Finding Fitness and Community

I spent much of my life opposed to exercising at the gym. To me, the gym represented judgment and unattainable standards.  

I remember being a teenager and my mom roping me into attending a Curves class with her. She was drawn to the idea of a women-only gym, and I can understand why. But when I attended the class with her, I found myself, 16 at the time, surrounded by women my mom’s age.  

I felt out of place.  

No matter what gym I entered, I felt like I didn’t belong. I felt insecure in those spaces.  

I’m not someone who looks like they go to the gym—I’m not visibly muscular, I don’t have six-pack abs, and my weight has fluctuated for years. In all honesty, I’m not even someone who enjoys fitness as a hobby.  

I’ve always found my own ways of staying active—walking, hiking, yoga, and workout classes. But unaware that I needed it, I never truly found a health or fitness community I belonged to. In turn, maintaining a routine proved difficult over the years.  

It was two and a half years ago that my best friend proposed we start hitting the gym together. I was hesitant. But I had just turned 30, and I began to realize that it takes a lot more work to maintain health as we age.  

Too, I had begun to think a lot about my Grandma Ernestine. She was turning 92 at the time (94 today) and she is still so strong. Of course, age has slowed her down, but she gets around on her own for the most part. I know the reason she’s kept her strength for so long—she stays busy.  

She worked her whole life from the age of 12. Her first job was at a pharmacy and soda fountain. In the summers, she traveled from her home in Texas north to Michigan where she and her siblings worked harvesting produce from fields. She had many jobs over the years. Another was as factory shrimp grader, selecting and separating shrimp for packaging based on size. But her real passion was always in the kitchen—cooking, baking, and cleaning. She worked in catering and restaurants for years. One of her last jobs before retirement was in catering at the old Ramada—now The Island Resort—on Okaloosa Island. And for a brief stint, she ran and owned a restaurant with her husband, my late Grandpa Maurice, in Fort Walton Beach called The Rendezvous.  

Today, she begrudgingly settles for chores around the house.  

But it’s no accident she’s able to keep moving at 94; it’s credited to the fact that she kept moving all her life. After family, work is her legacy and one she’s proud of.  

I aspire to be like my grandma when I’m older, but my work happens at a desk, not on my feet. Staying active was naturally part of my grandma’s routine—it was her livelihood. If I want the longevity she’s achieved, I have to make that choice and make that change.   

So, I said yes to my friend.  

Part of my insecurity was that I didn’t know what to do in the gym and was sure I would look like an idiot. I feared judgment. But it turns out that looking like an idiot is a lot less intimidating with your best friend by your side. We follow a fitness app, and we figure it out together. 

Small but mighty, I’m glad I finally found my fitness community.  

Over two years later, I’m no major success story. I still don’t have six-pack abs, and I continue to struggle with weight fluctuation. But if I flex, I can show off a little bit of muscle. 

Most importantly, I feel stronger and healthier.  

And I’m grateful to my 30s for teaching me that it’s never too late to get fit and find your community.

Stay healthy,

Paige Aigret, Editor

paigret@emeraldcoastmagazine.com