Worlds Colliding
I was taking a quick scroll through history Twitter when I chanced upon Stephanie Lawton’s thread about #histgym. I’ve largely compartmentalized the two primary aspects of my professional life - history and personal training. Maybe it’s time to break down those silos.
The History of It All
About 10 years ago, I went on a parenting sabbatical. I joined the PTA, I volunteered in the classroom, I chaperoned all the trips to Mount Vernon. And when my kindergartener decided he wanted to become Alex Ovechkin, I became a hockey mom. I decided to take a few skating lessons myself, just to be able to coast around the rink with a little confidence. Soon I was hooked. And soon after that, I was injured.
It was frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive to endure countless tests, rehabilitation, and physical therapy. It was a years-long process, but I came out of it with an absolute fascination about how the human body breaks and how it heals.
The History Nerd is an...Athlete?
I’ve never been athletic, so dealing with a sports injury was unsettling new territory. I was also surprised that through it all what motivated me to keep going was being able to skate. I studied athletic training, sports nutrition, and mental toughness.
I got certified and I got a job training people in a gym. Me! The history nerd was helping people recover from injury, lose weight, improve their athletic performance, and discover strength and confidence they never knew they had.
I’m a certified personal trainer (CPT) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and I’m currently studying to become a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Through those certifications, I have access to some fantastic science, journals, and conferences. And I can share that knowledge with you.
How Can I Help?
A quick scroll through #histgym shows just how varied healthy living can be. No matter where you are in this process - a rookie, a returnee, a competitive athlete - I think this kind of community can have a lot of offer. And I would like to contribute. In that spirit, I’m considering a series of training-related posts. Everything from general fitness to athletic performance, bringing you the latest in training, health, and nutrition. And the science behind it.
I hope to be able to put up a training post about once a month. I figure my next one can outline some foundational resources that are my go-to for training and nutrition science and information. And then we’ll see where things go from there.
So tell me folks, what health, fitness, and nutrition information would be most helpful to you? Comment, email, tweet me up...I’d love to hear from you.