Blog Special: Gratitude from The Heart from Nancy Kershaw

I am writing this letter to express my extreme gratitude to the management and staff of The Works.  It would be very difficult to find the right words to express how I really feel about what my involvement with The Works has done for me. - Nancy Kershaw, Works Member

         On February 19^th, 2007, my entire life as I knew it changed.  I woke up that morning a happy and active person.  I loved my life; I had a new grandson, a loving family and a career which I adored.  By nightfall, all would be different. 

I had been feeling a bit fatigued, enough so my doctor sent me for some blood work.  Within an hour of going to the lab, I was in the Emergency Room and was told I would have to have a bone marrow biopsy right away.  Well, that did not go well.  The results of the biopsy led to a diagnosis of a very rare and aggressive blood cancer.  It felt as if everything went into a suspended life form.

I began a long drawn-out battle for my life.  With the help of excellent medical care I won the battle but my body was a pretty tangled up mess.  My heart and lungs had been negatively affected by months of chemotherapy.  The chemo also left me with a chronic condition of lymphedema, especially in my legs.  I was hospitalized several times fighting infection after infection in my legs.  Finally I met a physical therapist from Wentworth Douglas Hospital; working with her made all the difference. She helped me get moving again and once I was stable, she referred me to a program at The Works, The Cancer Recovery Program.  I met with Melanie, the program’s director.  She explained the program and invited me to join the next day.

Little did I know this would turn out to be the single most life-changing activity I ever participated in.  The next day I went to the Cancer Recovery Program class.  I looked around the room; I was so nervous I thought to myself I couldn’t do this.  Then Melanie began the session.  First off, she introduced me.  Her voice was so welcoming and encouraging.  As the class went on I really wanted to do well but I had been a couch potato for so long during the lengthy recovery period I wasn’t sure I could do it.  But as each minute went by I watched and listened as Melanie walked around the room encouraging and supporting each of us.  Her deep investment and dedication to the program were so obvious.  She displayed no judgment towards anyone’s abilities. Melanie was just a source of encouragement.

The time ticked by and class ended. I had made it through. From that day on I was hooked.  I knew if could keep coming, Melanie would guide me through with her positive, happy and supportive nature.  Maybe even I could get this beaten up old body going again.

Well, time passed and I attended regularly; with each passing week, I became stronger and stronger.  Eventually I graduated out of the Cancer Recovery Program and Melanie helped me enter the next program offered by The Works called Prescription RX.  This would give me sixty more days of using the resources at The Works.  As time went by, I began to use the pool, walk on the tread mill and cruise the track.

During that time, I met another very inspirational young woman named Lily.  She was an intern from UNH.  Her bright smile and happy demeanor were a great help and inspiration to me.  I often stopped and asked her questions about my workouts; she always took the time to guide and encourage me.

As my sixty days of the Prescription RX program ended, I was so very sad.  I had made my time at The Works a daily part of my life.  I knew my hope of getting well would have to include movement and staying active but I also knew affording a membership would be a stretch.  Once again, though, Melanie came to my rescue.  She referred me to the next amazing person I met at The Works.  Her name is Kris and she is in charge of the scholarship program.  I met her and couldn’t believe my good fortune; I was granted a scholarship.

But right after that I developed a serious problem with my heart.  This led to my needing a cardiac procedure during which I suffered a complication that landed me on life support.  Once I became stabilized and woke up, I was even more determined to get my body into a much healthier place.

Lucky for me, I was already connected to such a place – The Works – and I knew people who could help me make my dream come true.  Once I was cleared by the doctors, I returned to my special place, The Works, where I was welcomed back by the desk staff.  As usual, they had smiles on their faces and are friendly as they swipe your key in.

My first day back, a young woman named Kristi was on duty; it shocked me when she said she wondered how I was doing as she hadn’t seen me for a while. I couldn’t believe that even the front desk staff seemed vested in my getting healthy.

As each workout goes by I get stronger and stronger.  Every day as I drive to The Works, I can’t wait to get there.  I think of it as my very own happy space.  No, it is not always easy to walk on the treadmill, cruise the track or exercise in the water but I never lose sight of this amazing gift the management and staff of The Works have given me.  I have progressed from being in a state of poor health to being well once again.  I no longer suffer from the effects of the lymphedema.  I haven’t had a single infection in my legs in months.  My cancer is gone, my heart is pumping away, my breathing is strong and my legs are working great.

I owe all this to the opportunity given to me by the programs I’ve participated in at the Works and to all the amazing people there.  I wish I knew everyone’s name so I could individually thank each person but I don’t – so a wonderful young man named Matt has helped me get this thank-you out.  I will be forever grateful for this organization for it truly is all of you and this space that has given me my life back.

-Nancy, the staff at The Works very much appreciate your kind words and are grateful for members such as yourself.  Stay healthy and strong!  

