Julie Parkes's Blog

I Love Spring and Summer. The days and longer, the air is warmer. It's so wonderful. Here in Washington State the weather can be so wet and cold most of the year, it's hard to be motivated to do much of anything. But in the summer it's different. The time has come to ride bikes, swim, camp, hike and do all kinds of things outside. I love walking through the farmers market to see all the fresh fruits, vegetables and all the beautiful flowers and plants. My favorite thing to do in the summer is go to the beach. I love the sound of the waves, the warmth of the sun on my back and walking thought the warm sand as I'm helping the kids collect seashells and explore the shore. The other great part about summer is the food. In the summer there are great things like strawberries, watermelon, and the great squashes. My kids love to go to the farm and pick fresh blueberries. They always end up eating as many as they put in their buckets. I have a challenge for you. Try out some new things. If you haven't gone out for a hike in the sunshine, find a pretty place and take a walk. Instead of the ussual hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, how about grilled Salmon Steak with grilled asparagus and grilled pineapple slices for dessert. Serve something like this at your BBQ and all your friends will be begging to come back again. Spend this Summer exploring and trying new things.

Today is June 2nd. So much change always seems to happen in June. For me this June means opportunity. Tomorrow morning the exercise group I started is getting together for the first time. In ten days I'm flying solo and taking over the water aerobics class at the YMCA. Summer is starting and in a couple weeks the kids will be out of school for Summer Vacation. I have decided to really focus on getting the last bit of this weight off and reach my goal. That way I will look as healthy as I feel. And finally, I have been wanting to write a book for a VERY long time. This weekend, I started writing it. My question now is... What does is June look like for you? As the great philosopher, Yoda says "There is no TRY. Do." So go out and make your life everything you want it to be.

Today I co taught my first Aqua aerobics class. Teaching group is so very different than personal training. I got so good at personal training that I could whip out a program and get a person going no problem. I know I still have a ton to learn in Personal Training, but I got to a point where I could hold my own. Today I really got to see how different teaching a group can be. I couldn't respond to just one person. I needed to work with the whole group. I had a whole hour routine to do and it was kind of hard to remember it. In fact most of that hour I felt like my mind was blank. Then there was the complication of being in the water. Being in the water made it hard for people to see what I was doing. Then with all the splashing, filters, a few people talking to each other and acoustics in the pool area... I felt as lost as some of those in the pool. It was hard. It was hard remembering everything. It was hard being heard and seen. And the hardest part was I felt like I had lost the class. They just drifted off in the pool and did their own thing. The good part is... I'm not alone. Talking to the others trainers, what I experienced was normal. As in everything we all do, I have so much to learn. It's going to take me a while before I'm as good as the woman I'm replacing. After all she has been doing this for 18 years. I had so many hopes of just stepping in and being great. Being great is still to come. For right now I just need to keep on swimming.

Sometimes you just need to jump in with both feet. That's what I did, literally. This week I quit my job at Snap Fitness and started working as a group Aqua instructor at the Clark County YMCA. I am so happy with that. The people at the Y are so amazing and caring for everyone there. So this week I have taken many different styles of water fitness classes and even did a little teaching. It was so much fun. It can also be frustrating. So many people feel that water aerobics is just wimpy. Water exercise really is not wimpy. After all, Michael Phelps is a beast. He is so very strong and he spends much of his life in the pool. Water exercise is great for everyone. It is easy on joints, you don't get overheated or sweaty in the water, you can work out all the muscles in such a way that you wont be as sore. And best of all, being in the water is fun. So older or younger, injured or healthy. Water exercise is great for all bodies. So in the end, I am very happy to be moving forward and teaching water aerobics now. I hope that many of my friends/clients will some day join me in the pool and have fun.

Change is inevitable. Everything changes. Each day is a new day with new opportunities. But to take part in those new opportunities means change. Change can be frightening. Change can be hard. When I went back to school to study fitness, that was a big and frightening change but so well worth it. I hadn't been at college since 1993. But I made new friends and experienced new opportunities. I have had so much fun and have done so many new things. Now I'm stepping out of my comfort zone again. I'm building my own personal training business. I've accepted a position at the YMCA. Don't be afraid to change. Moving out of your comfort zone is when you grow the most.

