Joy over Perfection
Last night, I decided I would go to the gym this morning and I looked to see what classes they were offering. I didn’t want anything focused on strength training because I am trying to diversify my activity. I found a toning class, signed up, went, and had my butt kicked by this old woman with GUNS. I loved it, because the old me would never actively sign up to do cardio. I knew it was good for my body. After that, the next class flooded in and turns out it was a Zumba class. I had no interest in staying until I say these cute little belly dancer skirts with jingly metal pieces on them! The ladies walked and the sound of the little tassels filled the room. So, after much convincing by some ladies in my pilates class, I stayed. I danced, and I had fun. I’m not that great at it, but I have decided to pursue joy, not perfection when it comes to the things I do in life.
In October, I had a little gym injury after sticking to my routine and being consistent in the gym for most of the year. That injury brought my gym routine to a halt. Instead of lifting weights, I spent a whole month focused on mobility outside on my back porch, just my yoga mat and the hummingbirds. During that time, I could see progress but not as much as I would have liked. I started to reevaluate my goals and purpose in the gym.
The year prior, I stopped focusing on aesthetics and just pursued health as a whole in the gym. In 2023, I decided to train all areas of my body as hard as I could instead of just focusing on certain areas (This meant my leg days and arm days were equal in intensity and frequency lol). Even after those shifts, I still felt like I was missing something. I love being outside, so one day I just decided to go on a solo hike with God and it hit me. This is what my body is for—moving, exploring, traveling, and discovering the world around me. Our bodies are a gift of God to live. I hadn’t been training to live, I had been training it to lift (;)). In all seriousness, I had been limiting the way I was moving my body. yES, my muscle tone was increasing and the plate weights were rising but I couldn’t help but realize my full body was not being put to use.
So as God does, when he’s leading you somewhere, God provided my next step. I got to talking to a friend about Pilates and realized that I had completely cutout core work this year. I think it was because I was thinking I didn’t need it, my core was already strong right, because my stomach was flat and I usually did pretty well with ab exercises. This was a superficial understanding of my core, of my body and what is healthy and what is not. You can have the flattest tummy and your core be weak. You can have the thinnest body and you still be out of shape. You can be the weightlifting queen but still be unhealthy. Health is not what you see on the outside, but what is on the inside. Maybe this is my 25 year old self talking (mid-twenties maturity and all that) but I think I am on to something.
Thus my health journey. Here today, I have come to this place, seeking to be active and focus on functional fitness (fitness that prepares you for everyday life). I want to move and engage every part of my body and have fun doing it. I want to push my body to its full potential. I want to use my body to explore and do different things, I want to use my body to live! That means you’ll see me dancing, and running, and rock climbing, and weight lifting, and pilates-ing, and playing tennis. Anything that helps me be a good steward of the body God has given me.
