#movewellmoveoften

So if you are reading this, you have probably figured out a few things about me... I am in my 30s, have suffered from anxiety and depression as long as i can remember, I am a middle child and one of my favorite people in this world is EB... Oh and I have lipedema.... minor detail, the only reason I am even on here...

So I am going to paint a picture for you that revolves around my heart being ripped out of my chest in August 2014... and i was looking for anything and willing to try everything to keep myself sane...  

December 2014, a fitness professional and his colleague were interested in training a group of individuals that all have the same career.  Lucky for me, I work in the field they wanted to focus on.  I received an email  and quickly responded showing my interest.  I was contacted by a nice young man, who was very well spoken and obviously knew his shit about the human body and his personal training went well past a weekend certification.  Did I just hit the jackpot?  These two guys who wanted to train this specific group of individuals didn’t receive their personal training credentials on some 3-day weekend workshop.  They graduated from college, and were continuing their education in anything and everything to do with the human body.  

So, the first day I stepped foot into the fitness facility (Feb. 2015), I thought to myself, “Oh fuck, this is going to suck.”  Not because I didn’t want to workout, but because I was intimidated, it wasn’t like a cookie cutter gym.  Turf, medicine balls, things that were hanging from some apparatus that looked like it could have been used in 50 Shades of Grey (I later learned they are called, TRX”), kettle bells, jump ropes, rowing machines... SO different than any other gym I had been to.  

The trainers were both there.  They remind me of Joey and Chandler from FRIENDS, shit did I just really make a FRIENDS reference... So that’s going to be how I refer to them, Joey and Chandler.  

Joey greeted me, all smiles, and kind of gave me an overview of what he was going to do with me that day.  A functional fitness assessment.  I was more than nervous, I was secretly dying on the inside.  So Joey ran me through an assessment of things.  He wasn’t trying to determine how strong I was, or anything like that.  He was assessing how I moved so he could write a plan to help me move better.  

When we finished the assessment, Joey asked me what I would like to achieve more than anything from working with him and Chandler.  I remember what I said clear as day, “I want my cankles to go away.”  Joey gave me a reassuring nod, and I was sold.  

I worked out with Joey and Chandler 3 days a week, pretty consistently for about four months.  I was losing weight, feeling more emotionally stable, and more importantly, focusing on ME for the first time in a very long time. I took off the summer months and rejoined 1/3 of the FRIENDS cast in the fall.  My cankles weren’t gone, but they were at least manageable, and I hadn’t been officially diagnosed yet... keep that in mind... 

I was excited to return to the gym and be with my group of colleagues working out, moving better, pushing myself and still trying to keep the asshole that broke my heart out of my mind... 

I got hurt at work within days of returning to the gym.  When I say hurt, I am talking like wrestling match, near death, PTSD hurt.  I was pissed.  Doctors were telling me I wasn’t allowed to workout.  Usually I would have went ahead and worked out, but because it was a workmans comp issue, I couldn’t risk compromising anything.    Life started to suck and guess what reared its ugly head.... Lipedema.  My lower half was gaining weight.  Even after being cleared to return to the gym, busting my ass, changing my diet, cutting back on the beers, basically everything except sticking my finger down my throat, I was gaining weight...  I asked my physician what was going on, and I was referred to a vein specialist.  The vein specialist said lymphedema, handed me a referral and sent me away.  

So with the news of lymphedema, I was a little disturbed.  I remember telling Joey about it, and he looked at me and said, “I could have told you that.”  But, Joey, being the professional and amazing person he is gave me a little pep talk and he told me that his thesis for his masters degree was on recovery pumps for athletes.  Really?????!!!!!!  Have the stars aligned?????  

I never did jump in Joey’s recovery boots even though he offered me plenty of times to try them out.  

So now fast forward to March 1, 2017.  I was officially diagnosed with lipedema.  A beautiful ankle cuff of fluid that is so sexy let me tell you.  But having finally receiving a medical diagnosis, and not just my WEB MD credentials, has made for a pretty emotional 27 days to say the least.  Joey and Chandler have been there and pushed me to keep working hard, and honestly if it weren’t for them and the facility where I was learning, working on proper movement patterns, I probably would be 20 times worse than I am right now.  They never gave up on me. They keep pushing me and hold me accountable.  And you know what I love the most about Joey and Chandler??? They are REALLY REALLY smart, athletic and know their shit.  But, they don’t act like it.  They are as humble as they come, and genuinely want their clients to move better.  No quick fixes, no crazy eating plans, and if I am being completely honest, being around them has been better than any psychiatrist visit I have been to.