Finding My Strength
(Guest writer: Crazy Mary Dobson)
Every weekend I am in front of hundreds or thousands of people, half naked, in my wrestling gear. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other girl wrestlers who wear far less than I do, but my stomach is showing, and that alone could drive anyone crazy!! Now I know what you are probably thinking…” Did she say wrestling?!” Yes ladies and gentleman I am a professional wrestler and have been for the better part of four years now. Wrestling has been great to me; it has taken me around the world and has shaped me into the spunky person I am today! But with great power comes great responsibility, Uncle Ben once said, so I had to whip my butt into shape and at the young age of 17. I had no idea what I was doing.
Four days after I graduated high school this small town girl flew to Japan to become the best pro-wrestler I could possibly be. Now at this point in my life I was athletic from playing sports, but I was not in any type of wrestling shape…especially compared to the Japanese wrestlers. I went from no prior wrestling training and nutrition knowledge, to training 8 hours a day, and eating a diet of rice and whatever else I thought wouldn’t make me sick. While in Japan for the first time in my life I became self-conscious about the way I looked, and for the first time I was comparing myself to others. This changed my world. Like I said before I played sports so training for me was about helping my team win, my goal was never to look a certain way. However, Japan changed all of that. I was being told I was the chubby American girl. Which would make anyone feel like crap.... and un-American!
My self-conscious phase continued for a while after. I was only 18 when I started wrestling full time and I didn’t quite know who I was or how my body worked. As far as diet goes I did what a lot of people do and went totally low carb, and it destroyed me. All the muscle I had built up from playing sports for all those years went away! I went from looking like a chubby athlete to looking like a helpless girl who couldn’t squat to save her life! When I returned from Japan my wrestling bookings increased by a lot and I was working more than ever before and really being put in the spotlight. Not having the dojo anymore to train in I went to my local gym and started to try to shape myself to what I had envisioned in my head as the perfect me, and keeping in mind that I have to be half naked in front of more people now!! After countless diets and workout plans I found on the Internet, I still was not getting the results I wanted. Than one day I discovered…Olympic Weightlifting!
Olympic Weightlifting has changed my life, not only physically but also mentally. For me personally going to the gym to improve my numbers is so much healthier for my mind rather than going to look a certain way. I know it’s not for everyone but that’s what’s best for me. The way my body has transformed weightlifting is better than I could have ever imagined, and I am happy inside and out. I’m not going to lie and say that there are not days where I don’t feel like I could be a little leaner, but those days are far and few between! Because, I know my body is strong and the way I look is a reflection of how hard I work. For the first time in my life, I am beautifully strong.