My mom signed me up for a variety of sports as soon as I was eligible.
I was already playing ice hockey, T-ball and soccer when I was in pre-school.
I started gymnastic lessons when I turned volleyball and joined a volleyball team in first grade. In high school, I ran track, joined a competitive cheerleading team and got interested in rock climbing. During college, I continued cheerleading, gymnastic instruction and running during my free time. My cheerleading required conditioning at the gym several times a week and was extremely physically demanding. I was always involved in so many activities that I never needed to worry about keeping fit or my weight. My lifestyle changed a great deal once I graduated and entered the workforce. There were suddenly a lot of demands on my time. I was putting in extra hours on the job in order to earn a promotion. I also needed to take care of grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning my apartment, laundry and the upkeep of a vehicle. My job is quite sedentary, and it didn’t take long before I gained weight and lost muscle tone. I started suffering from a variety of aches and pains in my neck, shoulders, hips and knees. I had trouble sleeping at night, felt lethargic during the day and dealt with frequent headaches. I wasn’t happy with how I looked or felt. I realized that I needed to make my health and happiness a priority in order to enjoy a better quality of life. At first, it wasn’t easy setting my alarm earlier in the morning. However, getting out of bed earlier provided time for a workout before heading into the office. I immediately found that I had a better outlook and more energy. Getting my heart pumping, working up a sweat and focusing on strength, stamina and flexibility also helped to eliminate the aches and pains.
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