My story begins in a small northern town in Wy"home"ing (too much?). Most of you think that: Wyoming is a state with shit winters, fairly rectangular, and we are a hillbilly's wet dream where you sleep-with-your-brother- kind of place with only one craigslist ad for the entire State. Well you're almost right; despite the incest part. It does have shit winters (-10 on the reg), and we do only have a Craigslist for the State- no cities. Google that shit. Seriously. Anyways, fast-forward through Senior Year in High School, I was 7 years in the making of being a semi-star athlete for Soccer and Basketball. We were 3A, BAHA! Not that big of a deal by the way, but I was an eager senior, gearing up to play Junior College Soccer and Basketball in hopes of making something of my talent that I trained in and out of the gymnasium for. At least I thought I was training correctly for. I say it this way because during my Senior year of Basketball Season, I tore my ACL and Meniscus during our Regional Championship game. What a way to go out, AMIRIGHT. Granted, my "training" never consisted of lifting, it was mainly being a cardio bunny, and ABS, ABS, ABS. So on top of endless sprints, and ladders at practice, I would additionally go to the gym after, and go ham on the Elliptical. No wonder I tore my knee to bits! Well. You might think, okay. This is where she says " I learned my lesson, it changed my life, and this is where I am." Well you're wrong. I did the PT the first time, and I made it my bitch with motivation to at least get in to College Ball in the Winter, but got into my old habits again. Do Cardio, it makes you thin, weight training makes you manly. I played one game of basketball, with my brace, mind you, and POP. I was done. I can't play sports, something is wrong with my body. Why me? Why does this keep freaking happening?!
Long story short, I got the surgery again, opted for a cadaver. I, again, did the PT, saw the atrophy of my left leg and thought, this is not right. For someone who played soccer, had thick legs, strong and dominate quads, and instead look down and see SpongeBob limbs, I knew I had to do this rehab differently. I saw the importance of having muscle for the structure and mobility of my joints, and after the 4 months of Rehab, I just kept going, and haven't stopped to this day. 3 years later, I'm still implementing all of the tools to strength training for not only my knees, but for my whole body. Training is my passion, and it makes me feel empowered, and strong. I want to be here to help motivate people on whatever their goals may be whether it be fitness related, life, self love, or just being a sounding board. I want to hear your experiences, and share my own, and make this a community where I can grow as a person, and find my niche in this world while makes some friends along the way :)