Let’s rewind back to February 1, 2020: I am now 38 weeks pregnant. I am feeling strong, confident, proud of myself for sticking to a fitness routine, and doing what I truly need for my physical and mental health. I’d gotten to spend my entire pregnancy working out at Alchemy, scaling and modifying as needed, all the way up until mid-January.
It’s now February 20, 2020. Lil Clara is born, and I am loving soaking up all my time with her! But, I have gotten out of my fitness routine, and my physical and mental health are starting to take a hit. I immediately talk to my doctor and physical therapist to gain guidance and clearance on how I can start to safely return to working out postpartum.
During my entire pregnancy, one thing I could not wait for was to get back in the studio and to crush some burpees alongside a bunch of badass athletes (burpees were one of the movements I had to eliminate during pregnancy). When I finally got the go-ahead to get back into working out, I found myself in a fearful mindset and was nervous that I no longer had the strength, the endurance, and the confidence I once had when working out.
“I can’t do this.”
“I’m out of shape.”
I started to let these kinds of thoughts creep in and take over.
And that is when I thought back to what I had always been told: it is when we step out of our comfort zones that we grow the most.
I had to tell myself exactly what I would tell my athletes who were holding themselves back, staying “safely” inside their comfort zones, and that is to just START.
Maybe for you, your comfort zone means you had a strong routine pre-COVID, and you have yet to do a workout since our doors temporarily closed. Or maybe you have never done an Alchemy class and you want to try, but you don’t think you can, or you don’t think you’ll fit in.
Whatever your comfort zone is, don’t let it hold you back!
When I started to get ready for my first A20 postpartum, I was anxious and excited, all at once. I so badly wanted to be right where I left off pre-pregnancy. Class started, and I had to scale my reps, I had to scale my weight choice, and there were some movements I still couldn’t physically do. In spite of all this, when class finished and we took our 3 final breaths, the feeling that I had was the exact same feeling I felt after every Alchemy class prior–I felt ALIVE.
I felt strong, I felt like a badass, and I felt proud of myself for not letting intimidation get the best of me.
Was the workout perfect? No.
Guess what? That is okay.
I just had to start. YOU just have to start, that’s it! And it is not going to be perfect, but it is going to be so worth it.
If you continue to let intimidation hold you back, you will never be able to find out all that you can accomplish. And you have to learn to be kind to yourself in the process! You may not be where you were before, and that is okay. Everybody has to start somewhere, whether you’re new to Alchemy, or you’ve been here before several times.
You need to make yourself a priority–especially now in this crazy world, we are living in. Maybe for you that looks like hopping into one of our studios in MN or CO and pursuing your legend with us in a room (safely) filled with other athletes out on the pursuit of badassery.
Or, maybe for you that looks like pursuing your legend from the comfort of your home, logging in for an Alchemy Anywhere workout from your rearranged living room, virtually connecting to an entire community of athletes around the world, in pursuit to feel alive.
However it looks for you, I encourage you to push your fears and nerves aside, and know that you are one badass athlete that can do this. Yes you, you are an athlete and don’t ever think otherwise.
When I look back on this past year so far, it’s been one shift after the next, constantly challenging me to step out of my comfort zone.
When we leave our comfort zones, it’s scary, it can cause anxiety, and it definitely is intimidating, but if we never stepped out of our comfort zones, we would never grow, and honestly, life would be pretty boring.
So get out of your comfort zone and just start.
Yes you can!
Written by Alex Zauner
