Martial Arts Monday: Own Your Fitness Journey

My fitness journey started when I was about 15, but it was later on that I realized I needed to put myself first and do something for me. I have always been one to love working out and when I was younger I did sports in middle school and I was very active. I remember running outside with my older brother, he taught me a trick when trying to make it running up a hill. He told me to imagine something that I really wanted at the top and go as hard as you can. I have done that ever since and now I see a hill and I sprint as fast as I can. I didn’t work out so to speak with weights or at the gym but I was active with everything I did, and ran outside a lot!

Come high school I got in a serious relationship for about two and a half years and in that two and a half years I was still active but not like I wanted to be. He was a grade above me and when he graduated he took off to join the Air Force and left me behind to finish high school solo. My heart was crushed, as any girls would be after the first love broke their heart. I started getting up early and running before school, I even went to school early to do a workout with the cop that patrolled the halls during the day. He ran a workout every morning before school and a lot of kids came, it was a great way to wake up and start the day right.

I graduated with a positive outlook on where I was going to go. I remember starting to fall in love with fitness and feeling good. After graduating I stayed pretty consistent, I would say about three days a week I was working out still and running outside. After a year of doing my own thing I met someone else that I started to date and that relationship was toxic. We were not a good pair but managed to date for almost three years but by the end of that three years I did not like me or who I was becoming. I also began to get sick and could not hold down food. I had zero desire to eat food. After a long time of trying to figure out what was wrong with me and roughly 25 to 40 pounds later, the doctors told me I had two ulcers and a hernia. I had medication that took care of ulcers, the hernia unfortunately was something I had to adjust and live life with. This pain came when I would over eat, and there was nothing I could do about it. I finally got back into working out and making myself feel better and happy.

Almost another year went by of me going to the gym three days a week and really starting to feel good about myself and meet goals that I had had for a while. I started having this pain on my left side and I had no idea what it was. It hurt so bad that I would collapse at any point and anywhere. Drop right down to my knees and not be able to move for a while and it seemed nothing helped at all. It took the doctors and specialists about 8 months to decide that they should do a laparoscopy to go in and check out where the pain was coming from. I had Endometriosis and two cysts causing enormous amounts of pain and making so I couldn’t stand at work, smile, or be happy, let alone do the one thing I wanted which was workout.  It took some time to get out of the depression I had gone through.

After the first surgery and recovery time, I was able to get back to the gym and it was amazing. I was happy again and going to the gym constantly 4-5 days a week. But about 2 and a half years after that first surgery that the pain came back. Again I dreaded this feeling of pain that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy and I had surgery to help the endometriosis. I was out of the gym for months as I tried to stay positive that this wouldn’t be my life, I won’t have to get surgery every three years. After I got into my routine again and life events happened to make me stronger I decided to focus on me just a little more than I had been.

I needed to figure out where I was going, what did I want to do? So I worked at many temp jobs and went to school for Business. My long time boyfriend and I went full force into us and got two boxer puppies and a place of our own. Another 2 and a half years went by and I still saddens me to tell this story but the Endo came back again. This time it was worse, I felt pain in my left side and my right side; it felt like knives stabbing me. I again was out of the gym and work for a few months but this time I was ready for it all. As soon as that third surgery was done I knew what I had to do. I had gotten my own place and a new job and things were going to be different. 2016 came and this year changed everything, I found kickboxing and fell in love with it. I started taking classes where they later asked me to teach kickboxing as a trainer. I said yes and haven’t looked back since! I have stayed consistent for over three years now. While teaching kickboxing I met a good friend of mine who helped me see that this is what I was supposed to be doing in life. Now, I work with him at his Kung Fu studio teaching cardio kickboxing classes and changing people’s lives. I now look forward to every day because looking back only keeps you there.

Thank You, Dancing Rose