Falling off the Wagon
Issues that I had to recover from after my first labour were manageable and I got back on track very quickly. Within a few months I felt strong and had got back into the shape I wanted to be. However, the same issues occurred with my second labour a year ago and that knocked me back 10 steps!
Of course, I won’t be too hard on myself, I was dealing with a lot of emotions as well as juggling two children and those dreaded sleepless nights! I’ve learnt from the experience and I can share it with you.
I went from lifting heavy weights to not being able to do anything and I completely fell off the wagon. My body wasn’t right and my choices reflected how I felt. I’m the type of person either I’m all in (training hard and eating well) or I’m not in at all. That was my biggest mistake! It shouldn’t be a case of all or nothing when it comes to fitness, if you can’t train how you would like to then do what you can and eat right.
As someone working in the fitness industry this isn’t an easy thing to admit but we are all human! Fitness instructors aren’t always perfect and I believe it’s comforting for people who want to get into fitness to understand this. It could have been very easy for me to stay off the wagon and give up as I felt my body had. The hard choice was to try and change my mindset, adapt my training and make those healthier choices again.
Ok, so I couldn’t do a 50kg deadlift anymore, I could only manage using a 6kg kettlebell. Did it matter? No, of course not because doing something was better than doing nothing at all. That’s what I had to tell myself. I turned to yoga and pilates, very different to weight training and I honestly didn’t like at first because it was very slow paced in comparison to what I was used to but it’s what my body needed.
Making a change is very difficult and it may seem that the climb to the top of the mountain is too much. But as someone who has been knocked off the top and has made a comeback, it isn’t impossible. It’s all about making one change today that will have a positive impact on your health and then taking it step by step to make yourself stronger. It doesn’t matter if it takes 6 months, a year, 2 years, as long as you’re working on creating a healthier, happier you! I’m still on the road to recovery and for me it’s a long journey but I feel great knowing that I’m doing what I can to help myself.
Until next time, remember to be happy and be healthy!
Avi Samra
Instagram: @avi_samra_
