https://www.mariaberesneva.com/sauce-slice daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/daee1ffd-5087-476a-be74-08c56f01c6a6/BreeLewis-SauceSlice-Logo.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/138182ba-1048-4207-a558-bb9d427e81b1/BreeLewis-SauceSliceInscreen-3.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/ad399634-6e3c-4b59-82c6-1024ac7eb3f8/Adri-SauceSlice-Inscreen-1.png https://www.mariaberesneva.com/sofia-pazari daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/042ebdd4-990c-4c32-a90d-6524642dad1a/BreeLewis-SofiaPazari-Inscreen-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/c218f803-08d0-432d-afed-4692d1886c84/Adri-SofiaPazari-2.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/c6e4c980-6a8a-4c89-ab74-cf9ab27e9e0a/BreeLewis-Inscreen-4.jpg https://www.mariaberesneva.com/home daily 1.0 2026-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/b87d2803-8c03-4ed3-8917-6e7a4ff9cddf/Group+15433.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/785f0d63-fd52-49a9-9276-05fe2464c62f/Group+15434.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/817f1dc7-f463-4201-8057-cd34cb040d02/Group+15431.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1776391041814-QD2KMNTL32S9HJ5MP9TU/unsplash-image-0I75875sRVU.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1776391291442-VA29X3POTN30JDMOF4WV/unsplash-image-AxYSa1E0850.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1776392278293-6B6ZNU9V72OTD1RZD7JQ/unsplash-image-HgZY0oYkpi8.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/da517b30-7a5b-4b8f-9510-82db303d8897/IMG_5386cropped.JPG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1778117352037-3Y54FXHKKFTUBT42EELR/unsplash-image-rBkdtJImETA.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/18e09bf7-f037-4c94-a274-2c2cca3f7c53/IMG_2954.png https://www.mariaberesneva.com/projects daily 0.75 2026-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/1372af17-7d25-4e10-adf4-2341e9e0cc0c/ColletteNoll-Inscreen-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/042ebdd4-990c-4c32-a90d-6524642dad1a/BreeLewis-SofiaPazari-Inscreen-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/138182ba-1048-4207-a558-bb9d427e81b1/BreeLewis-SauceSliceInscreen-3.jpg https://www.mariaberesneva.com/collette-noll daily 0.75 2026-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/1372af17-7d25-4e10-adf4-2341e9e0cc0c/ColletteNoll-Inscreen-2.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/1fe47d19-f983-4eaa-8114-62afaac18473/ColletteNoll-Inscreen-3.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65fb4adb2ee0272566e6323e/f388e2a5-07b8-4f05-8663-29112cb9895a/Adri-Inscreen-1.png https://www.mariaberesneva.com/scheduling daily 0.75 2026-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/9ab99a64-9ee1-42ac-be2f-522888ec00e4/IMG_5386cropped.JPG https://www.mariaberesneva.com/running daily 0.75 2026-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/db774aa2-1895-4768-8774-c76532be2092/643440766_26980691504854427_8970412439994348038_n.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/627cfc92-c090-40f9-9da2-84d05fef3a56/20240926_223824000_iOS.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/160d3ae0-f84c-430b-bfb2-c21ee68acdba/IMG_8853.jpeg https://www.mariaberesneva.com/new-page daily 0.75 2026-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/458b652d-376e-456a-8a0f-bcc9702fc169/643440766_26980691504854427_8970412439994348038_n.jpg New Page https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/ea84500c-f1e1-4da5-9bf2-44780eac571f/Test3.jpg New Page - Seeds of inner confidence After the skiing accident, my mom’s perception of my body changed and she started seeing me as fragile. She wouldn’t let me do sports other kids took for granted, afraid I’d break my body again. Her perspective hung over my childhood like a dark cloud, ready to rain doubt on any athletic endeavor I wanted to pursue. But deep inside, I knew she was wrong. I just knew it. I knew she was greatly underestimating what my body was capable of. I knew that her perception was limited to what she saw. And she didn’t see the big picture. But I did. And that was the important part. I saw my body when it was performing at its best. That’s what really mattered. She didn’t own my body, I did. I wasn’t going to let someone else write the narrative of what my body could and couldn’t do. That story was mine to write. Mine and mine alone. From that point on, I cultivated an inner confidence that would carry me through many challenges ahead. (Image) Rising confidence: Pushing and challenging my body from a young age built up my confidence. Here I am in action, navigating rocks and boulders on a steep mountain hike. