Why Fitness?
I have been involved in fitness my whole life. Growing up an athlete to coaching, to becoming a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, it follows me everywhere. It is a part of me. The thing is, not only do love it and I am really good at it. I am passionate about coaching but not because I want to develop an olympian but because I want to develop strong, confident women. Don’t get me wrong, I am a very competitive person but not at the expense of the athletes. To me it is about them. I expect them to work hard, be respectful, and follow the rules but I also expect them to do it because they are passionate about it. Because they want to do it. Because it makes them confident and feel good about themselves. The same goes for me as a trainer. I want people to workout because they want to live their life to the fullest. Because they want to be the best version of themselves. Because they want to be healthy. Because it makes them confident and feel good about who they are.
What is fitness to me? Fitness is being strong physically and mentally. It is being able to do the things you want in life. It is taking risks knowing you will be strong enough if you fail. I believe physical strength and mental strength go hand in hand. They play off of each other and build each other up. There is a reason that when you finish a tough workout you feel ready to conquer your day. That when you are stressed and overwhlemed an intense cardio session can bring you back. What fitness isn’t is having the picture perfect 6 pack, being able to squat the most weight, or running the fastest mile. I am not saying these things dont lead to fitness, they for sure do but they are not what defines fitness.
I talk a lot about finding “your healthy”. What that means is my healthy looks very different than your healthy. Some people build long lean muscles, some people don’t build much definition. Some can run marathons and others are done at 3 miles (like I am). It is impossible to define fitness in general terms. Fitness is a feeling not a look. It is specific to you and your body. For example, I have very weak arms. I always have. They look defined but they are weak. It is really hard for me to build strength in them. My legs build muscle much more efficiently and the strength in my legs was always my saving grace in gymnastics. Without the strength and agility in my legs I would have been a pretty crappy gymnast. This all being said, I know my body. I know if I lift too have of weights my back and hips are crazy sore for the next week, and not a good sore. I know how I want my body to feel and what it can handle. Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t push yourself or challenge yourself. Change only comes from pushing yourself. It means you know your body, know how you want to feel, and know what you can handle. Fitness is all about you and your body. Fitness is all about finding your healthy.
Now all this being said, I know we have goals in how we want to look. I am not an idiot, I also care about how I look and have goals for that. Sometimes that may be a driving force in why we work out but it can not be the only driving force. We only have control over so much and our bodies are our bodies. They have a mind of their own which is why I always say fitness is a feeling. You know if you feel good. You gotta do you for you.
