@anton0003 Yes, I was a gymnast from the time I was 6 until I was 19. I had to quit midway through college due to illness. I was a bit for lost for awhile. I’d grown up in the sport and didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. After I got better I started yoga (a very handstand and arm balance heavy yoga lol) and then started pole dancing when I was twenty. Pole let me get back into the world of acrobatics and I absolutely love it. Still, it took me over a year to be able to say “I’m a pole dancer” instead of “I’m a gymnast.” It had nothing to do with the stigma of pole. I had no problem telling people I poled and posted it all over Instagram, but it took me forever to get over the identity of gymnast. Now I’m identifying more as a pole dancer and I’ve started circus partner acro and contortion, but I still sometimes miss being a gymnast (although being able to flip off the pole and do handstands on a person makes me miss it less).
@anton0003 Oh totally. Over the past 4 years I've gone from lifter to runner to HIIT training. I think I've found my sweet spot with HIIT, and running and lifting on the side whenever I'm feeling sassy.
@anton0003 I feel like I change every few years. It’s a product of my goals changing.
When I first started, I liked HIIT. Then I got into Barre and aerial arts. Then yoga. Then distance running. Then rock climbing. And right now I’m really into lifting.
@anton0003 Yes, multiple times! I was a dancer and then I steeped out of dance team my junior year of college for work/school. Didn’t go to the gym much for awhile until I discovered couch to 5k and fell in love with running...3ish years of running and yoga exclusively and Achilles tendinitis put me on the sidelines. I was on another message board at the time and New Rules of Lifting for Women was mentioned frequently, so I picked that up. I’ve been lifting of and on since, really got serious about 2.5 years ago, but a bad hammie strain forced me to take some lifts down a notch in April. I was Just working my way back from that in September when a nagging “shoulder injury” (consistent heaviness/pins and needles in my right arm and hand) and awful fatigue led me down a two month path to MS diagnosis.
So now I feel like I am just a fairly fit person trying to maintain functionality and fitness as long as possible, while I can, while learning to listen to my body and respect what it’s telling me rather than be militant about my workouts. It’s hard to learn not to identify with my fitness favorite at the moment, but uncertainty for the future is forcing me to see things in a new perspective which may not be a bad thing.
@anton0003 I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing! I think this is a topic many people can (and obviously do) relate to.
I started off with running and have since added climbing, yoga and CrossFit to the mix. Scheduling enough time to progress in all activities can be difficult but what I find held is to focus on 1-2 activities while acknowledging that the others will be there for you to return to.
I still feel lost and guilty at times though, even when it comes to the social groups within certain sports. I recently stopped climbing frequently with a good group of people (switched gyms) and I feel slightly sad every time they are working it without me, despite loving the group at the new gym.
@anton0003 Yes. I started running a few years ago mostly for the challenge. I ran a marathon last year and my time was terrible and I felt like it messed up my entire body (all the training). I don't really enjoy it, I mostly tolerate it but I like being known as a "runner". I feel like it's the only thing special about me. Even though I'm slow, most people don't run at all so they don't know that. I sometimes wish I had just stuck to lifting. But I sucked at that too. It was more fun though.
@anton0003 I was a dancer for... 20+ years. After years of abuse and injury, i can’t dance anymore. It was really hard and a long process to find a new identity for that part of me.
@anton0003 It's simple, don't be so specific with your identity. For example. (I'm a fit minded individual or I'm a fat ass or I'm a gamer that enjoys fitness.) be broad.
@anton0003 Yes. I played softball from 8 years old until I was 22. Once I finished playing in college, I had a huge identity crisis. When people asked what I did or what my hobbies were, I had also answered with softball. I had to figure out who I was without it. I do a bunch of sports now, but I have a sense of self that is separate from fitness.
@anton0003 I used to Love playing team sports (soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, etc.) and had to stop due to head injuries. Then, I got into a snowboarding accident and got a head injury - and had to stop that.... then, another head injury from a bike accident (you may see a pattern). I have been working to find my new normal and new “fitness identity” as you call it multiple tones over the past few years. I had mini crises after having to stop each of these sports (it didn’t happen all at once). I run, but then recently my PT told me to stop for a while due to lingering problems from past injuries that we should fix in order to prevent injury while running.I am often still sad that I can’t play soccer/ultimate/x/etc. anymore...even though I know it’s for the best. But I struggle to find a fitness activity that brings me joy like those above. And honestly, despite having gotten in multiple bike accidents - I don’t think I’ll ever give up biking... or running, once I’m able to get back to it - because it feels like they’re the only activities I have left... if that makes sense. Anyway, not sure if this is the same, but I can understand what you’re saying.
