My first experiences with physical activity were mostly very negative. I dreaded PE class. In grade school we always had the typical selection process where two students (I haven't a clue how those two students got to be the ones, but they did) stood in front of a long line of first graders and got to point and select the kids they wanted on their team. The two minutes (or however long it took to go through the process) felt like an eternity. I was ALWAYS the last selected, no joke. My name was typically followed by an "ooohhh mann" by my fellow teammates.
This experience set the stage for how I would view exercise for the next 25 years. I never played competitive sports. I never played softball. I often tried to find any way possible to get out of PE class. In fact, my senior year of high school, after moving to a new school district which required an additional semester of PE (Florida schools only required 1 semester, WV schools required a full year), I actually failed the semester and had to drop my Anatomy class (an elective) to re-take it to graduate! THAT's how much I hated PE class.
However, there was one time in my life that I was very physically active. From the time I was in 7th grade until I hit about 10th grade I roller skated. I was actually pretty good. My cousin, a few friends and I would go to the rink every Friday and Saturday night and for five hours straight we would shuffle, jump and speed skate. Rarely did we get off that floor unless we were dying for something to drink. We would sweat and we would go home SORE! I remember some Sundays my feet would ache or I'd have bruises and floor burn from some fall I took from attempting something I probably shouldn't have. One weekend we attempted some kind of jump and when I landed I fell hard and broke a gold ring on my finger. That experience taught me to no longer skate with jewelry. At the time, I never thought of it as exercise, it was just fun. I loved it. I was accepted there. I kept up. There were no "oh man's" when I skated with a group.
It was during that time that I also lost 90lbs on Weight Watchers. It was my first attempt at ever losing weight and the two just happened to be going on at the same time.
So yeah, slight "duh" moment that it's taken a year to figure out that there IS something I really enjoy doing that burns some calories. Sure, I walk and jog - but nothing compares to how great it feels to strap wheels to your feet.
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Think back to younger days. Is there a physical activity you loved doing then that you didn't equate to the status quo exercise routine? If so, what the heck are you waiting for? Try it again!
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