By: Brandi LeBlanc, CPT
When you find yourself on a fitness journey, you began to understand just how PERSONAL of a decision it really is. While most start working out for very personal reasons: to feel better, lose weight, and shape up for summer, the lucky ones commit to the journey and gain more than they ever imagined.
A fitness journey is personal because it’s finally for YOU! Headphones on, WORLD OFF!! It’s a time you’ve set aside to work on yourself in one way or the other and that’s exactly what you set out to do. You don’t need a friend to workout with, a trainer to tell you what to do, or even care if you washed your hair from the workout before. You went to bed thinking about killing leg day tomorrow and wake up excited for the next deadlift PR attempt. Your reps are like therapy and the iron sharpens your soul.
In fact it’s so personal some just won’t get it.
It’s clear you’re in a different place than the average gym goer. You’ve become knowledgeable, independent, confident, and specific. You may be even accused of being selfish, not relatable, or too focused.
What they don’t understand is how much that time for yourself is creating the person that is most authentically you. It’s more than a workout and more than a goal body.
If it’s so personal though, how can you find a tribe, and when does it become inclusive?
If you’re like the person described above, it’s likely you’re the most confident you’ve ever been. You are more secure in who you are, and that has nothing to do with what you look like. There’s a new you that’s looking for new friends that “get it”.
You are finally so confident that you’re putting yourself out there. You are signing up for runs, races, competitions, or even lending your support to a gym friend that may be competing, or just on her own journey. You are going to fitness camps/classes, seminars about training, or joining a supportive network that’s in a similar place. You begin cultivating friendships on social media, not in a creepy way, but one from inspiration and like-mindedness. You begin meeting up with your lifting class for lunch or go to a fit minded social gathering. You’ve opened yourself up to a culture that is so inclusive but only few get it.
I want you to take a look at this picture for a moment. Don't just focus on the lady in the seat of the pec deck (though it's hard not to see that her smile is beautifully contagious, her muscles are defining more and more, and her heart is massively huge and continuing to grow).
I want you to take a look at the background. Look at the mirror. What do you see? I'll tell you what I see. I see women surrounding her that support her journey... women that have met this woman and gotten to know her, became friends and accountability partners with her; women who are encouraged by her determination, motivated by her essence, and blessed by her presence; women who are happy to be surrounded by other women like themselves who have gained confidence in themselves, who have gained so much more than just muscles and a healthier lifestyle, and who empower and encourage one another.
THAT is what I see. THAT is what I have the privilege of witnessing on a daily basis. The smiles on these women's faces, the conversations I hear while they are together, the love that they have for one another... it truly is priceless. THIS is why I do what I do. THIS is community. THIS is empowerment. THIS is my vision. THIS is why I get up every day way before dawn... so that I can open those doors and give these women a place of their own to share so much more than just weights with one another... and to witness this happening.
Ladies, I am telling you, if you want to be a part of something great, something like THIS that you won't find anywhere else, come see me. Come meet the amazing women that enter this building and enter into an atmosphere of women empowering other women.
YOUR VIBE ATTRACTS YOUR TRIBE.
Being in a place where YOU ARE SO EMPOWERED frees you up to truly empower others.
Supporting someone else’s success won’t dampen yours and you know that. When you own that empowerment your tribe gravitates toward you. That’s when you’re getting to the inclusive and bigger part of the journey.
You’ll experience friendships like never before, friends that force you to level up not simmer down, because they get it.
Friends that understand being the best version of you will inspire them to be their best version of self.
...Friendships that take you to fitness camps, competitions, even out for healthy dinners here and there. …Where inspiration continues to flow and your journey continues to flourish. #YOURTRIBE
Personally my tribe has been orchestrated in ways I’d never imagined all because I decided to be my best version of me. I wonder what tribe you’ll find from embracing YOUR JOUREY and being the best version of you?
The best kind of friendships are fierce lady friendships where you aggressively believe in each other, defend each other, and think the other deserves the world.
And to the men reading this, don’t think I’ve forgotten about you! I have a men’s group who experience the same bonding as these women do. They hold one another accountable. For some, this is their only “man time” they get outside of work. They encourage one another just like these ladies do, they enjoy their “man time” where they can break free of the same ol’ lonesome routines.
If you’re ready to meet #YOURTRIBE like I’ve described above, then contact me. I have new group sessions beginning every six weeks. These clients continue on to grow together in fitness and in friendships and are always willing to add to their tribe. My new group sessions begin enroll every six weeks on a continuous basis. Contact me for info on to enroll and reserve your spot in the next session!