“From a young age, Tennis was my thing! From the age of 4, I would play tennis a few times a week for fun, then gradually as I became older, I was training up to 4-5 hours a day, 6 days a week. I would train on and off court and compete too. My mindset from a young age was to improve technique, to be fitter, to be faster, keep improving as you could always be better! Physical exercise then was only to improve my tennis.
At the age of 19 I stopped playing tennis full time and went into education, I went to college, then onto University and then into full time work. Priorities changed for me and physical activity was not my top priority, but I would still try to exercise as much as I could. I found that I was now exercising for a different reason, to keep my weight down, to feel better, to look better. I still enjoyed playing tennis, I would run, go to the gym and attend fitness classes. In 2018, when I turned 30 I decided to run the Brighton Marathon to prove to myself that I could still physically challenge myself, which was a real achievement for me alongside raising money for MIND.
In Nov 2018 I was diagnosed with Pleurisy, which has been off and on affecting me up until the lockdown. This is inflammation of the Pleura (lining of the lung) which can cause a lot of pain when breathing when inflamed. As a result, the majority of the time I was unable to do any exercise that put any pressure on my lungs.
I have only just been able to start exercising regularly again within the last 3 weeks. Exercising from home at the moment is great for me as I can work at my own pace and do what I can. My chest is feeling good at the moment and I have even started going out for some short runs again too.
It has been tough starting back, I have to be patient and know my limits of what I can do, but i’m loving it! Being able to exercise is not something I will ever take for granted!”
Thank you from the Humans of HIIT community for sharing your story!
