My fitness journey has not been easy. When it comes to the mind and body, it is very important to take care of both. During my senior year of high school at Abington Friends School , I was weighing in at 285 pounds. It was a very depressing time period. It took a lot of sacrifices and dedication to get to the goal weight. It wasn’t until the summer after graduation that results started to come around and truly show physically.
During that period of time, the weight went from 285 pounds to 260. At the time working with kids at a summer camp and working out in the gym everyday definitely helped increase the weight loss significantly. Losing 25 pounds felt so awesome as the hard work was slow, but surely starting to pay off. But the journey wasn’t over, as there were still long improvements to make. The goal weight was to get to at least 230 pounds of solid muscle. It was one of those things of where getting too comfortable wasn’t an option. Because ultimately getting too comfortable could lead to the path of back to square one again. But that was not gonna happen in under any circumstance. Kobe Bryant, NBA Hall of Famer, once said on the Jay Shetty podcast, “I’m not negotiating with myself… I signed that contract with myself, I’m doing it.” That’s the ultimate mentality.
Cabrini has a place called the Dixon Center which was built in 1998, and expanded in 2016. It includes a fitness center, dance/aerobic studio, state-of-the- art turf field, a 25 foot yard competitive pool and a lobby that includes a social space and Cav’s Shack.
The gym space has really helped the physical transformation in such a major way. During my first year, it has helped me lose a substantial amount of weight, and it has made my experience all worth it. Through all the hard work and sacrifices going to the gym everyday, the results were finally paying off. Cabrini has been a safe space to get better each day and many student athletes train there every day. Within the gym community, especially when it comes to the sports teams, there is a sense of brotherhood as they are training each day together.
Going with friends really increased the motivation to go the gym, including on days where it was hard just physically going to the gym. But thankfully the encouragement of friends and just the positive advice that was being heard was really motivating to want to keep going. What also kept the training going and wanting to get better each day was the thought of the little kids
during summer camp. Drawing inspiration to the younger generation was extremely important to keep this fitness journey going. The message was for the younger generation to feel inspired and have the confidence to do anything they put their mind to. It’s all about never giving up and not taking shortcuts in life.
