Since I was five years old, I have participated in organized sports nearly year-round. Whether it was basketball, soccer, cross-county, track, or swimming, I was on a team. By the time I was twelve, I was waking up at 4:30 AM for swim practice before school. My life pretty much revolved around three things: school, swimming, and Harry Potter.
When I finished freshman year, I was struck by a strong desire to engage in community service. Swimming up to two hours a day, five to six days a week, had previously prevented me from giving back to my community. Thus, acknowledging my priorities, I stepped down from a very intense swim group to a more well-rounded and less demanding group. No longer did I have practice attendance requirements. No longer did I have to attend swim meet after swim meet. I loved my newfound free time, and I filled it with community service, school clubs, and activities like yoga. In February, I ended my career as a high school athlete and was similarly greeted with a surprising amount of free time. Now I am figuring out how to stay active while not on a team. Luckily, I am not a natural couch potato, and I love to be active. Since swimming ended, I have rock climbed, kayaked, and hiked, and I will go backpacking next weekend and complete a Spartan Race in April. As I move forward into this new chapter in life, I am so excited to learn fun ways to maintain physical fitness. In honor of the coming spring, I challenge you to complete four of the following actions by June. They are fun ways to get some exercise and drink in the fresh air! 1. Play tennis. Even if you are terrible, it is fun. 2. Kayak. Best enjoyed with two people. 3. Bike. Outside, not in a cycle class. Beautiful scenes I have encountered on bike rides include calves chasing a butterfly and a mama bird feeding her baby bird. No joke. 4. Hike. Take a natural trail, not a paved one, and enjoy the feeling of dirt beneath your feet. 5. Rock climb. There are plenty of tours you can take in the mountains, and the thrill of climbing up a rock face is unparalleled.
1 Comment
Betty Beamguard
3/23/2017 11:55:26 am
Can I just do 3 of those?? I'm not comfortable on a bike--I rented one to try it at the beach. Even off-road on level ground, I couldn't relax, tho I did enjoy the feeling of breezing along. And no way am I scaling a rock face! We love kayaking, hiking, and playing tennis or pickleball, tho we are terrible at the last two and don't keep score. We do it for laughs and exercise.
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