New Year’s resolutions: a cliche tradition that we all love to hate. However, this New Year, at least in my opinion, was a little different. I think we all had personal goals or new mottos we subconsciously wanted our 2021 selves to follow that just seemed to pale in comparison to the many big and universal things that need to be resolved. These subconscious goals deserve to be acknowledged though, especially because of how much those big and universal things affected us all.
Last year was a terrible year for me mentally, as I’m sure it was for the majority of people. I found that this mental turmoil translated to the rest of my body, as I was sometimes unmotivated to get up and move around. I think that having been a competitive dancer for most of my life, going from hours of exercise a week to being stuck at home was a bit shocking for my body. Now don’t get me wrong, I tried to workout, walk outside or take online dance classes as much as I could, but nothing kept me consistently motivated. I did, however, find a fitness trainer on Youtube whose workouts I really enjoyed.
The Youtuber’s name is Sydney Cummings. She’s a certified fitness instructor, who posts new (and free) workouts every single day on her Youtube channel. Her workout videos are all about building strength, self progress and encouragement. She’s not one of those ‘perky-booty-sexy-body’ youtubers who, at least in my opinion, reinforce harmful body image standards. Instead, she’s all about showing you what your body can do, and letting you be proud of its capabilities. She’s about motivation, and doing what is best for you in the moment. She’s about health, and she’s about wellness!
Each exercise has multiple modifications because she’s also about making fitness accessible to everyone. Sydney wants you to prove to yourself that you are worthy! Her bubbly personality just makes the workouts even more enjoyable, and she does every exercise with you. Sydney honestly makes you feel like you’re friends with her, and it’s comforting to know that she’ll always work hard to encourage you to continue pushing. It’s also comforting to know that she’s not perfect either- sometimes she loses her balance or struggles through the end of a circuit or Plus. Not to mention, learning from a strong woman always feels empowering- which is mainly why I wanted to share this with Her Campus.
Come January, Cummings started a new workout program, as she does every month. This one, called Ignite, is a 28 day program (six workouts a week and one recovery/stretch day on Sundays). Each workout is complete with a warm up and a cool down, so the videos are a one stop shop for your daily fitness. It is focused on full body and core strength, while “igniting” a fire in those who participated in the month’s journey.
I decided to participate to see if I could make it through the whole month, and I did it! Were there days where I felt like laying in bed all day? Of course. Were there times I wanted to give up? Were there times in workouts I had to take a little bit of a longer break between exercises? Days where I truly struggled to just feel motivated in this world of quarantine? Yes, yes, and definitely; I mean I am human after all. But I pushed through because I felt her show up for me everyday.
Of course I lost some weight, and my muscles became more defined because that’s what happens when you continuously workout for a few weeks. But I’m not the type of person or writer to show you before or after photos, because that’s something way too personal and sensitive to me. Not to mention it was about so much more than that.
As someone who has always struggled with body image insecurities for as long as she could remember, it’s hard to go through the day without comparing myself to others. However, with the Ignite program, and with Sydney who showed up everyday, I found myself comparing less. I found myself realizing that my body may be different than those girls you see on Instagram, but that doesn’t mean it’s unworthy.
Obviously insecurities don’t go away in a month, but I found myself becoming proud of my body and the way it could do more than I ever had the confidence to think was possible. And this was a huge deal for me! I think it helps that these workouts can be done in your own home- it’s just you, Sydney and the exercises. Although it’s always a great feeling to complete a workout challenge, this mental health accomplishment snuck up on me, and it’s hard to explain in a few sentences how much it meant. I’ve now started her new February program, “Accelerate.” Let’s hope I can keep up this motivation again because I want to continue to reap the benefits.
Her workouts are no walk in the park, but I highly encourage you to try them if you want to start a fitness journey!
Photos: Her Campus Media