I wanted to share my personal fitness journey with you all. The journey before JABS. I wanted to do this to remind you that we all started somewhere. Here is where I started.

MY STORY:

I would need 4 or 5 hands to count the amount of times I started and stopped my fitness journey. I’d find a workout, commit to it for 2 weeks, and then miss a couple days… which turned into a couple weeks… which led me to lose any progress I had made and start from scratch. I’ve gone through this cycle countless times. 

I did what anyone would do and started with the activity that seemed the least intimidating of all the fitness options out there, running. I went to my local YMCA, did a quick stretch, and hopped on the treadmill to see where it would take me. I put on my favorite song and hit start. 30 seconds in I was bent over in pain from the worst cramp of my life... I can still feel it when I think about this moment. My body was shocked by the activity. I kept coming back to the gym and would add on 30 seconds of running per day. It was a small start, but it was my best at the time and you can't ask yourself for more than your best. Over the course of about 2 months I worked up to 2 miles, but was in a lot of pain in my shins and my knees, so decided to sign up for a running class to improve. That single running class, sadly, ended my journey running, as I left with an injury (sesamoid bone) that later turned into something I needed to get surgery on which left me unable to walk for 6 weeks, and then another 3 months to get back to working out. Unfortunately, even with the surgery, it never fully healed and it is now something I manage - more on that story another time.

As you can imagine, this was a huge setback for me. I tried out other forms of cardio but found myself staring at the calories the whole time, which became a very slippery slope for me mentally. I downloaded various workout apps and online videos, but when something looked hard for me, I wouldn’t try it (very much a personal problem) and I lacked the motivation necessary to give it my all or even give it my half. I always would save all these videos and would have grand plans to come back to them later, but rarely did. Even when I would start one, I would promise myself I’d “finish it later” and my “do it later” mindset ultimately built a habit where I was consistently letting myself down.

What I was learning through this process is that wasn't so isn't so easy to "just start”. 

At this point in my fitness journey, I had identified things that did not work for me, and I had identified that I lacked motivation to complete a full workout. I was coming to terms with the fact that I might need hire a professional since 'figuring it out on my own' was not working for me. I learned that in order to hire a personal trainer I had to join a gym (LOL, DUH GINA).

I am so glad I joined that new gym because that is where I stumbled across cardio kickboxing. This is when everything changed. The simultaneous implementation of cardio kickboxing and personal training was magic for me.  Working out in the group fitness environment showed me the power of community. Even though I was in a room of strangers, suddenly, they felt like teammates. And separately, working out with the trainer was everything I didn't know I needed - I fell in LOVE with the science. I learned that there was a world out there beyond cardio - STRENGTH. I was fascinated by the unique exercises and their purpose and learning why I had to do each for a specific amount of reps or time. It was a total foreign concept to me (at the time) that the order in which I performed an exercise mattered, the speed of the move, the range of motion, etc. It was at this time that I learned that a proper exercise program is highly intentional - not a guessing game.

The combination of the two (kickboxing classes + personal trainer) was life-altering for me. 3 months later and I was happier than I’ve ever been, my mental health had improved, and for once, I was proud of myself. The feeling of reward came not from a number on a scale or a smaller sized jean. It came from the fact that I overcame YEARS of self-doubt. That I had finally made myself proud after years of letting myself down. I overcame years of telling myself “fitness just isn’t for me.” I showed myself that in a series of failed attempts I choose persistence, and persistence paid off. I almost gave up on my fitness journey so many times. I am so glad I didn’t.

There was still one problem. Between the gym membership itself and the personal training sessions ($110/hour), my monthly fitness expense was greater than my monthly rent in New York City. So I had this wild idea…

Combine the fun and high cardio elements of kickboxing with functional strength training for a well-rounded, effective workout. Do so by delivering personal-training caliber workouts but on a group level in an uplifting environment. I set out to create what I wish I had available to me when I was getting started with my fitness journey. I received my fitness certification and executed my ideas. 6 months after launching this on the side of my corporate desk job, I realized there was a need for more JABS in this world, and I left corporate to pursue changing other people’s lives, and giving them the gift of realizing how capable they are through fitness. 

I want anyone who I come across to not waste the years of their life that I spent figuring this all out. I did that for you. I would never call my time wasted, because it led me to where I am today, but I do know the frustrations of it all and I do not think anyone else needs to go through the trial and error. I am so grateful every time I hear someone tell me that JABS is the first workout they were able to stick to. When they say that to me I smile, because I see a piece of me in them.