@anton0003 Wow pretty similar boat for me! I was a fencer through out high school and college and then I graduated and haven’t wanted to touch a blade since. I’ve always lifted on and off so that stayed consistent but it didn’t feel like enough. Then this summer I took an aerial burlesque class and haven’t gone a week without aerial since! I go to two different studios and I’m in an intermediate aerial dance troupe. I started out exclusively in hammock but I’ve been expanding with splits, Lyra, and even played a bit with straps this past week!
Feels weird to be so passionate about fitness again but I haven’t been this happy in a while. Enjoy your circus arts! Best of luck in them.
@anton0003 Yep so many times. I did yoga pretty much exclusively for about 5 years. That was so much a part of me I was yogi to the core lol. Then I got diagnosed with a medical condition that made yoga both impossible and very dangerous for me and weakened me at the same time. I had to do exercise to recover but all I could do was swim. After a few months I was told to add weights and body weight but very light. So I started doing barre. I hated using the "Barbie weights" (they were literally pink) but it was crucial to recovery.
I'll still have to do cardio for the rest of my life at least 6 days a week. While I no longer swim I still have to do other forms even though I don't enjoy it and it doesn't feel like "me"
My only tip is just get on with it. The stuff you did that formed your identity is still with you even if you don't do the thing you're still the person that it made. The new activities are just adding new layers of complexity
Edit: I still can't do anything other than very careful yin yoga but I cherish those years I spent and my wonderful teachers and the person I became doing it
@anton0003 To echo everyone else: yes, definitely. I also started out as a lifter, but in the past year or so I’ve really fallen in love with running. While lifting is empowering, it’s also become something of a burden. I feel pressured to go to the gym x number of days a week, eat x amount of calories and protein every day, make x amount of progress in a certain time frame.
Running, on hand, is a source of joy for me. I can do it on my own terms. Increasing my mileage/pace over time comes much more naturally than increasing the amount of weight I can lift or reps I can squeeze out. Running is freeing, whereas lifting is more often than not suffocating.
It sucks because I like being one of those badass women who can deadlift twice her bodyweight, but I don’t really know if I identify as a lifter anymore.
@anton0003 This is similar to when you change job fields and all of a sudden, you're not a teacher, or an engineer, or whatever, any longer. I think we all experience that kind of thing sometime in our lives.
I think it's okay for our hobbies and fitness to become a part of our identity, but first think about what you actually enjoy doing and don't let what you're "supposed to do" prevent you from it.
@dawn16 This is what I was thinking about while reading this thread. I’m going through a career change right now and it was a big shock to my system to realize how much of my identity I had let my previous job become. The thing that actually really helped and buffered that low time of mental transition for me was my fitness and realizing that I also cared about other things than just my job. Now I try not to describe my activities as “I am” anymore, but instead “I do.” I can do lots of things, but I am always me, whatever priorities and activities I might have at the time.
Edit to add: the other expression that I find really freeing is: you can be/do everything you want, just not all at the same time.
@anton0003 Started out on here and r/loseit with running. Now I just do crossfit, but people still ask me if I wanna run with them or do a 5K and I'm like hell nah.
@anton0003 I’m going through this right now. Don’t feel guilty about experimenting in new activities to maintain an interest in fitness.
About 3 years ago I fell in love with Pilates, became certified and got 2 jobs teaching Pilates only to lose interest and quit both within 6 months time. Not only do I feel like a guilty quitter but I have to explain it to everyone when they ask about my new found passion. So embarrassing but I’m not going to continue doing something I don’t like simply to save face.
I realize now that Pilates was a great hobby but not a good career path for me and now I don’t even enjoy practicing it anymore. Time to move on.
But I’ve always gone through fitness phases (although not becoming a certified instructor) switching it up about every 4 years. At first I just went to the gym, and then it was spinning, running, Pilates and I don’t know what’s next. My advice is not to view it as a problem but something new to get into. Try some new studios, and sports. I think I’ll try something competitive next, if I could find an adult volleyball league I’d be in.
@anton0003 Yes. I was a cross fitter and power lifter. I injured my back and needed surgery and will never be the same. I’m now a barre and spin regular. And I love it.
