Heavy Bags and Small Wins

Saturday morning, I had a side quest scheduled. I was attending a Rumble Boxing class with the Side Quest Social Club, and I was actually really looking forward to it. I had tried to attend a different boxing class before, but at the time I was dealing with car issues and could never get my schedule to align. So when I saw this opportunity to try again, with other like-minded women who were also looking to make connections and get out of the casa, I was in.

For me, it was a win-win. I get to hit a heavy bag, get a workout in, and meet new women. If I’m being honest though, I was really looking forward to hitting the bag. I carry a lot of anxious, frustrated, and sometimes angry energy, and I just knew that forty minutes of punching something would help me release some of it. Not fix everything, not magically reset me, but at least give my body somewhere to put it. Somewhere that isn’t my jaw, my shoulders, or the back of my throat.

Photo by Sarah Cervantes on Unsplash.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I was excited for the class, but I also had another mission. I wanted to get my henna redone at the Gilbert Farmers Market by Kalaya, the owner of Light and Stain Henna. It had been three weeks since my last henna, and I was ready for a fresh design.

The only problem? I somehow thought the boxing class was at 12, not 10. So now I had to figure out how to squeeze both in.

I grabbed my usual CRT from Brick Road, saw Nadia, and we had a nice little chat while she made my drink. As I was getting ready to head out, she told me to take a chocolate croissant that had been left behind by someone who never came back for it. Score. Even though I’m not really into chocolate croissants, Diego is, so I already knew it was his.

It was one of those perfect Arizona mornings. Windows down, music up, just vibing on the drive to the Gilbert Farmers Market. I somehow lucked out with parking, which never happens there. Someone was pulling out right as I was pulling in, so I took it as a sign and grabbed the spot.

I found the Light and Stain booth pretty quickly. Kalaya was already working on a few people ahead of me, so I picked out a design and settled in to wait. I people-watched, ear hustled a few conversations, and kept checking the time. I knew I needed to be done and back in the car by 9:30, maybe 9:35 at the latest, if I wanted to make it to Tempe with a few minutes to spare.

Thankfully, the wait was only about twenty minutes. When it was finally my turn, I asked Kalaya if the design I picked would take long. I told her about my 10 AM class, and she said she could get me in and out in about fifteen minutes. Perfect.

So she got to work.

We chatted about the weather, how nice the day was, and she mentioned she’s taking the entire month of May off to celebrate her last year as a senior. I told her I thought it was a great idea. Time to just focus on herself and enjoy everything that comes with closing out that chapter.

Before I knew it, she was done. I checked my watch and it was 9:25 AM. Nice. I had time to spare. I headed to Tempe for the Rumble Boxing class, still riding that small win of everything lining up the way I needed it to.

When I got there, we did the usual sign-in and waited for the rest of the class to show up. The class officially started at 10:15. It was split into two sides, one group on the bags, the other doing weights, stretches, and floor work, then we rotated through nine rounds.

Now listen, I am fat, plus size, or whatever word you prefer. For the past almost six years, I’ve been doing home workouts, walking, some light strength training and have lost over a hundred and fifty pounds, but I still have a ways to go. Recently I have been trying to build up my core, which I will admit is trash right now. So I knew I could handle the heavy bag, but the floor work? I was not looking forward to it. Still, I showed up, and I was going to try.

The class was high energy, loud, and honestly kind of exactly what I needed. When I was on the bag, I went all in. I swung, punched, and let everything out. Every round felt like a conversation my body needed to have but my mouth never gets to finish. My arms are definitely going to feel it, but in that satisfying way, like proof that I was there and I did the work.

I’ll be real, I chose to start on the bag because I knew the weight bench exercises were going to be harder for me. I can’t do a proper sit-up, let alone one off a bench, coming up from a laid-back position while holding weights. I know my limits.

But that didn’t mean I sat it out.

I still tried. And holy hell, it was a workout. Burpees, mountain climbers, core work that had me questioning every life decision that led me to that moment. But I didn’t quit. I modified where I needed to, paused when I had to, and kept going.

That’s the difference.

That used to feel like failure. Now I understand it as strategy.

By the end of the 41 minutes, I was dripping in sweat, exhausted, and honestly really proud of myself. There were versions of me that didn’t like being perceived while working out, that would have talked me out of going entirely. But I showed up anyway. I stayed. I finished.

After the class, we took a group picture with the instructor and Raquel, the creator of the Side Quest Social Club, and just like that, it was over.

Post Boxing class picture. Photo by Giana.

And then it hit me. I hadn’t eaten anything. I had managed to drink maybe half my CRT between the farmers market and the class, and now my body was done. I was starving, tired, and ready to be home.

So I got in my car and headed back, running through my usual safe meals in my head. Cane’s or ChopShop. Those are the go-tos right now. But I didn’t have the energy to do anything extra, so Cane’s it was.

I hit the drive-thru, ordered my usual three-finger combo, and once I had it secured, I made my way home, already thinking about how good it was going to feel to just sit down, eat, and decompress.

Now I’m back home, writing this, letting my body come down from everything. I still technically have nineteen minutes left of my workout to complete for the day, and I know I’ll get it done. Not because I have to, but because I want to follow through for myself.

After that, I’m probably going to chill and play Lego Odyssey for a bit. I don’t have the pass anymore, but it’s still free to play, and with the new update, I already know I can lose a few hours just wandering around my little world, doing side quests inside my side quest day.

Even in a timeline that feels heavy, unpredictable, and honestly exhausting, I’m still here. Still getting up, still making plans, still showing up for myself in small, real ways. Still moving my body, still choosing to exist inside my life, not disappear from it.