Lifelong Physical Activity

When I graduated with my B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Texas in May 2000, I was scared and confused. Like many new grads, I had no job and no plan of how to go about getting one. So I decided to stay in school and get my M.S. in Kinesiology.

While in graduate school, I was a teaching fellow for the Kinesiology Department, teaching undergraduate physical education classes and working side by side with the same professors who taught my courses. One particular staff meeting, I recall listening to Dr. Alan Jackson discuss how we were to go about teaching the PHED 1000 course, our general undergrad P.E. course. And to this day, I can still remember the main message of his discussion.

To paraphrase Dr. Jackson - "Our goal for this course is to ensure that we teach these students to appreciate and enjoy lifelong physical activity." It did not matter if it was walking, playing basketball, golf, rock climbing, or dancing. The point was that for in order for human beings to stay healthy and live happy lives, they had to continute to pursue some form of physical activity for the duration of their lives.

I remember those words just about daily in my career as a strength and conditioning coach/soccer coach/personal trainer and they ring true in almost every situation I find myself in throughout my work week. Whether I'm leading a group of adults through a workout at CATZ Sports, coaching young girls on the soccer field for Lonestar Soccer Club, or running through a SRBC workout in the park, a big part of my job is to make sure that I'm allowing these individuals to ENJOY physical activity. Because if they do enjoy it, chances are they will continue to do that particular activiity so for a longer period of time. And as a result of that, they will most likely enjoy a healthier and happier life as well.

Remember to ENJOY your physical activity of choice! And if you find yourself bored and not enjoying what you are doing anymore, don't be intimidated to try something new. You never know how much fun you'll have.