My Fitness Journey

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At a young age, my Mom signed me up for dance and ice skating lessons. After doing this for a few years, we ended up moving to a completely different state in 2011 and I was too nervous to sign up for lessons again (although I loved to dance and ice skate).  I never really considered myself an athlete, and throughout my late childhood and early teenage years I was not a part of any sports teams nor did I care to be. It was never a goal of mine to be the best female soccer player, or the best gymnast in the world. From that point on, I was not a very active person. In February of 2016 all of that changed. My Dad decided to start going to our local gym after taking quite a few years off due to a shoulder injury. He had done weight training almost all his life. I am not really sure what made me want to, but one day I asked him if I could go with him and he said yes. I started to go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My Dad would pick me up from school on those days and we would go straight to the gym. He taught me everything I needed to know, and he always stressed the importance of having proper form when lifting. I started off using very light weight and spent a lot of time practicing the exercises he taught me. Many women are terrified to even go near the weights section in the gym for the fear of looking too “manly”, and many will often opt for cardio instead.  I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous about that when I first started too. I now understand that that is very unlikely and that you have a lot of control over what your body looks like. I stuck to the same routine for almost two years and my body reacted to weight lifting (and cardio) very quickly. I first noticed that my legs were looking different, and eventually I noticed the changes in my upper body as well, and I think this is partly why I fell in love with weight lifting. It wasn’t just because of the way my body was changing, but also because of the way that it made me feel. I would walk out of the gym feeling so much better than when I walked in. Not everyone is the same, and results may come sooner or later depending on the person and what they do in the gym. I got lucky, but I also worked really hard. Around my two year anniversary, I discovered the Gymshark athletes on Instagram and YouTube and watched their videos religiously. I learned a lot about changing up your workout routines from time to time, and about eating healthy to see more results. I was never someone who ate a TON of unhealthy food, but I definitely could have been eating better. Up until that point I really didn’t change the way I ate even though I was working out and seeing some results. I didn’t realize that changing my diet would help me see even more results. My three year anniversary in the gym came around and I decided that it was time to change my usual gym routine and to start eating healthier. The change was not very easy (especially for someone with a GIANT sweet tooth like me), however it made a really big difference. I was pushing myself harder in the gym and taking it more seriously than I ever did before. I saw more changes in my body and I slowly added more protein, fruits, and vegetables to my diet. I was making sure to eat enough food to grow muscle, and I was drinking eight cups of water every day. Since then, I have been changing up my workouts around every six months to keep myself motivated, however eating right is still the most difficult part of living a healthy life. As time goes on, I am learning more and more and I have definitely made mistakes but that is OK! I let myself eat something sweet every single day, and I am still learning to not be so hard on myself. I have also realized that motivation comes and goes and NO ONE is motivated 100% of the time. Living a healthy life is a little bit more difficult as a full-time college student but I am doing the best that I can, and that is enough. February 23, 2020 will be my four year anniversary of weight lifting and I cannot believe that so much time has passed since I first started. I always like to thank my Dad for getting me into a lifestyle I never saw myself in. I never considered myself an athlete, not until now. And for someone as girly as me, I did not ever picture myself being the kind of person to head over to the gym and lift weights. Change is possible, and self-love is possible. This is just one step that I took that led me in the right direction. It  has brought me so much joy and confidence. My fitness journey may not be the most inspiring or incredible story to ever be told, but it is mine, and I am very proud of it.

Thank you so much for reading this post. As my fitness journey continues, I will be sure to update often! I would truly appreciate it if you shared with your friends and subscribed to my blog!