it is amazing to me that we even have to make such statements. yes black girls are fit. no all of us aren’t overweight. why do people think that? because non black people seem to think madea is the only kind of black woman there is. never you mind the many black women casted in those ridiculous excuses for entertainment that happen to be thin and modelesque. or even the black women who are just average size. you know, like other races of women who are average. but because people think we’re all fat, we have to declare to the world that yes, we run. (shout out to the lovely ladies of black girls run.) black girls also swim and dance and lift and cycle and hike and rock climb and row and snowboard and any number of sports available to us all. black women are fit!
i happen to be a black woman who has always been pretty active. i played spots as a kid and rode the cheerleading train all the way to college (go bulldogs!). but as i got older, i got less active. i have stints of high activity and low activity. i want to eliminate the low activity stints so i move forward living a consistently active life. that is what led me to check out the newest craze of fitness bands.
my coworkers have been raving about their fitness bands so i figured they could be my test dummies to help me choose which one to get. one coworker is diehard fuel band. he wears it every day and even competes in the random challenges nike throws out to the fuel band community. another coworker is a die hard fitbit users. she happens to own both a fuel band and a fitbit so i used her experience with both to seal the deal. in the end i went with the fitbit.
i’ve had my fitbit for a week now and i’m already addicted to beating my score. gamification is a serious motivator. i keep trying to walk more steps and climb more stairs and of course meet my calorie requirements without going over. i realize the thrill might wear off afterwhile but for now, i’m loving it.
so this week i tried zumba for the first time since swearing it off forever a few years ago and really enjoyed it. the class at 24hr is notoriously full of uncoordinated, awkward white women. but this particular class was full of african women and latina women and let me just say they were jiggin! for the first time, i wasn’t in the minority of good dancers. and the instructor was doing the damn thing so i couldn’t help but enjoy myself. it was a rush. i’ll go back.
i also signed up to run another half marathon this year. i’m not a big fan of running. i love what it does to my body but i don’t actually enjoy it. they always say you should do what you enjoy if you want to stick to it. i do enjoy the runners high once i achieve it. i also enjoy the thrill of competition and of course the feeling when you cross the finish line. so my sorors and i are running a half marathon together. we are all getting it right and tight. and i’ll be taking my fitbit along for the ride. i am super excited to get my next badge and continue to break my personal records. yep, it’s going to be a good year.
