How Fitness Fits In

“Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands.” -the queen Elle Woods

This quote is one that creeps into my language quite often. It is truly one of the best ways to describe how exercise makes you feel. My so-called fitness journey has been what one might call turbulent. Mostly because it is entirely tied to my quest to find self love--which is still very much a work in progress. 

Though I began dancing in high school and found a type of fitness in that, I didn’t discover the gym until college. And at 20 years old, I had barely any idea what I was doing. At this time, I was working out to the extreme: an hour in the gym, two hour cheerleading practice, an hour and a half dance team practice. It was in no way healthy for my body, though at the time, I believed it was. “I’m in the best shape of my life” “I’m at my lowest weight”...I look back and see photos of myself from this era and yes, I look great! But that lifestyle is only sustainable for 20 year old me.

For years, those photos haunted me... “I want to look like that again.” But since that time in my life, I have grown and changed in so many ways. Within a few years of college, I lost a significant amount of strength and had put on weight. Though there is absolutely nothing wrong with gaining weight here and there or losing motivation for the gym, I now know how important fitness is for my mental health.

As I’ve mentioned before, I rediscovered working out in 2016. Previous to this I had been taking a Pole Fitness class a couple times a week and teaching Zumba occasionally. While these two things made me incredibly happy to do, there was something missing, I didn’t feel strong. To me, strength is so important. It is what makes me feel worthy and capable. The stronger I get, the better I feel. And while I don’t like to admit I have aesthetic goals, of course I do! And lifting heavy weights and doing wild HIIT workouts will help me reach all my goals with a focus on strength. 

So now, almost two months back in the gym and I’m getting my groove back. While my annoyingly sensitive body will always throw curve balls at me, I am thrilled to be feeling strong again. And here I am now: a Zumba Instructor, a Vinyasa Yoga Instructor, and a Personal Trainer. I never would have believed it back then, but now I am proud to be helping other women achieve their goals, feel like badasses, and understand that we are all works in progress.