As a child I never enjoyed contact sports or any sports that involved technique. I was horrible! For many years I would try sports that involved these things and I would strongly hate them. When I was eleven I finally found a sport that I enjoyed. Swimming. I wasn’t very fit when I began this sport, besides the fact that I would take part in swimming lessons for a large part of my childhood. When I began swimming, I really fell in love with it. My fitness and cardio levels bettered to an extreme amount and I felt so much better about myself at a young age. I competed at a high level for many years within swimming, which was a blessing as well as a curse. I was stressed constantly and felt a huge amount of pressure every time I would race. Training was no longer fun and neither were swim meets. After disliking the sport for a long time I had finally realized that I needed to make the ultimate decision to quit. I knew this is what I needed to do for myself. This wasn’t a sad thing, however. Swimming has given me so much. It has given me confidence, strength, a strong mind and body. I took everything I had from swimming and began running and going to the gym. I will be beginning track. I wouldn’t be able to do any of these things without the abilities that I gained from swimming. I love that I am so fit and able to do all of these things and continue my sports and love for fitness in other areas. Sports are a great thing and a great way to start your fitness journey.
