NOTE: I promise this blog will not be an autobiography of my childhood but this series of entries are my hopes to explain my love of an active life and what took me to my breaking point. Basically, what built a fatlete.
In the spring of 9th grade, after being a chubby introvert for a few years I got my first piece of motivation. After my third high school change of the year I landed with my step-grand parents for the rest of the school year and was enrolled in Air Force JROTC at Fike High School in Wilson, NC. As a part of the program there was a monthly Physical Fitness Test. It was at this time I learned some weaknesses and some strengths. The PFT consisted of max pull ups, max push ups, 2 minute sit ups, broad jump, and something like a 550 meter run. I learned I sucked at the run and jump. I didn't know how to fix it at the time. I struggled to do push ups and pulls ups, but I worked at it and improved them by doing them daily. I never had good results during the test because I didn't realize that maxing out in the exercises the day before the test was not a good idea. However, sit ups were my bread and butter with 80 in 2 minutes. The max score. After the school year ended, I went back to live with my mom and step-dad and was given my first issue of men's health which began a love of fitness knowledge. I started following a boot camp workout, running and doing push ups and I took myself from 140lbs of lard to 140lbs of half muscle, half love handles but I had visible abs.
The next year I landed at Chapel hill High School and in the winter of that year started competitive fencing although not too strenuous (or at least not our program) half the team was made up of cross country runners so we ran several miles a day as a warm up. It was at this point, the first time I ran in the woods that I realized I loved running. I realized it clears my mind and makes me feel happier when I am done. At the end of the season many of the XC runners were also Pole vaulters on the track team. They hyped it up so much that I had to try it. I sucked, a lot. Despite that, I competed in both sports sophomore and junior year. Personal bests included attending the North Carolina High School Championships, U.S. High School championships, and the Junior Olympic Qualifiers in fencing. My PR in track was clearing 13 feet one time, only time I made it over 8 feet. At the end of junior year I made friends with the kicker from the football team and started kicking with him after school twice a week. Fall of senior year I went out for the football team and made the team as a kicker. The next day I went to the coach and told I didn't want to be a kicker I wanted to play line. He told me pick a position and go out for it. I picked center, that day the offensive line coach told me I was too small and moved me to tight end. In an entire season I only played in a 1 game. For the majority of high school I was 140 pounds with love handles but not huge being active probably helped me from getting too fat despite not being any good. Football was a big change. The most work I had ever had to put into athletics. I got into the the habit of eating all day in order to have enough energy to finish the day. Thanks to that I was 160 by the end of the season. Unfortunately I kept the habit but didn't play anymore sports and graduate at 180 lbs. I still wasn't big though. This started a eating trend that continued and I will discuss more in depth in my next entry.
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