Kelly Perryman

 I used to be a personal trainer and fitness instructor. I worked out anywhere between 1-4 times a day, every day. Doing burpees, jumping lunges, jumping squats, and anything I could to make it more fun and
challenging!

Then one day, my husband and I bought a restaurant and I quit working at the gym. Our world changed so drastically. We were working 60-80 hours a week. My brain and body couldn’t handle anything else once I got home. I completely stopped working out for a year and a half. I was so disappointed in
myself. I was wondering how in the world can my life go from being all about fitness to not being able to work out AT ALL! I had no idea if I’d ever get my fire back.

About two years later, I finally danced in the studio! But I could tell I was losing strength and knew I needed to do something to make sure my daily tasks at work wouldn’t cause an injury. I hired my first personal trainer! My schedule was very unpredictable. So I only booked sessions twice a week. Wow, I
could tell a difference just after a few months! From twice a week? I was worried there was no way that would be enough. But I had to start somewhere and could really feel my strength coming back!

I still couldn’t get myself to workout on my own (except for yoga, dance and walking). But I just kept sticking with it. If I only worked out one day a week, who cares! I stopped beating myself up for it and
continued onto the next week with whatever I could fit in, WITHOUT STRESSING. Then one day out of nowhere, I wanted to do a workout on my own! I was so fired up and got so sore. It was great! My workout didn’t look a thing like my old workouts. Nowadays, I really dislike anything with jumping
involved…LOL!

I kept going to the gym 1-3 days a week. A few months I’d have a trainer and a few months I had the motivation to go on my own. When I know my body or mind needs that push, I call Kerri and tell her the
things I’m not doing on my own. Our first round was strength training, next round was cardio, and this round she’s helping me with balance and flexibility.

Today, I could hardly get myself to go to the gym. I made myself go, and when I got there I couldn’t think of what exercises or body parts I wanted to work on. So you know what I did? I went into the spin room for the first time in 5 years. Just played contemporary Christian music and started pedaling. I
quickly remembered why I loved spinning! Because you don’t have to think, be coordinated, or even open your eyes if you don’t want to. Just let the music take over. Once you get warmed up, your body knows what to do!

I’ve always said that life is a series of phases. Phases in all facets of our lives, actually. Of course, this includes our fitness journeys, as well. I don’t run a couples miles like I used to or do jumping lunges or burpees (and I’ll never ask anyone else to do a burpee again …LOL). But I’m back to teaching Dance
Meditation once a month, I walk outside when it’s pretty, and do balance/yoga with my trainer. I lift weights once a week and I’ll do spinning when I don’t have it all figured out. At the end of this phase I’ve been through, I’m glad I didn’t quit when I thought a few days a week wasn’t enough. And I’m not quitting now, even though it’s STILL only 1-3 days a week. I remember what I used to tell my clients. I would tell them to keep going, start with what you CAN do, start over next week if you have to, and keep showing up. Because showing up is half the battle. Once you show up, that’s when the magic happens!

Everyone has a story. The moral of my story is that my fitness journey might not always look the same, but it will always include EverBody’s!