So that just happened.

It’s been four and a half months since I got sick after inhaling a horse pill into my lung, and I just finished working out for the first time. It was humbling, to say the least. BUT I DID IT.

The doctor gave me exercise clearance a while ago, and I’d spoken in all seriousness of starting back up: I’ll do yoga, I decided. But that didn’t happen, because Life, so it wasn’t until today that I finally put on my gym shoes, and when I did, I did not do yoga. I pulled up a Les Mills Body Pump workout and jumped into strength-training with dumbbells.

The workout kicked my ass, BUT I DID IT.

(Granted, I’m still wheezing. I have a pulmonary appointment in a few weeks, so we’ll see.)

Here’s how it went:

Track One, Legs: Halfway through the squats, I had to give up the pace and bring it down to half-time. This was necessary in order to maintain perfect form. That is how out of shape I am. BUT I DID IT.

Track Two, Chest: It went well despite my legs shaking in the aftermath of the leg track.

Track Three, Back: Another successful track, but I called it a day as soon as it was over. I was feeling tired and slightly nauseous BUT I DID IT and it was fine because the first 30 minutes of Body Pump’s large-muscle-group tracks constitutes a full-body workout.

So I followed the doctor’s orders exactly: I took it slowly, listened to my body, and tapped out accordingly… and I took it light. I used three-pound dumbbells for the full-body warm-up, and five-pound dumbbells for the leg, chest, and back tracks. My normal dumbbell weight for the back track is 12 pounds. It was a struggle even with very light weights, BUT I DID IT.

Now I can really relate to those of you who are starting your fitness journeys from level 0, because that’s about where I am.

We’re in this together, friends.