Today was my second day as a member of this CrossFit gym. My friend and I – we signed up together – have schedules that donāt align for workouts today and tomorrow, so weāre going to separate classes on both days, as will be the case going forward, whenever our schedules donāt align (that is, we both must and will go on the same day, at least three days a week, just not always at the same timeā¦ sure, there will be times where this doesnāt work out, but it is our strong intention to stick with it as absolutely best as is possible). Therefore, I went to the midday class on my own today. It was hot out, in the eighties, and I was tiredā¦ I had helped this same friend put together her new television stand and television last night after our late dinner together after class, and then I had to be up rather early this morning. Plus, of course, I had done the actual workout yesterday evening in the first place, and I was still a bit sore from the test class weād done on Thursday evening. Altogether, I was hot, tired, and alone on my own. But I was there, and I knew it was exactly where I wanted and needed to be – everything was perfect in this. I was even nervous, because Iām new at it and donāt quite know how things work at least half the time; Iād even said we felt like lost puppies the other evening, as we tried figuring out what was going on in the middle of the class. š Anyway, continuing onwardā¦
So, Iām there on my own. I also happen to be rather un-strong right now – not that Iām weak, but Iām nowhere near as strong as I have been much accustomed to being throughout my life. And I have a good amount of fat on my body that I want to go away. In fact, I have wanted it to go away for years, but it has, instead, increased ever so slowly these past few years or so, with the occasional drop of most of it, and then the returning slow increase. You see, I canāt ever stick with itā¦ I always hit a point where I canāt stand the fat an low fitness level, and so I do something about it. Whenever I hit a certain level of fitness and fat reduction, I always end up stoppingā¦ not from exhaustion or annoyance or anything, but from a thought that comes up of, āThatās (good) enough for now,ā with a hint of something like fear behind it.
I shall return to this thought after explaining more from the class today (that is, you will figure out its relevance in just a bit).
Pushing through the workout, doing all that I could, my body shaking throughout about half of the workout, due to the struggle, I found myself in almost constant tears. I methodically reassured myself (when I was alone on the running section each time) both inside my head and aloud, that this is perfect that I am hereā¦ I canāt do this, and that is why I am hereā¦ I am meant to be hereā¦ This is perfectā¦ This is exactly where I belongā¦ This is where I need to be right nowā¦ This is where I need to beā¦ This is perfectā¦
Over and over again, I repeated the varying versions of the idea that I was exactly where I needed to be, while acknowledging that it was difficult to do the workout (without degrading in any way), all the while crying.
When I finished the last bit, I stayed lying on the bench for about thirty seconds or so, because the tears were so strong, my body was even convulsing with a few hearty sobs as I rested my arms on top of me in a sort of relaxed hugā¦ I let it out, so I could let it go.
And then I wiped off my tears, got up, and started cleaning up everything that I had used, reminding myself that this is perfect.
I didnāt talk to anyone initiallyā¦ just the bare minimum of how long it took me, and then nods to say that I was, in fact, okayā¦ avoiding the part where I didnāt know what I even could say, let alone would say, if talking were required.
As I put away the last thing, the bar I had used, the girl (lady) Iād met at the beginning said something to me. I donāt remember if it was a question about the workout, or merely encouragement, but there eventually came a point at which I went ahead and shared a little with her. Taking it slowly, and eventually having the tears start pouring out (but not as badly as they could have been had I not taken it slowly), I told her how a lot was coming up for me in thisā¦ My having always been one of the top performers in almost any and every sport I did growing up and as a younger adult, and suddenly being on the other end of it all, I felt like the fat kid – this workout was hard for me in places that things had never before been hard for meā¦ My life direction and style and goals having begun and finally done a sort of plunge into a drastically different direction, terrifying me ever so slightly but intenselyā¦ The regular stresses of life, combined with the raccoons and the fleasā¦ and, most importantly and intensely, that I am actually taking on for real getting my body to the physical fitness level and look I so long to have.
This last one may not seem like much, but it is. I told her how I had kind of hit a point of being afraid of being a beautiful female body, and that I started to shy away from the idea, aiming for the less feminine versions of clothing and such. She (appropriately) asked if something happened to me, and (appropriately) acknowledged that it wasnāt that something had to have happened to me – she just wondered if any incident had played a role in that, since it so often does, especially for women.
And, surprisingly, – but also not surprisingly, since Iāve been working on being my true self and being self-expressed truly – I told her that Yeah, I kind of did. It wasnāt exactly the catalyst of it all, – I had already started feeling uncomfortable with being womanly and all. But it did act as a strong encouragement that I was right, and that it is bad to be womanly and sexy. I even shared a bit of details that were relevant, remaining comfortable and confident in myself the whole time.
I recently had a long and tough and beautiful conversation with my best friend about my own incident, and I completed what I needed through that conversation – whatever I needed addressed or said or acknowledge, happened, and my feeling of being trapped by the incident was, after years of avoidance and mental pain and struggle hiding in the back of my mind, finally disappearedā¦ I could see it as something that happened, and was able to talk about it fully at last. I donāt mean each and every detail, of course, but the experience itself and anything that was particularly heavy on me suddenly lost their power and weight in my mind. And my recent efforts to find the kind of exercise I want to do, and then finding the right gym to do it once Iād found the exercise, all came out of this conversation Iād had with my best friend near the end of last year.
And today, all on my own, knowing fully that I am in this at least through September – already paid of through then, essentially – and that I am guaranteed spectacular results by then (especially since it usually only takes about three months to see massive results, anyway, here), was a somewhat terrifying experience and feeling. Iāve spent so long, so many years, convinced to my core that I must avoid these exact results I am not actively seeking. I must not become an object that might be desired sexuallyā¦ But my recent experiences of wanting to be able (eventually, anyway) to have that experience of not only wanting to desire a man, but of wanting that man to desire meā¦ now those already have been huge, and were formerly unthinkableā¦ but now they actually have a chance to happen one day soonā¦, and that is so scary to the terrified girl I had grown so accustomed to being inside my head.
But I want this. And I can finally see clearly enough to believe that it truly is okay for me to want it. I want my partner in life to want me in every way, and vice versaā¦and physically is one of those ways. And I shared this all with her.
And then she shared about her own miserable incidentā¦ and how she struggled to get to where she is today – happily married and comfortable with her body and going after amazing fitness, even showing off her body in her workout clothes (not inappropriately at all, but quite flatteringly and tastefully, I dare say) – and that she agrees with me that this is the perfect place for me to be with this. The community is wonderful at this gym – yes, there are physical beasts of men, but not one of them is anything less than a wonderful human being. And, by the way, āI didnāt dress like this when I first started coming here,ā she told me, smiling knowingly as I smiled and chuckled in my loose and somewhat baggy t-shirt and shorts. A hint of her midriff was showing, her top was sleeveless, and her shorts were mid-thigh and exercise style snugā¦ it looked great and showed off her muscles modestly, but well.
As we were leaving, she told me that she regularly attends that class, clearly encouraging me to return and to see her as a willing friend of sorts. It felt good. And in a way Iām not sure Iāve known in quite a long time.
Post-a-day 2019
hannah ananas 