You Told Us: Jan of Cranky Fitness

When I'm not blogging, I'm a life and wellness coach- and most clients find me though reading what I've written about health, fitness, and motivation. So one might wonder why I'd be so clueless about marketing as to name my blog "Cranky Fitness," and to blog under the name "Crabby McSlacker." Who would seek out a "lazy" life coach whose blog posts are full of snark, swear words, bad attitude, kvetching, greedy review and giveaway contests, and gratuitous beefcake photos? (And OK, I'll admit there is a fair amount of health and fitness research squeezed in too, but almost never delivered with a totally straight face).

But even though I'm now trying to use it as a life coaching platform, Cranky Fitness was never intended to market anything. I started the blog anonymously, back before I made the transition from psychotherapist to life coach. I was excited to connect with other folks interested in fitness, to express my frequently ornery opinions about health and life, and to try to bring in a few bucks from running ads. But I had such a blast doing it that the blog took on a life of its own. I was joined by some awesome co-bloggers for several years, who have written a lot of the more hilarious posts in the archives. And I became so fond of the readers who stopped by left such thoughtful, funny, and inspiring comments, that they now feel like family. The blog became so much a part of my life that even after I "quit" to do other things for a year and a half, I had to come crawling back this last summer and start it up again. I lost a lot of readers during my absence, but the loyal ones who came back and found me are more precious to me than ever.

Cranky Fitness covers a wide and weird variety of health and fitness topics, with the perspective that healthy living is a magnificent goal, but sometimes a pain in the ass to accomplish. So it's obviously not a blog for everyone. Typical readers tend to be on the brainy side- they have to be, in order to follow the strange perambulations of my twisted mind. They're often skeptical too, so they don't mind researchy posts that question the oversimplified health headlines we read daily. And thank goodness they're also patient, putting up with bad puns, crass giveaways, lazy link round-ups, and opinionated advice on all kinds of subjects that they know more about than I do.

So I really appreciate that SHAPE has been so kind as to let me blather on about my blog! It's been a kick to be part of this whole fitness blogging poll, and I'm hoping a stray new reader or two will find their way to our strange little corner of the blogosphere. And good luck to all the rest of the featured blogs. May there be new readers for everyone!