LEFT: FEB 2014
RIGHT: DEC 2014

 “If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again” – Aaliyah  <3

Starting this blog is just a way for me to keep track with my personal fitness journey as a 22 year old with CP (cerebral palsy - right side hemiplegic). I am NOT an expert nor am i personal trainer or physio therapist. I simply just want to post my personal knowledge and experiences on how i go about keeping active after years of trial and error with trying to remain motivated. I know how annoying and frustrating it can be when your muscles don't always listen. BUT progress is still better than no progress!.

I knew 2014 would be a rollercoaster but I never expected to push myself so much physically. At the beginning of 2014 i just knew i needed an outlet to release emotional and mental stress and needed to unleash negative energy so i turned to exercising and working out. Growing up I never engaged in sports and exercise wasn’t my friend. I would always struggle to keep up with the other kids in PE, not being able to run fast enough. Every time I would visit my physiotherapists they would always encourage me to exercise and recommend home workout programs to strengthen and train my muscles but I always got too frustrated and gave up. Tasks as simple as bending down to pick something up, walking straight, keeping my back straight, jumping and going up and down steps, reminding myself to relax my right hand were some of the things I struggled with prior to my surgeries back in 2009 and 2011. There is no cure to cerebral palsy so I’ll never walk or run as fast as everyone else, I’ll still lose my balance occasionally, I’ll always be awkward when I bend down to pick things up, my calf muscles will always be small and the right side of my body will always be my weakest side having its days when it will have a mind of its own, but thanks to my surgeries now my right heel touches the floor and I don’t get stitches when I walk anymore and I barely feel pain overall. I still get frustrated when I want my right arm to lift a weight over my head or shoulder but the muscle tightens and does something else and when doing lunges my feet would turn in and turn to jelly and I would lean too much on one side feeling like I’m walking on a tightrope.

Back In mid 2013 and I joined the gym. I changed my attitude and I enjoyed it and found it to be the best stress reliever. However, I was still unhealthy as I struggled to change my eating habits and i wasn't always consistent with my gym visits, so of course my one hour sessions were a waste and i felt like i wasn't pushing myself to my full potential. In 2014 i was going through something that was increasing my emotional stress and to block all those negative thoughts and emotions I decided to try again with fitness. Properly committing to  exercise this time allowed me to embrace my cerebral palsy, helped me learn to love and appreciate myself again and find- not only my physical strength, but also my inner strength and confidence again! What started as a stress reliever, eventually developed as a bigger goal to dedicate more time in putting my health first and learning to appreciate and look after myself again. I used exercise and fitness to bounce back and better my overall well-being.  I decided to give the gym a break and try workouts from home again, but this time making my own home workout circuits doing exercises taught from my previous physiotherapists, personal trainers, awesome friends and cheesy workout videos(ha!), whilst using my own equipment.

I made it my goal back in 2014 to try and be more positive and to bounce back, and this was the outcome. It wasn't until i compared overall results that i saw how far i've come and how much i've pushed myself mentally and physically. I never thought I’d make a huge significant progress but thanks to the support of many people and self-discipline, in 2014 I have lost 15 kgs and I made exercise my best friend! Progress is still on going and some of my exercises are still modified but I refuse to stop. I’ll continue to become a stronger and better version of myself especially when it comes to setting myself physical challenges. It’s more than just losing weight for me, after learning the hard way it’s also about finally listening to my physiotherapists and doctors and telling my muscles to wake up and making my ability stronger than my disability by simply keeping active. Kicking Cp's butt!