Blog

Moving on in 2020

posted on December 20, 2019

I’ve spent the past three years of my life being almost wholly dedicated to Union Fitness. I love this place, the communities we’ve built here and our UF staff. I love spending all day at the gym, even when that ends up being up to 16 hours! I love watching our UF members learn new things about themselves while they learn how to move their bodies. I even love teaching Cardio Lab, something I swore up and down I would never ever ever do.

And as we enter a new year (a new freakin decade even), I’m both excited and saddened to write that I will be leaving UF at the end of this month.

I thrive on challenge, and in 2020 I’m taking on something terrifying and new – opening a new business, specializing in a service that has changed my life, in partnership with the person I trust most in the world. And that means stepping away from Union Fitness to focus on making it all happen (and taking care of myself).

These past three years at UF have been a period of huge growth for me – from the obvious career changes to relationship changes to health changes. My time here has made me a better coach for sure, but also a better human. If you’ve read any of my blogs over the last few years, you know I love a good list, so here’s one more for good measure:

Some real life lessons I learned at UF:

To give to the fullest extent to others, we need to fill our own cup first. I failed at this many times in the last three years. I’m making progress on fully accepting that lesson now, and it will show in how I coach and work with others in the future.
It’s possible to truly love your work, but even when you love it, you need time away. Burn out is very real and very possible.
Everyone is doing the best they can. It may not seem that way on the surface.
It takes an immense amount of strength to say “no,” and that strength can be built just like we build strength in the gym. Either you set your boundaries or others will set them for you.
When to go above and beyond, and when to take a step back and let someone else have the chance to make those leaps.
There is so much satisfaction in truly being the expert of your job.
What’s really needed to keep a business running.
The joy of being the person keeping things moving from the background. And the freedom that comes with letting go of the attachment to external validation (in all aspects of life).
To trust my instincts. They’re not always right, but they’re always useful.
Relationships change. Sometimes it hurts, and sometimes it brings you closer in ways you’d never expect. I’ve learned who I want to have in my life (and who I don’t).
Everything is temporary, including both excruciating pain and delirious happiness. These things are okay.
I have the ability to do really difficult things, if I can only accept that the fear isn’t going away. We can act despite being afraid.
How to be brave.
How to trust.
And how to know when it’s time to move on.

One of my goals as a coach here at UF has been to inspire the people around me to find the will and strength to get out of their comfort zones. I also happen to think that the best way to lead is by example. Competing at powerlifting and running a marathon in the same weekend was incredibly difficult. Leaving my comfortable job for the uncertainty of starting a new business is on another level, and I am beyond confident that I will grow from the experience. I hope if any of you reading this have been struggling to make a similar decision, you find the strength to say yes to doing what scares you.

I am so grateful for the people I’ve met and relationships I’ve built here. I may be leaving Union Fitness, the facility, but I hope to remain in contact with the community. You can always reach out to me otherwise, via Instagram (@elpogs), email (lindsey.pogson@gmail.com), or even text (215-917-7332). In addition, I’ve found that I actually really love writing these blogs, so I plan to get my own thing going soon. If you’re interested in following my training and the struggles of starting a business, keep an eye out.

And finally, maybe most importantly, I’ve discovered the joy of yelling over trap and EDM music while watching all of you sweat. I’ll be teaching one final Cardio Lab class on New Years Eve, my last day here. It’ll be open to everyone, so if you want to get one more in, I’ll see you there.