Fitness for Life

Former athletic glory days - gymnastics & cheer

Note: (I am sharing with you MY journey. I made decisions that were best for my body. My story here is not meant be a prescription of what to do, but rather an acknowledgement that our bodies will change & what we do with that can be life altering.)

At the age of 11 I was training twice a day as a competitive gymnast. My dad would drop me off at the gym dark and early on his way to work. My mom would pick me up from school in the afternoon and shuttle me back to the gym for more practice. By the time I was in 7th grade, the skills I was doing on the floor, beam, vault and bars had become very advanced & downright scary. I found myself burned out, not enjoying my sport, and my 13 year old self was really desiring a more normal, teenage life. Enter cheerleading. It was the perfect shift for me to maintain my tumbling, share my bubbly personality, actually spend time with friends and get more involved in my school. To say I loved it is an understatement! I cheered both for my school and for a club squad. I was co-captain and flipped and was tossed into the air too many times to count. I got to The University of Texas at Austin, and I was nervously excited to try out for Texas Cheer. While keeping my skills fresh at a tumbling class I dislocated my knee. I had to have surgery. My dreams of becoming a Texas cheerleader were over.

That was my earliest experience of adapting to a new reality for myself. A few years down the line I injured my other knee and ended up having surgery on that one as well. I felt frustrated that my knees were so prone to injury. While I haven't had any major knee injuries since then, I have tweaked them here and there, and they both have arthritis in them. I always have low-level anxiety that they might dislocate or become otherwise injured again.

So, the way I go about moving my body had to change. I have always been a physically active person, and this has been made possible by making adjustments, adapting to my body as it changes & the years go by, and shifting my mindset and exercise purpose.

Accepting that my body cannot sprint like it did even 5 years ago has not been easy. However, it is easier for me to zoom out and understand that the way I exercise and the way my body responds to the stresses of exercise should be different at the age of 19 versus 46. I cannot and should not be whipping out backhandsprings & sprinting daily, but the occasional cartwheel in the backyard & handstand walk is currently sustainable!

I learned that to protect my knees and stave off injury I needed to work on strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee. After a short-lived few years of distance running I accepted that I was causing more damage to my sensitive knees. I stopped running altogether. I feared I wouldn't be able to maintain the same level of fitness without running. I adapted to a new fitness routine for myself that focuses on heavy strength work and frequent power walking. I am happy to share with you that my body feels better than ever, and the miles I have walked all over my neighborhood have done wonders for my mental health as well! (*please don't misunderstand - it was best for MY body to stop running. It is a well known myth that running causes knee pain. Read more here: https://runrepublic.com/news/run-republic-mythbusters-does-running-really-destroy-your-knees)

It has taken me years to get here, and many lessons have been learned. It can be a hard pill to swallow to choose less mileage and lower impact exercise when you've competed at a high level in the past! As a female and mother of 3 my body has endured many changes (that's a whole other post!). My focus for my health & fitness at this point in my life is LONGEVITY. I want to be able to move my body well & easily for however many years I have left on this earth. I strength train to build muscle, increase bone density, have better stability & balance, boost my metabolism, and overall feel better in my skin. My goal is to adapt my training regimen to be able to live my best life. And for me that means being able to tackle long hikes at high elevations with my family, ski with my kids, get on & off the floor with my baby nephew and future grandkids, and be able to physically do everything I need to with ease and confidence.

What I love about RAH! Power Fitness is that it truly is a place for everyone, no matter where you are at with your fitness. You can show up and know that your trainers want what is best for YOU and will do anything in our power to assist you with your goals & fitness journey. Fitness for Life, for the long-haul, for the best YOU you can be. RAH!