Cela - Do This For You: How to Be a Strong Woman from the Inside Out

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F irst, I just want to say well done and thank you so much for picking up this book! You have made an important decision to work on yourself and your fitness and wellbeing. You probably have a really good reason for reading this and I am here to help you at every step. This journey is ongoing and now that youre part of my familia, Im with you for life!

Every journey needs to start with a purpose. Whether its fitness, nutrition or even starting college or university, you have to have a reason why youre starting that journey, why its important to you and why youre going to keep showing up and making progress. Think about it: when we go to college or university, its usually because we enjoy a particular subject and we want to learn more; we want to get a job in a certain field or we are preparing for another training course or experience. Your fitness journey will be short lived unless you define your reasons for it. Of course, you are training to keep fit and healthy, thats the general reason why all of us should do some form of exercise. But, to keep going, to keep you on the path of fitness, you need to refine that reason.

An author and speaker who I find inspiring is Simon Sinek. He talks a lot about the word why. An expert in leadership, he writes that leaders, whatever field theyre in, need to start with the question, why? They need to focus on whythey are doing something, rather than whatthey are doing, in order to truly influence and inspire people. Now, Im not about to teach you all about leadership thats Simons job but what I am here to tell you is that you are the leader of your life and your greatest why is your health and happiness. It sounds scary, it requires you to be open to change and a challenge, but the rewards are endless.

When I first read Simons book Start With Why, I thought about my own fitness journey and how Id got here. Fitness came to me at a time when my life was very unsettled and it took me a while to figure out my why. Id spent a few years on what felt like a conveyor belt. I was in a relationship that was no good for me, I was lacking in confidence, I was no longer living with my family, I wasnt even living in a fixed place and I was working a few jobs to make ends meet while trying to put myself through university. It was really hard. There were so many times when I felt my life had little purpose and I was just so unhappy. Do you have those days when you dont know where the time goes and by the end of the week you have no idea what youve done with your time? You have no idea why the week panned out like it did? That was me through and through.

Then, I had to deal with an awful break-up and ended up feeling completely worthless. I finally reached breaking point. I was sitting on the train thinking to myself: Is this it? Is this what life is? Going from pillar to post, trying to make every day work and feeling rubbish at the end of it.I was stressed from balancing my degree with work, I felt displaced at university and uncomfortable in the environment away from home. All of these together had me feeling really unsettled and anxious and I didnt have a clue what to do. Yes, I could call my parents any time I wanted, and my best friend was always there for me, but its the internal feeling of anxiety that is hard to shift. Its got nothing to do with anyone else, its a feeling inside you. Its hard to explain you just dont feel right. For so long my confidence and self-esteem had been at an all-time low and all I could focus on were the negative elements of my life rather than the positives. It was hard and I often look back at that time and wonder how the hell I got through it. The answer is that all of this stress triggered the first why that drove me towards the gym.

It was on a journey home from work one day that my why came to me. I was on the train when I had a lightbulb moment: I decided enough was enough and I needed to get a grip and take control.