Running Around Normal

Good evening everyone! I’ve got a surprise for you all — another guest post! Paige who writes for the fabulous blog Running Around Normal offered to write a post for Eat Chic this week! Enjoy!

Hi Eat Chic readers! My name is Paige, and I blog over at Running Around Normal.

When Amari asked me to do a guest post, I was so happy to! Amari, blog’s awesome and I was very excited to contribute

I’ve recently made some changes in my life that could be considered life-altering. I’ve started a new career as a personal trainer; something I’d never thought would ever happen. It’s been a long journey for me to make that decision and come to that realization, but it’s been worth it. I’ve also learned some fun new exercise methods along the way!

Please allow me to share with you how I came to make this decision, and then finish it out by sharing with you some of my favorite not-your-typical-crunch ab exercises.

I’ve been involved in fitness and physical activity my whole life. It’s always, always been a passion of mine. Now, I’m chronically guilty of becoming obsessed with something for a few months, and then dropping it like a ~~heavy dumbbell~~ bad habit. However, my love for fitness has been the one thing never faltered. Well, that and writing, but that’s a whole ÔÇÿnother guest post

For some reason, it just didn’t occur to me that I could make a living perusing my passion. In college, I didn’t even think of studying fields such as exercises science, kinesiology, physical education, or anything of the like. Somehow it’s been ingrained in me that the only way to be considered “successful” is to have a career working for “the man” while wearing business clothes. I didn’t even consider making a career out of my passion. So, I graduated with a journalism degree, and only then did I decide that field wasn’t for me. However, I later got a job behind a computer as a project planner for a big insurance company (although since they instated the casual atmosphere rule, I can wear jeans rather than business attire .) So, I was successful, right?

Well I didn’t feel that way. I always left for the day craving more, thinking to myself, is this really it? Obviously, this type of career could be satisfying to thousands of other individuals, but it just wasn’t to me. I’d been contemplating other things I could do with me life – go back to school to be a Registered Dietician? Go back to school to get an exercise science degree? It was all so much time, so much money, and so intimidating.

One day while at work, I picked up a college catalog my friend had on her desk, just to browse through it. However, the first page I turned to was for an eight-week ACE personal training course offered by the community college in my town. I thought, wow, what an opportunity! And a feasible opportunity at that! I immediately took it as a sign, and applied to enroll in the class.

It was $500, but it covered the cost of the exam, and the entire class. I got in! And that’s how it started. I looked forward to class each night and was in love with the material covered. In eight short weeks, I was driving up to Joliet to take the state exam. After four long, blood-pressure-raising hours, I found out I passed!

Took a couple weeks to chill, and then handed my resume out EVERY WHERE in town. While my ultimate goal is to (eventually) own my own studio, I wanted to get gym experience first. Finally, I gave my resume to a new-ish gym by my house, and got the job! I’m technically not an employee of the gym, but an independent contractor, and I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. This was about a month and a half ago, and I have four clients now! I still have my job at the insurance company, and plan on staying there until I can build up my clientele, but the important thing is, I’m taking action on what I want to do with my life instead of letting it take the action for me.

So far, I love the work, love my clients, and love the gym. Was this the perfect decision for me to make? Who knows! But it sure feels like it’s in the right direction

Now that you know how I got from there to here, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite ab exercises I’ve picked up along the way. I’ve always hated crunches. In my opinion, they can be kind of boring and repetitive, and thusly quite easy for me to leave out of my fitness regimen. Since I’ve started researching and studying personal training and exercise more, I’ve compiled a group of my favorite ab exercises without doing a single crunch! Instead of explaining each one, I put together a video of my favorite three.

Enjoy!

Couple quick notes!

In the first exercise, by supine, I mean prone (on your stomach)
Make sure to keep your core braced (flexed) and your back flat during each exercise
Remember to BREATHE during each exercise

Thanks again, Amari, for having me write a guest post for you and your readers!

Thanks Paige for the great incite! I hope to see you at the Chicago Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in August!

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