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We are Meredith and Mishelle and together, we are flipping the script on what it means to be an IT girl. Each week we will be discussing topics and questions submitted by YOU, our audience, as we navigate life's challenges together.
Mishelle Kost (00:01)
Hey, fabulous people, I'm Meredith. And I'm Michelle. And together we're here to flip the script on what it truly means to be the It Girl. That's right. Whether you're rocking the runway or embracing the messy bun life, no matter your size, ethnicity, or state of your sweats, you are It. We're diving deep into the realness of life, celebrating the victories, navigating the failures, and sometimes not having a clue while doing it all.
We've got battle scars, heartbreaks, contagious laughs, and an unbreakable bond of love for each other. Join us every week as we unwrap different topics and answer questions brought to us by our amazing audience. That's you. Get ready for a fresh dose of perspective that'll make you think, laugh, and maybe even shed a tear. We're on this journey together, growing, crying, laughing, and fighting for one another, because that's what being an It Girl is all about.
So send us your burning topics and thought provoking questions through our website, itgirllife .com or drop us a line directly at hello at itgirllife .com. Let's make every moment count, embrace the chaos and live our best it girl lives.
Meredith (01:02)
Hey everybody, welcome back. We are here for episode 15 titled Pumping Iron. I'm super excited about this one. Michelle, don't know if you knew this, but for a period of time I was trying to learn how to do like air horn noises with my mouth. Like the, I'm not gonna do it right now and be embarrassing, but for some reason this title made me feel like I should try it and I'm not, I'm not gonna embarrass myself that way. But.
Mishelle (01:20)
What? I had no idea.
Okay.
Meredith (01:31)
The icebreaker question this week is, what's your favorite athletic activity? I feel like you probably are going to nail this one.
Mishelle (01:40)
My favorite athletic activity, I don't know if we've shared this or not on this show or not, but my husband and I own a CrossFit gym. It's called Integrity Strength and Conditioning. It's out here in Bell Mead, Texas. And he and I, well, he's been doing CrossFit for much longer. He owned a gym in Charleston for over 10 years, and that's actually how we met.
Anyways, back to my favorite athletic activity, obviously, is CrossFit. It's my absolute favorite. I love it. I've tried bodybuilding for a hot minute, but it was really unhealthy. And I think what I love about CrossFit is it's less about what you look like and more about what your body can do and performance. And there's not even like mirrors inside of that gym. Like it's really about just community and working out and like putting it all out there. So.
That is my favorite athletic activity. I'm not really great at sports. I'm not super coordinated, but I do like to do CrossFit.
Meredith (02:47)
I love this topic. I think right now in my season of life, my favorite athletic activity is sitting down from August through July and watching every sport. There is no demand. That's what I do from August through July. This year specifically, the Olympics start next week. And so I'm thrilled.
Mishelle (03:09)
why did I not know that? Why do I not know
Meredith (03:12)
Because you haven't been watching every single NCAA tournament to the Olympic trials to the Olympics like I do and I have it written on a calendar because I love watching sports. But prior to that, I've had some health ailments and just feel like my body. I've been getting back in the gym, which maybe we'll talk about with this topic, but I used to run a lot. I used to run half marathons, marathons, just run for fun with my friends. I ran a lot. I
I do a lot of those, a period of time I thought I was going to be in the WPBA because I love bowling that much. Yeah. No, I don't know that we need to talk about that.
Mishelle (03:47)
Yeah, we need to talk about that. We do need to talk about that. We do. Did everyone just hear that? need everybody to hear it one more time. Meredith was almost in the...
Meredith (03:58)
No, no, no, no, no, I was not. No, no, no. I was not almost in the WPBA. I had dreams and aspirations to be in the WPBA, but my, but my bowling average, have to have a consistent, like over 200 go to like States and like all these different things. I've been on a bowling league for several years. I've been bowling since I was 10 years old. I love
Mishelle (04:09)
okay.
Meredith (04:24)
I love it. have a glove, my ball hooks, like I have my own shoes, like all of these things. I love it. I don't do sports with other people because I am not a good sportman person. Like I'm really obnoxious winner. I'm not an obnoxious loser, but I'm just like in your face like every time. And you may have recognized this. We've played board games together.
Mishelle (04:25)
Okay.
We need to go bowling. We're going bowling.
okay.
Meredith (04:53)
I am pretty like... sorry I just ruined your life.
