The Community Hits Harder

This episode is my thank you.

For reminding me that I wasn’t alone.

For proving that digital can still be deeply human.

And for turning strength training into something so much bigger than fitness.

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Transcript

0:01

Hey friends. Welcome back to Strength in Numbers. I'm your host, Katie, and today we've got a really, really good topic and I, I have been waiting to share how amazing community is. So this episode is all about community. It is not the buzzword you see thrown around on social media. It's not the fake. We're all in this together kind of vibes. People tossing in the captions and then guess what? They ghost when you need them most. No, I'm not talking about, I'm talking about like real community. The kind that meets you when you're at your lowest, lifts you up and makes you believe in yourself when honestly you don't have it in you. And I'll be honest, for most of my life I didn't have that. I grew up in, you know, I, I didn't grow up with this big, tight knit family where Sunday dinners were a thing. I didn't always feel like I belonged. I was, I was always chasing that feeling, that sense of being, being, I was chasing that sense of being a part of something bigger than me. That feeling of walking into a room even virtually and thinking, I have found my people. It took me decades. A battle, you know, with skin cancer, some lonely seasons as a stay at home mom, and a smart piece of hardware on a wall that finally I found it. Yep, I'm talking about tonal. So today we're diving into how community can transform your journey. Why, who you surround yourself with matters more than you think, and how even when you train solo. You are never really alone, not when you've got the right people beside you. All right, let's go. So let me take you back. Growing up, I didn't feel like I had that steady show up no matter what kind of family foundation. I mean, there were good moments, but it never felt consistent. I was constantly looking outside my walls for a place to land. That sense of home, I was chasing it and friendships in school and you know, every season of my life, even into adulthood, becoming a wife, becoming a mom, there was still that quiet ache, like, where do I belong? And who really sees me? Because let's admit, making friendships and building relationships as an adult is so hard. And when I became a stay at home mom. Whew. Don't get me wrong. I love, I love, love, love my daughter to pieces. I love, love, love, love my family. She's the reason behind so much of my strength. But when days are consumed with doing everything for everyone else, it's so easy to lose yourself. And when you're lost, you're vulnerable. You start believing you're not worthy of being seen, supported, or even celebrated. And that, that's when community I. Real community can either make it or break it for you. Then came tonal. You know, you guys know I, I, I tried that thing just to see, you know, it's like when you throw a piece of spaghetti on the wall and see if it sticks. It's kind of like what I did when I was gonna start tonal. I didn't know what was gonna happen. I started to do it to get strong. Simple as that. I wanted to feel powerful again. Build muscle, take control of my body, especially after cancer. It had made me feel like cancer made me feel like I was a stranger inside of it, but what I didn't expect was the people, you know, the usernames that kept popping up on the screen. Those became familiar. Then they became friendly. Then some of them felt like family coaches who just weren't coaching to a screen, but actually speaking into everyday life, saying things I didn't know I needed to hear. I say this all the time, you might train solo, but with tonal, you are never alone. That hit me hard because I spent so many years doing life alone, emotionally, mentally, even physically sometimes, because I didn't want to like feel like needy or feel all these feelings of judgment that I felt that if I was vulnerable and I opened up and I was my true self afraid of what was gonna be said behind my back. Tonal community. It's real. People showing up day after day, supporting each other's wins, holding space for each other's struggles. Some of them have become my closest friends, people I've never even met in person, but they've cheered louder for me than anyone in my zip code. That's wild and beautiful, and honestly, it's life changing. So when I got diagnosed with skin cancer, I panicked. Not just because the diagnosis itself, but because of everything I feared. It would take away my momentum, my body, my confidence, my goals, you know, was that community gonna be on the other side? For me, I kept thinking, what if I'm not the same after this? What if everything I've been building just slips away? What if I come back and. Nobody's there. And truth is, I have gotten so used to people walking away in life. I've lived through enough seasons of being left behind, being forgotten, and I almost expected it. But the C Tonal community did the exact opposite. They showed up loud, proud and joyful in all heart. Friends from this community made entire stories on their socials of me, my catchphrases, I, how I push through sets, the way I cheer other on my backwards hat, the measuring of my long jumps, and they turned it into a celebration of everything I bring to a group. It was hilarious healing and honestly one of the most moving things I've ever experienced. You know, people dmd me just to say they miss me, loved me, and they were thinking of me. They checked in, they rooted for my healing, and they never stopped including me, even when I wasn't logging workouts or posting prs. And the craziest thing, what I thought I was going to lose was actually just waiting for me when I got healed. The community didn't vanish. My goals didn't disappear. They were, they were there holding space for me. So when I came back, I didn't have to rebuild from scratch. I just had to return. That kind of love and friendship, that kind of commitment from a group of internet friends, it heals something in me that cancer never even touched. I know people say this all the time. You are who you surround yourself with, but let me tell you from experience, you feel what they give. If people around you are draining, negative, unsupportive, that gets in your head, your body, your workouts. But if your circle is powerful, positive, and authentic, it changes how you show up. My strength journey just didn't come from reps and programs on tonal. It came from hearing other people say, you got this. It came from coaches reminding me that even when I'm tired, I'm still so capable. It came from logging in and feeling invincible. That's what the right community does. It doesn't, it just, it doesn't just push you. It pulls the strength out of you that was buried underneath pain doubt, and even when you feel you felt isolated. So let's get real for a second. Social media isn't always social. It's more scrolling, more comparing, more disconnect than ever before, I think. But on tonal, tonal, remind me what true connections look like. You post a win, a struggle, a setback, setback, and people show up. There's no filters, there's no faking. It's just real, real humans, real people who wanna see you succeed. I've cried sometimes reading some comments from strangers who remind me when I forget who, when I forget who I am, I dmd with women who wanna be workout buddies. And you know what? They became soul sisters. And that's the difference. This community isn't about image, it's about impact. The community hits harder because it's built on something real. So if you're listening right now and you've ever felt like you didn't belong anywhere, I see you. If you've been chasing something bigger and coming up empty, I feel you. And if you've been training solo thinking you're doing it alone. I've been you, but hear me now, the community hits harder, whether it's on tonal or some other tribe that aligns with your soul. Find your people. Surround yourself with those who want to see you win. They're not intimidated by you. They're not intimidated by you succeeding. Not because it benefits them, but because your win lights up the whole room. Get rid of the ones who only clap when you're quiet. Keep the ones who cheer when you roar. You are never meant to do this alone. You don't need a hundred people. You just need the right ones. Because in the end, strength doesn't come from lifting alone. It comes from being lifted by a community that sees your power even when you don't. So thank you. Thank you for being a part of mine. I'll see you next time on Strength In Numbers. Until then, keep lifting, keep leading, and never forget, you are never alone in this.