My Fitness Story
Whatever your passion is, there is a reason why it became your passion. People ask me why I am into working out and why I became a trainer, especially at the age of 19 (the age I got certified). Well to start, I have not always been in shape. There are people that are just born with runner's lungs, a lean figure, and a fast metabolism. I am not one of those people. In fact, in elementary school and middle school I struggled a lot with self-image. I wanted to be skinny and have straight hair, because that is what my peers looked like. I didn't like being different, and I had a hard time accepting myself. I was playing sports at the time: soccer and volleyball, but I still was not happy with how I looked. I shouldn't have even been worried about my appearance between the ages of 11-15, but I was brainwashed into thinking I had to look a certain way.
Finally, enough was enough. I wanted to be better and I wanted to physically improve. For a while, I was on go mode. I just worked out with the intention of looking a certain way, rather than feeling a certain way. My own workouts only consisted of cardio, abs, and leg press. That's literally it. I ate decently healthy, but I definitely was not eating enough. I was losing weight, but I was not seeing any body composition changes.
Fast forward to after graduating high school, I took weight-lifting seriously. I did research on compound lifts, workout routines, and how often to lift. Freshman year in college, I started writing down my workouts and tracked the amount of weight I lifted each time. I felt better. I saw progress in my strength, paired it with clean eating, and felt better. Then, I started to look better. My confidence shot up immediately. I wanted people to know that you can either believe people's words and feel bad for yourself, or you can take action and work until you are genuinely happy with yourself. I wanted to help people reach their own fitness goals.
So, I studied day and night to become a NASM Certified Personal Trainer in November of 2019 and passed my test in January of 2020. I then started personal training at LA Fitness in February, started a fitness Instagram page in March, and released my first 4 week guide by June of 2020, which is still extremely successful. I have days where I feel like the little Sydney that was ashamed of herself. I am in no way perfect, I still eat cookies, and I do not have perfect abs. I am comfortable in my skin, accepting of my curls, and proud to be a young black woman, flaws and all.
So that's a little (or maybe a lot) about my journey so far. :)