Mishelle (04:57)
Okay. my God. Okay. Great. Such a great answer. I feel like we've learned so many things. Okay. Topic for whole of the day. Okay. So the actual, the real question though for today's episode is I'm in my late thirties. How do I start getting back into the gym? So I love it. What tips do you have Meredith? You kick this off.
Meredith (05:24)
Yeah. I'm going to kick us off because I think that you're going to give the real advice and then I'm going to give the advice of someone who is a little bit more decrepit in their body and can't do all the athletic things you can do. My advice here, because I'm going through this as well, I'm just getting back into the gym. I have a love hate relationship with going to workout. For a period of time, I was a really strong athlete.
where I would train a lot and the gym and working out was my life and I've had knee surgeries and I've had like hip problems and shoulder problems, because I used to do a lot of races. My advice would be to start, to start. It would be to set these goals, start small, be realistic and just do it. And I currently cannot,
go back and lift weights in the same manner that I think that you're lifting weights, would I ever hope to get back there? Yeah, I really want to be proud and strong of what I can accomplish in the gym based on what I was capable of doing when I was younger. But I know right now I just need to get in there and I do the elliptical and I do the recumbent bike if I'm not feeling well and I walk on the treadmill and I listen to a book on tape or I listen to some real hard jams and then I just use all of the machinery that's in
that helps you before I start doing my own free weights again, before I start lifting differently by myself, just using what's in the gym. So I think that that's where my advice is just start. And then if you can have a buddy come with you, that's even better. Cause then it makes the time fly.
Mishelle (07:09)
I I mean, that's great advice because I think so many people just don't start. And for the same reasons that you're talking about, they, it's like what I see at the gym, at least in our own community or, you know, just being in the gym industry for so long is people are so wrapped up about not being as fit as they once were. And everybody's living in the past and it holds them back from either starting
or what will happen is they get in the gym and they start and they're so disappointed and upset about how out of shape that they are, that they end up actually quitting and not even coming back, because it makes them more depressed to even be there. And I think that that's such a disservice. And I will say, like even for me, I understand why there's that struggle, but here's what I have to say about it. I had to like, okay, here I go. I'm on my soapbox, ready? Here I go. So I
used to work out six days a week. And I was like, I wouldn't say I was, mean, I was a competitive athlete, not that I was winning competitions, but I competitive athlete from the standpoint of I was competing in competitions and I was being competitive. Um, and I was like squatting 250 pounds of 200 pounds and dead lifting a lot. And now that I have had a baby at the age of 40 and I'm
the gym, literally in my 41, like early 40s, I'm not nearly as strong as I was. I'm not nearly as in shape as I was. Do I even, are there days that I'd even get to work out? No. I mean, I, the goal is to try to work out three times a week and I barely get to do it that many times. And I could choose to be frustrated by it and frustrated by
The fact that I don't go often or I get interrupted or that my workouts are terrible or that I'm not lifting, like I'm lifting like 85 pounds instead of the 200, like significantly less. But instead what I focus on is just being consistent. Like the best thing you can do for your fitness is to be consistent. So even though my current consistency is that I go anywhere from one to three times a week, I'm consistent in
I go one to three times a week, no matter what. Like it's just somewhere in that range and I show up and I just do the workout. And I don't worry about trying to go back to being this person that I was, because I'm not that person anymore. And you're never gonna be that person. And so just start over, start fresh and stop comparing yourself to who you were and just start from today. I'm stronger today than I was yesterday. I'm in better shape.
I am right now than I was literally an hour ago than when I didn't come to the gym. I feel better about myself and I'm healthier because of this one hour that I spent here. So focus on this present moment and less about that mumbo jumbo. I have more to say, but now I forgot. So you start.
Meredith (10:21)
So I think you're very passionate about this topic and I appreciate that because I agree with you. It's always easy for me to give up the gym as the first thing to give up if I'm having a rough day, if I don't wanna get up and do those things. And so I've made this commitment to myself, if I'm going to be too lazy to go to the gym, then
Mishelle (10:25)
Yes.
Yep.
Meredith (10:48)
the watch and have to try to hit 10 ,000 steps. So I really am like negotiating with myself because I intentionally want to become healthier, but I also am understanding the value of outside of physical health, like how much mental health I need to sharpen as well. And going there that provides a stress relief and just gives you mental clarity
Mishelle (10:54)
Yeah!
Yes. Yes.
