I own and operate a gymnastic studio. I’ve been at it for nearly fifteen years. I also work as a high school cheerleading coach. I’ve done that for nearly 10 years. The demands of my job make it essential that I keep myself in good physical shape. Whether I’m helping my gymnastic students achieve new or difficult skills or assisting cheerleading stunts, I need to be hands on. I am often required to support or catch the body weight of kids who are taller and weigh more than I do. To avoid injury to both myself and the girls, I take care of myself. I am conscientious about nutritious meals, getting the necessary amount of sleep and drinking sufficient amounts of water. I exercise every single day. While my job is physically strenuous, it’s not enough to maintain total body fitness. I need to concentrate on strength training, range of motion, flexibility, balance and stamina. Stretching is super important. Despite my dedication, I frequently suffer stiffness, soreness and exhaustion at the end of a long day. My muscles ache and I get really fatigued. However, I seldom face any major injuries. I normally feel back to my normal self after a good sleep and deep stretch. The worst injury I have suffered was a strained psoas muscle. It occurred while I was spotting a roundoff back handspring. The cheerleader swerved away from me. I had to overextend myself to catch her. At the time, I was only aware of a slight pinch in my right thigh. The pain gradually worsened as the hours went by. That evening, the pain was so bad that I couldn’t tolerate sitting down, walking up the stairs or sleeping. The psoas muscle extends from the butt cheek all the way down the leg to the knee. Because of that, I was severely restricted in what I could do. The recovery time of such a large and important muscle was over six months.
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