Well well well, my friends. Here we are, two weeks into January, and I return to my blog, full of inspiration and 24 spam comments to delete. What else is new?
I didn’t intend to take a break after Blogmas, but it was super nice and refreshing. Plus I probably should have expected it… the first two weeks back at work after the holidays are always crazy for me and this year was extra crazy, with the Omicron of it all. No matter how hard I work before the break to get ahead, there are always things that come up that I have to deal with when I get back. And I’m somehow always a little bit surprised by it.
But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about…
Fitness!
Yes. I am, like so many bloggers before me, going to do Fitness Fridays. It’s going to be a limited run for now, until the end of February, but who knows where the inspiration will take me!
It might seem like a misstep that I haven’t done this before. After all, “Fitness” is one of the five categories I picked when I first started this blog six years ago. (Oh dear… I don’t love that math.) The number of fitness posts I’ve actually written can fit on one hand, if you don’t count the one about my barre studio closing down. However, there is a very good reason for this…
I Don’t Feel like a Fitness Girl
Truth. When I sit down to write about a fitness topic, or take photographs of a studio I love, or do any sort of prep for a fitness post, I freeze up. I feel like a fraud. Why would anyone want to hear from me on a fitness topic?
This is absolutely ridiculous. I worked at a barre studio for eight years. I typically take at least two fitness classes when I am on my grind, if not more. I’ve had a physical practice since university, though it’s gone through lots of evolutions. My friends think of me as their fitness class friend. When I started this blog, I was actively teaching barre classes!
However, I can also fall off my grind and not take a class for a full two week period. Over the holiday break, I think I took an average of 4,000 steps a day. I have always had thick thighs and I like trying new wines and restaurants way too much to ever look like a “fitness girl”.
“If You’re Not Jacked…”
A few months after I started this blog, I went on a date that was terrible in a lot of ways. Including the guy spending a cool 45 minutes telling me all about the life university he wanted to start. And, as a part of this proposal, he explained to me that you wouldn’t ever trust workout advice from someone who wasn’t jacked.
Even then, I knew that wasn’t true and I did tell him that. Movement is for everyone, and you can be physically strong or have high endurance or so many other indicators of fitness without looking jacked. And there are “jacked” people out there who aren’t actually all that healthy or strong in functional ways.
However, this statement obviously stuck with me.
And it’s just one example of all the insidious ways that commentary on people’s bodies and toxic health culture worms right into your psyche. Even for people who think they know better. Is it any wonder that there are people out there who want to start a journey but are scared to go to a gym?
So, no more. This is why I’m starting Fitness Fridays. If you’re looking for Fitness content from a non-fitness girl who loves fitness stuff, I’m your bitch.
I hope you enjoy!