19/09/2026
My body is not an ornament. It’s my teammate. ❤️
The photo on the bodybuilding stage was taken 10 years ago.
I was lean. Defined. In incredible shape by every aesthetic measure. I looked amazing.
And I felt like a zombie.
I had trained my body to look a certain way, but somewhere along the way, I’d forgotten that a body is meant to be lived in — not just looked at.
Fast forward 10 years.
Today I weigh a little more. I’m not stage lean. I don’t have the same definition.
But this body can DO things.
This morning it carried me through the Deadly Dozen SOLO — 12 × 400 m runs and 12 labours. It lifted, carried, jumped, lunged, pressed and kept going when things got hard.
And I finished in 62 minutes.
Somewhere over these past ten years, my focus changed.
I stopped asking, “How small can I make my body?” or “How good can I make it look?”
And started asking:
“What can we do together?”
That change has given me something being lean never could.
Respect for my body.
I feed it. I train it. I rest it. I challenge it. I listen to it. And sometimes I swear at it during overhead carries. 🤣
But I’m no longer fighting against it.
We’re on the same team.
Ten years ago, I was proud of how my body looked.
Today, I’m proud of what it allows me to experience.
And I wouldn’t trade this version of me for the woman on that stage. ❤️
My body isn’t an ornament.
It’s the teammate that carries me through my life.
And apparently, we’re not finished yet. 😉