I missed the Twitter #fitblog chat on Tuesday because Michael and I were taking advantage of the sunshine to work in the yard. I was bummed to miss it because it was hosted by Skinny Emmie and the questions were great ones.
So here are this week’s questions:
Q1. When you were younger, what did “fitness” mean to you? What does it mean now?
As a kid, fitness meant TORTURE for me. My parents forced me to do gymnastics one year. I hated it. I hated wearing a leotard, I felt self-conscious and I was afraid of heights, which made the high-bar not much fun for me. I think I was about 7 years old. All I remember about that time was a lot of tears and fears.
Then when I was 9 I did a season of soccer. I hated that too. I joined because my childhood friend was way into it. I hated running in front of people. I felt awkward and self-conscious and honestly, soccer was really boring.
I was always a swimmer as kid and took to the pool like a dolphin. I was happy when I was on the swim team for a short time as a kid. Then I did synchronized swimming. That was fun too. Eventually I realized I’d much rather swim laps by myself, so that’s what I would do. I don’t know why I ever quit as a teenager. I wish I’d kept up with that.
Clearly this means that I am not one for team sports. Even as an adult now, fit and into fitness, I dislike group activities. I’d rather do solo things like swimming, running or biking.
My attitude towards fitness has changed a lot with getting healthy. I feel much happier in general and have a positive outlook on life. I love working out. Lifting weights has changed how I feel about my body. All great things!
Q2. Was there anyone in the past who influenced your healthy lifestyle? Family, friends, celebrities, etc. Any influencers now?
Not really. I was never into sports as a kid, and didn’t really feel inspired by celebrity athletes. It wasn’t until I became an adult and got way into fitness that I started to admire and be inspired by athletes. I’ve named a few of my favorites before.
- Michael Phelps for swimming.
- Lance Armstrong for cycling
- Personal friends who are runners and continue to amaze me with their impressive accomplishments!
Now I appreciate the hard work that professional athletes do.
Q3. Are there any exercise trends that you wish would return? What have you secretly wanted to try?
I really want to try Zumba–but I am uncoordinated and I hate taking classes (see Question #1 where I describe my hatred of organized sports). I also want to take Body Pump to see what all the fuss is about but again…it’s hard for me to motivate myself to do classes.
Q4. Fast forward 5 years into the future. What will you have accomplished fitness or blogging wise by then?
Five years from now I wish I’ve accomplished a lot of things. Fitness wise:
- I want to complete a Century Bike Ride (hopefully that is this year)
- I want to do a Sprint Tri (I think that will be next summer’s goal)
- And I’d like to finish writing (and hopefully publish) my book!
Thanks Emily for the inspiration! I really came to the conclusion that my hatred for organized sports hasn’t changed much since childhood! 🙂
QUESTION: How would you answer these questions?
Amber from Girl with the Red Hair
I LOVE that you’re writing a book. I think you have a fabulous story to tell! That’s so exciting!
I actually LOVED fitness as a kid and was involved in lots of different team sports. I also LOVED food a little too much which is why I was chubby my whole life. Funny, the love of food still seems to be my problem now 😛 Working out? Love it, do it without a problem. But restricting my eating? SO hard. Luckily I’ve also grown to LOVE a lot of healthy, wholesome foods too 🙂
Lisa Eirene
Agreed. Now that I am in maintenance mode, it’s a lot harder to restrict my calories like I did when I was trying to lose the weight. Somehow it was really easy for me back then!
cindylu
1. I thought “fit” meant skinny. In middle and high school, I thought it meant skinny and being able to pass all the fitness tests in PE. I played baseball on an all boys team. I wasn’t very good. I didn’t think of the time I spent riding my bike in the neighborhood, playing with my siblings, dance (Mexican folkórico) or marching band activities as being active. Now, I feel weird saying I’m “fit.” I definitely think I’m fit for running and cardio, I have endurance, I’m flexible, but I could improve on my strength… a lot. I don’t apply numbers like BMI or body fat percentage to my personal definition of being fit.
2. I was influenced by family. I admired athletes like Michelle Kwan and any of the 1996 women’s Olympics team. Now I’m influenced by my siblings and friends. I admire people like Leonel Manzano. He came from humble beginnings and is a top middle distance runner. I wish Desi Davila got more press, I’d like to know more about her background, training, etc.
3. I’m not interested in any old trends. I’d love to try P90X, Body Pump, incorporate cycling and yoga for cross training.
4. Blogging? Um… not quit. I assume it’ll change a lot as my life changes. I’d love to be able to propose a book and expand my audience, but first I have another book (dissertation) to write. Fitness: I’d like to have a few marathons under my belt, PRs and Michelle Obama-like arms. I’d also have liked to maintain my weight loss and get in to the low 130s/high 120s.
Lisa Eirene
Funny you mention it–I thought “skinny” meant “fit” too. My opinion has changed a great deal as I’ve gotten more fit!
And I want Michelle Obama arms too. She looks great!
Carbzilla
I really love Body Pump, but the only time I didn’t like it was when they made us pair up with someone. I lost all my college weight with group classes (4:30 every day with Adrienne. She was a buff goddess) and then later (again) with a trainer. I definitely need external help.
Just this morning I thought about revisioning my blog with a slighty new name. It seems to be going around the ‘sphere, and it seems like many bloggers find their groove on their second or third incarnation. I think mine needs a new perspective which seems to be my mantra right now.
Lisa Eirene
Oooh! We can chat more about that tomorrow at dinner. 🙂
I totally understand how some people work much better with outside support/motivation. That’s probably why WW works so well for you. I am less like that and find that I lose interest/motivation when I have to go to classes, or meetings, etc… Weird, I know.
Carbzilla
Yes, WW works awesome except when you lose your mind and eat the house down like I did this week. It was not pretty today but I’ll recover. With pizza!
Lisa Eirene
Been there! One week won’t undo everything though.
Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun
I didn’t realize you were planning on writing a book. Awesome!!!! Peter always tells me I should write one on my journey with binging to getting more balance but I never think I could do it. I could so see you writing a book though!
Lisa Eirene
Thanks Tina! I hope it’s good. Right now I have a friend that’s known me for 15+ years being my reader but what I need is someone that didn’t know me back “then” to read it and give me an honest opinion too. Hopefully I can publish it someday.
You should totally write a book about your experiences. I think most of us have a pretty good book in us. 🙂