Gym Story To Share!

niknak0508
niknak0508 Posts: 425 Member
in Motivation and Support
I hope this is the right place to post this! I had to share this awesome experience I had tonight at the gym.........ENJOY!

Tonight at the gym, A woman I have never seen before took her place on the treadmill beside me as I was warming up for my "wog". As I always do when this happens, I nodded my head and said hello (had my ear buds in). After about 2 minutes, I started my first 5 minutes of running.....then started to walk for a minute when she tapped my arm. She says to me " I hope someday I can run like you", I told her She could do ANYTHING she put her mind to, she just had to TRY and SUCCEED!! She says to me "well being over 436lbs the last 6 years of my life, at 28 years old, I am not sure I will ever get there" I didn't say this outloud, but I thought to myself, "you cannot possibly be 436lbs standing here in front of me".....then a minute or two later she says "i've lost 156lbs and I do feel better......." I then told her, if she could change her life, eat better, exercise more and just be simply more active daily, then there is NO REASON she can't be successful and RUN! She told me she was going to make it her goal after she reached her 200lb goal to start running......and right before I started running, I said "I think you should start now........" :-) AND to my suprise.......she put the treadmill up to 5.0 and started a jog! I couldn't not even believe my eyes!! I was shocked to say the least and nearly wanted to shed tears, just because it put a smile on my face, that I helped someone achieve something she's been hoping for........even though she only jogged at 5.0 for about 1 1/2 minutes, I told her I was proud of her for even giving it a try! Then I proceeded to finish my "wog" and after 30 minutes, she finished her 3.6mph 5.5 incline walk! I'm touched to have shared such a great experience! :-)


So for those of you who think you CAN'T, think again because you CAN!! We are all here for a reason, to get healthy and change our lifestyle! Together, we can accomplish MANY goals in our lives, big or small. This woman proved that to me today.....

Have a wonderful evening friends!!

Nicole
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Replies

  • mom2nate08
    mom2nate08 Posts: 287 Member
    Love this story! That had to make your night!
  • Hjbaker
    Hjbaker Posts: 165 Member
    what a great story, you should feel very proud.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Wow. Good for BOTH of you!
  • Gumbie7
    Gumbie7 Posts: 45 Member
    that's an amazing story thanks for inspiring me too!
  • gerla_k
    gerla_k Posts: 495 Member
    :glasses: pretty cool
  • LizKurz
    LizKurz Posts: 340 Member
    Love it!
  • propskat
    propskat Posts: 191 Member
    That's an awesome story! I hope you invited her to join MFP! :wink:
  • spudlovie
    spudlovie Posts: 56 Member
    Amazing!!! If you see her again tell her to join MFP and we can all be friends :)
  • stephc0711
    stephc0711 Posts: 1,022 Member
    Very awesome!! :)
  • rachelleahsmom
    rachelleahsmom Posts: 442 Member
    You totally rock! You'll probably never know the impact you had on that woman. I bet not too many people believe in her. And good for her giving it a try! Great story.
  • Behl9
    Behl9 Posts: 95 Member
    I don't even have the words to express how great that story is! Good for you and good for her!! :smile:
  • LMHinson15
    LMHinson15 Posts: 201 Member
    I started at about 20 lbs less than her and COULDN'T run for an entire minute... she'll do great!

    Good for you for being willing to speak words of encouragement to a stranger!!
  • misty0413
    misty0413 Posts: 212
    love hearing stories like this!!
  • migoi357
    migoi357 Posts: 173 Member
    Lollipop moment... http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html

    I dub thee...leader.
  • mncodergal
    mncodergal Posts: 58 Member
    WhooHoo! Thanks for sharing a fabulous feel-good, motivating moment! You just may have changed her life. Way to go!!
  • Karalopolous
    Karalopolous Posts: 574
    That's a story that doesn't seem all that impressive if you told it to alot of people. But here, with all the people working so hard and understanding what all this weight loss thing is about can understand that those little steps that are only 1 1/2 minutes (sometimes) are actually mostly what is giving us the success-just TRYING to do these things. That is SO awesome! I bet you were on cloud nine. I wish things like this were more celebrated in day to day life!
  • nbsambucca
    nbsambucca Posts: 123 Member
    You know what you did for her, but does she know what she did for YOU? great story :) thanks for sharing.
  • efindlay
    efindlay Posts: 9 Member
    Inspiration for those of us who do not believe are "runners". The fastest I could do is 3.4 for 20 min. As soon as that thing hits 1 mile, I am exhausted! thank God for zumba and kickboxing, because I do not believe I would be able to someday attain my goal without them.
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 751 Member
    What a wonderful story! !! How awesome for her to make that first attempt.
  • colgosling
    colgosling Posts: 104 Member
    Great story - that has inspired me even more for my run tomorrow (I am wk 3 of C25K), I will be thinking of both you and that lady while jogging :drinker:
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    I shouldn't have read this. I'm a happy crier lol! I'm typing this trying to be strong :)
  • nokittyno
    nokittyno Posts: 293 Member
    bump for later
  • sunnyflower1177
    sunnyflower1177 Posts: 212
    kodac moment, you'll always remember this story for as long as you live, sometimes we don't know why but this I believe was a predestined moment and trust me she will remember it as well and she will remember it as well. KUDOS to ya!! maybe all she needed was someone to believe in her....
  • nicolemariemclovin
    nicolemariemclovin Posts: 55 Member
    this story gave me goosebumps! thanks for sharing!
  • DinoSaurous
    DinoSaurous Posts: 72 Member
    wow what an amazing experience!
  • RunChristyRun
    RunChristyRun Posts: 72 Member
    Thanks for sharing! That is such a sweet story and it was so awesome of you to encourage. So many people would have just nodded and ignored the comment...how incredible is it that you gave her the courage to do something that can truly change her life!
  • sondra216379
    sondra216379 Posts: 174 Member
    That's great!!!! I am at 210 and can't jog at 5 mph for more than 40 seconds!!! And like someone said before me, I hope you DID invite her to MFP!!!! Truly inspiring!
  • StaceyL76
    StaceyL76 Posts: 711 Member
    Awesome!
  • qballjr13
    qballjr13 Posts: 174 Member
    I thought this was going to be a thread about another annoying person at the gym! Such an amazing story! Like others have said, I hope you understand how you may have just changed that young womans life forever. Because of you she had the courage to do something she never thought she could. You deserve a lot of credit and I hope you see her again to keep her motivated! AMAZING! Thank you for sharing!
  • gettinfit4god
    gettinfit4god Posts: 63 Member
    I tearded up! Fantastic story! What a testament to who you are! Way to be a blessing!

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