When I was young (about 10) I was already much stronger than most of the farm boys in our area. I could easily pick up a man and carry him over my shoulder at 13. Being interracial at a time when that wasn't considered very acceptable, I was already the "weird kid out". However I was strong; and therefore I decided to do something with it. I started lifting weights when I was 15, and loved the workouts, so I just carried on with it, although at that age I didn't really understand about nutrition being a teenager.
When I was older, around 27 or so, I got back into the regimen of working out, and managed to get myself down to 10% bodyfat. I was in brilliant shape and even considered entering some strength-training competitions. But that's when things started going wrong...I started getting ill - feeling fatigued, joints aching. In true form, I just tried to push through - but I got worse. I had to quit the gym, lost my job, pounds piled on. I was initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia and, regardless of all the information out there that fitness and exercise is supposed to make you feel better, it didn't help. It took years to convince doctors to look for anything else: as a now-obese, out of shape woman, everyone is more inclined to think I just sit home and eat Big Macs rather than assume there's a health issue. It took finding a rheumatologist who works with bodybuilders to dig a bit deeper, and they discovered I have sero-negative arthritis. The jury is still out on whether or not it's lupus; but I know bodybuilders with lupus so I was just more happy I had a diagnosis!
The result is I've been on medication to control the auto-immunity issues of my condition. The damage however done to my joints due to lack of diagnosis for years can't be undone - my elbows, ankles and knees are totally stuffed as a result - but the medication does actually seem to be working, and I've been given the green light to start working out again. Now, I'm 42, a good 120+ pounds overweight, walk with a cane: even though my brain still thinks it's 27 and can do ALL THE THINGS I am under no delusions whatsoever. I have a lot of ground to cover - and I'm tripping if I think I can just leap into a program and expect it to stick.
I'm nothing like most of you here - I am starting at day one, after several years illness. I can certainly say I have a new perspective of the kind of people many of us sneer about; we don't know their stories. I have friends who will never be able to get out of bed again, so I'm on the of the lucky ones. And it's time to get started.
A lot of people tend to have to train very hard to get results - but sometimes there's things which it feels like we're almost born to do. My multi-racial genetics has blessed me both with Ashanti bloodlines and Norwegian; I used to say I was built like a mocha Valkyrie! Being strong has always been something my body was able to do - and there's nothing I love more than losing myself into the reps, concentrating and just being in the moment. For years, I wasn't able to do it anymore. Now I'm starting again, slow but surely.