Meredith (11:15)
you don't really anticipate walking at a slower pace. Cause sometimes I walk at a three, a 2 .5, if I'm trying to stretch, like I don't walk very fast on the treadmill, but that just gives me a moment to pause for 30 minutes. If that's as much as I can put in that day to just my like wash away my cares from that day, recenter, refocus and become a mentally healthy version of myself. Then the
Mishelle (11:25)
Mm -hmm.
Meredith (11:43)
The cherry on top is that, okay, I'm also physically moving my body. And I think that there's just, that is another portion of it. But a lot of the times what stops me, the people in the gym don't know who I was, who I'm comparing myself to. Like you said, cause that's accurate. I was an athlete. I do feel like I should be at a certain weight. I should be at this certain size, which is just unrealistic
Mishelle (12:00)
Mm -hmm.
Meredith (12:10)
who my hormones wanna be and how much I love food. Like that's just like, Meredith, you've gotta be realistic about these things. But I think that we always think like everybody's in there judging us or everybody is in there comparing and thinking like, my gosh, that person should be fitter. These guys are looking at me, like all these things, like quiet that noise and just do it for
Mishelle (12:31)
Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yep. Yep. And there's nothing wrong with walking and walking is such good exercise. like, yes, Meredith, if all you have time for and all you have energy for that day is just to go on a walk, then just go on that walk. Because going on that walk is better than doing nothing. And even for me, like I have to realize sometimes there's times where I go to the gym with all the intentions to work out and then Aspen wants attention. And so then I only end up getting to work
for like 10 minutes. But instead of getting frustrated that I only got that 10 minute workout, I've had to choose to look at it and say, okay, but that 10 minutes that I got to work out and move around was better than me not going at all. Like it was worth it. It was worth it for me to get changed, get dressed, go to the gym, take her there and do the 10 minutes. Because the 10 minutes, like I said, is better than me not going at all. And I just wanna say too, age doesn't matter. Like, okay, you're in your late 30s, who cares? Doesn't matter. I didn't start working out till I was 25, okay?
Literally, didn't do, I was the girl in PE class who hid behind the bleachers when everybody was running their mile because I didn't want to run. I was also the person who just, yeah, just was so out of shape. I started working out when I was in my early twenties out of a necessity because I remember I was living in Colorado. I was only eating donuts and grilled cheese. And I was like, this is the life, eating my donuts, my grilled cheese. And then I went back for my sister's wedding. And guess what?
My bridesmaids dressed in zip
Can you imagine the anger and frustration from my sister who was like, you did not just do that.
We had to go on this whole spiel, like a shopping spree, trying to source that exact same dress in a larger size so that I didn't look like a crazy person walking her down the aisle. And it was a whole thing. Anyways, I started working out after that. And it just started becoming a thing of like lifting weights, all the things. And I think I became obsessed with it because I set a goal and I started doing things where I realized like, I can do more than I thought I
And I think in that moment where I realized like, I can do more than I thought I could. Like so much possibility opened up for me. I realized like so much of all my limitations that I'd put on myself are all in my head and not just in the gym, like in my life too. And so just go to the gym. I would say to find a class at the easiest way to start working on is like, just go to a class because at least you're around people. At least there's an instructor. All you have to do is show up. I think that's what I love about CrossFit so much is that you can begin at any
at any age, at any fitness level that you're in. If you have an injury, like you can modify everything to where you, it meets you where you are. And all you have to do is show up. You just show up, you just get your butt in the car and just show up. And when you walk in, you will do your workout, you'll get warmed up, you'll do your class, you'll work out and then you'll leave and that's the end. It's one hour, one hour of your day, that's
And so that would be another thing to tell you is just join a class, something class -based. Yoga, Pilates, there's so many options.
Meredith (15:54)
think that what the listeners don't know about both of us is my husband's degrees in kinesiology and he was a personal trainer for like 15 years. So the more that we are like, we're different. I feel like we're the same person living the same lives. But I completely agree with all that. I would also encourage, if you are planning to go into the gym and start small and be consistent,
Mishelle (16:10)
you
Meredith (16:22)
then you need to take it a step further and really be mindful. We recorded an episode about this as well, but be mindful of what you put in your body to fuel it. Because I think that it's really powerful to see the changes that your body can go through from working out even a little bit. But if you don't couple that with at least modifying your diet a little bit as well, small changes, small pivots, then
Mishelle (16:31)
Yeah. good call.
