I’m Ethan
I’m an average joe who is passionate about helping people find a fitness routine that works for them
I grew up the “chubby kid.” My parents were very overweight, so I didn’t learn a lot about living a healthy lifestyle from them. When I got to my first year of college, I saw that there were free group classes available in our fitness center. I decided to drop into a kickboxing class knowing that I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up but that I might walk away meeting a few new friends.
It turned out I was right about both – but what I was wrong about was how much I enjoyed it, despite not knowing what I was doing. I started finding new classes to try each week, and before long, I found myself working out in between group sessions. It felt great, and the weight I lost and energy I gained were just icing on the cake (which I cut way back on, of course!)!
The real reward came when I went back home for Thanksgiving. My parents couldn’t believe how different I looked or that I bought a week-long pass to their local gym so I could work out while I was in town. I told them about how I started slowly and built up from there, and we talked about how they might get started on a healthier path. We set a schedule for them to get moving, starting with a walk twice a week, then adding a Zumba class after a month, and then adding a water aerobics class after two months.
It took them longer to add anything on top of their walks than the schedule we outlined, but that was okay – they were still fitting their walks in! And as it turned out, when they tried their first few Zumba classes, they realized they didn’t like them at all, so we found something they did like to replace it with. After about six months, they were in a really good groove of being active, and that translated into better eating habits than I’d ever seen them have when I was growing up.
That was a few years ago, and my parents and I have all lost a significant amount of weight and maintained our healthy lifestyles. I know (and my parents certainly know) how hard it can be to get started with a fitness routine – but if I can do it, anyone can do it! I was completely ready to sit out half of that first kickboxing class I took, but I thought it was better to do part of it than none of it. That’s really the key: there is no one foolproof fitness regimen for everyone, so you need to find what works for you and just go for it.
Like we say around here:
When we find our fitness, we change our life!
