Someone recently asked me what drew me to CrossFit and the Aerial Arts. And I had to pause to think. What had drawn me to these two sports?
In September, I’ll have been doing aerial for three years, and in November, I’ll have been doing CrossFit for two years.
I think it comes down to body perception. All throughout my growing up years, I wanted to be willow thin, but I also just loved food (hello, I eat my feelings). I loved to celebrate with ice cream and mourn with ice cream too.
Although I eat healthy and good foods, I didn’t understand how to fuel my body. I also didn’t understand that I could get better at my chosen physical activity by doing work outside of the classroom.
What I love about Aerial Arts and CrossFit is that the focus is more on what your body can do than in how it looks.
Click.
And suddenly, I had a goal that felt obtainable. While I always knew I could never truly be willow thin, I knew that being strong was something I could train towards.
I love the focus on being strong.
When people make comments about my body now (because we all know that well-intentioned people will always have something to say), I love drawing attention to my strength. Yes, I am that girl who gets a compliment like, “Wow, you’ve lost weight!” and I whip out my bicep and reply, “Yeah, but have you seen my muscles?”
While I know this season of life will not be forever, I absolutely love getting stronger. I love that it’s not about what my body looks like, but it’s about its capability. Any positive changes in my body’s appearance is just a side effect of becoming stronger and more capable.
And I love seeing the work that men and women are doing in their chosen athletic field. I find it inspiring to see people work hard for what they want.
