Women’s Health USA – September 2019

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10 / WOMEN’S HEALTH SEPTEMBER 2019

Soft and strong...

and proud of it.

A few months back, I got it in my head that I wanted to do a full,

unassisted pullup. The interesting thing about a pullup is that

you don’t train by doing pullups. You break down the move into

e ach of it s pa r t s: g r ippi ng, ha ng i ng, sh r ug g i ng, t hen—fi na l ly!—

pulling yourself up. It’s a lesson in patience and humility and

holding back when you want to rush forward. But when you get

your chin above the bar? It feels good.

It’s been a “pullup” kind of year. I pushed myself too hard at

work some weeks when I needed to focus on myself and my fam-

ily. I said yes to a lot of things I should’ve said no to. I got stuck in

the weeds, sometimes, when seeing the whole forest made more

sense. (Can you relate?) I learned that “fitness” isn’t just sweat and

reps. It’s about facing your weaknesses head-on, which may mean

slowing down! That’s why I worked on becoming a fitter person

overall—bumps and bruises, physical and metaphorical, included.

I want WH to be a happy, joyful place for you to find your

potential, but I also think it’s important to celebrate the compli-

cated layers that make us so awesome. You know how sunny days

a lway s fe el br ig hter a f ter stor my one s? That ’s what we ex plore

in this issue: the ebb and flow of how you feel about yourself,

your emotions, your body. We implore you to accept the ups and

dow n s, or what we c a l l “ b o dy autonomy.” You’re a l lowe d to fe el

one way when you wake up, and a different way at two o’clock...

and a different way again tomorrow.

For me, at the end of today, I want to fall asleep feeling proud

of the woman I am. I want to be a person my three children, my

mom, my d ad , a nd my si ster a nd brot her s lo ok up to. I wa nt to be

a wife my husband can lean on.

My heart is capable of new things. It loves harder, opens up

more easily, no longer hides from moments that are meant to be

sha re d w it h my f r iend s, fa m i ly, c ol le ag ue s.

I’m more vulnerable today than I was when I wrote my editor’s

letter for WH’s annual Naked Issue a year ago. I have a couple of

new scars. I am softer and stronger...and I’m owning it.

Check out WH’s how-

to-do-a-pullup primer

created by Performix

House trainer Angela

Gargano (that’s

her on page 118!) at

WomensHealth.com/

Pull-Up-Guide.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRIAN BOWEN SMITH. Styling: Kristen Saladino. Hair: Riawna Capri for In Common. Makeup: Debra Ferullo/Tracey

Mattingly.com. Manicure: Nails by Maho. For Julianne’s look, try Infallible Up To 24HR Fresh Wear Foundation, Bronze Please! All-Over Matte

Bronzer in Amalfi, Infallible Pro-Last Waterproof Eyeliner in Bronze, Telescopic Mascara in Waterproof, and Rouge Signature Matte Colored Ink

in I Tease, all by L’Oréal Paris. Perfect Moment bikini, perfectmoment.com; Lana Jewelry earrings and anklet, lanajewelry.com; Gabriela Artigas

& Company bracelet, gabrielaartigas.com; Ariel Gordon ring, arielgordonjewelry.com; Vita Fede ring, vitafede.com.

So good,
I couldn’t choose
jus t one. Find all five
of our Julianne Hough
covers on
newsstands
everywhere!

LIZ PLOSSER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

@lizplosser

Love this cover too? (Same.) It’s for

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