What Does It Mean To Be A Fitness Warrior?
warriorone_2013
Posts: 2
Hi Fellow Fitness Warriors!
As we move towards our individual goals of a fitter and happier self with the support of this group and others, I thought it would be a great start to discuss what being a "fitness warrior" means to us. For me, it means never giving up no matter what challenges get in my way. Ever since I was 18 years old, I've been very familiar with the words "diet" and "starvation." They always meant the same to me. LOL! I could never seem to get any weight loss results unless I was starving myself on one fad diet after another. I never cared about having a good workout routine or increasing my cardio and flexibility, I just wanted to be "skinny" like my school mates.
In my early 20's I became very interested in dance aerobics. I enjoyed the music, the movements, and the way it made me feel, and even more, I enjoyed the results when my jeans fit loser than before. My first aerobics DVD was Jane Fonda's Reebok Step Aerobics. My first group fitness class was at a gym in Midtown Atlanta that I did with a few co-workers after work. I dabbled a little bit with weight training but not very much during my early 20's. My interest in weight training didn't come until my late 30's and now my early 40's. I discovered by accident that a routine of strength training combined with cardio allowed me to shrink more inches than just using a starvation diet to see the numbers drop on the scale. Not only did I look good, but I felt better and stronger.
But even after 25 years of "yo-yo" dieting and trendy workout routines, I still had a bigger lesson to learn when it came to having a fitter and happier life. Extreme workouts were not the answer either and the more I did them, the more I harmed my body, which has caused a lot of physical pain and doctors' bills! I enjoyed screaming back at my DVD instructor, "Hurt me! Hurt me!" as the adrenoline and euphoria of working out consumed me. I really meant those words until the side effects landed me in the doctors' offices and on my back, recuperating from a shoulder sprain, hands and feet sprains, and then a herniated disc. For over three months the former DVD warrior went from loving the pain and challenge of a workout routine to a fluffier image of her former self. I found depression and emotional eating my only friends, but in the back of mind and heart I never gave up the desire to get back on track.
And now as I write this first entry on our group support board, I know that the warrior in me is ready to rejuvenate, revitalize, and regrow the strength, energy, and body she had before. Being a fitness warrior to me is not about the end results, it's about the journey towards a better self, the determination, the commitment, the desire to be a better me. I don't care how long it takes to get to my future weight loss goal, but I do honor my past and where I've come from, and I embrace my present as I enjoy this journey towards a fitter and happier me, and I'm so glad that you've joined me on this journey.
So welcome, I'm glad you're here, and please feel free to share what a fitness warrior means to you with the group!
Be Encouraged!
Shonia (WarriorOne_2013)
As we move towards our individual goals of a fitter and happier self with the support of this group and others, I thought it would be a great start to discuss what being a "fitness warrior" means to us. For me, it means never giving up no matter what challenges get in my way. Ever since I was 18 years old, I've been very familiar with the words "diet" and "starvation." They always meant the same to me. LOL! I could never seem to get any weight loss results unless I was starving myself on one fad diet after another. I never cared about having a good workout routine or increasing my cardio and flexibility, I just wanted to be "skinny" like my school mates.
In my early 20's I became very interested in dance aerobics. I enjoyed the music, the movements, and the way it made me feel, and even more, I enjoyed the results when my jeans fit loser than before. My first aerobics DVD was Jane Fonda's Reebok Step Aerobics. My first group fitness class was at a gym in Midtown Atlanta that I did with a few co-workers after work. I dabbled a little bit with weight training but not very much during my early 20's. My interest in weight training didn't come until my late 30's and now my early 40's. I discovered by accident that a routine of strength training combined with cardio allowed me to shrink more inches than just using a starvation diet to see the numbers drop on the scale. Not only did I look good, but I felt better and stronger.
But even after 25 years of "yo-yo" dieting and trendy workout routines, I still had a bigger lesson to learn when it came to having a fitter and happier life. Extreme workouts were not the answer either and the more I did them, the more I harmed my body, which has caused a lot of physical pain and doctors' bills! I enjoyed screaming back at my DVD instructor, "Hurt me! Hurt me!" as the adrenoline and euphoria of working out consumed me. I really meant those words until the side effects landed me in the doctors' offices and on my back, recuperating from a shoulder sprain, hands and feet sprains, and then a herniated disc. For over three months the former DVD warrior went from loving the pain and challenge of a workout routine to a fluffier image of her former self. I found depression and emotional eating my only friends, but in the back of mind and heart I never gave up the desire to get back on track.
And now as I write this first entry on our group support board, I know that the warrior in me is ready to rejuvenate, revitalize, and regrow the strength, energy, and body she had before. Being a fitness warrior to me is not about the end results, it's about the journey towards a better self, the determination, the commitment, the desire to be a better me. I don't care how long it takes to get to my future weight loss goal, but I do honor my past and where I've come from, and I embrace my present as I enjoy this journey towards a fitter and happier me, and I'm so glad that you've joined me on this journey.
So welcome, I'm glad you're here, and please feel free to share what a fitness warrior means to you with the group!
Be Encouraged!
Shonia (WarriorOne_2013)
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Replies
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Most of my life, I have been thin, but not in shape. In fact, I was an out-of-shape thin person. I got winded thinking about running. The idea of doing a fitness routine made me break out in a cold sweat. Literally, I remember running in middle school for gym and my legs would start to itch. I was allergic to working out! Over the years, I would try to get into working out and becoming more phyically fit, but the interest would last up until I broke out in my first sweat. Then I would say "Well, that is enough of that one!"
Then, one day, I looked in the mirror and saw the person that I was had tranformed into the potty belly person who loves her beer! I was not happy and now, I was bigger than I had ever been. So I started doing what I always did to loss weight quickly...I starved myself! It worked. At the time, I worked at a retail store where I was extermely active and did not have time to eat. When I did eat, it was usually "natural" sugar candies. I lost weight and inches. It was amazing! Then I thought that I could keep that weight off by doing dvd workouts. What I did not do was eat well. I ate like I did in college when I took a weight training class...like a football player! The amount of food I ate was rediculous! Needless to say, I gained all of the weight I lost and more.
Now, you may ask what does this have to do with being a fitness warrior? It all relates. Being a fitness warrior to me is being able to eat to live and eat those foods which are of the earth. Being welling AND able to workout and not being afraid to sweat. Infact, to enjoy the whole process including sweating. A Fitness Warrior is someone who fights to be in the best physical shape possible. The total body fitness.
I am a Fitness Warrior because I believe in overall health and well-being. I am commited to work everyday to be the strongest Warrior of Fitness and Health I can be, starting today!0
