First things first, I apologize for waiting so long to get this post up but this is literally the first moment I’ve had to stop and even think about my blog since Saturday.

So…the big news is that I am a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine!

Let’s back up. Getting my personal trainer certification is something that I’ve talked about forever (like  years and years). I can’t tell you how many times I said, “the plan is to get my personal training certification…” but didn’t really do anything about it. I finally decided a few months ago (after yoga teacher training!) that I was actually going to take the test this summer and started studying back in April using a book loaned to me.

I passively studied on and off until finally in mid-July my yoga teacher asked what the hold up was. I didn’t really have a good answer and his reply was, “stop showing fear and go after what you want.” Something finally clicked in my head and I officially signed up for the certification that day. That’s when the whole Take Responsibility for your Life post happened. It all makes sense now, huh?

I felt energized and determined. I have spent the last four weeks recalling all of those study skills from college that I had long forgotten about.

I wanted to go with a respected and challenging certification so I chose NASM for its excellent reputation and focus on postural alignment. I love that the heart of their training program is looking at the whole kinetic chain and building a strong foundation. Lots of work on flexibility, balance and correcting muscle imbalances and postural dysfunctions.

I logged many hours in Starbucks fueled by countless soy lattes. The final week before the test (last week when I was MIA!) I rose at 5 a.m. every day to study before work and stayed up until midnight reading and doing practice tests. I traded in runs and yoga practices for highlighters and outlines. Over the past month there were many moments when I felt too busy to stick with all the studying but I’m so happy that I did!

I took the exam last Friday at 1 p.m. and I PASSED! I had read so many stories online about people failing the first time they tested so I was pretty nervous. All of my hard work paid off though and I not only passed but felt like I really understood the material I was being tested on. (And for the record…I didn’t receive a 70 on the test. They just tell you that it is the passing score and that I exceeded that. They don’t tell you your actual score. Boo.)

The first thing I did after the test was go to Earth Fare and eat a gigantic salad and drink a kombucha and then I came home and laced up my running shoes. I had a weeks worth of anxiety, stress and emotion built up. I knocked out five easy (and pain-free!) miles. I SO agree with many of you that a run is one of the best ways to relieve stress.

And then we went out for our celebration dinner! A goal I set almost FIVE years ago – accomplished! I am so excited to start training clients. Stay tuned for more details!!!