What can Exercise do for You?

As a wife and mother, sometimes it is easy to get lost in our families and lose our identities. We are used to putting our husbands and children first and always taking one for the team. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing- it’s what we voluntarily signed up for. I used to be a lawyer before I became a stay-at-home mom. I remember being proud of staying home with the kids but also having a feeling of discontent as I no longer had something that I felt was all my own. Instead, I took pride in my husband’s accomplishments as he became more successful in his career, while at the same time celebrating my children’s developmental milestones.

This was taken the day I got a muscle-up. Look at that smile!

I have posted before about how I started running to lose my post-baby weight. What I did not know at the time was how much physical activity would end up giving me the self-esteem and self-pride that I was searching for. Here was something that no one could help me with- it was all up to me to go out there and pound the pavement. The harder I worked, the better I would be. I will never forget the exhilaration I felt when I crossed the finish line at my first marathon. To me, I had accomplished the impossible. It was much like the feeling I had in CrossFit when I got my first unassisted pull-up and my first muscle-up. It was the feeling of being able to take on the world!

I love coaching people who have never been physically active or who haven’t been so for years. They always come to me saying they can’t do this, they can’t do that. Inevitably, one day- and it is usually sometime between the third and sixth week of  CrossFit- I literally see a change occur. Perhaps they put a little bit more on the bar than they usually do or perhaps they were able to run without stopping for the first time. All of the sudden, it is as if they realize, “If I could do that, what else can I do?”  Instead of beating themselves up for what they can’t do, they take pride in what they can do. It is very rewarding as a coach to see this happen in an athlete.

Here is Tamara, one of the Garage Girls, on the day that I think it clicked with her.

It may seem silly, but do not underestimate how much exercise can restore your self-confidence and self-worth. I know that in the beginning, it may physically hurt as you push your body in ways that it is not used to. But I always tell beginners- the first week is the hardest; after the second week, you turn the corner; by the end of the first month, you start to get it; and after three months, you wonder how you lived without it!

Exercise will do just as much for you mentally as it will physically. With the start of a New Year, give it a try. Find an activity you think you will stick with and set goals for yourself- maybe you will start out doing it two times a week. As the exercise becomes easier, increase it to three days a week. Create some momentum, and see where it will take you. Your body and your mindset will thank you!