Congratulations to March Member of the Month, Annie!
Annie was nominated by Coach Missy for March Member of the Month! Coach Missy says, "Annie works so hard with a focus on correct form, is a total crack up in class, and always lifts other members up. I love having her in class!" And it's all true! She's spirited, will always give it a try and fun (and she'll lay right down with any of our gym doggie visitors that want cuddle lol).
Here's a little more about Annie...
What brought you to Dragonfly? I lived in the neighborhood for a few years and always saw the studio and thought the idea of small group personal training with all women was interesting, but I was afraid to give it a go. In January 2020, I decided to just try it for 3 months. If I hated it, I would have at least given it a shot, right? Despite the pandemic that started just six weeks after I started Dragonfly, I just celebrated my 4 year anniversary!
Does the Dragonfly community play a part in your gym experience? Absolutely! I tend to go to classes at a variety of times, which means that I get to meet so many members and get to know them a bit. In 2021, I had a six month period where my feet and hands would sporadically not want to function which meant I needed to modify many of my workouts, wear braces, rest more often, etc. Throughout all of this, the coaches and the folks from all these different classes and times commiserated and encouraged me when I grew frustrated, like when I couldn’t do a movement as well as I could previously, as I worked to figure out what was wrong. I ended up with a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis and with proper medication, I was able to train like I used to before I started without the pain. The amount of people who checked in with me in the months following my diagnosis during all the various classes and times was so very touching and shocking. I couldn’t believe that so many people took the time to think about me, remember it, and then to follow up months later. That’s when it hit me that Dragonfly isn’t a big box gym where all of the fellow gym-goers may or may not make eye contact with me while I get in a workout and go. Dragonfly is more personal and human than that. They’ll even email you if they haven’t seen you in studio for awhile to make sure you’re okay! As I thought about this answer, I realized how easy it would have been to quit when the pain and frustration started or take a break. I know that the Dragonfly community really helped me get through that time with their support and I’m so glad I kept at it. As it turns out the fact that I was already so invested in strengthening my body has only helped me to in keeping my rheumatoid arthritis manageable.
Is there anything that strength training has taught you or given you that you weren't expecting? I wasn’t expecting to consider strength training as something I do for fun, solely for myself. I always saw fitness as something I needed to get through for the end result, because I felt pressured to fit a certain image, not something that I would continue to keep up once I reached my goals. While I did ultimately reach my initial goal to simply lose weight and become healthier, my goals now focus on continued improvement, in body, mind, and spirit. I have a whole series of PR weight goals like getting to 200 on deadlifts or 100 on bench press, but it’s the mind and spirit goals that were unexpected. Last year, my goal was to simply try. It’s so easy to convince yourself that you can go up in weight next week instead of now or not take a coach’s suggestion to work on a movement‘s progression because you don’t want to look like a fool. But then what’s the point? Why are you here? Why spend the time and energy in strength training if you don’t take the chance? It costs nothing when you’re already there with trained coaches and a roomful of other women who are just trying to nurture their minds and bodies as well. We have a monthly achievements board on a wall that records achievement of any sort from those new PRs and progressions to the mind and body goals like willingly attending a 6am class, celebrating a retirement, coming back after week, month, or even a year of time away from the gym. If you’re willing to put yourself out there and share with all of these women your achievements, we are here to celebrate with you.
Thanks for being here Annie, and for being such an inspiring member!
Each month Dragonfly coaches nominate members who are standing out, overcoming obstacles, and giving it their all. It’s always a hard choice to decide upon one!