Continued from part 1…
No one at the gym has ever told me I cannot do something. No one has ever used my body type or my history as a non-athlete to excuse me from trying. In the last year I’ve been taught that if I have the attitude and the drive I can accomplish whatever I want. This attitude that I’m surrounded by at the gym has cultivated in me an appreciation for my body and has transferred to so many other things in my life as well! I catch myself thinking “If I want to do it, I’ll do it” all the time! I used to never think like that. I was always limited by my body or fears.

My attitude now is that I can do hard things. I can do things I want to do. The mindset I want to hand down to my daughter is that even if I can’t do something today, I can someday. As the mother of a little girl I want my daughter to know that it’s okay to be happy about her body. I want to teach her to not fall into the habit of saying “too bad I don’t have a thigh gap” or “I wish my arms were skinnier” and to instead value her body for what it can do and what she can teach it to do! I don’t want her to fall into the trap so many women do of body shaming and hate. I’m so happy that CrossFit came to me at the time it did and taught me to value my body. I know my daughter will pick up on this and reap the benefits of CrossFit St. Charles’ investment in me.

Thank your body, and work out because you love your body. A hard WOD isn’t a punishment to your body but a treat! It’s a chance to prove that you are stronger than how you feel, you are stronger than negative self-talk, and you can do hard things.