how strength training became my anchor

(truly my safe place!!)

when i first stepped into the gym during the pandemic, i couldn’t have ever known how much it would reshape everything: my health, my friendships, my self-esteem, even my sense of direction.

at the start, it was just an hour (or sometimes three!) of structure when the world around me felt unpredictable. but over time, lifting became something deeper: an anchor. time and time again, when i was really struggling, i fell back on the solitude and clarity it brought me!

(in my head, this is me fr...)

the gym carried me through some of the hardest, most confusing seasons of my life. movement was always within my control. there’s something grounding about doing something difficult every day and quietly watching yourself get better. that rhythm - showing up, stacking effort, trusting the process - was the first version of builtwithhabit... i just didn’t know it at the time!

the physiology of strength!

(as women especially, it's sooo critical for us to understand the science behind muscle hypertrophy, recovery, cycle syncing/ hormonal health!)

at some point, my curiosity shifted from how to lift to why it works.

my biology brain fell in love with the science of adaptation: how stress, when applied the right way, drives growth. in physiology, it’s called hormesis (coolest concept ever): the principle that small, controlled doses of stress make us stronger… while too much breaks us down. it’s the same logic behind lifting weights: you literally create micro-tears in your muscles so they rebuild, denser and more resilient than before.

what fascinated me even more was how the nervous system adapts too. strength isn’t just about muscle fibers; it’s also about coordination, timing, and neural efficiency. the body learns to recruit the right muscles, stabilise joints, and conserve energy with every rep. lifting, at its core, is brain training disguised as bodywork.

then i went down the rabbit hole of female physiology. for decades, most exercise science was built around male subjects - with steady hormone patterns, stable energy systems. yet, women’s bodies are dynamic. estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol fluctuate weekly, affecting strength, endurance, and recovery. cycle syncing isn’t “woo woo” - it’s all rooted in biology. training, nutrition, and rest all shift with our hormones, stress, and seasons of life.

from training myself to training others

(some of the bts of getting my nasm personal fitness trainer certificate!)

as i got deeper into fitness, i knew i wanted to share what i was learning with women around me! so, i decided to get my nasm personal fitness trainer certificate! 

i studied in the evenings, after my 9-to-5: one coursera module at a time, usually surrounded by open scrawled-all-over notebooks, a matcha, and way too many anatomy diagrams! the material was no joke, spanning across: biomechanics, nutrition, program design, behavioral coaching, injury prevention. learning about how the kinetic chain works, why certain muscles overactivate, how to assess overcompensation through simple assessments: it completely changed how i trained. i also got cpr-certified, which was super exciting!

first, i started working with friends. then, for clients with completely different experience levels, stories, and motivations for being in the gym. it’s been one of the biggest privileges of my life to coach women through that process: watching them build strength, confidence, and self-trust from the inside out! it made me realise that so much of physical transformation is about agency - seeing yourself as capable, powerful, adaptable.

from movement to mission

(it really is that deep... everything we consume!)

that mindset - rooted in science, discipline, and self-awareness - eventually became the bridge to builtwithhabit.

the deeper i got into wellness, the more i realised it doesn’t stop at what you eat or how you move. 

“the older i get, the more i realise that everything really is that deep. the people you confide in, trust, date, become friends with, where you work, and the opportunities you take. what you watch, what you eat, and even what you consume, it's very deeply actually and shouldn't be taken lightly at all.” (@thirdeyethirst)

i saw this quote on tik tok years ago and amen. while i definitely still love the occasional love island binge or my aggressive hardstyle playlists LMFAO, i truly believe that wellness extends to everything that touches you… including the clothes you train in.

we spend hours each week sweating, breathing, and living in our activewear - and yet, most of it is still petroleum-based. so i started asking: if we care about what we put in our bodies, why don’t we care about what we put on them?

that question became the foundation of bwh: design that’s skin-safe, functional, and uncompromising… for both body and planet.

closing reflections

(i feel like the discipline the gym teaches you, impacts every other facet of life: work/ business, relationships, nutrition, self-care, gratitude, faith, etc.)

if i’ve learned anything through training - and through building this brand - it’s that progress rarely looks dramatic. it’s slow. it’s subtle. it’s often unsexy (but also stay sexy 💅). it’s stacking small choices that move you closer to who you want to be.

lifting taught me patience. the science of movement taught me curiosity. both taught me that strength isn’t something you find: it’s something you build, every single day.

built. with. habit!