A Look Inside ‘Women’s Only’

Did you know that DEUCE Gym offers a Women’s Only Class?

We do! And, I’m the coach!

The class meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 9AM.

Being a woman is hard, especially in today’s world. I wish I could tell you that I loved myself and the body I was given from day one. However, that just wasn’t the case. Just as 98.9% of women out there, I’ve dealt with my fair share of self-esteem issues.

I grew up participating in gymnastics and soccer. I developed muscle tone at a young age. In fact, my nickname in high school was “Flex.” Ya, go figure. That nickname really lines the boys up at your door for a date on Friday night. I dreamed of having a long, lean dancer body, but it just wasn’t happening. There was no cardio bar method at the time so I was shit out of luck. Weird.

The images of so-called healthy women that are plastered on billboards, magazine advertisements, and movies are all a joke. Those women probably make Absolut Vodka look better but they do not represent health. As a teenage girl trying to establish her identity in the world, images of stick thin women did nothing to enhance my self-esteem nor do they do anything for young girls growing up today.

Life happened. I went to college. I stopped every activity I enjoyed. There was no more soccer or gymnastics in my life. I didn’t want muscle tone. I wanted to leave the “Flex” nickname in high school and re-invent myself in college. I wanted a stick-thin figure. I started running. Yes, I know. It’s not really my thing, but that’s what gets you super skinny, right? WRONG! I sure did gain the “freshman 20.” In fact, I probably gained about 30 lbs in college all while I was running my nice 30-40 minute route about four times a week. Most of the time I hid my figure under long skirts and vintage t-shirts. The baggier the better.

I carried this stellar fitness program with me over into chiropractic school. I changed a few things and began spin classes three times a week and some light machines at the gym. It was nothing too crazy because I did not want to get muscles. God forbid, I gain an ounce of muscle.

By the end of chiropractic school, I had become a de-conditioned, “skinny fat” girl. I probably weighed the same as I did in middle school, but I did not love my body. In fact, I didn’t even know my own body.

According to societal standards, I may have looked good on the outside, but I was dying on the inside. I realized I was at the opposite end of the optimal health spectrum. I had pimples and skin issues that I never had before. I had insomnia. I could not bend my knee past ninety degrees. I could not squat below parallel. I could not interlock my hands behind my back. I was still on asthma medication (a steroid). My legs fit into jeans but my stomach did not. I could not last a whole day of treating patients without feeling exhausted, and I was put on this Earth to treat and care for people!

Long story short: I started to educate myself. I started taking seminars, workshops, and reading every blog, book, and research article that I could get my hands on. However, it wasn’t until I took an active role in my health that my whole life began to shift. I decided that I did not want to take asthma medication the rest of my life. I decided that I wanted to play soccer again and do gymnastics again. I wanted to move with no inhibitions. As timing would have it, CrossFit found me. I say that because at the time I had no idea that I was looking for CrossFit, but I was. I completely immersed myself in CrossFit. I participated. I did not just peripherally participate. I did challenges, competitions, practiced skills, and before I knew it I was making shit happen in my life. 

Somehow, the effects of proper nutrition and training carried over into my daily life. The values and the mental training that I was learning in the gym were enhancing my life as a woman, a girlfriend, and even as a doctor. People were commenting on how toned and fit I was looking. I had real abs for the first time since female hormones entered my life. I could last a full day of treating patients and then grab dinner with colleagues.

“Winning at life” is what I like to call it.

A while back, I was on location in Vancouver for work. I was staying at a beautiful hotel that overlooked the entire city. I remember falling in love with myself. I don’t think I had ever really loved myself and appreciated me for who I was in this world. I returned from a long day on set and did a little workout in my room. I then took a bubble bath with the curtains open so I could see the whole city and the city could see me. I knew at that moment that there was no reason for me to hide behind something I was not. My whole life I have known that I have a purpose, and at that moment I realized I had better start living on purpose.

You see, training is not about building muscles and losing weight. That is a great byproduct of training, but training is more about letting your light shine. There is an optimal version of each of us deep inside us. Sometimes our light dims or become blocked because of the bullshit in the world today. But, it can take years or a lifetime for some of us to find that light. However, that fire is inside you and waiting to release.

I share my story with you because it’s real. I’m real and it took me almost 15 years to find my fire again. Training encourages you to find your fire and stand up for yourself. The habits you create at the gym carry over into your daily life and before you know it, you are lighting the world on fire.

The Women’s Only class at DEUCE Gym is safe environment for you to start to tap into your potential. It’s a place for you to practice being awesome. It’s a place for you to become empowered and get to know yourself on a deeper level. It’s a place for you to achieve new things that you never thought about achieving.

Come stop by sometime.

 

Lindsey Mathews

@gigemlindsey