At 20 I was a high-school wrestler with a trophy shelf as big as I was. I was also a former high-school football champion and a university athlete with a rugby scholarship. At just over 200 pounds I could deadlift and squat more than twice my weight, run a charity 10k on the weekend without training and take some of the least charming mirror selfies 2016 had ever seen.

Here I am now, eight years older and nearly a hundred pounds heavier.

It didn’t happen overnight, I didn’t get into a freak accident, I didn’t suffer a career ending injury or contract a life-altering disease. I simply got older. The days seemed to be filled with more things to do, bills, a job, school, stuff got in the way. Life, got in the way.

I’m not the first person to struggle with their health and weight, and I’m certainly not the first to look for a more sustainable way to live a healthy and active lifestyle. On and off again, I’ve tried the gym, a place I once loved going to, with no sustained success.

This fall, it was time for a change. I wanted to take back control, I wanted to do something worth writing about, I wanted to do something for me.

“When getting back into working out, or for anyone starting out, it’s really important to find something you enjoy doing,” says personal trainer Lucas Michaelis. “At the end of the day, if you’re not going to have fun doing something, you’re probably not going to end up doing it for long.”

With that advice in mind, I challenged myself to do something new. In fact, I challenged myself to do a few somethings new. To push myself out of my comfort zone every day. My plan: I was going to go to the ARC and take not just one fitness class, I was going to take all of them.

I was going to complete what I called The Tour D’ARC, to prove to myself once and for all that I was still the athlete I once was. I wanted to prove to myself that I could try new things and succeed, that with stick-to-itiveness and willpower, anyone can fix their bad habits. Fitness is a lifestyle, and I’m Ophrah baby! YOU get a six pack! YOU get a six pack! You reading this? Look under your chair, that’s right, it’s a six pack!

I was ready to kick this challenge’s ass and fix all my problems overnight. In one fell swoop I was going to fix my health, AND write an incredible article about it all the while. Here’s how it went.

Monday

I didn’t go.

Tuesday

I also didn’t go.

It turns out that fitness journeys don’t happen overnight. Sometimes life has other plans in store for you. Sometimes that plan is a potent flu bug your partner brings home from teaching a bunch of snot nosed fourth graders. Sometimes that plan leaves you praying to a porcelain God, and not one of those prayer involves asking for the opportunity to do a damn burpee.

“Being realistic is an important part for anyone trying to get back into fitness,” said Michaelis. “You’re expecting to come back off the couch and commit to seven days of hard working out a week, well, good luck to you but 99 times out of 100 it doesn’t work out.” He must have seen this type of predictable failure a million times with his clients.

“Expecting yourself to go from zero hours of activity a week to even 10 is a large jump for most people,” he said. Baby steps often are more sustainable in the long run.”

With that advice in mind, I packed my gym bag Tuesday night ready to take on Wednesday’s challenges. Determined to not make the same mistakes, I booked myself in for a Wednesday afternoon spin class.

Wednesday

Life 3, Tyler, 0.

For a fitness challenge, there sure has been a dearth of fitness.

With my packed bag in tow, my interview subject decided to let me know that Wednesday afternoon was the only time that worked for her to come into studio and record our podcast. With the deadline fast approaching, my Wednesday afternoon of spin was replaced with stationary time in the studio.

Knowing that Thursday was a wash, as I had three hours of class, followed by eight hours of work, and plenty of time on the bus, I was determined to make something of my day, and decided to run a quick 5k with my dog, Harvey, when I got home.

“Well, you got out there and did something, isn’t that what matters,” said Kimberley Nicholls, my lovely and supportive partner.

Friday

The final day of my week long fitness challenge was already here, and all I had to show for it was one lousy run. My final test was staring me down, circled on my print out of the class schedule: Zumba.

It was a task so monumental, so challenging I knew that if I could get through it alive I would be changed. A better man, stronger, faster, fitter. If I could just conquer this mountain, my week wouldn’t be wasted. If I could just get over this last hurdle, it would all be worth it. The article, the stress, the deadline. Here it was.

Zumba.

Finally, I had made it. How was Zumba? It rocked me, it socked me, it took me out for dinner and never called me back. Zumba was the type of new challenge I needed to shake up my routine. Would I be back?

No.

Am I grateful for the experience?

Absolutely.

At the end of the day, progress isn’t linear. I know that. I think I could’ve done more, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of what I’ve done. I’ve learned to accept that a healthy lifestyle isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon, and I’ve learned to have some fun along the way.

In the words of my supportive Zumba instructor Casey Williams, “You certainly gave it your all out there.”