Anna Pope Fitness

12/10/2025

07/18/2024

🥰❤️‍🩹🥹 feeling grateful and loved…what a year it has been 🥹🫶

05/02/2024

.lifting.lab coach .caden and I have been cooking in the gym the last 11ish months w/ training and now it's time to EAT 💯💥💪

My body is naturally very soft no matter how small I am unless I'm actively working out and in a pump so it was very exciting to be able to see some definition and my gains outside of the gym 😁😁😁 I can't wait to see all we can accomplish this year 🤩💥

Message either .caden or .lifting.lab if you're interested in training with us!

03/07/2024

Hey everyone! If you've ever been to The Lifting Lab, would you please write us a review on Google? We would greatly appreciate any support!!!! Love yall lots!!!

Post a review to our profile on Google

12/31/2023

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming 🎬🎞🖤💪 (the girl with no arms desperately tries to get a triceps pump AKA the girl with very little confidence tries to put herself out there and be proud of herself in an attempt to help others be ok and love themselves well)

TW: depression, anxiety, eating disorder, self harm, su***de, abuse

I've been out of it too long and have barely worked out the last 2 months cause I stopped making time for me and felt like I was too busy. I also have not been into it (or anything really) mentally for 6 months even tho i am still somehow the most emotional emotionless person there ever was.

I want to celebrate tho even if I'm not where I wanna be or think I should be cause started working out consistently again 2 days ago and actually legitimately want to be in the gym in what feels like FOREVER 🥲😭 AND YES 2 DAYS IS CONSISTENCY AND IM SO PROUD OF IT CAUSE I HAVENT ENJOYED IT IN FOREVER LET ALONE 2 DAYS IN A ROW!

Thank you for literally always acknowledging my feelings but also holding me accountable and helping me heal (also for yelling next set at me when I don't want to move due to my depression) and thank you .ibarra .lanee and instaless Emily for creating fun workout environments the last few nights at the gym 🏋‍♀️ it really has helped me find joy in the gym again 💖

But b4 this, what few workouts I've had have not been happy, energetic, and I've not been mentally present in anything let alone working out (which is something I've always done to help my mental health) so it's been a weird and difficult time for me to not even be able to go to my go to mental fix during hard times. I've felt like I've had nothing even tho I actually have a lot which makes me feel guilty which makes the depression cycle worse.

2023 has absolutely without a doubt been the hardest year of my life and also somehow the best year of my life. This transition has been awful, painful, and not a lot makes sense while so much is also somehow starting to make sense at the same time. It's all convoluted, contradictory, stupid, and amazing. There's a kind of beauty in the bloodshed and especially the aftermath.

My disassociation and avoidance got out of control. I tried to numb the pain in any way possible because I've never experienced any pain worse than this. I feel emotional pain physically and it has crippled me multiple times this year. I tried "socially acceptable" forms of self harm to see if I can feel anything at all to stop the emotional pain so hopefully no one would notice and the heart pain would stop. It didn't. Nothing stopped it. I had to feel it/still have to feel my emotions and my pain and hurt fully to heal from it.

I stopped eating because I was nauseous all the time and physically making even microwavable food was too draining. I also liked the stomach pain because it distracted me from my emotional pain. I had good friends and family pull me out of this and force me to eat. I haven't eaten gluten free in 6mo or many home cooked meals made by me because I was so exhausted and drained it was all I could do to even eat fast food or pre-made snacks for myself. The act of eating drained all my energy. The thought of eating drained all my energy. I lost a lot of my muscles ive spent YEARS building, my hair, and I'm sure so much more as well. It was all ripped away from me and I literally couldn't get out of the cycle without my loved ones dragging me out of it and for that I am forever grateful 🙏 ❤️

I realized I didn't care if I lived or died and I had felt that way for the last 6 years because my life was made to be so worthless and i "provided no value" that I internalized it deeply and im still working thru this and sorting out all the twisted messed up pieces. During my healing I realized that I've been struggling with passive suicidal ideation for the last 5 strongly since I lived in Iowa and was isolated from my family and friends. I love my Iowans dearly but it's true that that is when it was at its worst until 2023 when it got way worse. I cant remember what clicked but I finally decided I want to be alive and that feeling keeps getting stronger every day 🥹