Today is May First. It seems like the month of April just flew by. At the end of a month I always find myself reflecting on what has happened over the past month. This month I find myself thinking about costs and benefits. Do you realize that EVERYTHING you do has a cost and benefit? It's true. Think about it... When you have children you have the cost of time and money and the benefit of raising a wonderful child and all the love on the way. When you get married you have the cost of committing yourself to one person and the benefit of one person to spend your life with both good and bad. When you hire a Personal Fitness Trainer you have the cost of money and time but you have the benefit of feeling better and accomplishing goals. the benefit of an experienced person to help you along your way and encourage you. When you eat that bag if chips you have the cost of growing hips and the benefit of the taste. But you also could have the benefit of your father being right, that you are a loser. When you work that job day after day that makes you miserable you have a cost of unhappiness and perhaps health problems and the benefit of a paycheck but there could also be a benefit that you deserve to be miserable. That you aren't smart enough. That you will never do any better than that. Now the truth is, you are an amazing and unique person. You are a masterpiece. You deserve so much. When those demons speak those words into your head that you don't deserve to be happy. That one chip doesn't hurt. Think of the cost and benefit. Think of the benefit of the good feelings you would have and the smaller hips just by turning down all those chips. When you choose the salad over, the hamburger, think of the benefit of feeling good and being healthier. When you go exercise and know that you are going to be sore, think about the benefit of how good you are going to look. Think about the benefit of being able to play with your children or grandchildren. Think of the benefit of not needing to take so much medicine. Sometimes it's hard to do what will benefit you most. The cupcakes call, the warm bed feels so good. But the benefit of getting up and exercising or walking past those cupcakes is so much greater than the cost. The cost of staying the same weight or gaining. The cost of a few more minutes of sleep. You are an amazing wonderful person. Treat yourself as great as you are.

Today I took my daughter to the orthodontist for the first time since getting her braces on. She got a new wire and everything tightened up. Before even getting out of the chair at the office she complained that her mouth was hurting. The tech told her pain means progress. I started thinking, that's true in so much. The pain is for a short time and before she knows it she will have a beautiful smile.. It's hard to turn down the bread at Olive Garden. Some may even call that painful. Enduring that pain brings you better health. When you do a hard new workout, the next day you have delayed onset muscle soreness... DOMS. But that little bit of soreness means that you are building muscles. I dont mean TONS of pain, but some soreness doesnt hurt. I've heard it said that the most growth comes when you step out of your comfort zone. Stepping out of that comfort zone could be a simple as trying quinoa. Jogging just a little further. Or maybe taking the plunge by hireing a personal trainer to push you to the next level. So don't be afraid to take that scary first step outside of your comfort zone.

One thing that I always try to do is keep myself challenged. I have a tendency to get bored when its always the same ol fitness thing. Then when I'm bored, I get into a rut and head back down that old path that I really don't want to take any more. A challenge can be anything. Training for a 5K, or something simple like taking the dog for a walk every day this week. I know I have been quiet for most of this month. But it's because I've been working on a challenge. I have applied for a job at the local YMCA. This week I received an offer to be a substitute water aerobics instructor. I am both excited and scared. I am excited because I LOVE the water and know how much can be done in the water. Even with bad knees a person can jog in the water and get their heart rate up. But I'm also a bit scared because this is totally out of my comfort zone. I have never taught a group class before. Now I'm just waiting for all the paperwork to be filled out and to meet with HR so we can get this ball rolling. I hope it's soon. Even though teaching a group class is outside my comfort zone, that's OK. It's when you step out of your comfort zone that most growth occurs.

This morning I woke up to the news about those awful events in Boston. I'm not quite sure what to say. I guess I'm still stunned. I'm happy that so few were killed and proud of those heroes who rushed in to help even with all the uncertainty that surrounded those frightening moments. I'm also sad for those who have lost loved ones. I'm sad for those who were injured. I'm sad for all those going through these events. I've been thinking about those who were racing. News reports say it was at the very end. It wasn't elite runners. It was people like you and me. It was people whose goal was to run the Boston Marathon and just to finish. It was families watching for their loved ones. It was unnecessary. But then every time something like tis happens, it always is. I listened to the presidents speech and him saying he was going to find out why. For me, why doesn't matter. Wrong is wrong and why doesn't make it better. My heart and prayers go out to all those hurt but another persons cowardice and selfishness. Not only in Boston, but in Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, New York, Washington DC, and so many others too numerous to count. Today I wear my favorite race shirt in honor of those lost, hurt and suffering. And I pray that we never have to suffer another tragedy like tis again.

This morning I went for the second time to pick up my Bountiful Baskets order. I really Love Bountiful Baskets. It's kind of like getting presents. You never know exactly what's going to be there. Today I got some leaf lettuce, bok choy, asperagas, mangos, and so many other things. So today I need to learn what dishes to make with all the wonderful fruits and Vegis that I picked up. The other thing I like about Bountiful baskets is that it saves money. I got for $15 what I would pay $50 in a grocery store. That gives me extra money that I can spend on other things, like my daughters braces. The third thing I like about Bountiful Baskets is that it challenges me to experiment with fruits and vegetables that I wouldn't normally get, like Bok Choy. If you are interested in Bountiful Baskets, just go to www.bountifulbaskets.org. It may be in your area too.