Why Fitness: Dawn's Edition

From an early age, I’ve always been active. Maybe not exactly what you would call an “athlete”, but I liked to move.  A lot.  

Training in classical ballet from the age of 2 to 15 conditioned me for coordination, balance, flexibility, and wicked calves.  After ballet it was snowboarding and kickboxing, which was an amazing whole-body workout leaving me pooped out and panting on the ground.  Once I went to college I started running on the dorm treadmill, skateboarding and playing racquetball with friends. 

Bouldering at Yosemite Fitness, February 2008

And then came Yosemite Fitness and the indoor climbing gym.  Every physical activity I had ever done up to this point was nowhere near as fun as rock climbing!  My husband and I were engaged at the time and it was so fun to encourage each other on different routes.  Climbing is great for any shape or size person and it’s like trying to figure out a personal puzzle. The tall lanky guy can get to the top just as easily as the petite gal, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to best utilize your body’s strength and flexibility. 

Hiking with Moose, July 2011

I started running because I felt bad for our 50-pound Australian Shepherd. He wasn't getting walked nearly enough but we never leash trained him.  Taking him on walks turned into him taking me on runs.  What surprised me most was how I didn't pass out, puke, or die after jogging with him for a mile. So I started running further and more frequently, even after finding out I was pregnant with our second boy just 4 weeks after I started running. My friend and I entered our first 5k in Shell Beach and I had a huge sense of accomplishment and amazement at what my body was even capable of.

After getting married and popping out your baby {babies}, it does things to you as a woman…

Mentally. 

Emotionally.

And oh boy, does it ever do something to you physically! 

You feel like you lose a lot of your beauty, strength, and dignity after having a child.  All those things that make you feel like a woman in the first place.

The first thing I learned in nursing school {right after the importance of hand washing} was how detrimental immobility is to the human body. After being completely awestruck but God's amazing handiwork in my Anatomy and Physiology classes, it was plainly obvious that God designed us not just with the capability to move, but to move in amazing ways.  Our bodies are capable of so much more than we think they are!

This season of life is where I'm finding myself to be in the best fitness capacity ever, thanks in large part to a dangerously addicting drug called Crossfit. For anyone who does Crossfit, you know exactly what I mean. For those of you who don't, you really ought to try it ...just once!  Mel and I have been going to classes so more info on why we love Crossfit to come!

I want to praise God everyday for giving me a body that is capable of moving.

I want to be stronger.

I want to set a healthy example for my boys {heck, I just want to keep up with my boys!}.

I want all women to know that they are physically capable of so much more than Zumba and 3 pound dumbbells.