This week, I had an opportunity to speak with a dear friend of mine, Paula Wishoff Yerama on her personal journey of finding fitness after 40. An interview that we thought would be just about fitness turned out to be about much more than that.
When Paula found fitness, she felt as though she was doing everything for everyone else and had a self-confidence of about -20. Seemingly all at once, she realized that she couldn’t keep living the way the she was going. She had just finished her degree and had put on weight at that time. In order to start changing the way she was living, she did a detox to lose a lot of the weight but something was still missing. Once she got to the weight that she wanted, she didn’t feel the way that she expected to feel. She was not feeling strong or fit even though she was at a healthier weight. Although she did feel she had gained some self-confidence from the change in her habits and the control that she took over her eating, she decided that she needed to take the journey further. She says that she tells people, “I got skinny and then I decided that I needed to get fit and healthy”.
When Paula took those first steps on the path to getting fit by asking a friend for help, her friend asked her about her goal. Paula’s response was not one that we often hear when asked this question for the first time when we start going to the gym. She said, “I want to be able to start something and not quit”. Wow, did this resonate with me! I think each and every time I have started a workout routine I think to myself, here we go again and it's so easy to find a reason to quit. She began with a small customized workout that her friend gave her which eventually gave her the confidence to start going to boot camp and spin classes. This eventually led to Paula joining her gym friends at obstacle course races that she never expected to participate in.
Paula's September 8, 2020 IG post:
7 years ago yesterday, my sister and my daughter were literally dragging me around a wet, cold, and muddy obstacle course race. I could barely run, or climb, or crawl. I hated that they had to keep stopping and waiting for me. I felt weak and inadequate and like a burden.
Earlier that year I graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor Management Degree (with Distinction) while working more than full time hours, had been awarded a Lifetime Membership with my professional association for my contributions to the association and the profession, and transitioned from being a volunteer Board member to being the Executive Director of the same professional association. Yet, I felt dumb and incompetent and incapable and unworthy.
It took me a few more years after that obstacle course race to find fitness and a few more years after that to find bodybuilding but I’m grateful every day that I did.
After 7 long years (a lifetime, if I am being completely honest), yesterday I added a little fuel to my unfuckwithable fire 🔥
Not only did her participation in races bring her a level of fitness that she’d been craving, but it also brought her healing and a true sense of belonging. Suddenly, she was surrounded by a tribe that she'd never had before. Of course she had friends, but this was a place where she could truly feel belonging and as she says, she finally felt like she mattered.
This was only the beginning of what I learned from Paula and her journey in our interview. To find out what else I learned and find out how she stays motivated all this time later as well as how she modifies her workouts to stick with it during quarantine, check out the full interview above.
It is my sincere hope that Paula's story inspires you to begin your workout regime and stay consistent, even if you think that what you're doing is not enough. She didn't start out with participation in the Spartan races. She started with a small customized workout. Then she took the next step and the next step on that path. You don't have to reach the mountain on the first day, you just need to do the next right thing until you have reached your goals. So go for it, dear friends. Just get on the path and the way will reveal itself to you.
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Until next time
xo, Kat