I am stronger than I ever thought I could be, have stood up for myself in ways I never thought I could, and shown unbelievable resiliency and perseverance in the face of uncertainty, and regained my strong sense of self and am working on coming back to me again. I started being vulnerable with people and was able to ask for help and rely on people for the first time in forever after being convinced I couldn't rely on anyone. We all need help and community and it's not a weakness at all. It's a strength to be able to ask others for help and wisdom and a blessing for them to love you enough to help you through your tough times 🥰❤️‍🩹

I am so proud of me. I never say that cause I really want to be humble and I honestly don't think I'm that important to be proud of tbh but I really am. And I am eternally grateful for all that I went through and all my kind, loving, supportive, truly amazing friends, family, and gym family because I couldn't be here at all without yall! 🥹😭❤️‍🩹💕

I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be doing what im called to do: love others well.

2024 is going to be a great year in so many ways for so many people. I can feel it in my soul even if I'm deeply nervous and terrified of it. Oddly i feel this deep sense of peace in the midst of my anxieties because i know God's plan for me and the gym is greater than ill ever know fully. But I am so happy and excited to get to rest and pour more into myself and grow so I can pour into others to help them grow 💞

12/23/2023

12/23/2023

Do you feel like you're doing all the right things but not seeing the results you want, not getting any happier, and not enjoying yourself along the way?

Sometimes that's because you're doing the wrong things in the wrong places for you. That’s not to say that the things you’ve been doing so far were always the wrong things at the wrong places but you know what is good for you and can tell when it fits.

And that's a possibility you have to consider, even though sometimes it's hard to say goodbye because change is scary!

If you want to get real results and be happy doing it, here are 3 things you can try instead 👇

✨ Work around your lifestyle!
There are some things in our lives we cannot change like work schedules or child care or sickness. Because of this we need flexibility to achieve wins instead of rigid programs that leave us feeling like failures. Flexible, achievable goals allow you to keep going and stay happy while reaching for your goals!

✨ Maintain your social life!
Health is about so much more than working out and eating “healthy”! It is mental, physical, genetic, socio-economic, environmental, cultural and so much more. Allowing yourself to maintain your friendships and family life will give you much more happiness and allow you to keep pushing towards your goals in the long-term!

✨ Give yourself grace!
Letting go of guilt can be really difficult to do but it is the best thing you can do for your body and mind but it seems like one of the hardest things to do till you achieve it. At The Lifting Lab, we promote body neutrality and being ok with yourself while you work towards your goals or not. It is really freeing to give yourself that space to allow you to do more than you thought possible!

These are not necessarily the traditional things you hear in the fitness world but are so amazing and freeing for all our members. Have you tried any of them?

12/23/2023

We LOVE leg day at The Lifting Lab, Oskee especially!😊

We have some great machines to utilize during your next leg workout!
- Leg press (x2)
- Leg extension
- Glute kickback machine,
- Seated leg curl machine,
- Hip abduction & adduction machine
- Prone leg curl
- Standing calf machine

Schedule your tour to check them out!

12/23/2023

I never thought I could control my binge eating disorder. I never thought I could be happy and safe in my body. And I definitely never thought I could create a mentally and physically safe space for other women in a gym environment. But I have done them all!

That’s the thing with doing something you never thought you could do. You think you can’t do it, until you do.

If there’s something right now you really want to do but think you never could, I get it. We all have doubts and worries that sneak in and keep us paralyzed.

Here are three things I ask myself when I’m afraid to try something new:

1- Am I holding on to an idea about who I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to do? If so, I remind myself that I’m the master of my identity, not any ideas or thoughts I have. It can be hard to let go of who you used to be but comparison - even to your former self is the thief of joy.

2- What have I done that’s similar, and how did it feel? Most of the time, it felt like a win looking back! I’ll walk through the whole experience again, how I got through it, how amazing it was after, and everything I learned.

3- What’s the opportunity here? I try to think about how amazing it can be instead of what can go wrong. By picturing the best possible outcome instead of the worst, my excitement can overshadow my fear.

The thing with any change is that we can never really be sure how it will go. One thing's for sure, giving it all our energy and putting our best into it always pays off!

You are worthy of the best things. You are magical. Don’t let fear hold you back or keep you small. I used to live in a world filled with fear and restriction and was able (through a good bit of work) to get to a place of contentment and peace with my food and body issues.

What’s something you thought you couldn't do but did it? How did it feel?

12/23/2023