit. My husband, Jon (who has been lifting weights every
day for the past year), and I did some gym shopping and two weeks ago he moved
from Gold’s and we started at Princeton Club. I’ve been going every day since
then. Me exercising every day is not something I think I’ve done since I was a
kid, when playing was exercising. I’m trying to find my way in the big gym,
feeling comfortable in most of the group classes, feeling uncomfortable in the free
weight area, working up courage to try a water exercise class and trying my
best, but not doing very well, to try to remember some of the workouts you had
us do in class.
I know I gave you some grief in class, and for that I
apologize, but know that it was coming from the heart, mind and body of someone
who has always felt her body was broken. Type 1 diabetes since the age of two
and infertility and pregnancy loss in my twenties and thirties told me over and
over again, day after day, that my body was broken, weak and sometimes
worthless. That mindset is changing. My body is still broken: stupid pancreas
and reproductive system, but the rest of my body can be fine, can be strong and
can be worth a whole lot. So, thank you. Thank you for being what I needed at a
time that I was ready to change.
Sincerely,
Brianna
