When I was in 6th grade, my grandmother moved into some new apartments that were close to my home in Deer Park. This apartment had a weight room that contained one of those 1980's universal machines, like the one pictured above. I loved that weight room. I would jog from my house to her apartment which was about a mile and a half both ways. I loved seeing how much I could lift and would even bring friends with me. They never seemed quite as enthused about working out as I did but would join me anyway with the promise of swimming afterwards. I remember bringing one of my bigger friends one time. He was a lineman on my football team. We had a lifting contest on the bench press and we were both shocked when he couldn't lift more than me at the time. That was when I was convinced that I didn't need to wait for 9th grade before I could start lifting weights. I had always heard that you would stunt your growth if you lifted too early.
I continued to use that weight room as an escape all the way through high school. When I broke my collarbone during my junior year of football, I would go to that weight room and lift with one arm. If I found myself bored with nothing to do on the weekends, I would bring a little radio up to that weight room, plug in the Rocky soundtrack and break a sweat for an hour or so.
Everyone has certain passions, talents and hobbies. I loved exercising and that continues to this day. That apartment complex is much older now and has certainly been updated with new fitness equipment but I will never forget that old universal machine. It was designed to shape and build muscles but for me it helped shape and build passions that I now pass on to present and future generations.
My Fitness Journey Part 1
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