Exercise Science Saved My Life

By Elizabeth Pongo

Heya, Elizabeth Pongo here, founder of Pongo Power. Thanksgiving is coming, so I’m writing a love letter to the life-saving impact of movement science, physics, and proper program design.

I am so very thankful to have learned how my body moves. Being able to share that knowledge with other people is a joy. It is through my comprehension of movement science that I have liberty. 

I’m an athlete. I wasn’t always an athlete. I enjoyed being physically active- I played lacrosse, swam on the swim team, and I loved biking recreationally. I gave up all of those high school sports in college. In my mind, going to Middlebury College was my time to be social and free. The thought of going to practice five days a week was incomprehensible to me. I wanted to hang out with my friends.

Flash forward four years and I had gained thirty pounds. I was depressed. I was self-conscious and it was hard to leave my dorm room because of the physical agony of trying to get dressed. None of my clothing fit me anymore and my new body image pained me. Having been bulimic on and off since I was 12 years old, my eating disorder was at an all-time high. 

If you’ve ever had an eating disorder, well, you know the shame of sneak-eating and how exhausting it is trying to hide compulsive overeating. Come my senior year of college, my body and mind were in a baaad way. 

As a result, I had to make up an extra semester in order to complete the teacher-training necessary to be an elementary school teacher.  I didn’t pass that test. My friends all left, and there I was struggling to finish up. Around this time, I met a man who loved to go jogging in the mountains of Vermont for about two to four hours, SIX days a week… 

David was quite surprised when he learned that I used to drive my red Honda Civic hatchback into town, which was- I kid you not- three blocks away from my apartment.  He taught me to walk into town to run errands. David also invited me into the woods to go running with him. Although I could only walk at first, my shuffle turned to a jog, and ultimately one day after several months, I was able to keep up.

David probably saved my life by introducing me to consistent physical activity, at my own pace, outdoors and over time. After moving home to Bayside, Queens from Middlebury Vermont, I found the stress of being my dad’s primary caretaker after his stroke to be exhausting. My only salvation was training for the New York City Marathon. 

Training for the marathon while being an executive assistant wasn’t easy. My achilles tendons were short and tight due to wearing heels, and my back hurt from being seated all day. But I took that training regime slowly and steadily. I did the minimum that I needed to, and I did that consistently, week after week; I completed the training protocol that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society provided for me, and in six months I was back in great shape.

Soon thereafter, I resigned from my corporate job to become an actress. Well, it turns out that lying about my mental health from the age of 12 to 30 wasn’t exactly the foundation that I needed to be in the entertainment industry. Having no formal training as an actor I turned to the sales manager at the gym that I was about to join and I said, “Who are those people on the gym floor in those uniforms? Are they lifeguards?

He told me, “No, they’re personal trainers. They are certified trainers. They have certifications.” 
I joined the New York Health and Racquet Club with a credit card. Once I was out on the street, realizing I actually couldn’t afford the gym without going deeper into credit card debt, I went back in and asked him to cancel my membership. 

“I have to be honest, I don’t have the money to join this gym. But I would really like to work here. Can I become a personal trainer? I used to be a lifeguard and I’m a licensed elementary school teacher. I also ran the NYC Marathon. I think I can do it.”

I am so very grateful for learning to move forward, to move properly, and for learning how to activate my core in order to protect my knees and ankles when I run. To this very day, getting outside for a run provides me with fresh air, sunshine, and the opportunity to see the awesomeness of the world around me.

Exercise science saved my life. I enjoy sharing that joy with each and every person in our community, and I am so grateful to be able to do so. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Elizabeth Pongo of Pongo Power