Find Your Peak

Finding my peak allowed me to see more
and enjoy the simple moments of life.

When I was young, physical fitness was called playing.  I woke up, ate a bowl of cereal, then went outside all day.  A day of play would include activities like kickball, hide-and-seek, slip-n-slide, or building forts in the backyard.  That was the summer.  Even during the school year, we'd find a way to relieve our pent up energy after a long, and usually boring day.  A bike ride around the neighborhood or walk through the local woods were pretty common.  We didn't realize these activities were getting our heart rate up or promoting physical well being.  We just knew they were fun.

As I aged, things began to change.  Play started to give way to homework, more TV watching, and time on my beloved Atari video game system.  And all that time sitting in uncomfortable school seats.  Life was becoming more sedentary.  But I still had activity in my life.  Gym class.  Marching band practice. A newspaper delivery route.  And plenty of extracurricular activities.  Personally, I didn't notice much of a difference.

Then came college.  That involved lots of time without a lot of movement.  Sitting in lectures.  Sitting in the library.  Sitting at a desk, putting in endless stressful hours of studying.  And that stress was often relieved by unhealthy binges at the snack bar or a libation at the local watering hole.  I definitely put on a few pounds.  Became a little pudgy.  Lost stamina and often felt sluggish.  Honestly, I think I was so busy just making it through the day that I didn't even realize what was happening.

Finding my peak, literally.  On New Year's Day, we ascended
1364' to the North Peak of the Fortuna Mountain Trail.

Fast forward to adulthood.  I carried those pounds with me all those years.  I was eating unhealthy foods and portion sizes.  I had trouble making it through the day without the stimulation from plenty of caffeine in cup-after-cup of coffee and sugar-laden Coke.  Eventually I knew I had to make a change.  I tried different things.  Remember the fat free dietary plan?  Yuck!  But I did it.  I tried running.  Hated it.  I had short stints in the gym.  Couldn't sustain them.   Did some bike riding or tennis playing here-and-there.   But I just couldn't seem to keep it up.

Then I learned how to find my peak.

It started the same New Year that I committed to becoming vegan.  I had paid for a largely unused gym membership for years, but I decided to hire a trainer.  He worked me hard!  After that first session, I remember not being able to sit or traverse stairs without great pain.  For three entire days.  Over several months, he helped me reduce my weight by 20 pounds and my body fat 7 percent.  After he left to go back to school, I hired two more trainers, who continued to help me shape my body into something I was finally proud of.  After years of feeling helpless and not at all comfortable in my own skin, I was elated to finally feel in charge of my physical appearance. 

From there, the pieces really started falling into place.  I bought a bike and began "commuting" to my destinations.  I got even more active with my tennis league.  I found more joy in hiking, biking, swimming, walking all around town.  Anything that got me moving was fair game.  I realized that not only were these changes helping to shape my body (I have consistently kept off 25 pounds and cut my body fat in half), they were having unanticipated mental benefits.  My stamina was better.  I wasn't feeling sluggish.  I was moving faster on the court.  I was sleeping better.  I was thinking more clearly.  I felt happier and less stressed or anxious.

I had found my peak. 

I love sharing my experiences.  My New Year's Day trip to
North Fortuna was more joyful with several members of
my family.

So what do you need to do to find your peak? A peak can be literal, like climbing to the top of a mountain trail. Which, by the way, is a great thrill that I very much enjoy.  A peak can also be figurative, like trying a new sport, a walk instead of Netflix, or pushing yourself harder at the gym.  But finding your peak has to be a personal discovery.  And a peak can mean different things to each person.  To me, your peak just has to be any physical activity that brings you satisfaction, whether that be mentally, physically, spiritually, or a combination of these.  Go for it!  Try new things.  Find what works.  And don't be discouraged if something doesn't suit your fancy. 



Just remember one thing:  Never.  Ever.  Give up. 

Because you CAN do it.  And just like when we were kids, it CAN be fun.  So get up, get going, and find your peak.