I didn't always know how to look after my body. Nor my mind and emotions. My body was once unbalanced, weak and vulnerable to injury and sickness. My mind, riddled with anxiety and sadness. I was fearful of life and pessimistic. I was 21 when I realized that my physical and mental heath was suffering, and that I was solely responsible for all of it. I had never spent any time learning about nutrition let alone how to cook, and my diet was all about fast and easy. I had moved away from my home town which meant that I had stopped playing the team sports that kept me active all through my younger days. I had become unhealthy and unhappy. When I looked in the mirror and saw someone that I didn't even know, that's when I knew that I had to take action.
I knew that I needed to make changes to my life, my routine, my habits. I needed to practice self awareness to realize and understand the turmoil I felt internally. I knew that the power to become the person I wanted to be, lay in my hands. No one else was going to pull me out of bed and make me exercise. No one else was going to watch what I ate every day. It had to be me. And so I began learning...
I started with one group fitness class per week and soon enough I was going to as many classes as I could possibly get to! I slowly became more aware of the foods I was eating and the effects they had on my weight and energy levels. With regular exercise and a better understanding of nutrition, I lost the unhealthy weight I had gained. I started swimming again and bought myself a mountain bike to get around town on. I had really fallen in love with being active!
Life is not always smooth sailing and along my journey, my health and fitness was sometimes pushed aside during challenging times with moving, studying, relationships and financial hardships. Needless to say, I always came back to it with more passion and more drive. It had become my strongest coping mechanism for overcoming adversities.
On returning to Alice Springs a few years ago, and after being curious for such a long time, I finally stepped into the weights room... This marked a whole new beginning in for me. At first, I was skeptical. Lifting weights felt so different to the heart pumping cardio training I had done in the past. I wanted to give it a shot though, and I was willing to learn. So, I found a beginner program to follow and, once I became familiar with some of the equipment and exercises, I gave it my all. The physical benefits of weight training were different to those of cardiovascular training. But it wasn't just the aesthetic benefits that kept me going. It was the mental focus, stress relief and empowerment in my own life that really pushed me to strive for my best in the gym.
Having experienced periods of depression over the years and living my life with anxiety at my hip, I can say that fitness, nutrition and self awareness have been the best skills and practices to keep me headed in the right direction. Now, in my 30's, I am the strongest and most courageous version of myself that I have ever been! My health and fitness has been the one thing I could control in my life during the times I have felt utterly lost. This is why I have the passion for helping others on their journey to better health.
I knew that I needed to make changes to my life, my routine, my habits. I needed to practice self awareness to realize and understand the turmoil I felt internally. I knew that the power to become the person I wanted to be, lay in my hands. No one else was going to pull me out of bed and make me exercise. No one else was going to watch what I ate every day. It had to be me. And so I began learning...
I started with one group fitness class per week and soon enough I was going to as many classes as I could possibly get to! I slowly became more aware of the foods I was eating and the effects they had on my weight and energy levels. With regular exercise and a better understanding of nutrition, I lost the unhealthy weight I had gained. I started swimming again and bought myself a mountain bike to get around town on. I had really fallen in love with being active!
Life is not always smooth sailing and along my journey, my health and fitness was sometimes pushed aside during challenging times with moving, studying, relationships and financial hardships. Needless to say, I always came back to it with more passion and more drive. It had become my strongest coping mechanism for overcoming adversities.
On returning to Alice Springs a few years ago, and after being curious for such a long time, I finally stepped into the weights room... This marked a whole new beginning in for me. At first, I was skeptical. Lifting weights felt so different to the heart pumping cardio training I had done in the past. I wanted to give it a shot though, and I was willing to learn. So, I found a beginner program to follow and, once I became familiar with some of the equipment and exercises, I gave it my all. The physical benefits of weight training were different to those of cardiovascular training. But it wasn't just the aesthetic benefits that kept me going. It was the mental focus, stress relief and empowerment in my own life that really pushed me to strive for my best in the gym.
Having experienced periods of depression over the years and living my life with anxiety at my hip, I can say that fitness, nutrition and self awareness have been the best skills and practices to keep me headed in the right direction. Now, in my 30's, I am the strongest and most courageous version of myself that I have ever been! My health and fitness has been the one thing I could control in my life during the times I have felt utterly lost. This is why I have the passion for helping others on their journey to better health.