Getting fit with Josh


I’m pregnant! Wow I can’t believe it happened so soon. David, my husband, and I thought it would take forever. We’ve both been overweight for years and had lived a pretty unhealthy lifestyle until we met Josh from Mitise Health and Fitness last year. I first went along to one of Josh’s Saturday morning group fitness sessions in February 2010 and I was extremely nervous. I had let the weight on me pile up and I didn’t know how to get it off. I was extremely unfit and couldn’t even do the warm up exercises. Josh was not worried by my lack of fitness; instead, he was extremely encouraging, funny and knew exactly how to build a relationship with me. He understood why I had let my body get the way it did, it was like he was in my head and I couldn’t hide. I was hooked.


Over the following months I continued to attend Saturday morning classes. I encouraged a friend to come along who had just had a baby and wanted to shift some baby weight. I knew she would feel comfortable with Josh. He has a way of putting everyone at ease and not making you feel like you aren’t capable. As the weeks went by my fitness increased, and so did my confidence. I found myself walking to the sessions instead of driving, and eventually succeeding in getting David (then my boyfriend) to come along too. David started doing boxing classes with Josh, and then we both enrolled in Mitise Healths’ BootCamp!


I cursed myself 3 mornings a week for signing up. We were up at 5am to start at 6am in the middle of the freezing cold winter. The first session I went to, it was 2oC outside! But we pushed through with Josh’s encouragement. By the end of winter we were really seeing a difference. We weren’t out of breath walking up stairs, we had muscles appearing that I never knew we had, and best of all, I was proud of myself for achieving the improvements at the assessments.
My proudest moment was running over the finish line at the 2010 City to Bay Fun Run. Never ever would I have believed someone if they told me I would run the City to Bay. Josh encouraged me to join the training group and I ended up running 9 out of the 12 kilometres. And Josh was there at the finish line cheering me on!


We also gained another reason to keep getting into shape. David proposed to me in June. We were excited to get married quickly, and we set a date for November. I was determined to not have to wear a ‘fat person’ wedding dress. I ordered my dress in July, and when it arrived in October, it was almost 3 sizes too big. I was in shock! We still had lots to lose, but we had come so far and we were both extremely happy with how we looked on the day!


After the wedding we had decided to start trying for a baby. We put on weight on the honeymoon but came back to Josh’s BootCamp sessions determined to get fitter and lose more weight. We believed it would take us a long time to get pregnant due to our weight. Josh was fantastic over the Summer BootCamp sessions. Always encouraging us, pushing us to achieve new records at our assessments. Even when I think I can’t push myself anymore, Josh is always there believing in me and setting a new level for me to reach. He’s supported us through tears, whinging, injuries, reduced motivation, weight gain, weight loss, tiredness, and now pregnancy.


We found out in February 2011 that we are expecting a baby. One of the first people we told was Josh. Not only because he’s our trainer and we thought it was safest for me during training if Josh was aware, but because he’s been through the weight battle with us over the last year. He was so excited for us and couldn’t wait to visit us at home and discuss my training schedule for the duration of my pregnancy. So far at training, Josh has been very attentive and caring towards me, and ensures that I’m doing the correct exercises. He’s patient, which is great when I find myself out of breath doing the easiest of exercises. I’m looking forward to keeping fit during this pregnancy, and we’re both looking forward to being happy, healthy and fit parents with Josh’s continued support and exercise sessions.


Rebecca R