Fitness Model Interview:Shana Martin's Story |
The Early Years My parents met in the Hoofers outdoor club here at the University. Doing active things outside was a way of life for them, and my birth did not stop that. Although before I could walk I usually was the backpack on our backpacking trips, I was always involved in what my parents did. At the age of six months, my mom took a parent-child swimming class with me. Once I was walking, my dad took me everywhere on campus. Shortly after this point, our family was hit with a huge shock; my mother was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. At that point my parents knew as my mom got more and more sick, things would become very hard around the house. They made a pact that this disease would not bring me down and I would have as normal of a life as possible. I was enrolled in ballet, tumbling, and swimming. I became very used to coming home from school and going straight to one sport and the next. I was having a blast. Although I was by far not the best in any of my classes, I had many great friends and always enjoyed my time there. Over the next few years, I was transferred to Madtown Twisters to do gymnastics, began logrolling, and discontinued ballet. Around this time my dad and I started going on many biking and hiking trips. At this point in my life, exercise was purely social and routine. I participated in everything because it was all I knew and what I loved. When I hit fifth grade, my mom began to deteriorate fast. I spent many nights in the hospital after she had fallen, and spent my time at home taking care of her. My dad and I had taken on the roles of full time nurses. I dreaded going to school because the kids made fun of me about everything; from the way I dressed, to my "retarded" mother. My only salvation was the gym and logrolling. I would go to gymnastics and forget about everything. It was my time to be with friends, work on something that I loved and was getting good at, and most importantly, to heal. Competition While things at home did not change, my view of sports was changing rapidly. In both logrolling and gymnastics I not only had many friends and was enjoying myself, but I was beginning to get good. I was asked to be on the gymnastics team, and began training four hours every evening after classes. I also began traveling up north and out west for logrolling tournaments, winning many of them. Not only did I finally have something to make me feel good about myself, the competitions gave my mom something to watch and make her happy. We turned many of my tournaments and meets into family vacations. Those were nice because I was still able to escape the stresses of my mother’s illness during competition, yet be there for her and my father at the same time. As high school approached, I became increasingly dedicated and serious. I discontinued swimming to focus on gymnastics and logrolling. I started getting up at 6am to do strength training in my basement. I found that not only was this helping me make large advancements in my strength, it would wake me up and get me going for the day. I would also stay later after gymnastics to work on my conditioning. It was apparent that I did not have as much natural talent in the sport as the other girls, so I had to put in the extra time. Although I was getting very serious about the sports, it was still my time to be with friends and have fun. When high school began my mom was put into a nursing home. After some adjusting, I suddenly had a lot of free time on my hands and a large load was taken off of my shoulders. I continued logrolling, and joined my high school gymnastics and track teams. My evenings after school were filled with practice, meets, and continued training at Madtown Twisters. Being part of the teams in high school really helped me fit in and feel somewhat important. My junior year I added two additional sports: pole vaulting and karate. My plan was to do these sports just for fun because of how serious I was getting with gymnastics. I was the first female pole-vaulter in Madison and loved every minute of it. The attention I got from the media, friends, and family kept me going. Little did I know both pole vaulting and karate would shape my future. My first year of college consisted of morning training, studying, classes, track, and karate, all day everyday. The University of Wisconsin track team gave me a new perspective on sport. It was now considered a job. I did enjoy the time I had with my friends during practice, and all of the advantages I had of being a UW athlete, but quite honestly, the fun was gone. I remember having a meeting with my coach where she explained to me that being a college athlete was not fun and games like I was used to; it was my new job and number one priority. Despite this new challenge, I was determined to become a successful UW athlete and prove I could do it. I was also allowed to continue training and competing in karate and logrolling, which kept me sane. The summer before my sophomore year in college, I was having second thoughts about doing track. I knew I could enjoy my time in college much more by doing things that I enjoyed, and trying a variety of new things. That is when I got the scholarship notice in the mail. I realized that I could not turn down this offer and I needed the money, so track would remain my way of life for the next few years. I became very used to the vigorous training and stressful schedule and looking back, I am very glad I made the decision to become a UW Athlete. Today and the Future My career as a pole-vaulter at the university is now over, and I am able to move on to reshape my direction as an athlete. Although competition will always be a factor in my athletics, I am slowly going back to where I started: being physically active to have a good time. I no longer have somebody else structuring my workouts, telling me where to be and when, and insisting what my priorities are. Last summer I focused on my logrolling training, and found I do much better working on my own, without outside pressures. It is wonderful to not be "in season" year around. I am now also able to focus on a new challenge: fitness competitions. In these contests, I am able to incorporate everything I have done in the past: gymnastics, strength, and endurance. Because of these contests, my body composition is yet another motivation to keep me exercising. The better I look, the more competitive I can be. Since I was little, I always knew I wanted a career related to health
and fitness. I began personal training at the end of high school and
am now completing my degree in Kinesiology at the University. This year
I started teaching many different group exercise classes, coaching gymnastics,
and coaching track. I also plan to continue personal training and helping
people with disabilities incorporate exercise into their lives. I want
to dedicate my life to getting others involved with, and enjoying physical
activity the way I have. There are many forms of motivation people use
to get involved with exercise: money, health, looks, social, etc. The
number one reason should be enjoyment. Exercise should make a person
happy. A few years back a psychologist "explained" to me the
reason I have been so physically active over the years is because I
am worried about losing my body to Huntington’s disease. I do
not agree one bit. I always have, and always will stay active because
it brings me happiness.
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