I stand five foot three inches tall on a good day. I am a 40-year-old woman who wears pink
shirts and pigtails to the gym. At
first glance you might think I’m the kind of person who spends most of her
workout time on the elliptical, with maybe a few triceps dips thrown in because
someone told me that’s how you get "Michelle Obama arms." You might assume that the weight room is
foreign territory for me. But you would
be wrong.
So far, my heaviest deadlift is 230 lbs. I squat 185 lbs. for reps. When I lift, I wear a heavy-duty belt around
my waist and straps around my wrists.
Both are pink. I’ve been an
attorney for fifteen years, and I’m very proud of what I do for a living. But I’ve never been more proud of anything
than I am of the work I’m doing in the gym.
There is no rush like setting a new personal record, and then looking up
to see that all the guys in the weight room were watching when I did it. There is no better feeling than the soreness
that comes from working my muscles to failure and then letting them rebuild
themselves, bigger and stronger than before.
And no, I am not “bulking up.” That’s a myth that keeps countless women away from strength
training, which is unfortunate, because we need it. Over the last two years I’ve lost just over 50 lbs. I’ve gone down five dress sizes. I was curvy
before and I always will be. But
they’re better curves now, trust me.
My newfound love of weightlifting began when I met Phil, my
personal trainer at City Fitness. I
would never and could never push myself the way Phil pushes me. I used to get frustrated when I had eked out
what I thought was the last rep I could possibly manage, just to hear Phil tell
me “only five more.” Now I might laugh,
or I might curse him under my breath, but I keep going,
because I know he’s right – if Phil says I can do five more, I can do five
more. I’ve come to trust him
implicitly, and he has convinced me that I am capable of performing feats I
once thought impossible.
So I’m going to stick with this. This is not like the piano lessons when I was eight, the scarf I
started knitting when I was ten and still haven’t finished, or the book I
always say I’m going to write. I
already know I will never stop lifting.
It makes me happier, healthier, and more energetic than I’ve ever been,
and now I can never go back.
