Daily Dabblings

I was going to do all of these in one post, but it was getting way too long so it will, instead, be a brief introductory series to the things that I’m currently considering pursuing.  First off, fitness, which has probably been the most consistent thing in my life since leaving school (other than television).

Exercise has always been part of my life.  I was in gymnastics classes from 2 to 12 and then played tennis and ran track in middle and high school.  Once I left for college, however, it became more sporadic.  I took some random fitness classes over those four years and went to the gym in spurts but I haven’t consistently worked out for more than 6 months at a time since high school.  I can definitely tell the difference in my body, both in appearance and general feelings of wellness and strength, and I can’t say that I’m happy with my current level of fitness. Since I ended grad school at the beginning of December, I’ve started exercising pretty regularly (again).  For the first month and a half this consisted of going running a few times a week or maybe doing some videos that I found online or doing the 30 Day Shred.  Almost a month ago, I started getting more interested in weightlifting and the benefits of getting my strength back.  I ordered The New Rules of Lifting for Women and today will complete my third week of that.  So far my strength has drastically improved relatively quickly (although I’m sure a lot of that has to do with not knowing where I should have actually been starting in terms of weight).  I was lucky enough to find a friend who wanted to do it with me which has been an amazing deterrent from skipping a workout.  So, currently I’m lifting Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and trying to get my running up 3 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Sunday as a rest day.

As for how this pertains to my future, over the last year or two, I’ve considered becoming a personal trainer.  I would definitely want to do something with a heavy focus on nutrition (more on that later) but some part of me feels inspired to help other people become healthy.  A lot of this interest began when, out of boredom, I started watching The Biggest Loser.  Mostly the show is too much game for me but the brief parts where you get to see people training and progressing I find very inspiring.  I’ve also noticed that the benefits of exercise is one of the topics that I really enjoy reading about when I’m perusing the internet.  I think it’s clear that there’s something broken in our society and whatever it is has happened fairly recently.  While I’m convinced that the root of the problem isn’t a simple lack of exercise, the decline of physical activity done by adults and children is certainly a component.  So, helping people incorporate exercise into their lives is something that I think is important and that I could see being a part of my future.