#nasm

"The Space Shuttle Enterprise (back) and Mercury Capsule 15B 'Freedom 7-II' (front) is among many spacecraft that is on display at the National Air and Space Musuem, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center where opening ceremonies took place, in Chantilly, Virginia. The museum, featuring over 80 aircraft, some 60 large space artifacts and dozens of aircraft engines and other artifacts displayed in thematic groupings, will be open to the public, December 15, 2003."

Date: December 11, 2003

Lately, everything is exhausting.

Is it because there is a global pandemic? That probably doesn’t help.

I have ulcerative colitis (my GI doctor originally thought I had Crohn’s) and one of the biggest change I’ve noticed is that my energy levels are much lower than they were before.

That makes my job as a trainer and instructor very interesting.

When I get asked how my workouts are going, I can’t help but feel a little bit of guilt and shame and even sadness. I love lifting weights but I haven’t been able to move much besides walking my dog.

The thing is, working out takes up most of my energy reserve for the day and I barely have enough to be a functional human being for most of it.

I baked some cookies the other day before work and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to survive my work day.

I am currently working on finding that balance in my life. I still want to move my body but that will look differently for me and that’s ok.

I didn’t write this post so that you pity me for my situation. I wrote it to raise awareness. Before you judge someone (or a trainer) for the amount of exercise they do or don’t do, remember that everyone’s situation is different. You don’t know if someone is working 12 hour days, has 3 kids at home, is struggling with mental health, has a chronic disease or a combination of all of that.

The #noexcuses rhetoric is damaging. Let’s encourage people to practice self-care in ways that work for them. Not what society expects that self-care to look like.