Siouxland Magazine - Volume 1 Issue 4

and a warrior to help me get to the next level in my own
training.
Enter, Shawn Frankel, Owner of Big Iron Gym in Sioux
City. He’s a legend in the powerlifting and bodybuilding
community worldwide. It took me a year to have the
courage to ask him to help me. I knew about Shawn, and his
gym. Some of the people that belong had encouraged me
to come workout at the gym, but I was intimidated because
they were all so ripped. I was afraid I wasn’t worthy. But…I
also knew from the last year or so of competing, and facing
my fears, that it was time to knock down another one, to just
go for it…again!
Siouxland Magazine | Resilience / 15
I’ve made big progress from last year to this year. Now I
want to make even more progress. So I’m going to take an
entire year to train and then compete at a higher level. Now,
my goal is a national stage in the Masters Division, and that’s
what I’m going to do in the fall of 2020 with both Shawn and
Kathy to guide me.
For me, to have the inner strength to show up with discipline
every day, I always have to have a goal. Some are big goals,
some are small goals. But if you’re just working to work out,
without the idea of getting better, you’re not going to stick
with it. Without doing it all the time, you’re not going to get
better. So practice breeds discipline.
But, make no mistake, I do struggle from time to time. With
the fatigue that comes from being on a calorie deficit, being
busy with the kids and businesses, there are days when I
really do feel mentally and physically drained, those are the
days that I show up for myself with a little conversation in
my head and remind myself of my “why”. If you know your
“why” you will get things done. I know this from my yoga and
meditation practice. Sometimes I have to crawl into myself
and remind my spirit that the “why” is the power! That is
universal. If you have a “why” and you have committed it
into your mind, body, and soul, YOU have the recipe for
everything…you just need to call on it.
Weightlifting and the pursuit of a physically
strong physique really comes from the inside.
The inner resilience may show on the outside
with muscle definition, but it’s all mental.
If you don’t have the discipline and mental toughness to get
used to discomfort, then you will not continue in the sport.
Because you’re sore almost all the time. What people think
of as sore, I now think of it as my muscle fibers being worked
really well. While they seem sore, they’re actually growing. To
be resilient, you have to know that soreness is temporary, you
are actually getting stronger. Those little things that tear you
down ultimately make you stronger, it’s a muscle you have to
use it. It’s a metaphor for life really.
What also keeps me motivated is that I have now learned,
over time, that I will feel better and I will be more connected
to myself when I leave that gym. I will make better choices
for myself and for others. If I don’t get the workout in, I’m
Omaha Duel of Champions, June 2019.
frustrated with myself, I make poor choices for eating, and I’m
irritable with my husband and my kids. So I’m actually a better
spouse, parent, and all-around better person, if I get it in.
So I consciously say to myself, “Get it in because you know
you’re going to feel better.” I am aware of my options. I am
completely in charge of my choice. So I choose to go.
Looking back two years at that ski accident when I felt fragile, I
am not that woman anymore.
Bodybuilding is something I really enjoy, those workouts put a
smile on my face once I’m done. I absolutely love the feeling of
lifting weights, the comradery of working out with the “guys’ at
the gym. I feel very empowered, as a woman, to be able to lift
those heavy weights. It makes me physically strong, mentally
tough, and it gives me a spiritual high.
I love the process and the growth of my inner strength and
outer strength. Although, I get up on that stage and compete
with others, it’s really about me versus me. It answers the
question, “Have I made progress?” The stage is a celebration
for all the work you’ve done.
Before I started, I had spent a lot of years doubting myself all
the time and just never thinking I was good enough. Now,
I don’t doubt myself the way I used to. This has helped me
see that I can start and finish something and that I am good
enough—for me.
That mental toughness has bled into every category in my life
and helps me with every decision that I make now. I just know
if something comes at me, I feel strong enough in my own
mind and body that I’ll be able to handle it. I also know I can
lift that heavy luggage, or move a couch, or ski down another
slope without being fearful, because I am STRONG! Book
Recommendation: Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.
Peggy Higman, ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Yoga
Instructor.
Photo credit (right page) The NewMe Journey .