Exactly 5 months ago I moved to Canada. A long awaited move, years in progress! I finally got to join Nizar after doing several years of long distance. I felt like things were finally working out, I finally was going to settle into a new home. This all meant that we can start working together on building a new life, growing our business, venturing into new ones, fixing up our home, meeting new friends, training and coaching new athletes. It was so exciting, I finally got a chance to get a fresh start after all the horror we have been through as Lebanese citizens.

I moved to Toronto in March and had 0 expectations of the city itself, but I definitely had huge expectations of the lifestyle I was going to adopt. The first thing I did was look for the closest gym where I can continue training hard. I found a gym 400m away which would be perfect during the winter since it gets super snowy and collldd! Big problem though, they lacked weightlifting equipment. They had no WL barbells or bella bars, no platform, no rowers, etc… I thought it was okay, I could definitely work around it, adjust my goals for the time being. Training was good, our house was looking cozy, we set new business plans. A few weeks in we got an email from our landlord telling us that we have 90 days to move since he sold the unit. And the searching began…

We live in Downtown Toronto, one of the most competitive housing markets in the world. Units, or “boxes” I’d like to call them, would cost about 2.2K to 3K for a single bedroom! WHAT! It was insane. We had to find a new unit within 90 days which means our life was not going to be the same. Our routine will change, our training schedule, our work schedule, etc…

We viewed numerous homes, they were either too small, too expensive, too far. We even considered moving to Montreal or Ottowa. It was so frustrating. I just got here, I waited years to start this new life, all I wanted was to BUILD. But life was throwing curveballs and obstacles. To say I was demotivated would be an understatement, but I realized this is life, adulthood to be precise! It’s never going to be simple and easy.

If I asked people for advice, they would suggest taking some time off the gym, taking it slow, give myself the time I need to recollect and build again. It sounded so tempting to slow down, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I kept thinking to myself “ What does fitness have to do with moving houses? Why do I have to put off a necessary part of my life?” What difference is an hour going to make?”

I did not want to “postpone” fitness. It is vital, it is essential, it is NECESSARY for a peace of mind. It is one of the only consistent things you can adopt in your lifestyle. It is one of the only things you are fully in control of. It is one of the most important things can do for yourself. Why put it on hold? Because “life”?

Well, life is always going to be challenging, things will always change, so it's time to make fitness a necessary part of your crazy, messy and complicated life.

I trained at 4 different gyms in the last 4 months. I did lots of body weight training, swimming, biking, lifting, whatever worked. Because it’s important to be flexible. I’ve learned a lot, and writing this now is helping me reflect.

Don’t wait to move countries, or houses to start.

Don’t wait to find the perfect gym to start.

Don’t wait to find a job to start.

Don’t wait to get your first paycheck to start.

Don’t wait until your summer vacation is over to start.

Don’t wait until you rehab an injury to start.

Don’t want until your diet is in check to start.

Don't wait to settle to get better.

Fitness should fit into your lifestyle and not the other way around.

If you're feeling out of it, lost, unstructured, we have got your back 👊 We are here for you, just because we are coaches does not mean we don’t go through the same obstacles! We can help you adopt a structed and flexible fitness program based on where you are, how you feel, what your goals are.

Want to chat about your goals? Feel free to drop an email!

Nadine ❤️