Stephanie St. Romain (1st place at the Vintage Strength Games) shares her thoughts
Mace Fit basics in Spanish
July 4, 2022Mace Fit training #605
July 8, 2022
Now that I’ve had time to recover from the weekend, I want to touch on something that’s been weighing heavy on my heart and heavy on my mind. As I was walking through the airport to travel home from Orlando, holding a trophy in my hands, I got so many looks and comments. Some positive and encouraging, some in disbelief. They asked about the trophy, and asked who won it. My response with a big smile was, “I DID!!!” They wanted to know how I earned it. (Some asked if it was chorus,dance or volleyball) When I told them it was from events at the Vintage Strength Games at a fitness expo, a lot of people (men and women) couldn’t believe that I had done something like that. Some people immediately got excited and gave me a fist bump, but most made a face of disbelief and dropped their jaw and said “you did that???”. I smiled and moved along. But as I sat and waited for my plane to board, I had a conversation with my trainer. We talked about a lot of things, especially the world and how fitness was viewed. We talked about how important it was to spread positivity and acceptance. I sat in my feelings on the flight home, both good feelings and sad feelings. Made me dig deep!
I may not be a size 2. My body may not be 100% muscle. I may not be in my 20’s anymore. I may not fit the “athletic” build that everyone imagines, the stereotypical gym rat type. But what does that even look like?!?! Seriously…
Let me tell you what I AM!! I’m a mom of 5. I’m a wife, I’m a daughter, I’m a friend. I’m a 41 year old women who has a hell of a story. A story of how I was told for many years that I would never amount to anything. That I would never be capable of achieving my goals. I’m a 41 year old women who has a belly, because I grew FIVE HUMANS! At 38, I even grew two humans at once! Something I’m damn proud of. I’m a women who puts herself last most of the time. I lead a healthy lifestyle 85% of the time. I absolutely have cheat moments! But YES….I set goals, trained hard, worked my ass off and achieved them! I did it! I believed I could, and I did!
I had a few conversations at the UBU Expo with women who were pumped and excited after watching me. They told me that watching the men compete, then watching me walk up to the same platform with total confidence to compete gave them chills. They said they could never do that and I told them that they were wrong! Trent showed them the video of when I first started swinging mace! I told them it took years of practice and training to get here. They were inspired! I did that! I inspired and empowered other women. Such an amazing feeling!
This is my public service announcement!
YOU ARE CAPABLE!
YOU ARE WORTHY!
YOU ARE AMAZING!
YOU ARE BRAVE!
YOU ARE FIERCE!
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO!
Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Doesn’t matter what age you are. Doesn’t matter if you’re overweight, or underweight for that matter. Doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape. Doesn’t matter if you ARE IN SHAPE, but think you can’t. Because you absolutely CAN! If I can do it, you certainly can! I’m here to tell you that your fears will become smaller as you rise above them! Step out of the narrative and do what makes you happy! Explore it! Try it! Conquer it!
Know that I’m here to lift you up and help you anyway I can! The world needs more encouragement and positivity, less judgement and criticizing! Be the one to lift another up! Be the one to smile and tell someone that they are doing a good job! When you admire someone, tell them! Rise up, my friends! Step out of your comfort zone, you may surprise yourself