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/07368bc0-c89e-4c91-a5e2-93f69934262a/506902644_24683847997872134_6373692047383787957_n.jpg New Page - New heights Fast forward through a few seasons. I’m living in Iowa, on the cusp of my teenage years. I’m doing a variety of sports, but I watch my fitness dissipate right before my eyes. The wake-up call is sounding its sirens: my metabolism has slowed way down. I realize that I need to pivot before things get worse, so I decide to start a targeted, intentional workout routine. Dedicated workouts seem promising for several reasons. I’d like to get my fitness back. But there’s a deeper motivation: I desperately want to shed the “fragile kid” label that’s stuck to my body with some kind of Crazy Glue. I hate being labeled that way. I get creative. My early workouts are a combination of cardio, dance, and strength training. I take moves I learned in sports like figure skating and cheerleading, and turn them into high-intensity exercises. After a few years of dedicated training, I’m fit again. In fact, I’m fitter than I’ve ever been. The injuries have stopped. I can take a hard fall and walk away—my newfound muscle tone seems to have become a shield from harm. I’m cruising on cloud nine. I don’t have to be the “fragile kid” anymore, I’ve finally freed myself from those chains. As the years go on, my workouts continue to evolve. I get addicted to seeing how far I can push my body physically. The post-workout feeling is a kind of euphoria I’d never felt before: unstoppable, like I can accomplish anything. (Image) Fitness from the early days: I started doing regular, intense exercise as a kid. There were two main reasons: I wanted to strengthen my body after a childhood plagued by injuries, and my metabolism slowed down at an early age. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1790970713424-6VHHJGL4T5ZIGP7FI99X/unsplash-image-PoO-pMjrP-0.jpg New Page - Another nosedive Skip ahead to college. By now, I have a decade of intense fitness training under my belt. My reputation shines down on me with blissful rays: someone who knows how to get fitness results. I’ve created something of value to the world and it makes me really happy. But even though I’ve seemingly found my fitness stride, more tumultuous waters lie ahead. One day, I notice my abdominal area doesn’t feel normal and it’s obvious something’s wrong. My mom happens to be a doctor, so I go to her for an informal checkup. The news is not good. She suspects that I’ve sustained several internal abdominal injuries and that I would need surgery. Upon formal examination at the hospital, it turns out she’s right. The next few weeks pre-surgery are a mix of shock, disappointment, and coming to terms with what’s happened. This is the last thing I expected. I’m scared to death of surgery. I had hoped I’d go my whole life without ever having surgery. Yet, here I am, at the ripe, old age of 20. I’ve barely lived through 2 decades and my body is already breaking down on me. I start questioning everything. Am I just not cut out to be an athlete? Have I been doing everything wrong this whole time? Or is it just bad luck and out of my control? I don’t have the answer to all these questions, so I simply press on in my fitness journey with a heart full of hope, trying not to think about it too much. Despite all my doubts and fears, time will reveal that this is not the end, but only the beginning of what my body is capable of. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69a88fa0d63dd23e928b02b9/1790970745386-ES3W8MMUVFRQ0U3XIGVK/unsplash-image-PoO-pMjrP-0.jpg New Page - On the comeback trail The recovery from abdominal surgery is 3 months long and very painful. I can’t bend at the waist very much. I can’t tie my own shoes. I have to have people do simple things for me. The most humbling part is that for the first time in my life, I’m disgusted by my own body. My stomach is swollen and bruised in every color of the rainbow and it will stay that way for a long time. I can’t help but notice the irony: the physique I’d taken so much pride in, I can now barely stand to look at. I’m once again faced with the fragility of the human body, something I thought I’d overcome. All the bad memories come pouring back. The uncertainty of my future as an athlete rings loud and clear. During recovery, there’s only one form of exercise I’m allowed to do—running. But there’s a problem: running was not what I was doing to achieve my results. I’m incredibly scared of losing all the fitness I’ve worked so hard and so long for. Reluctantly, angrily, frustratingly, I switch to running as my main and only workout.