Fit Fashion Friday: Murphy Strong

Whenever I'm not exactly feeling "Too Fit," I think of a woman who is the epitome of that philosophy.

Her name is Kerri Murphy. She is 44 years old, a mother, a passionate business owner of The Fitness Studio, a killer group exercise teacher, a great friend and a fighter. Kerri has touched and inspired so many people in her lifetime, including me. She continues to do so now, as an angel.

Kerri was a long-time friend of Mom's. I knew her from a young age as one of Mom's friends who taught classes at the gym, and I thought this was so cool. When I got old enough to actually take one of her classes, I realized it was pretty badass (to say the least). I don't think I had ever seen a more physically fit person, or anyone who radiated such drive, determination and passion for what she did. 

In 2005, she opened The Fitness Studio (TFS) in little Dudley, Massachusetts, a fitness family revolution in my little hometown. Dudley, MA, is forever changed for the better by TFS. 

Kerri was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer in spring of 2012, and during a year-long fight, she continued to run her business, be a mom, and teach/take group exercise classes whenever it was physically possible (yes, even in the midst of treatments). Truly incredible. This woman was in unbelievable shape. She would say she had been training her whole life for this fight, and she didn't go down easily.

As much as Kerri loved her business, TFS could not have loved her more. Members organized fundraising initiatives and delivered meals for Kerri and her family. Even smaller things like shoveling the Murphy's driveway. The TFS community had anything anyone could do to to help in any way, covered. "No one fights alone" was one of their mottos. "Cancer sucks" and "quitting is not an option" were among the others, all inspired by Kerri's common expressions.

On December 29th, Kerri went to heaven. On December 30th, members of TFS had a heavy heart and a heavy bar as they went to Body Pump. I did the same here in D.C., and I did my heaviest class ever. If there were any way we could honor Kerri, that was it.

Today, Kerri's legacy lives through her business, which is still going strong. TFS is going "Murphy Strong." Words can't describe the heartfelt feelings this slogan inspires in me. I won't pass on the chance to say how proud I am to wear this shirt and to represent. This is certainly the most "Fit Fashion Friday" we've had to date.

When you have "one of those days," or aren't feeling "Too Fit" yourself, think of Kerri or think of that kind of person in your life - the kind of person who wouldn't let anything crack her spirit or devotion to inspire others, the kind of person who makes you scratch your head with how unbelievable they really are. Life is too short to not live it to the fullest - the "Too Fit" fullest. Kerri taught me that - before this blog, before her cancer and before I could even grasp it all. For that, I am forever grateful.

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Unconventional & Too Fit

Zumba, at your place of employment, during happy hour, on the roof, in February and in D.C.

This happened, and , naturally, I was teaching this unconventional Zumba class. Employees of The Advisory Board here in D.C. have been participating in a "Winter Wellness Challenge" since the start of the New Year. I happen to be friends with one of these motivated employees, and she asked me if I'd be interested in teaching Zumba for one of their weekly workouts. Any organization that promotes employee wellness, totally rocks in my book, so I was excited to be a part of their challenge (more info on challenge details below).

(More on the challenge itself. It incorporates various aspects of wellness throughout your day by including nutrition, fitness, stretching and "lifestyle.". The competition is based on off of a points system where teams earn points by sticking to a nutrition plan (which entails giving up 2 of the following food 'groups': starchy grains, dairy, sugar/sweeteners or alcohol/soda/juice), exercising, and bonus points for lifestyle challenges such as getting 8 hours of sleep. Everyday you start with 5 points and lose 1 point per infraction of the rules. The "Winter Wellness Challenge" goes for 8 weeks, and the team with the most points at the end, wins!)

My pal had reached out to me about a month or so ago. We set the date and the guidelines so that I would skip over my more "scandalous" Zumba tracks with her Co-workers. Expecting to teach a typical Zumba class, I showed up on class day with a PG playlist. I began learning I was mistaken when I found out class would take place on the roof of their building. The confirming fact that this was going to be no conventional Zumba class was the guys getting lower than the girls during warm up. One was even repping a Crossfit tee.

This might sound super awkward, but it wasn't -not even for a minute. The enthusiasm and energy in the group seemed to overcome any inhibitions as they did all of the moves 100%. Everyone caught on quickly, almost oddly well, and we had some good laughs throughout the class. See below as they crush my "wild card" track, Nsync's "Bye, Bye, Bye".

 A positive and encouraging vibe radiated from the group, and they were jamming from beginning to end. I was pretty impressed with these guys who braved the chill of the wind on the roof during happy hour on a Monday in February.

Let’s be honest; this had the potential to be a bust. A speaker could've blown off the roof;(It was really that windy.) No one could've showed; or whoever did show could've had the "what-the-hell-is-this" attitude towards the Zumba class. We didn't lose any speakers or participants off the roof, and everyone's awesome attitude is what made the class a total blast.

