"If you finish, you win."

Hi friend (and 548 other subscribers)!

Welcome to Strong Stuff, where I share the love of all things strength. Today I'm writing to you about my friend finishing new races, roasted edamame, garden plants, and "functional fitness."

Bridget's view from the finish line

There are many strong people involved with Out Fitness, and this newsletter is my way to bring them into the spotlight.

I'm thrilled to share an interview with my good friend Bridget, who is a community leader and affordable housing advocate. Bridget and her wife helped to incubate Out Fitness from my tiny idea to a thriving studio in their historic Randolph building.

Name: Bridget Kent Márquez (she/they)

Bridget, how or when or how do you feel strong?

I feel strong when I do things that are difficult for me, especially things that are new. That can be something athletic, but it can also be something very simple, a new thing professionally or personally, or just something that stretches me beyond what I already know I can do.

Yesterday, I finished my first sprint triathlon [750-meter swim, 12.1-mile bike, and 3.1-mile run], and I came in last in my age group. If I’m being truthful, I’m nervous and sort of embarrassed to even admit that here. I thought I might just keep that my own little secret, maybe forever. But I think sharing it is part of being strong, too. I’m flexing into my strength just by sharing it.

I help coach my kids’ cross-country team for early elementary grades through eighth grade, and I tell them all the time: if you finish, you win. It’s about showing up and doing your own personal best. So, I’m practicing what I preach here. Yesterday I did something that was difficult for me. I was new. I was brave. I had a lot of fun. And I finished. So I "won." And I feel strong.

What’s a hidden or inner strength of yours, and how do you use it?

I think one of my inner strengths is endurance. I’ve been thinking a lot about that since riding 339 miles over four days in the Pan Ohio Hope Ride this summer. Endurance requires nourishment, and I mean that in a much bigger sense than what you physically consume. In my family, we talk about how full your cup is. If your cup is empty, if you aren’t nourished, you cannot continue.

Experiences like Pan Ohio have given me opportunities to brush up against my own human limitations and think about what it actually means to endure. I don’t believe strength means being fearless, being the best, or refusing to quit. Sometimes the brave and compassionate thing is recognizing a limit, stopping, or choosing a different direction. To me, endurance is knowing what nourishes you, building community around you, and figuring out which mountains are worth climbing, and then climbing them with everything you’ve got and, hopefully, some joy in your heart. And as wild as it may sound, sometimes strength is realizing you’ve been climbing the wrong mountain and choosing another one!

The community part really matters to me and is part of the broader context for me. None of this would be nearly as meaningful (or as fun) without other people. I feel deeply connected to the Out Fitness community, even though I rarely get to be physically together with most others! There is something powerful about being part of a larger community of people prioritizing fitness and wellness for ourselves and for our times. I think wellness ripples outward; when I am well, I can support the wellness of those around me. When those around us are well, our whole communities can be well. And when our communities are well, we have more capacity to create the world we want to live into.

What else would you like our community to know?

A few years ago, I was dealing with some medical issues, and after about a year, I went into my functional medicine doctor’s appointment feeling like it would be a victory lap kind of appointment. I had the nutrition stuff locked down, I was following the medication regimen, I was doing all the things I was supposed to do. And my doctor looked at me and said, “But what are you doing to cultivate joy in your life, Bridget?” And I remember thinking, "What the hell? Now I have to cultivate joy, too? Who does this person think I am. Do they realize I am a working parent of two small children? It’s taking everything in me to focus on all these other things, and now I also have to think about and figure out how to cultivate joy?!"

But I took the question to heart, and it has stayed with me. The book Four Thousand Weeks also profoundly changed how I think about my time here. Spoiler alert: the title is approximately how many weeks we get in a lifetime. Our time is finite. We get this really brief snippet of time in the world, and I want to be intentional about finding and cultivating joy in mine.

Movement and community have become a big part of how I do that. Some of my favorite parts of preparing for my triathlon had nothing to do with race day. They were swimming in Lake Erie with neighbors and friends, relying on one another, and being willing to be a beginner in front of other people. I showed up for my first swim without owning a swim cap, and a neighbor lent me an extra one of theirs.

So, find what nourishes you. Maybe that’s a swim in the lake. Maybe it’s a ride on the bike. Maybe it’s a slow jog. Maybe it’s trying that new strength machine at Out Fitness, maybe it is walking into Out Fitness.

Do not be afraid to come in last. Try something new and see if it’s for you. Dance, have fun. Sometimes do it alongside other people, and sometimes do it on your own, knowing there’s a broader community supporting you. If you finish, you win. Truly, even if you don’t finish, you win. You tried. You started. You learned something.

Snack du jour

My friend Andrew asked me to recommend more snacks, so how about some roasted edamame – these crunchy soy beans that have been dry roasted.

Nutritional benefits: high in protein with all 9 essential amino acids; good source of fiber, omega-3, and potassium; some calcium and iron; vegan-friendly

I like roasted edamame as an extremely portable snack. I mix it into my own trail mix (with roasted peanuts, roasted chickpeas, and raisins) for my office days. If I'm traveling or on vacation, I often bring my edamame to guarantee that I'll get some protein that's not soaked in sugar and oil. I buy my edamame in bulk from Nuts.com (no affiliate link), because I eat it too frequently to be paying for those pretty little bags at grocery stores.

Peanuts have a similar nutrient profile, though they are higher in fat and total calorie content (and less balanced in essential amino acids). That doesn't make peanuts "bad," but if you're like me, you can easily eat three servings of peanuts in three minutes. It balances things out a bit when I swap one of those servings with edamame.

But is soy bad for men? Nope. Soy products contain high amounts of phytoestrogens, which are structurally similar to human estrogen but don't behave like it. Research and scientific reviews have debunked claims that soy "feminizes" men or affects sperm. Stay proud, soy boys.

Better world builders

Here are more people I'm seeing use their strengths in ways that I find inspiring.

Veggie might: A terrifying amount of squash and cucumbers came out of our tiny garden bed this summer. I blame City Girl Grows, my coworker Kate's home garden business, for providing me plants that can thrive in the city. Growing your own food, even just one ingredient, is powerful. Kate is giving that power to hundreds of people.

Write on: Studio member Genevieve wrote this essay about "functional fitness" and how that phrase seems co-opted by false marketing. Hasn't the basic definition of fitness always been being fit for the functions of your life?

Thank you for supporting my writing, being part of Out Fitness, and working out for a better world.

Until next time, claim and enjoy your strength!