How I Learned to Love Sweating

Exercising has always been something I avoid at all costs. Sweating was a “no-no”. However, last year my blossoming frame indicated that a change of opinion regarding the dreaded eight-letter word “EXERCISE” would be necessary.

In October 2008, I started a doctor-supervised weight-loss program and from the start had great success dropping ten pounds the first week. Week after week, two to four pounds would drop off and I started to feel better. This was happening even without exercise.

Honestly, I had never even set foot in a gym except in school, which I might add was mandatory. I did take a tour of the Jim & Heather Gills’ YMCA building on 1st Avenue South after Hennessy completed building it back in 2001. It’s become common practice at Hennessy for office employees to be given an opportunity to tour our larger projects as they near completion. I have always found it very rewarding to see what a great job our people do. As I said though, this was just a tour so I don’t really count that as being in a gym. Not once during the tour or in the years since had I thought about joining.

Around the same time that I started my weight loss plan, Hennessy started offering a corporate YMCA membership at a reduced rate of half price to all employees interested. I decided that this must be some kind of sign. So with great trepidation, I joined the YMCA in November 2008. It took me until February 2009 to actually set foot into the building though. I like to think of the membership fees paid during those first four months as donations to a very worthy cause. After all, I was still dropping pounds every week on my weight loss plan.

The first time I walked into the gym area and had an employee show me the ropes, I couldn’t have been more intimidated. Here’s this young, fit person showing the out-of-shape, mature lady how to ride a recumbent bike and work the treadmill. I really felt like the new kid in school and was very self conscious. But I was determined to make this work.

I started out slow: 20 minutes of cardio, three times per week. After all, the fitness gurus’ always say that you MUST do at least that much in order to notice any benefit. It about killed me. Slowly, (and I do mean SLOWLY) but surely, I began to increase my workout times and add strength training. I started out going every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I have since “upped the ante” to 45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight resistance training on those days. Now I even try to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an extra 45 minutes of cardio.

That’s five days a week! If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be going to the YMCA five days a week, I would have laughed in their face. “No way! Not me!” Now, I LOVE IT! If I don’t go, I feel guilty and I can feel the difference in my body. It is true that exercise does make you feel better and gives you more energy. I always walk out feeling better than when I walked in, a concept no one could have convinced me of until I experienced it for myself.

All of the inhibitions I had when I first started going are gone and I have made friends that I see everyday. The YMCA is a beautiful facility and offers something for everyone, no matter their fitness level. There are people from all walks of life, all shapes and sizes, old and young, male and female, and even handicapped people. It’s really an inspiration to see a person in a wheel chair workout.

I really do love the YMCA. Every time I walk in I feel a certain amount of pride in myself for how well I am doing and in the fact that the company I work for built it so beautifully. Boy, I sound like a commercial. I guess I just wanted to encourage everyone to exercise. You will feel better and you’ll be doing yourself some good along the way. I, for one, am now a convert. Those that know me will corroborate that this is nothing short of a miracle.

Posted by: Moira Dietrichsen

Moira, our Staff Account, is approaching her 18th anniversary with Hennessy Construction. In the nearly two decades that she has been here, Moira has worked in a variety of accounting areas, including Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Owner Direct Purchase Program Administrator, Payroll, and 401k Administrator. Moira, another Hennessy pet advocate, shares her life and her home with her husband, Bob and several four-legged friends.