Find Your Fitness Happy Place

The best thing I’ve done since the first lockdown so far was hanging out with 20 women on Zoom 5x a week.

I’ve been teaching everything I know about in-home fitness to a group of women who seriously brighten my day.

It’s not anything they do, really. It’s just that they show up, 5x a week, at the same time, creating a rhythm in my day and in my week that feels just right.

I see them on gallery view on my TV, just like we are all together in the same room. It’s like a checkerboard of goodness that makes me smile.

They watch me on their laptops, and iPads, set up so that they can hear me and see me and feel the energy in the “room” even though the room is a screen, and the screen they watch is just me teaching an exercise class. “Bend your knees a little bit, Katie. Yes, that’s it. Great.” “Reach way up on that one, Sarah. A little more forward. Yes. Nice work. So good.” I can see them, encourage them, help with their form. I can demonstrate alternatives to work around injury just like I would in-person.

Once in a while, they unmute themselves and ask a quick question, just like they would in class. Or they can stay after and ask privately, if they need more detail, just like being in class. A few of us will hang out after, just like going to a class. It’s fun, and it works.

In a few week's time, I can actually see their bodies getting stronger. I can see flexibility in places they didn’t have before. I see them standing taller, with less effort. It’s so beautiful.

We are such an interesting bunch of women. We are 22. We are 72. We are everything in between. We have real bodies of all shapes and sizes. We haven’t exercised in years, we have worked out daily for our whole lives. We are working from home, we are essential workers, we are hoping that we get to go back to work soon. We are homeschooling, we are empty-nesters, we are pregnant. We have zero time to ourselves, we have too much time to ourselves. We are trying something new to see if it feels good. We are doing an experiment.

Sometimes we are grumpy when we show up, but that never lasts. We start to move our bodies and breathe and stretch and sweat and smile and the world looks better to us. It’s such a simple thing. 45 minutes to a happier, calmer mind and a stronger body? Yes, please.

Moving your body feels good. Getting stronger feels good. Showing up for something just for you feels good. Being in a room with other women, even though it’s virtual, feels good. Doing this every other day has been magic.