Everyone starts somewhere. It doesn’t matter when, where, or how. Everyone’s fitness story is different. Here is mine.
I grew up in a house consumed with fitness, I was lucky in that regard. Many people don’t have that early influence (more about that in another post). My parents both went to the gym regularly and we had a mini gym in our basement where I had lots of fun playing on the rowing machine and stationary bicycle (90s version of Peloton). I would also ogle at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s uber-70s body building book that was on our shelf. Everyone looked so strange and lumpy and shiny in their hot pants. I should also mention that my father was a gym teacher and basically lived to make children active. Despite all that, I was not a terribly athletic child. I was just regular-active. I loved bike riding, I took ice skating lessons, hated team sports, hated competition, and loved junk food.
I was always thin, naturally. Being really fidgety probably helped. That was until puberty hit. I was a late bloomer and when I finally got what I was waiting for, I gained a lot of weight. I hated it. I always ate whatever I wanted… until I couldn’t. Like everyone, it took a little time before I took action. I went through the usual moments of hating my body and wanting it to change but not really sure if I was able to make that change. Everyone goes through it, promise. But suddenly it clicked and I asked my parents for a gym membership, which they were happy to get me. And I changed my eating habits. The pendulum ultimately swung in the complete opposite direction and I developed a really unhealthy relationship with food that persisted through my twenties but I’ll save that for another post.
I kept the gym membership and I went half-heartedly most of my adult life. I remained thin and for a while that was enough. And that’s enough for most people. That is a fine goal- not to be overnight. I say “half-heartedly” because I did not enjoy it. I was working out just to stay thin. I was interested in the results and going to the gym was the necessary evil in order to continue to see them. That is not the case now. Now I’m in love with the process. What changed? I’m not really sure. There was no defining moment when that transition occurred. No epiphany. Just somewhere in my thirties I started to really love working out and challenging my body. I started doing more resistance training and went from being thin to being “fit”. That happens a lot. At some point, people transition from just going through the motions to becoming wholly involved in the activity.
After I gave birth I was determined to return to my pre-baby self. I went on a self-learning mission to understand post-partum fitness (will discuss more in another post) and proudly brought my body right back to my prior fitness level… and then took it a step further. The human body is really amazing in its resiliency. Now I am continuing to learn and push myself and I can honestly say I’m in the best shape of my life- at almost 40 years old. It is my ever-evolving, true love for fitness, and unwavering belief in the human body to perform that I bring to Dashcore and that I bring to you when you sign up for my training sessions.
Please comment and share your fitness stories!
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