Let’s address the elephant in the room right at the outset—the gym is a tough, almost unwelcoming place. Let’s stop acting like it isn’t. It’s a battleground to separate the spectators from the soldiers. A tryst with who you wanted to be vs who you are. At its core, pun intended, it’s a test of your mettle and willpower just as much as your physical strength. A test that Michael Vick’s wife, Kijafa Vick, isn’t quite getting straight A’s in!

Condensed down to the skeletal frame, the gym is a 3-part challenge. First, it’s the sheer motivation to get to it. A majority caves in at that stage itself. But to her credit, Kijafa Vick isn’t part of that faction. You’ve got to be wired a certain way when you’re married to an uber-competitive athlete like Michael Vick. Some of those qualities permeate across time. The second challenge is enduring the pain. The aches and the strains are an unavoidable byproduct. Third comes the actual act of staying in the gym. Not stopping if and when you’ve made your initial goals, making it a routine. A habit. Well, Kijafa Vick is currently at odds with phase 2. Contemplating whether the juice is worth the squeeze when the squeeze is so agonizingly painful.

Kijafa Vick took to her IG to post a series of stories chronicling a day at the gym. Featured in the very first story is what seems to be her trainer. They’re involved in a back-and-forth exchange, not exactly heated but not cold either. The premise of this exchange is the trainer telling Vick she needs to do more. Work harder and for longer, even if she’s “burning.” Meanwhile, Vick is low-key appalled at how she seems to be giving it her all, and her trainer is still dissatisfied. In her head, she’s not leaving anything on the table. But the professional sees through that figurative, invisible barrier every gym-goer is faced with. This leads to a bit of an epiphany for Kifaja Vick, who does a monologue on her way home in the next IG story.

“I’m really thinking [about] me and [my trainer’s] relationship,” says Vick, as she lets out a massive sigh. “I might have to quit here. Because she’s d-adas- serious about making me burn more and not be a punk. And y’all, she ain’t lying! She only had 5 bells on that bar today!” she added, laughing over the fact she knew there should ideally be room for more but just wasn’t. Which Kijafa Vick then elaborated on. “But it hurts, it hurts so bad. I’m on the internet crying [and] I don’t want to do it. Ugh, send help!” exclaims Vick. In the next phase of her rant/moment of realization, she explains exactly what’s going through her head. The crossroads she’s stood at.

“What hurts even more is that I really think I’m giving it my all too, y’all. I really be [in there] like, ‘I know I’m doing this s–t. Yes. I’m doing it. I’m putting my all in.’ And [the trainer] is telling me that my all is not even close. I don’t know what to do…This is hard!” said Kijafa Vick. Michael Vick probably tells her to put her head down and keep grafting at this point.

But not everybody is an athletic specimen. As a college head coach now, he’s learning every day that not everybody is built like him and can do what he did. Alas, you sure hope Kijafa Vick can go deep into herself and pull something a little extra out of the hat. Whether it’s motivation or the strength to endure the burning sensations. It sure isn’t going to be easy, though.

An overarching view on Michael Vick & Kijafa Vick’s relationship and history together

Kijafa and Michael Vick began dating in 2002, while the latter was fresh into his career in the NFL with the Falcons. It can’t be a coincidence that his ascension towards being a multi-time Pro-Bowler and cult legend began right after this. Kijafa Vick saw him at his best, but also at his lowest.

When Michael Vick was incarcerated for his infamous dog-fighting scandal in ’07, the couple was still just dating, albeit they had 2 children. But even through the egregious nature of the controversy, Kijafa Vick stayed ten toes down. The two got married when he was released from jail in 2009 and have been together since. Since the ordeal and subsequent marriage, the Vicks have welcomed a third child.

It’s quite evident that Kijafa Vick has been a pillar of support for Michael Vick. She continues to be as he makes his first foray into the head coaching realm with Norfolk State. Maybe it’s time for him to reciprocate her efforts and support her journey towards achieving her fitness goals. But at the end of the day, it’s got to come from within. And Kijafa Vick, through her self-assessment and monologue, realized that.