{Your Friends at The Works}

(From: http://resumeconfidence.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Gratitude-is-the-hearts-memory-a-French-proverb.jpg)

Sandy: Working out While Kids are on Vacation

Ah, a mothers guilt. I truly believe that the second a woman gets pregnant she starts developing huge amounts of the “guilt” hormone. 

This week marked Spring Break for my children.  I vowed to myself that this was going to be a fun, exciting week for them.  We invited friends over every single day, to hike, play outside or sleep over.  It was EXHAUSTING.  I mean dealing with my own children is hard enough, but then add more 

children to the mix and it becomes….well, even more challenging.  By the time husband rolled in from work, I was fried.   My PLAN was to go to the gym when he got home.  HA!  Right!!  

Two of the evenings I was planning to go to the gym, my children would look up at me with their big round eyes saying “We don’t want you to go,” or “You promised you would read to us before bed.”  UGH!  Heartbreaking!

I admire people who can turn their backs and make themselves the priority.  When my husband wants to do something for himself, he just does it.  Nothing will stand in his way.  I on the other hand, am a wimpy pushover.  I know that time is ticking quickly on the clock of youth, and that my children will not want to spend any time at all with me soon enough.  I want to capture every moment I can with them, even at the expense of my workouts.  It’s not smart, really, because the more I workout, the better I feel, the happier I am, and the happier everyone else is.  I get really frustrated when I don’t get any ME time and my moods go from bad to worse.  I have a short temper especially when my children challenge me with trivial complaints. 

I made it to the gym only once this week, it was only half a workout at that too!  I was mentally and physically spent by the end of the day when my opportunity to go to the gym arose, and yet I had to get out and away from the house.  So I literally forced myself to get there but my head wasn’t in the game.  The end result, however was that I was glad I went even though my workout was “Blah”.

Now that I have taken a full week off from my consistent workouts, I can feel the sloth moving back into my life.  My clean eating has been neglected, and lifting has been ignored.  At least I have been keeping somewhat active with the few hikes we went on. 

I am looking forward to the start of a new week and getting back into the gym.  I’ve missed it, as I have missed my free time as well.   I look forward to seeing the smiling faces at the Works again. 

See you there.    

Jesse: Setting Goals and SMASHING Them!

(Turn up your volume! )

Setting goals and smashing them. 

When I sat down with Devon and went over my goals I thought it would take me a very long time to reach them. The goals I am referring to are my strength goals. I told her I wanted to deadlift 350 pounds; she set the goal to 405.

Yesterday, I reach beyond my original goal. I did 355lbs. The last time I did that I was just a young lad.

I love setting attainable goals and then smashing them. It is what is helping me stay focused. I feel like I am accomplishing something.

I hope all of you are setting and smashing your goals too!!!

Check out this video I did of me reaching that first goal. (Yes, I was a nerd and decided to make a video.)

Sandy: The Reps Kept Coming!

Les Mills Body Pump

I like to play roulette when I come into the gym, I say to the people at the front desk “What classes have openings?” and then I randomly choose a class to jump into.  Spontaneity, it’s a fun way to live and I try to practice it every day. 

So today I was able to scoop up the last available space in the Les Mills Body Pump class.  Well I can wrap this write-up with one word.  

“OUCH!”  

I have some new respect for the attendees of this class. First of all, I walk in, and the room is PACKED!  Everyone is standing in front of a bench with a matt, there is a bar loaded with weights, extra weights on the side and hand weights. 

I must have looked like a deer in the headlights when I walked in cause I didn’t have a clue what to do or where to go.  A friendly patron who took me under her wing, directing me to a bench and helping me choose the appropriate weight set for the class.  

My Motto?  Just jump right in and go with the flow, and that is exactly what I did.  Speed and good form are very important in this class.  It’s funny because when I started I thought to myself “Did I take enough weight?” Then the reps kept coming and coming and before you know it, my muscles were screaming “Why on EARTH did you get off the couch this morning?  I was perfectly happy on the couch!!!”

I can say that in most classes the goofy grin can remain on my face for pretty much the whole time.  Les Mills not only challenged my muscles but my concentration as well so my smiles were few today. I had to focus on my form, then really hone my brain in to focus on making it through till the final repetitions in each set. 

Overall it was an excellent class.  The instructor definitely kept the class rolling and challenging.  I had a great time, even though my smiles were scarce, and when I was done I felt truly accomplished. 

Thank you fellow patrons, for making me feel welcome, and thank you to the beautiful instructor who kept a smile on her face, reminding me that I’m here for a reason and for that I should be proud.

Sandy – 1         Couch – 0                    I win!!  

Sandy- Selfie: Seeing is Believing

April Showers…

It's Spring, Finally! 

It’s almost as if the change of temperatures forces people to pull out and try on their spring and summer clothing, only to realize that the long winter hibernation has caused all of their clothing to magically shrink.  That’s what happened to me anyway…well maybe my clothes didn’t actually SHRINK, but I have to tell myself that or I might cry! 

