Fitness: Then and Now - PfitBlog

By A Mystery Man Writer

I came across this old photo of me on the beach when I was in my twenties. After sharing it on social media, I had several people ask me if I was insinuating I thought I was fat in that photo. One person said I looked like a size 4 there (haha, I wish! I’m not even a size 4 now!). While I wouldn’t consider that “fat”, I can’t say I’d like to look like that again. Personally, I’d call that skinny-fat. I wasn’t overweight, but I was not fit. The reason I posted that picture was to just show change – change in me, and change in fitness as a whole. I may have never been obese, but I have gone from a size 2 to a size 12 and back. I know what it’s like to feel fat, to have to diet and to manage my weight where I felt comfortable (because that’s really what it’s all about). I actually thought I was pretty fit in this picture. The truth about “fat pictures” is we rarely want bikini shots when we are our heaviest, so I don’t have any real “fat pictures” of me. If I had to guess, I was probably a size 9/10 in this picture. I am a size 5/6 now. I probably don’t weight too much less than I did then, I just redistributed my weight by eating less crap, increasing my protein, and training with more intensity and purpose. The Evolution of Fitness Fitness back in the nineties was different than fitness does today. I’m proof of that. Even then, I was going to bodybuilding shows, going to the gym, working out, drinking protein shakes, eating (what I thought was) healthy, etc. I even had already taken my personal training course at FSU. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what to do, I just didn’t know what my body was truly capable of, and I didn’t realize how much control I really had over my physique. Now that I look back, I realize I really was not fit – I just knew how to lift weights and go through the motions. In my forties, I run faster, I am stronger, I am fitter. Fitness didn’t just change for me, it’s changed period. I remember the “fat roller” machine, like in this black and white photo from the first gym I worked at in Tallahassee in the late 90s. Back then we had a large carpet aerobics room, open to the gym, and we had a few pieces of chrome tubular Universal equipment. I think we had a bike or two, but I honestly don’t remember any cardio equipment at all. I just remember a few weights, aerobics classes, steam room, hot tub and swimming pool. No wonder they called it a “spa” instead of a gym. I don’t know if anyone ever really broke a sweat unless it was in the steam room. ha! 🙂 Let’s look at some popular magazine covers from the time I took that old bathing suit picture, and compare it to jow fitness looks now. First, we’ll start with Fitness Magazine, who is celebrating their 20 year anniversary. From Jane Fonda to Jillian Michaels, fitness just gets fitter each year. Even Shape Magazine gets more in “shape”. Muscles and Fitness Hers definitely gained muscle mass over the years, that’s for sure! Geared toward women working toward sculpting their physiques, like Pro IFBB figure athletes, Hers has always has leaner, more muscular physiques. While Oxygen is typically also known for having figure competitors and fitness models (like Jamie Eason, bottom left) on their covers, this month’s issue of Oxygen Magazine features a different kind of fit – and it’s not women training to sculpt their bodies, but training for peak performance. No matter what YOUR definition of fit is, or what it should be (or what your personal preference of body fat to muscle ratio is), fitness (in my opinion) should mean you you feel (and ARE) healthy and strong (physically fit and healthy) – AND you should feel good in your own skin. This is not something that happens overnight. I am STILL learning how to be comfortable with me, and OK with a little body fat, etc. BUT, one thing I am proud of is that I am more fit today than I was when I was in my twenties. I may not be as fit as someone else, I may be a slower runner, or not the strongest chick in the gym, but I’m better – I’m better than the old me, and that’s the only person I’m competing with. 😉