I Wanted to Hate Her. I Really Did.

There was a beautiful woman at the gym today with long, dark chestnut hair. She might as well have been ten feet tall and barely had an ounce of fat on her body. She could have been a model, though you don't see too many of those in Nashville... especially not at the gym.  She wasn't doing the usual thing waify girls always seem to be doing while working out. She wasn't aimlessly gliding away on the elliptical machine, barely breaking a sweat and flipping carelessly through a celebrity gossip rag.

She was fierce, attacking a series of plyometric exercises: jumping and pushing and pounding away. She used her body weight to create resistance and gravity to challenge her balance and endurance. This woman was not messing around. She had fire in her eyes. She was an athlete, a lithe, beautiful, determined and focused athlete.

I was walking past her at one point to return my balance ball to its rightful place. She glanced up, and I couldn't help but say, "You are killing it! Well done." At first she smirked as if she thought I was being sarcastic, but when she realized it was a genuine compliment, she cocked her head, warmed instantly, and said, "Thanks!" with pride and surprise in her voice.

It occurred to me that we, as women, don't encourage each other enough, especially in the rhelm of exercise and fitness.  This modely lady was clearly not accustomed to strange women reaching out to her. I'm sure she takes a lot of resentment from other women who are jealous of her looks or her body.  What the rest of us don't know is how hard she works for it. She was grunting and sweating with the best of them, and I, for one, was impressed and humbled.

So I'm reaching out today to each of you who show up at the gym or on the hiking trail, getting dirty and sweaty, fearlessly squeezing into spandex yoga pants and braving the world of weights and treadmills.  Skinny or fat, it takes strength to get up everyday, balance work, family, friends, and maintain focus on your long term health.

My first impulse when I saw those long, thin legs was to be bitter and jealous.  Shame on me.  To anyone who sweats like a pig, I honor you.