The Shanty

The Shanty
where I grew up

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Amy the Athlete


I am an athlete.

This might amuse some of you or make you scratch your head…it definitely has had that effect on me whenever someone has described me this way. “But I don’t play a sport and I’m not training for any competition and the ones I have are only temporary things.” I didn’t realize that’s not what makes an athlete. I know when my personal trainer Chris reads this he’s either going to want to roll his eyes or smile in amazement that I FINALLY get it! (I’m guessing the latter because of the awesome support he’s always given me and time to figure things out on my own). However, I’M rolling my eyes because it has taken me so long to get to this place where I (think) I can say “I am an athlete.”

How am I an athlete when I don’t play sports and I’m not training for a competition?

Because of my mindset and dedication.

I don’t work-out because I feel that I should. I don’t drag myself out of bed to go to the gym and then just do the motions. I LOVE working out. I LOVE feeling strong and making gains. I love knowing how much weight I’m lifting and comparing it to what I was doing and keeping track of my improvements (and honestly comparing it to others’). I take that shit pretty seriously! I strive to be better (almost) every single time and honestly thrive on that feeling. I don’t skip workouts—I skip life to make sure I am ready for the gym in the morning. I talk about each workout, sometimes in great detail, to poor John (bless him for asking and listening) because it excites me to share my journey each day.

Likewise I don’t try to live a healthy lifestyle because I feel that I should. I used to but not anymore. I am happy to say that now I do so to support my fitness goals, which ultimately tie into wanting to be healthy and strong for a long, long time to come. I’m still fine tuning my eating to match up with my VERY new mindset of believing I’m an athlete but I do feel this may be a huge piece of the puzzle that’s been holding me back in achieving even better results than I already have. Yes, Chris, if this is true you will be right yet again, damn you!


How else do I know I’m an athlete? I’m writing a freakin’ blog about it! Who does that?! Someone who is excited about health and fitness, that’s who. And someone who is excited about these things and is as dedicated as I am is, in fact, an athlete.