D: My day with Shaun T

I am still in awe over a week later that this experience was real. I met Shaun T.

Nope. Scratch that. I didn't just meet him. I experienced him. The energy, the enthusiasm and the encouragement that he provided to a group that was there for one common goal... to learn from the man! It was incredible.

I began my fitness journey long before I was ever introduced to Shaun T. A yo-yo dieter and sporadic (at best) exerciser, I was the queen of excuses.

"I'm in grad school, it's perfectly acceptable to eat pizza at 3am"

"I'm starving during my shift at the restaurant and the only thing I can eat it french fries"

"Im exhausted, there is no way I can work out"

In less than 2 years I quickly reached the highest weight I had ever been. Unfortunately, so did my boyfriend. We had both adopted this casual sit-around lifestyle that was not doing either of us any favors. I was MISERABLE but I had convinced myself that there was basically nothing I could do because, well... I don't even remember my excuse except for the fact that it was bull shit.

Then last summer, my boyfriend decided that enough was enough and began working out with P90X. He had great success, and quickly! He encouraged me to try, but I just couldn't get into it.

One day in the fall after a typical Sunday morning spent on my couch, aimlessly flipping through the endless infomercials on tv, I saw an add for T25. Something made me stop.

I had just began a new job in Boston, with a LOOONG commute and tiring days. But hey, 25 minutes?!

Who didn't have 25 minutes?

That Christmas, T25 arrived under my tree and I've never looked back.

Fast forward through some VERY ugly workouts: burpees, squats, high knee jogs, half-tuck jumps, and don't even get me started on ab intervals, but I made it!! I completed T25, all 60 workouts.

Then one day there is a posting on Facebook from Shaun T (obviously I am a loyal follower of ANYTHING he does) and he is coming to MY STATE. Here, Massachusetts. I was psyched! I mentioned it to my boyfriend and we talked about it, but then a few weeks went by. I saw another post, and I asked again. We decided that it was a bit expensive and that it was probably best not to. Obviously I was crushed, but hey, I've got bills!

Then one Saturday afternoon, there they were: my tickets to go meet Shaun T! Randy had bought them as a surprise for me, and I was THRILLED!!

For three straight weeks I told pretty much anyone who would listen that I was going to meet Shaun T!

The day came and I was like a little kid at Christmas! I was awake well before my alarm, pretty much skipping around the apartment getting ready to leave. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, almost too nice because there was not a cloud in the sky and despite my best efforts to stay protected, I am still dealing with some pretty intense tan lines!

Everything about the day was awesome. The workout was the most intense hour of my life. I very nearly died (OK maybe not, but at the time I was certain of it.) The Q&A session was great, and the photo-op was SO cool :) Although he didn't have time for individual photos with each participant, he did take the time to give each and every person a big hug, which I was giddy about for days! haha

I was so happy and thankful to have that experience. It makes what I do as a Beachbody coach, but more so as a participant of the program so much more meaningful. I am so happy to be able to spread this enthusiasm with others!