A Greater You: Away from Home

Jennifer is doing a 12-week program at A Greater You in Kansas City. Here’s her latest report!

I’ve grown to enjoy my early workouts. Don’t get me wrong. Waking up at 4 a.m. is still not enjoyable. However, being done before the sun comes up is pretty rock solid. Megan and I connected on how strong we are feeling. Those changes, away from the scale, are pretty sweet too. We feel more confident in the way we carry our bodies, more in tune with our strengths and weaknesses.

I have not gotten on the scale, and I’m choosing to stay away. Jason is helping us stay focused on how to measure success using a different method: weights instead of weight. Each workout, we are keeping track of our weights for the movements. From the beginning, we are able to see where we started versus where we currently are. What is so wonderful is that each person in our group is at a different level, but there is no competition. No one is showing off, no one is giving the side eye, which helps keep me inspired to keep pushing. I truly feel a part of a team. Although our journeys are personal, everyone there is in it with me. I truly never expected to fall into what I would consider to be a close-knit fit family.

Last week, my husband and I traveled to Colorado Springs with our kids to visit our family. We left on Wednesday. So, I got up, did my 5 a.m. workout at A Greater You, then came home to shower and hit the road. Yes, I was exhausted. Jake pretty much drove the entire way and I was in and out of sleep! I was missing one workout with Jason while we were away, and I seriously felt I had an extreme case of FOMO. But just because I was away, it didn’t mean I didn’t get active.

The most magical thing about Colorado Springs is the mountains. They are breathtaking, literally, especially when walking and running them, seriously — not kidding. Our family was up for a walk at anytime, so we put the kids in a double stroller, and went for a walk to see one of our favorite spots. The entire time, Jake encouraged me to share the stroller duty. Nope. I was committed to using this to help ease my FOMO condition. So, up the mountain I went, with a double stroller. Evan is weighing in at 50 pounds and Sadie at 20. Clearly, I didn’t take that into consideration. My mother-in-law was cheering me on the entire time. Encouraging me to keep going. At that point, at the top of the mountain, I had a Rocky moment. I did it. I pushed my body because I’ve had all this encouragement and time at A Greater You to learn that my body is so much more CAPABLE of doing what I originally imagined it could do.

Megan and I carpool to Jason’s gym in the morning. Each ride, we have the typically mommy chats. Swap stories of what kind of chaos has been brought to our household lately. (Someone send Megan some love: her 2-year-old decided to pour shampoo all over her rug. No bottle of wine can overcome the mess she had to deal with.) After we get past the shock our kids have placed on us, we often connect on how we are feeling participating in A Greater You. Megan has been rocking it. One thing that struck me was when she told me she didn’t realize she could do what she’s doing after four kids in four years. I made the connection: She did what Jason set out to do. His goal is to prove to us that we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. Our bodies are so much more capable of what we think they are. We can birth some amazing beautiful beings, but what we can also do is “remain gangster.”

Stay tuned and be sure you’re following our journey weekly at @jennyDschloz and @fitbottomedmama to see what crazy shenanigans Jason has up his sleeve. He pretty much gets better and better. (After. Of course we do not like him during the workout. Especially on Fridays.).

Does your body ever surprise you with its capabilities? —Jennifer