Treading Powerfully Through Life

I was thinking about this past year and what has made it different from the previous 50. Many ideas spring to mind, but one thing in particular has become part of my daily conversations with anyone who will listen and that is Tread Powerfully, the incredible fitness organization that I joined just over a year ago. More than a fitness program really, it serves as a reminder of how to live life fully. But first, you need to understand what Tread Powerfully is, so I invite you to explore their website and discover the philosophy behind the concept and the amazing women who are associated with this tremendous organization. I'll wait, while you do your homework....

http://www.treadpowerfully.com/

Let's review what you learned before we proceed. The teacher in me insists, so it's best if you just listen attentively, follow my instructions and stop fidgeting:

• Tread Powerfully (TP) is the brainchild of Sue Abell, a kick-butt trainer and all round powerhouse of a woman
• Lisa and Paula are the other 2 fabulous TP trainers who really know how to motivate (that's putting it mildly)
• TP operates out of Burlington, Ontario, and utilizes the great outdoors for its power walking classes, which are a pulse-raising, heart-pumping combination of power walking with light dumbbells and interval training
• Power walking is awesome!!
• TP also provides an interesting variety of indoor classes that focus on strength training, Pilates and specialty classes designed to take your fitness training up a notch...or 2...or 2002 
• TP supports races that respect and include the sport of power walking, and can help you to train for them
• Aside from all the obvious physical benefits, being part of TP means being part of a wonderful group of like-minded women, and a couple of men thrown in for good measure
• Did I mention that power walking is awesome!?

So, what does all this TP stuff have to do with life and living life fully? I like to think of TP as a kind of metaphor for life - life is full of challenges and that is a very good thing. Without challenges, both welcome and otherwise, our minds and bodies would grow weaker, never having had an obstacle to overcome, a hurdle to leap or a rough patch to navigate. TP teaches us how to prepare for life's challenges both physically and emotionally, and yes dammit, sometimes to hunt down those challenges and actually create them out of nothing, but our own indelible desire to set a goal and meet it head on. Hence, the race preparation and early Saturday morning TP Turbo hill training at the end of each month. But you knew that already, because you studied the schedule in the website, didn't you? 

There is no question that a typical TP class will push you well past your comfort zone if you're up for the challenge, into what I like to call the exhilaration zone, all within a safe and hugely supportive environment. There is nothing like the sense of accomplishment that comes at the end of long trek north through the Tyandaga Highlands neighbourhood or seeing the finish line at the end of an 8 km Robbie Burns race in January after weeks of training in the coldest months of the winter. Frozen eyelashes and screaming glutes aside, how does all this transfer to other facets of life? Quite effortlessly, it would seem. Simply put, it just does.

So, go forth, battle the elements, equip yourself with a battalion of like-minded people who will inspire you, pick you up when you trip, allow you to fall on them when you lose your side plank pose at Spencer Smith Park (thanks Lesley!), make you laugh, let you swear like a sailor as you power up a hill, cheer you on when you achieve a hard-earned goal, blast their whistle to loop you onto a side street and then blast it again to bring you back into the fold, encourage you to close your eyes when you're on minute 3 of a 4 minute series of chest presses and shoulder raises so that you can go to your "happy place".....I could go on and on. But mostly, I want to thank the amazing, amazing women who have taught me to thrive and live more fully under their watchful care. To all my TP friends, you've added so much to my life, more than you'll ever know.