Amy Musgrove: Friends

Saturday, September 1, 2007

5 mile victory!

Holy smokes, I had almost lost all faith in my running, but this morning, as Sebastian is down for his first nap, I FINALLY got on my treadmill after over a week of not running. I feel so proud for making myself do it

, and for going 5 miles. Awesome! I do have to say that it wouldn't have been as easy without my TV. I usually watch my old 'Friends' DVD's, but lately that has been redundant. I've seen each episode about 300 times, and I find myself counting down episodes. I know that each is about 22 minutes long, which is about 2 miles. It's a little hard to concentrate on the show when all I can think about is that I only have to run through one more episode. So I got into our movie archives and put 'Titanic' into the VCR. Yes, VCR! I know that movie is kind of cliche, and it did have a time where it was really over-played, but I have to admit that I totally love it! My hour of running this morning got me to the fancy dinner that they invite Jack to as appreciation for saving Rose. Since I haven't seen it in a while, I was enjoying every minute instead of counting down. I almost could have stayed on longer just so that I could watch more. But I decided to stop at 1 hour since Sebastian would probably be waking up soon and I wanted to get in the shower before he did. Here's to 5 miles!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Mentoring

I went to 24 today and taught with Kelly, one of the greatest group fitness instructors I've ever seen! It was awesome. I got some really good feedback from her. I feel like I'm getting better with my cueing, but my biggest challenge right now is varying my voice tone. I feel like I'm monotone the entire time I teach, so I need to raise the bar! I've been jotting down some inspirational shout outs and things to say, so hopefully I can get that excitement in my tone to make my class a fun one, but still challenging, while remembering the choreography and counting all at the same time. Oh yeah, all while trying to breathe and not fall over dead. This is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, but I'm loving it, so that's really what it's all about. Now if I can just convince my already tired legs to put in a few miles on the treadmill tonight, I'll be golden. Honestly, it's mostly a mental thing. So if I can tell myself good thoughts for the rest of the day (and if I can sneak a cat nap in this afternoon), then maybe I'll be ready to put on my Friends DVD's and run!

About Me

When I want something, I'll do whatever it takes to get there. Whether it's taking a huge road trip to get where I want to go, or hanging out by the tour bus to meet a famous person...I'll do what it takes!

I'm a natural born leader, and a great listener. I don't like drama or being around negative influences. It's all about positivity for me!

I dropped out of college. Maybe that's the free spirit in me, who knows?

I always joke that's why I became a Group Fitness Instructor...no college education required! That's only partly true, actually. Don't get me wrong...I had to bust my butt to get where I am today. I'm so proud of how hard I've had to work to do what I do, but mostly, I became a Group Fitness Instructor because I discovered that I was passionate about it.

Fitness hasn't always come easy to me though. I'm kind of lazy by nature. (Let's just call a spade a spade, shall we?!)

I got married when I was barely 20, and moved all over the world with my husband's military career. I spent my time baking because that's what I thought I was supposed to do.

I gained weight, lost self-esteem, all while trying to squeeze into my jeans. It was not pretty.

I spent the first 5 years of my marriage like this. Then I got pregnant.

I gained about 50 pounds during my pregnancy, exceeding the "recommended" weight gain for healthy pregnancy by about 20-30 pounds.

During my pregnancy, I vowed (in between pan-fulls of brownies) that I would get in the best shape of my life after I had my baby.

That was the motivation I needed to do something positive for myself.

I started running and taking aerobics classes. I was feeling great, gaining self-esteem back that I'd lost somewhere along the way, and I was losing my baby weight. I accomplished more in the first year after I had my baby than I ever thought possible of myself. I ran my first half-marathon (13.1 miles) and became a Group Fitness Instructor! Two things I never thought I'd do, let alone within the same year!

The rest is history, like they say.

If you saw me on the streets, you might not know that I'm super sarcastic, or that I love correct spelling and punctuation (and when things aren't spelled correctly, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me), or that I've got tattoos.

Three words I'd use to describe myself: fun, outgoing, caring.

I feel so grateful for many things in my life. First and foremost, my awesome husband and amazing son. I'm so happy that I've been able to discover what it is that I'm passionate about in life. Some people take their entire lives trying to figure that out.

Here's to good health!