joefitness & Superman

Five years ago, I was training for a marathon. I was in pretty good shape and although I wasn’t a super fast runner, I completed the entire 26.2 miles and was pretty pumped about it. Then, the following year, I started training for another marathon and ended up with a stress fracture in my hip. That ended my running. 

  After being misdiagnosed and sent to physical therapy (only to have it make things worse), I was finally properly diagnosed and given crutches for a month. After recovering from the stress fracture, I was scared to run again and didn’t really do much of anything physical. In the following couple of years, I gained weight and felt sluggish and was not happy with what I saw in the mirror. I decided I needed to do something about that. 

A picture of me about the time I started at joefitness.
I was meeting up with my Uncle Willie.
Definitely the worst shape I've been in.

About a year ago, I started a new fitness journey. I saw on facebook that joefitness lets you try out their gym for 2 weeks FREE. I decided to be brave and sign up for my 2 free weeks. I met Joe, owner at joefitness, and he showed me the ropes those first few weeks. 

Not going to lie, it kicked my ass. Damn, was I sore those first few weeks. I was working muscles I never knew I had. Joe was great at modifying exercises if I couldn’t do it at first. His wife, Jill, was super welcoming me as well. They both go out of their way to get to know each and every gym member. They know every single one of us by name. 

Oh, if those medicine balls could talk. I might have sworn at them a time or two. I have also caught them with my face.

I love that when I go there, I KNOW I’m going to get a solid workout in. All of the classes (bootcamp, strength, kickboxing and challenge class) are only half an hour long but you are guaranteed to be a hot sweaty mess when you leave.  Joe and Jill set up the class so that the exercises are challenging but possible. I started off lifting 15 pound weights and am already up to 30 and 35 pounds. I have gained a ton of muscles and my clothes fit better! I was getting discouraged when I saw that I wasn’t losing a lot of weight, but I realized that I was gaining muscle mass. Now, I try to focus on how much better I feel, how my clothes fit, and how much stronger I am getting at the gym.

"Joefitness" and "results" - two words that belong in the same sentence!

Look at those Swiss balls and free weights
begging to be picked up (and put back down!)

Joe and Jill actually care about their gym members – they routinely ask us about our goals, encourage us to take that next step in our fitness journey, and help support healthy nutritious food options. 

I love that I don’t have to think about putting together an awesome fitness routine – I just go to joefitness and do the workout. Just when my body is starting to get used to a specific exercise or routine, Joe changes things up. I’ve never had the same workout twice. He pushes me harder than I would ever push myself. I would normally go to the gym, hop on a bike and barely sweat for half an hour and call it good. Not anymore!

Wearing my joefitness tank top and sweating up a storm doing some Russian press-ups. Up to 35 pounds on those bad boys! 

Sewing the eyes on to the head.

One thing you’ll notice about Joe is that he loves Superman. He has a Superman clock, Superman mug, Superman tee-shirts, pretty much anything Superman. Jill and Joe’s little guy, Jackson, just turned one about a month ago. Guess what the theme of the party was? Superman, of course! 

To celebrate Joe’s birthday (and my first year anniversary of working out at joefitness!) I decided to crochet a little Superman for Joe’s desk. I found an adorable pattern online at Etsy. 

Here is the link to the gal’s Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/listing/164165932/superman-amigurumi-crochet-doll-pattern?ga_search_query=superman+pattern&ref=shop_items_search_1 Great buy and she was super nice to work with. I found the embroidered Superman logo at Hobby Lobby. Although it was a bit bigger than I wanted, it was the only one I found. I glued it on and then also did some light stitching around the border with thread. 

I love that Superman can stand! It takes a little bit of work, but he can do it!

                  

I didn’t take a ton of photos while I was making the mini Superman since I bought the pattern and don’t have the rights to share it. But, here is the finished product!

                      

I can’t say enough about how awesome this last year’s journey has been and I look forward to growing stronger and feeling even better this coming year. Here's to more burpees, wall balls, the ski erg machine, ski hops, lunges, squat thrusters, Russian twists, single leg dead lifts,  push-ups, joefitness sit-ups, and the list goes on and on.....

The dreaded ski erg machine. :)

Just remember: It doesn't get easier, you get stronger!