Who is Barb, you ask? Barb is a wonderful women who comes in every morning to the recreation center and walks two miles. I am not sure of Barbs exact age but I would say maybe 80 and she ROCKS it every morning. She brings a smile to my face instantly when she walks in the door because without hesitation she lifts that hand up high, waves and makes sure to say, "GOOD MORNING"!
Walking two miles at the rec center = 32 laps, which is definitely no small task and especially at 6:00 a.m. She walks one mile going one direction while making sure she keeps track of each lap with her fingers. After the first mile she switches to go the other direction, which she considers "swimming up stream!" She says that because often our boot camp classes involve running so she is walking the opposite direction they are running, living life on the edge!
Barb works hard on those two miles and tries to push it because when she turns around to go the other direction for mile two she picks up the speed. She also tends to keep zooming on past me in that second mile pushing herself to get that mile done faster.
Many times when she passes by me (she passes me all 32 times) she has a question to ask or a very funny statement. For instance, the class workout had wall balls (squat with a ball in your hands and throw it up about 9' on the wall) and she said "they seem to be doing a lot of those, I would be worried." My first thought was she would be worried the wall ball would come down and hit you in the face and her response, "oh no that doesn't worry me as there is nothing that can hurt this hard head of mine!" You cannot help but smile because she was more worried about how rough the workout looked.
There were two weeks when Barb had not come in a single morning to do her two miles and I got worried. This was the moment I realized I did not savor the smiles she brings to my face every day until it didn't happen for two weeks. Come to find out she had come down with a nasty cold but the first day she felt better she was back in there working her way up to the two miles again. She came back starting with only half a mile and within a week got right back to those two miles. Talk about an inspiration.
Not only do I love how friendly she is but she is what I see as truly inspiring. Coming to the gym at 6:00 a.m. with her husband to start their day is so awesome. I hope that when I get to be Barbs age I can walk two miles with a smile on my face every morning and light up someones day. YOU GO BARB!
If you needed some inspiration today I sure hope you can pull that from learning about Barb!
Use this inspiration to get you through this Workout Wednesday "Sweat Sesh":
For Time:
21-15-9*
burpees
weighted squats
side-to-side skater jumps
*Complete 21 of each exercise, then 15 of each, and then 9 of each
Have a spectacular day!
#ohhappyday, T
Photo by: J. Ellis Photography