In high school I weighed 125 pounds – soaking wet. My arms and legs were so thin that even something as insignificant as me tripping over my own feet could result in a broken bone, and a stiff wind could have blown me to Jupiter. By senior year I stood 5’8”, a whole 3 inches taller than the rest of my friends. I ran track, was a cheerleader and ate whatever I felt like eating, but for the longest time I remained a size 00. High school is tough enough, it seems more and more like a competition to be “skinny and pretty” than a social learning experience.
I got my first gym membership around 2010, and even then I was too scared to cross the invisible line between cardio (woman’s world) and weights (man’s land). A post-work trip to the gym with my co-worker one day was the start of my transformation. She was an athlete in high school, hockey being her sport of choice. I had mentioned that I wanted to gain more muscle – mostly for the sake of being a Law Enforcement major who would need it for her job. She gave me a tour of the weights and machines, and we got started training the very same day.
Two months later, I’m working parts of my body that I didn’t even know existed, and keeping up with the boys while I do it. My arms are my favorite part of the transformation. Today I weigh a happy and healthy 140 pounds, and even though I’m not as good as I’m gonna get, I’m better than I used to be.