Meredith (16:51)
you'll continue to be discouraged. And that's, we don't want you to be in that boat either. So just recognizing you're going to have to find a balance, whether it's making sure you have enough protein and adding a protein bar with lower sugar, something that your mind shift is changing a lifestyle, not just one portion where it's just working out or it's just eating healthier. You can do either of those things. Both of them are good ideas to tackle separately, but if
Mishelle (16:54)
Yeah.
Meredith (17:21)
them together, the amount of power that you're going and progress that you're going to see is is going to be
Mishelle (17:30)
Yeah, exponential for sure, because you're right. mean, 90 % of it is nutrition. And it is, I will say, I love that you brought up lifestyle change because it is about changing your daily habits. So take a audit of all of the habits that you do every day around, you know, whether it's drinking water, how much fruit you eat, how you snack, all of that, and look to see where you could make some adjustments.
James Clear has a book about habits. I'm forgetting the name of it. Do you happen to know the name of the book? It's a great book. I don't know, I can't think of it. Just look up James Clear and Habits, and it's a great book. And it all talks about habits, habit stacking, how to change your life through habits, because it's the small things that you do every day that is your life, that is your lifestyle. So I highly recommend that. But yeah, it's
small steps, start slow, don't compare yourself. What else did we say?
Meredith (18:35)
You know what Ben, Ben frequently says this when I'm always like, that doesn't taste good. He's like, it's just fuel for your body. And that's what, and so like in my mind, I'm like, well, fuel still has to taste good to me. And he will eat anything if it doesn't taste good, if it has like the right nutrients to fuel his body. And I'm just like, can't like thinking of your car as like this high performing engine and getting the appropriate nutrients. I'm like, but that pork belly barbecue.
Mishelle (18:57)
Yeah.
It does need to taste good. Yeah, don't know if I'm on Ben's level there. Yeah, do. Yeah, it feels for your body, but it has to taste good. Yeah, it to taste good. And there, you can find a balance. I do feel like you can find a balance. Like you can make healthy recipes taste good. You just have to figure it
Meredith (19:05)
Tastes yummy. Agreed. that's a man answer. That's a man. It's fuel for my body.
I - yeah.
to be honest and share something with you. I'm afraid of CrossFit and I have been, and I just want to be honest because my body breaks down frequently. And, and so I've always been afraid, but the way that you were describing it at any fitness level, I'm good at modifying my workouts and modifying, you know, different squats, plie squats, front and shoulder raises. Those are the ones that hurt me the most, but I never anticipated
Mishelle (19:35)
Is it? Yeah! Is it? Is it?
Meredith (19:57)
an outside observer looking into CrossFit, it looks intense. It looks hardcore.
Mishelle (20:00)
It looks. Yes. And I think that it does look hardcore. And I will say, because the, because CrossFit's methodology is about time over tension and it's all about intensity level, right? Because it's like the more you can, how you grow your fitness is like the longer you can be under that tension or how in that intensity state, like you, grow in your fitness level, like you become healthier. But you.
manage your own intensity level at the gym. So you might go there and see all these people working out really heavily and really intensely, but they've worked up to that. None of them started that way. And I think that's what is so misleading and intimidating. Cause I hear that a lot, you go in and you're like, I'm so intimidated. Like, I'm never gonna be like that. Every single person that you see in there struggled from day one. Every single half the people in there threw up at one point in their workouts. Like
No one's used to working out that way. And you just, you could, you also see videos of people who are like 85 doing CrossFit because, or people who are not paraplegic, but people who are missing limbs. Um, because again, it is for everyone and you can modify. And if you have a good coach, I think the most important thing about CrossFit is you have to find the right coach and you have to find good programming. Because the thing about CrossFit is each, each gym is owned independently. It's not a franchise.
you become CrossFit certified, so you learn the methodology of the training, but not everyone is a good coach. Not everyone has good programming. so whatever gym you choose, it's really about the coaching staff and how the quality of their coaching, and then what type of programming are they giving you? Are they giving a well -balanced program? Because most gyms do their own programming.
