Small Girl, Big Dreams

Photo by Daniel Hardcastle

Beginning the Journey

           Skinny. Small. Thin. These are the things that I have been called for as long as I can remember. They aren’t bad things, but they were always said in a tone that carried a sense of dislike. People, mainly other girls, didn’t like me because I was naturally slim and small. The funny thing was, other people seemed to be allowed to dislike my body shape, but I was not. If I said that I wanted to gain some weight or muscle, then I was told that I shouldn’t want to change what I had. If I began to think that I needed to lose any weight, or if I said that I wanted to work out, it was met with disapproving remarks. It was as if I wasn’t allowed to want more for myself, I was just supposed to take what I got and not dream of anything else.

            But I do dream of something else. I dream of being stronger, thicker and curvier. I dream of having the strength to do pull-ups and hold a handstand. I dream of being able to lift heavy boxes at work without the guys teasing me saying, “Do you need help with that, tiny one?”

            I have always been an active person. I enjoy working out and playing tennis. Two years ago I went through a phase that many girls go through. One where I was convinced that if I did enough cardio and ran far enough and did enough crunches that I would have abs and a toned body. After months of working out for two hours or more each day, I was seeing results, but not the ones that I wanted. I was physically in great shape, but I didn’t have the psyche that I wanted. I began watching YouTube videos from females who used weight training to sculpt their bodies, and I knew that I wanted to look like them. It was a while before I was brave enough to venture into the weight room, but I knew that I had to if I wanted to look the way I dreamed about.

            Turns out, I love weight training. There are so many different approaches to it, tons of exercises, and it always leaves you feeling stronger. With this blog, I want to document my own fitness journey, which has been going through a rough patch lately. I’m not going to pretend that I know everything, I am very much still learning. But I would like to share with you why I love lifting, what I have learned so far and hopefully inspire more young women to join me in the chase for muscle gains. It’s an adventure that you won’t regret embarking on, I promise.

Coming Up: How to Conquer the Intimidation of the Gym