I wanted to share a “selfie”, and some pictures of my adventures at the gym, but I will admit, I’m a little shy when it comes to having a picture taken of myself.  Pictures are a great way to see progress though, and I need to get over it and silence my self critic when it comes to pictures.  My workout partner recently snapped this shot of me, shortly after telling me that if I sighed and made one more negative face at myself in the mirror that she was going to kick me. 

When I finally looked at this picture (it took me about a week to actually LOOK at it) I was surprised that I could see muscles in my back, and some shape to my waist, which, till recently was more apple like than anything.  The fact is that I’m changing.  I mean, I can finally SEE the changes.  It’s funny, but true, that seeing is believing.  Sometimes it is difficult to continue working hard toward something if you are not actually seeing visual results.  And not all changes will be numbers on the scale.  I am proud of my progress and continue to “muscle through”.  I may not be ready for something quite as challenging as the “Physique Challenge”, although with time and some mental adjustment, I now know that can be. 

Keep working hard, my friends.  Have faith in the positive changes you are creating, not only in your body, but in your mental attitude as well.  It’s a ripple effect, and all the positivity you are putting out will come back to you.  

Happy Spring!

Throwback Thursday Jesse!

                ***Warning: Throwback Post***

I had some one ask me the other day, “How did you get started at The Works?” I said to myself, “Self, that’s a really odd question. Why would they want to know that?” I then realized that since I have started at The Works many people have come and gone, and many of the folks that are newer have no idea who I am. There are a lot of folks that are still at The Works that remember when I first started there.

So here is the brief story of how I ended up at The Works and why I am still here.

Once upon a time, many moons ago…. Ok nevermind, when I was 17 and a junior in high school I had taken these fancy courses that are supposed to teach you how to land a job. Very interested in earning my own money and not begging for money from the ‘rents, I decided to use what I learned to get a job. It was all very glamorous. Then I got hired in a kitchen immediately upon picking up an application without any formal interview and wearing ripped shorts and a band t-shirt. I was like wow, this job thing is easy.

I realized that kitchen work is terrible and I hated it; no wonder why I got the job so fast. So I started thinking again. I wanted a job that I could talk to people and get my exercise in (that was in high school when I actually exercised a lot). Remembering that I had gone to The Works a couple times for fun, I thought that would be a serious place to begin a career. So I got an application and filled it out… I waited to get hired on the spot (The Works actually did an interview process!). Without getting hired on the spot I went home and started calling Matt (The Operations Manager) every day until he agreed to interview me.

The day I came in to my interview I made sure I looked my best. My class taught me to look the part that I was going for. I dressed so good I could have been hired as the director…. not really, I had a pair of khakis and a Hawaiian shirt I borrowed from my dad. However, I was the first person to ever interview with Matt to try to dress nice.

I am pretty sure he said “This kid is sooooooo AMAZING!!! I must hire him right now!!!” Or something like that :).

That’s how I got started. I was there till about a year after I graduated high school then I took off for college. I came back after one semester. I worked for a few more years then left to try my hand at other jobs around NH. After few years of doing that (still coming back once in while to help out) I came back on with a more full time approach and have been back for 4 years.

I have been asked why I keep coming back and the answer is simple, The Works is like my family. There are a lot of staff members that have been there since I started 14 years ago and there are many members that have been there just as long if not longer. I have put a helping hand into creating what everyone knows as The Works today and I remember fully what it was like before. I love our members, the old members and the new members. I have made lasting friendships with tons of people and I enjoy my work.

Simply, The Works is like my family.

See you in the gym

Sandy: Laughter, Smiles and Gratitude Today

I wasn’t feeling it today.  It is rare that you would find me without a smile spread across my face when I am at the gym, because typically, when I got there, I would find a rhythm and get into my workout.  

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon. 

I forced my way from bike to weights, pushing myself to just make it thru a workout.  It wasn’t till the end of my workout that my mood began to shift.  It wasn’t the fact that I was done, or that I had accomplished what I had set out to do.  It was the people that caused the change in me.  

I saw three ladies chatting; their bond of friendship so obvious to any onlooker, and it warmed my heart as I watched them huddled together.  I saw a group of happy, sweaty people emerging from a Hip Hop Class.

I could hear laughter in the hall from a small group of people gathered to work out together.  And of course, I owe a bit of gratitude to the happy, smiling people at the front desk. 

I am glad that I forced myself to come today, instead of allowing myself to sit at home, listening to the wind and brooding over the dark clouds and rain.  Sometimes we just need a little nudge to get us going in the right direction. 

I want to thank all of these strangers who influenced my day, who brightened my mood and re-instilled my faith.

Trivia Question of the week:  I am walking very briskly, I pass a window, a recumbent bicycle and I hear the sounds of a game being played.  Where am I?