In October last year a mom from my daughter’s school invited our family to their house for a playdate and pool party. A pool party at the end of October. Isn’t it nice? Yes, of course it is….until the moment I was hit by a big wave of realization. My son can’t swim…I had to be in the pool with him, which means...I had to wear a swimsuit!
Only my family and a couple of close friends have seen me in a bathing suit since I delivered my second child. Now I had to wear a swimsuit in front of people I had just met?! Up to then I firmly believed that one day I could have worn a swimsuit and feel as good as I did before babies. Hence I never bought a one piece bathing suit. Unfortunately that day hadn’t come yet. I felt trapped. With a drawer full of bikinis, how could I cover my soft tummy and love handles. I needed a one piece swimsuit. Great! That party was giving me a good excuse to go shopping. But I was giving up with the idea of getting my bikini body back and this made me incredibly sad.
I bought my new swimsuit, went to the party and had an lovely time. A couple of weeks later, whilst walking down NE 2nd Avenue during Miami Shores’s Green Day, I met Ralph, a boxing trainer who caters to professional athletes. He is also the super energetic co-owner of CykleJab, the brand new fitness studio in the Shores that he was there to promote. With a friendly smile, Ralph invited me inside his facility - the dark room, the red, yellow and blue glow, the bumping music and the high-energy vibes got me! I was ready to try their ultimate 50 minute cykling + boxing training. I took a couple of classes and loved the studio location (right here in our neighborhood), cleanliness and concept. I had never been to a class like this! CykleJab has bikes that literally move side-to-side with you, which is super fun. It took me a little time to adjust and get comfortable (especially with standing on the bike--eek!), but once I found my balance, it ended up being an awesome workout. Plus, after pedaling for approx 25 mins, the rest of the workout is about punching a bag filled entirely with water - a high intensity exercise that helps strengthen the body, burn calories and relieve some stress.
Then the Winter Holidays started and the rest is history. Back in January, after years of procrastination, I finally decided to find support to achieve my fitness goal - to become the best I can. I contacted Ralph at CykleJab, and within a week we met and came up with a plan for the next eight weeks.
I will take CykleJab’s cykling + boxing class three to four times with the objective to reduce my body fat percentage, get leaned and toned. As a working mom, sometimes it seems like I can't even have five minutes of free time for myself but I looked at my schedule, spoke with my husband and actually found out that I have more time than I realized to go to the gym. Sessions are only 50 minutes and during the week CykleJab is opened 6am-7.30pm - I can go before the morning madness starts and before the kids go to bed at night - with several classes on weekends too. During this first week of the transformation challenge, I took classes with 4 different trainers. They were all friendly, and all made sure I was comfortable before and after every class, the workouts are always great and every trainer has a different style which gives every session a sense of variety.
Ralph also provided me with weekly meal plan, which is just what I need. It tells me what to eat every day - a lot of unprocessed foods, no grains, added sugar, additives, preservatives, unhealthy fats and large amounts of salt. My whole family is eating what I eat, with some little adjustments for the kids. For me, cutting back on wine consumption and the little special treat at night after the kids have gone to bed is the most challenging part of the plan, but I am fully motivated to eat cleaner and to push through.
I won’t pretend the transformation challenge is all sunshine and rainbows, though. (At the end of the day, without a little bit of sacrifice, it wouldn’t be a challenge, right?) After the first two classes my muscles were so sore that my kids couldn’t even sit in my lap, I went to bed hungry and I woke up hungry. However, when my husband asked me if I felt any different at the end of this first week, I told him that I did. I’m still not even sure how to describe it, but I just feel better, somehow healthier, more energetic.
Looking forward to next week and excited to tackle new recipes and new classes, I can't wait to see what happens next!
If you are also interested in CykleJab Body Transformation Challenge, join me on Thursday, January 31st at 7.30pm at the fitness studio for an orientation meeting.
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