TJs_MVbuildingSunrise_9954AmyPerlPhoto.jpg

TJ's Gym Mill Valley at sunrise, taken by TJ's photographer, Amy Perl, showing off our awesome new sign.

Message from TJ:

What I Learned After being Booze-Free for 90 Days,

This whole cockamamie idea started on Feb 27th. It was the Monday after my birthday. I was looking to challenge myself in some way, because I ask people to challenge themselves all the time as part of my job. Having something to push against for the short term is always motivating. I was having a beer or two each night, and, to be honest, I was perfectly happy with that arrangement. Yes, I was a little softer around the middle than I liked, but I needed to get uncomfortable for empathy's sake, you know, for my clients. So away I went, and it wasn't easy. My plan was to take a week off of alcohol, but when it became tougher than I thought it would, I decided that a month would be better. By the end of the week and lots of pacing around between 7 and 9pm, I realized that I needed it to be tougher.

Alcoholism in an Irish Catholic family is seen more as a quirky personality trait rather than an actual problem. It isn't until you leave the nest and start exploring the world that you see how destructive it can be, or was, or, more likely, both. I'm not writing an after-school special here, I'm just setting the table.

Maybe it's because our girls are now teenagers, and maybe it's because I'm the age now that my family members were when stuff went off the rails for them, but it felt like the right time to take a look at this "ritual" I had every night.

So, I stopped, and as I said, it was tougher than I thought it would be. Here are a few things that happened during my three booze-free months.

-I went to bed earlier. Mostly because I got antsy. This obviously led to more sleep, which has its own rewards.

-I also quit crap. No sugar or other junk. Chips were hard, and my peanut butter intake was ridiculous, but my cravings eventually went away.

-I lost weight because of all this. Not really weight, actually. It was bodyfat. My weight started at 222 pounds and went down to 210 over six weeks and then back up slowly to 216 pounds, but my soft belly got less soft.

-And that's because I worked out more. I don't know why, but two weeks after I quit the booze, I made a decision to own the 7am hour. I moved clients around and was able to make it law that I would work out M-F at 7am, no matter what. I only missed 2 days in those 9 weeks. Normally, I work out or try to work out between 12-3pm and that works about 50% of the time. Why couldn't I make this decision before I quit booze? Did the quitting make a difference in this decision? I'm not sure, but I know it happened.

-I stopped having to clear my throat for the first two hours of every day.

-My floaters in my peripheral vision went away.

-My desire to nap went away, mostly.

-4 or 5 different days I woke up feeling hungover. Head hurt, lethargic, felt like crap. I realized that sometimes you wake up feeling shitty without alcohol. Who knew?

But here is the honest truth. I didn't really notice much of a change. If there was much change, it was very slow and very subtle. Now let me tell you about being back on the booze for 8 days or as I call it, breaking the beerfast. In the past 8 days, I have had 10 beers total.

-My first night after having my first beer I completely soaked the sheets in sweat, woke up, wide awake at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep. Not trying to be dramatic here, just honest.

-My floaters are back.

-I am always "hot" when I sleep. Sometimes this is a full sweat.

-During the beerfast, I got into a habit of eating one or two meals per day. The first meal was usually around 11am, but sometimes I pushed all the way to four or five and had one meal, no problem. Why I am trying this is for a different blog post, but it was an experiment. Post beerfast, I am absolutely ravenous by 9am and can't think straight.

-My 2-pack is gone. I somehow grew one over the beerfast and it seems to have gone away.

-I had ice cream once, because I wanted it. Haven't craved it since, so that's a win.

-Workouts are exponentially harder. Anything that requires capacity like unbroken Wallballs or Burpees or high RPM on the rowing machine or Airdyne kill me. I have to take more and longer breaks during the conditioning. Strength is still the same.

-My throat clearing isn't back ,but I've had to blow my nose a number of times every morning. Allergy coincidence? Maybe, but it seems weird.

-Weight is the same, but I definitely feel fluffy.

-I'm definitely more "tired."

So, there you have it. Everyone has been asking me what I'm going to do next. Honestly, I don't know. I'm not digging these side effects , and, unfortunately, the slippery slope of wanting that beer at 7pm has come back full-tilt boogie. That's probably not good. I will continue to keep you guys updated. Feel free to ask me about any of this if you see me. I'd love to give you advice if you want it, but it's a different journey for everyone. Quitting booze is a good thing. I'm not sure anyone can argue with that.

I hope this was helpful. Good luck!

~TJ

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New TJ's Gym Tanks are coming! Order closes June 14th!

New TJ's Gym Tanks just in time for Summer! Order your tank by June 12th HERE for women and HERE for men. The tanks will be delivered to your home gym the week of June 26th. There are multiple colors on the site, so be sure to check them out! We will NOT be ordering any extras, so be sure to order what you want now!

Summer Leadership Academy

We are SUPER excited to announce our first-annual Summer Leadership Academy for Teens at TJ's Gyms. Spearheaded and run by TJ, himself, this week-long program for ages 15-17 will include fitness and nutrition education, workouts, and deep exploration of topics related to the development of leadership skills, personal "branding," and life success. We will have guest speakers of all ages across disciplines to address entrepreneurship, social media use, networking, confidence-building, etc.

This is a great opportunity for your teen to grow in just one week's time! Spaces are limited to eight teens, so we suggest registering right away if you're interested. Email allison@tjsgym.com with program questions. To register, email jessica@tjsgym.com.

TJ’s Gym Lifestyle & Accountability Program (LAP) is now an ONGOING Offering!

$250 for the first 6 weeks of working closely with TJ. Then sort out a plan that works for you!

This program has become quite popular. TJ has FOUR spots available for next month, so act quickly!

Change your life NOW. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Want to change your life? Our 6-week program with TJ is a great jump start. You can start any time. Over the course of the first six weeks of your journey, you will work closely with TJ to get yourself on track to actually achieving some of your most important goals. After the six weeks, you'll have an opportunity to continue with the next level of the program, or go on your way with the tools and plans you've created.

Email Jessica@tjsgym.com to register TODAY!

SOCCER CLINIC BENEFITTING KIDS WITH CANCER!

The next Juggling for Jude soccer clinic benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will be Saturday, June 30th at Redwood's Ghilotti field. This is a GREAT opportunity for players ages 7-14 to learn new ball-control, dribbling, juggling and other skills for soccer prowess from some fantastic professional coaches. 100% of registration fees go directly to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude. Win, win! Email allison@tjsgym.com with questions or to register, and please share with soccer families you know!

Now that school is out, sign up your Teen/Tween for some SUMMER FITNESS!

Session Dates (8 weeks): 05/07 - 06/30* *No class Monday, May 28th.

Session Prices

-

$160 (one class per week)*

$280 (two classes per week)*

$395 (three classes per week)* We also have monthly options available for our year-round members.

Spring Schedule

*Corte Madera - Monday/Wednesday (12 - 16) 4 pm *Mill Valley - Tuesday/Thursday (12 - 16) 4 pm *Corte Madera -Tuesday/Thursday (10 - 13) 4:30 pm *Mill Valley - Wednesday 4:30 (12 - 16) - Girls only class *Corte Madera - Saturday (12 - 16) 11 am *San Rafael - Monday (11 - 16) 4:30 pm

*Classes expire at the end of the session. Make-ups can happen as needed throughout the session.Please share with anyone who might be interested in joining!

Email jessica@tjsgym.com to register.

SOCIAL MEDIA

If you're on Facebook, please request to join the TJ's Gym Members Facebook Page (current, active members) for all of our most up-to-date announcements and offerings. You can also follow us @tjsgyms on Instagram.