working on her flexibility
I learned this from lesson from my mom. She taught all kinds of aerobics classes when I was growing up and always knew everyone’s stories. She loves people’s stories: The tragedies they’ve endured, the mountains they’ve conquered and the struggles they’ve had to create healthier lifestyles.
She encouraged women in their twenties through their seventies and they loved her not because she herself was a picture perfect athlete (although she has always been athletic) but because she normalized the concept of healthy lifestyle and cared about them. As a kid, I remember rolling my eyes in impatience because we’d get to her gym and she would talk for an hour with different members who came up to chat with her. I used to get so tired of waiting for her. My dad always complained about her seemingly “useless” chatter at her YMCA community. She should have been home earlier for dinner and not “wasted” so much time talking at the gym. Now that I’m an adult, I now see the power and meaning behind her “chats.” She inspired other people from her own commitment to her health and fitness (a leader by example) and provided a safe place, free of judgement for those returning from a hiatus recommitting to their own health.
Last leg of her triathlon
In my own role as coach, I’ve seen members come and go, and a rare few who come back again. The ones who return are the ones I look up to and hold in the highest regard. I think the hardest thing to do psychologically, is to know you used to be in better shape than you are and decide to do something about it by returning to your gym to re-start that climb. Even harder is to return to a gym that is a tight knit community of friends because they know your dirty little secret: You’ve been out in the world living and for a multitude of reasons and may have struggled with making your own health a priority. If you have left and then returned, I have the utmost respect for you. You should not feel anxiety or judgment. On the contrary, be proud, be kind to yourself, and keep going.
Action Steps:
1. Fitness is a lifetime commitment with ebbs and flows due to life circumstances. If you haven’t experienced this it is highly likely you will in your lifetime.
2. If you are a gym regular, remember this struggle and identify with it. Reach out and show some love to those you know are struggling.
2. An act of compassion is simple: Show up and listen.