Back at it!

I've been working out essentially since I was diagnosed. My parents signed me up to work with a trainer when I was 12. There have been times throughout the years when my commitment has wavered and that commitment was especially not upheld these past few years. Aside from my wife, children, and career that I was focusing on, I also had a handful of relatively major injuries and health issues that physically and mentally kept me from caring about or taking care of myself.

In September of 2023, I felt like I was finally getting back to myself and believed it was time to start working on my fitness goals again; something I thought I had given up on. I'm not trying to look like a model or train like an elite athlete. I just want to be the best version of myself. In that effort, I was seeing videos on my Facebook feed of others in the Friedreich's Ataxia (FA) community that I knew posting videos of their workouts. The videos were posted by the Christopher J. Nercesian Foundation. Christopher, also someone diagnosed with FA, is the President & CEO of the organization, so I checked it out.

The Foundation's focus on physical strength and mental well-being in the face of challenges that people like me face on a daily basis really spoke to me. When I go to the gym, there is very little I can safely do all by myself. If I could, I could just get a membership at any gym for a negligible monthly fee. For me, it is both imperative that I workout and that I do so with a trainer. The Foundation understands this and accepted me into their program where I will train twice per week with a trainer for three months and create content in video form and blog posts.

I will be trained by Nick Normandin who has trained me off and on for the past 10 years or so. As an aside, I've known Nick for almost 20 and he used to swim laps in the pool at our college recreation center where I was a lifeguard. (Yes, I was a lifeguard. Yes, Nick N. was a tri-athlete. And yes, we both graduated.)

Thank you to the Foundation, to Nick N., to my wife and kids, and to my PCAs. Work starts Friday. Let's go!