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Why Do You Want to be So Strong?

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I have been asked this question a lot recently in regards to my fitness goals/strength training: why do you want to be so strong?

To be honest, the first time it was asked I thought it was such a poor question that I struggled even to answer. What do you mean why? Why wouldn't I? Then I realized my response was as weak as the question, and didn't illustrate anything about my purpose or my passion. So instead I said:

I want to be as strong on the outside as I am on the inside.

That is empowering to me. I have accomplished difficult things and endured difficult things through much the same process as I have with weight lifting - perseverance, patience, consistency and discipline. From coping with grief to getting a masters degree to publishing a book, I have used these qualities to build strength to accomplish and overcome.

I know that I am someone people call on when they have a crisis or urgent need because I am capable, poised and competent. I am strong, on the inside.

I want…
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Valentine's Day

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Today is Valentine's Day, and while I have never cared about Valentine's Day myself, love is in the air - and you know well that I have an opinion!

I am the first to admit that talking about my feelings makes me feel uncomfortable at times. I don't love to sit around and talk about how I feel. I would much rather talk about ideas, facts, solutions...or tell jokes!

But I do try to make a point in telling people that I love them. Not on special occasions or when some moment feels  right - I would have no idea when a moment felt right! But I tell people that I love them. When I say goodbye to my sisters, I say I love you. When I hang up the phone with my mom, I say I love you. When my husband leaves for work, I say I love you. Randomly to my friends via WhatsApp, I tell them I love you. Because you never know when it'll be your last chance.

I think love is one of those things that if we are blessed enough to feel it towards someone, no matter how inept we are at expressin…
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Gymtimidation

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I feel sort of vulnerable writing about this. I don't have a ton of insecurities, and I focus on overcoming my insecurities, especially the ones that are just inside my head. However, I have had people make comments recently and over the years on this topic.

People say, "I am scared to go to the gym." Some are scared because they are overweight and afraid of being judged. Some are scared because they don't know how to use equipment or what to do. Some are scared people will speak to them. Some are scared people will not speak to them. The reasons are pretty diverse.

My answer is pretty much consistent: no one is going to get on your case or judge you at the gym, and if they do, they are the one with the issue. Don't let it stop you from doing what you want.

However, my response is somewhat rooted in my own personal current and ongoing sense of gymtimidation. Yes, I have had gym memberships for most of the last 18 years. I have been to hundreds, maybe over a thous…
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Attracting The Types of People You're Attracted To!

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Now that I am the nearing middle aged married woman of so many years (please insert a laugh in your mind at this point, because I am certain no one sees me this way), I have friends confide in me what they are looking for in a mate themselves. Men and women both, I am the safe, conversational, direct married matron who holds nothing back!

I am laughing again, by the way.

My mom, who has now been widowed several years and is available, has said the men she encounters are similar to the ones who ask me for advice.

Invariably, these men are all looking for similar things in women: fit, attractive, strong work ethic, independent, kind and driven.

And women, what do they want? Pretty much something similar. There are always variables. But no one ever says, "I want a mediocre, somewhat lazy, unhealthy and unfit person who is desperate and has nothing interesting to say." Seriously.

And then I take a deep breath, try to refrain from lifting and eyebrow and I say, "and what do …
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Fitness as a Whole

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I was thinking recently, as everyone is perusing their New Year's Resolutions, about how fitness needs to be more than just what we do in the gym.

According to Oxford's definition, fitness encompasses the word health. I do not believe fitness is just summed up in our gym performance.

I do believe physical exercise is extremely important, of course. Our bodies are meant to be moving. I think walking, just moderate paced, medium length walks are so beneficial. I always feel better somehow if I can sneak in a few miles for a walk during the day.

But there are other important factors - equally or more important - to our fitness than just what we do in the gym. Call it health, wellness, fitness or self-care, when we approach a healthy lifestyle we need to consider the following as well:

Nutrition
Eating a healthy diet is probably more impactful than anything in regards to our health, especially in terms of achieving and maintaining health weight and body composition. Weight loss can…
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Math is Beautiful

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One of my favorite movies is The Imitation Game - a  somewhat fictionalized drama based on the true story of mathematician Alan Turing during WWII. It is a fascinating story, very intense and very sad, and for a movie about a group of nerdy mathematicians, it was very exciting. It delves into the earlier days of modern computing - and demonstrates how amazing math is!

Many of you know already about my high school math struggles and about the amazing teacher who changed my life in the most incredible way. If you don't, please give this woman her credit by reading this story because her commitment to me is worth sharing.

Needless to say, that woman changed me possibly in one of the most meaningful ways I have ever been changed. If I can make that impact on one person in my life, I will be so pleased.

So I know better than most what it is to look at math in two ways. First, to see it as a mystery, a nuisance, a waste of time, a personal Waterloo. But then to realize it's beauty a…
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The Countless Reasons I Am Proud of My Husband

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My husband turns 37 today, and I am using it as a reason to celebrate all of the reasons why I am so lucky to be married to him!

When I met him he was 17, so I have literally known him all of his adult life. I have seen him grow as a man, developing his ideas and becoming the amazing person he is today. In some small ways I think I have influenced him (I take full credit for him considering the libertarian view point he espouses today!), but in many ways he has been an influence on me, also.
My husband is the biggest introvert I know. Despite being an introvert myself, we are on totally different planes with this. He calls me a "faketrovert" because he said he cannot even fathom my level of extrovertedness compared to how introverted he is! But because of this, he is extremely thoughtful. I would at times call my husband a brooder, but that has a negative connotation and the fact is that he quite often broods on more positive things.
It's true that he will be the first t…
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