One thing that I have not shared much on social media is the fact that I enjoy fitness and focusing on my health. This is something I hold very close to my heart and I also believe that with taking care of my physical health comes my mental health. I have had my fair share of mental health struggles in the past. That can be a post for a different day, but one of the biggest things that I have incorporated into my daily life is my workouts and my routines that come along with working out.
I Was a Competitive Dancer for 15 Years...
I grew up dancing from the age of 3 to 18 years old. I started in a dance studio and danced competitively for 7 years before I made the switch to my high school dance team. I never have been the skinniest kid in the room and from a very young age I noticed that my thighs were bigger than some girls or I have a little tummy compared to others in my dance classes. My parents did the most amazing job raising me and my brother and never “fat-shamed” or made us diet. I was a happy healthy kid.
Some of my first memories with my weight started around the time I was 7 and started dancing competitively. I have vivid memories of my classmates who were in gymnastics talking about pant and shirt sizes and those conversations lead into talking about the scale and how much we weighed in second grade. I would come home from school and step on the scale in my mom’s bathroom and my eyes would grow big thinking “I’m 80 pounds. Sydnie and Allie were talking about how they only weigh 65 pounds today during music class.” I would lift my shirt up in the mirror and instead of seeing a “healthy & happy” kid I saw a big tummy. I would think to myself “My friends at school are talking about their 6-pack abs. I must be fat because I don't have those.”
Once puberty kicked in I found myself slimming out throughout middle school, but from a very young age I felt that I was fat and it became ingrained in my brain. I felt self-conscious with my body from the time I was 7 years old. I’d like to thank the competitive dance and toxic teachings to younger girls for my body dysmorphia.
Dance team ended the spring of 2015 and I knew that I would need to start working out because for most of my life I was using dance as my outlet for exercise. I found Blogilates- who was a YouTuber who curated workout plans and calendars using different videos that she posted to her channel and I would do those in my bedroom after school. I also had memberships to the local YMCA where I would find random workouts on Pinterest and do the elliptical. I truly don’t remember ever gaining a knowledge for the gym and workout splits until I went to college and had to start making my own decisions on nutrition and fitness. That is where I remember my fitness journey actually beginning.
A Cardio Queen
Freshman year of college for me I did a lot of running on the treadmill and ab exercises on the mat. That led to Sophomore year where I continued with that but found myself gaining a little more weight because of my college extracurriculars. Then after going through a breakup the summer going into Junior year, I got my first gym membership at a smaller, local-owned gym in my hometown. That is the time I started learning about dumbbells, hack-squat machines, and utilizing more equipment to focus on my muscle groups. I absolutely fell in love with how I felt when my muscles would be sore the next day.
Discovering lifting when I was 19 was the turning point for my fitness journey. I still relied heavily on cardio (treadmill, stair-stepper, etc.) but I started seeing growth in my muscles. I needed to find my nutrition and discover how important diet is to reaching your physique goals.
After college I started doing more HIIT workouts incorporating weights and cardio at the same time. Along with changing my diet I lost around 10 pounds. My favorite discovery in workout is the Peloton. My first apartment after graduation had a Peloton in the gym that all could utilize. I loved it so much that I reached 300 rides by the end of my first year. My second apartment also had a Peloton that I could utilize. Once moving to my third apartment I actually purchased my own bike and still love it. The instructors on Peloton are so positive and motivating. It is a great form of cardio and the app also offers weight training, abs, stretching, meditation and more.
Where Am I Now?
At the beginning of 2023 I wanted to lose some more weight, tone up and just find a healthier lifestyle after hitting a plateau in my journey. I downloaded the “Sculpt You” app that gives you guided workouts daily for home or gym use. It’s $8 a month and is a fabulous investment for myself. I for the longest time was running everyday and only doing 10 minutes of weights and ending my workouts with Peloton. This was simply too much cardio for my body and no matter what I did I looked and weighed the same. I believe I was putting my body under so much stress that it was holding onto excess fat.
By starting the “Sculpt You” workouts I was focusing more than half my workout on weights, lifting heavier and incorporating LISS (low intensity steady state). Walking on an incline of 12 speed of 3 for 15-20 minutes is a perfect cool down and steps are a key to fat-loss. Since the beginning of the year I am down 15 pounds and have seen the most progress in my physique. I now swear by lifting weights, lifting heavy and focusing less on cardio! I still do one run weekly and do a peloton ride a few times a week because it makes me happy.
Long story short- I have had quite the journey finding what I enjoy when it comes to exercise. One of the main reasons that I do enjoy working out is the impact that it has had on my mental health and handling stress and anxiety. I have so much to say about mental health, my nutrition and all of the journeys that I have taken thus far in my life. That is a big reason why I’ve started my blog. I’m using this as a vessel to write, even if no one is listening. Let the blogging journey continue for me. This is fun :)
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