Fit Beaufort: Circle of Fit

By Denice Davis |  I have always enjoyed sports of some kind.  My parents enrolled me in the town recreation programs from softball and cheerleading, to basketball.  Basketball being my least favorite.  Involved, I was.  Aside from basketball I grew up being ‘sporty’.  As I entered high school the sport trend continued.  I was a young varsity achiever.  My senior year, I was a competitive skier and was also the cheerleading captain.  All of these things I did because I enjoyed them.  Not because I ever thought it would keep me healthy, trim and fit.

Little did I know what was going to happen once I went college.

Freshman year of college was upon me.  All of the passion of sport was cut short for the passion of the college party, which became my new sport. I did this with a competitive edge too.  This time, the result was not a varsity letter… it was bigger jeans.  The late night binge eating and beer drinking, and I sadly admit a lot of smoking, lead me to an unhealthy weight and an unhealthy self-loathing.  Even with the self-loathing, the easy path of party was more enticing than the hard work of a fitness regime.

Well, I got through freshman year. During the rest of my college years  I discovered fad dieting.  This was mixed in with my continued sport of the party.  I did lose the college pounds but it was by no means, healthy.  It was very much the opposite.  With the fad dieting I would fluctuate in my weight. This trend of mine lasted into my mid twenties.  I was caught in a hamster wheel.  I did not know how to break my unhealthy cycle and I was embarrassed to seek any kind of help.  I even participated in a bit of the self deprecating behavior.  I hit rock bottom.

I decided to take control of my out of control self.  I joined a gym.

At first I did not know what I was really doing.  I had a small base of my past athletic life to draw from, and I stayed with the ‘safe’ gym options like the treadmills and ellipticals.  I watched trainers in the gym and took some moves and applied it to my workouts.  I even started taking the dreaded group exercise classes.  I was so intimidated!  I knew I needed to keep at it, so I did.

After the first month of my new fitness adventure, I started not only feeling better about myself, but I could see changes in my body.  It wasn’t the same change that I saw with the fad dieting, it was an overall body and mind change.  I felt strong.  I felt positive, and I felt like I could take on anything. The pleasure of working out, with the endorphin high, was too good to ever give up. I then started working at the same gym that led me to my healthy and fit success.  I never looked back to the old me.

It is possible to change. It is possible to lead a healthy fit life.

One of the best, most welcoming places to workout in Beaufort is the Beaufort YMCA.  The population consists of all fitness types and caters to many different fitness styles.   The Y offers, Yoga, Pilates, Kickboxing , Bootcamp, Interval classes, Fit over Fifty,  not to mention the fantastic Indoor Cycling classes as well as the ever-popular indoor pool.  The fitness center is spacious with many modern machines to free weights.   If you’re on that fence or close to the bottom… this is the place to visit.

Change your health and fitness circle!

My fitness change was not over night. It took a good year of dedication and for lack of a better word, work.   I never leave the gym and say ‘what a waste of time.’  If you’re on that fence, stop by the Beaufort YMCA and take a tour. Your fit self maybe waiting there for you!