I talk about the importance of doing things outside your comfort zone, but the experience with these guys on Monday gave me an additional perspective. Instead of defining the boundaries of your comfort zone, leave them undefined and limit less of what your comfortable with.  Therefore you can be more open to what you are actually comfortable with.  Perhaps sometimes we just need a little convincing and a little encouragement that we can be comfortable with something unconventional. That encouragement and convincing can come from yourself and others around you, and in this case, it was co-workers.

Don't underestimate the size and potential of your comfort zone. Good things happen can happen there, and better things can happen outside of it.

Thank you Advisory Board for having me and showing me how Too Fit you all are! Good luck in your "Winter Wellness Challenge"!

"All you need now is your courage"

At an altitude of about 8,000 feet, these were the final words from my tandem instructor after running through all of the steps of my first sky dive.

Two thousand feet higher, I was pushing Nick out of the plane for his solo free fall. The camera guy suggested we do this for fun. It was awesome, but I did get a little freaked out seeing him actually falling to earth. It was like something you see on a movie, and I thought, "Did I just do that?" I barely had any time to think about it, though, because what felt like 10 seconds later, my butt was outside of the plane. It is not everyday you get to push your boyfriend out of a moving aircraft and then jump out yourself, but I HIGHLY recommend you do it.

I am not going to say I wasn't nervous, but I was surprised at just how calm the calm before the storm actually was. 

The calm was the ride to our jumping altitude of 10,000 feet. The ride up to jumping altitude was smooth and beautiful. My girlfriends Lisa and Anna, Nick and I did our jumps at Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures in New Market, VA. The drop zone is situated right in the Shenandoah Valley, so the views were spectacular, absolutely gorgeous, and distracting me from thinking too much about what I was actually doing. 

My tandem instructor's name was Larry. He was an older, hilarious, and badass guy. Pointing out various parts of the views and his funny jokes also helped keep me relaxed on the way up. He described skydiving as "The funnest thing you can do with your clothes on." Awesome!

The storm was the airplane door swinging open and the realization that you're going out of it. The storm continues with a rock forward and back on the edge of the airplane, and then, you go! When we jumped, I felt the most thrilling, beautiful, and peaceful rush of my life. There is nothing like it.

Free fall lasts for about 40 seconds at about 120 miles per hour. I was flying and loving it. Hello, world!

Five thousand five hundred feet was the magic number to deploy the chute. Larry gave me the option of trying to pull it myself, and I told him I wanted to give it a shot. (If I were too caught up in free fall, he was going to pull it regardless.) When he gave the sign to look at my altimeter, we were at seven thousand feet. I found the orange knob to pull the chute on Larry's hip, glued my hand there, and glued my eyes to the altimeter. I was pulling that damn thing. Five thousand five hundred feet, and PULL!

You jolt up a bit when your chute opens and then you drift up there for a bit. I think at that point my heart rate was the highest it's ever been in my life. I kept repeating, "Oh my gosh!" "Hell yeah!" and "Woooo!" Larry asked me how I felt and if I were up for doing some spins. I was. I remember feeling soreness in my cheeks and mouth at this point from smiling during the entire experience. Even still, I could not stop smiling. We went over some things for landing; I spotted Nick and the girls on the ground and we made our way back to earth. We stuck the landing, standing up. Yeah, I'm bragging. 

Back on earth, I was greeted by Nick and the girls. We were all elated and on cloud 9 after getting to jump of a plane. For myself and the girls, it was our first time. Nick is a bit of a pro with over 150 jumps (no big deal). As for Larry, he's no rookie, either. I was his 3,011th tandem jump. THAT'S a big deal! (I was naturally thrilled with this). After our jumps were rescheduled a few of times due to weather, this event was much anticipated and blew all of our expectations out of the water. 

We all kicked butt and couldn't seem to come down from the adrenaline kick - at least not until we had a big lunch and it was time to drive back. The girls and I were snooze city then. Sorry Nick!

Skydiving, for me, was truly life-changing. Yes, it was the rush of a lifetime. However, for the girls and I, our first time jumping out of a plane went beyond that. We talked about how we had butterflies and nerves but were never worried about our safety (ironically enough when jumping out of a plane). For the huge amount of excitement and thrill we experienced, it was met with the most peaceful and positive acceptance I've ever felt in my life. It was freeing. That is a combination I had never known to exist before, and I'm so glad I found it. 

I deem my first sky dive the first #Adventure day of La Too Fit. Life would be so boring without adventures, and I know there are many more unknown feelings and experiences out there. I'm curious about them and anxious to get them under my belt. I know I'm not alone in this either. 

I think fears exist to be conquered! If you're "too scared" you certainly can't be "Too Fit." No matter the extreme, go for it.Here's to living "Too Fit" and on the edge!

What's your next adventure?