Jordyn Gray

• 7 posts
• 138 followers
• 160 following

Lifestyle and Bodybuilding Specialist

I hated gym class was a kid. I wasn’t good at it, I couldn’t do a pull up, or a push up. I didn’t like to run, I hated that burning sensation I felt in my chest. I didn’t want to “workout” in the middle of the day and the go back to class sweaty so I never dressed out, and only occasionally participated.

As I got older, I was an “aspiring” athlete. I say that because I never stuck with it for long. I danced and cheered as a child. As I got into middle and high school, I tried softball, but lost interest in it before I really gave myself the chance to get decent at it. I then tried volleyball, I loved it. I did summer camps, school sports, etc. One day I just never picked up a ball again. I discovered rugby my junior year, but damaged a ligament in my knee during a drill which benched me for the rest of the season. (Now I'm more into stage lights, rhinestones, and high heels 😉).

I always dreamt of being “skinny.” I remember sitting in 6th grade health class in my boot cut jeans when all the “skinny” girls had skinny jeans and I used to wrap them around my legs and imagine what I would look like in different pants — or 10lbs lighter. It took a long time for me to get started. It definitely didn’t happen overnight. There was an influx of YouTube workout videos gaining popularity, green supplements were exploding on the market, and bodybuilding was getting a buzz. I made a promise to myself during that time that if I had a “sad” or “mad” thought (there was a lot going on in that 18 year old head of mine), I had to drop everything I was doing and do 50 jumping jacks. Believe it or not, I stuck with that. In turn, that drove me to start doing ab workouts in my room. Then I started incorporating squats. My last step before I joined a gym was taking all of this outside of my room and doing it outside in the front yard.

Next, I joined a local gym. The rest is history.

I remember going to the lake with my friends and I would be the only one who couldn’t lift herself onto the float. Or I had to shop in the plus sized section or stores alone while my friends shopped in the main store together. Would I care about that now? Absolutely not, but as a teenager, it feels like the end of the world.

Now, not only can I wear whatever I want (no matter how big, small, etc), I don’t just want to be “skinny.” I want to be strong. I will still eat cake, cookies, etc. my relationship with food is 1000 times better than I could ever imagine. I just want that for my clients too. It is a freeing feeling. I don't want my clients to just "feel skinny," I want them to feel empowered to take up space, and feel good in their body and how THEY want to look/live, not fit to society's body standards. EveryBODY is different, it's the best part about life.

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