So not everyone is doing the same workout across the country. So this CrossFit gym might be doing one thing while this other CrossFit gym is doing another. Now the methodology is the same because CrossFit is about either an AMRAP, as many reps as possible in a certain amount of timeframe, or you'll do a workout four times. So this many things for a certain amount of time, you try to do it as fast as you can. And again, in hopes of growing your intensity level, but all of those things can be modified where you can change your weights, can just do body weight and
make small improvements here and there. So one day might be like, Hey, I did that workout last week and now this week I'm doing it with five pounds more. Or it might be, Hey, I did that workout last week and now I did it 30 seconds faster than I did last week. And that's where you can start to see that incremental growth and progress within your fitness level. And that's what becomes so addicting about CrossFit is you can see yourself actually getting better. And it's such a good
workout because it's not only strength based, but it's also conditioning because it's metabolic conditioning. It's called a metcon. That's what the workout of the day is. It's a metcon. So at our gym, we'd always do a strength portion in the beginning. And then at the end, you'll do a metcon and you do it together. So there's a warmup. You do it together, do a strength portion, and then you do a metcon at the end. And then that's your hour and you're done. So totally get it. It is scary, but if you have the right coach, they can walk you through kind of ramping up to that level.
Meredith (23:13)
think a couple of ideas that I would share too. One, a franchise gym versus something like a CrossFit gym. And I've done like boot camps, which I think just like the repetition and stations training. I've also done in my rehabilitation after knee surgery would do pool aerobics, like the swimming pool aerobics. But what I would say is any franchise gym that you could step into, or even if you went to a locally owned gym, a lot of them offer one
to attend a class for free or a week free pass. And what I would say between the two is you'll find more of a community in those locally owned gyms of people who will support you. really, whereas in the gym, unless you bring a buddy, unless you find and you're doing and attending group classes, then that might be more intimidating. So that could be a benefit or an attractiveness for one over the other.
Mishelle (23:44)
Is that?
huh.
Meredith (24:10)
But you can try before you buy and really feel the atmosphere and the culture of where you're going. I love Zumba. I love me some Zumba. I love anything. Yes, I agree. And those I like any like cardio kickboxing. I can't do yoga. The amount
Mishelle (24:19)
I do too, I do too. I love dance fitness.
Why am I not surprised? Why am I not surprised?
Meredith (24:34)
can't. When I'm holding my pinky toe with my fingers and they're like just deep breath, just deep breaths and I'm like, there's so many other things that I could do right now than this. I have to have like high intensity, some sort of physical exertion that doesn't require mental focus and harnessing of energy.
Mishelle (24:55)
But I honestly think that yoga would be so beneficial for you. It would bring about so much personal growth because it would require you to slow down and connect with your breath and like really, yeah, it would just be a whole thing, but yoga can actually be very healing. Yeah, yeah, it's really good.
Meredith (25:01)
Ugh.
Mm.
I yeah. I was like, maybe I'll try Tai Chi sometime, know, like where the motion and energy of the world through your hand movements. That's not an actual definition of what it is. That's my interpretation of what I've seen. Yeah, yes.
Mishelle (25:26)
Yeah.
of what's going on when they're doing that. Yeah, I actually am very interested in Tai Chi. Maybe you and I can look for a class. I think it would be really fun to like, you
Meredith (25:36)
That would be fun!
I know. I feel like Mo You guys can't see her, but she is demonstrating on the screen and I think she nailed it. I think she's nailed it. That's a I feel zen already.
Mishelle (25:50)
Yeah, so come find us at the next Tai Chi class. I don't know. OK.
Meredith (25:54)
Yeah. Yeah. I think just for any closing statements that we would offer, just start. You're not alone in this journey. Try before you buy. Really figure out your goals. Really figure out your goals. Start small. If you can incorporate changing your lifestyle as far as eating healthier and also trying to work out. If you can't get in the gym.
Start with the small goals, even just trying one day a week and then walking more or getting more steps in. Just try. We're all in the same race and the fact that you want to make an intention to become more healthy, you're already on the right path. So, yes.
Mishelle (26:41)
Okay, one last thing. You're never gonna be who you were in college. So get over it. Get over it and embrace who you are today. That's all.
Meredith (26:55)
is good advice because tacos and burgers have been calling my name for the last 15 years and hormones. yeah, that's really what's going to prohibit you from being who you were when you were 16 to 25 years old. We're women and we've grown.
Mishelle (27:04)
hormones.
right? That's right. Yeah, so throw out those jeans that are heading into the back of your closet. You know who you are. You know who you are.
Meredith (27:19)
Yeah. Yep, exactly. All right. Well, as always, submit your burning questions to our website at girllife .com or send us an email directly at hello at it girl life .com. We'd love to hear from you. Bye.
Mishelle (27:37)
Bye.