#NODAYSOFF: The life of a DI volleyball player

Editor's Note:  Jessi Greenberg is the AVCA's newest intern who will be working with us and blogging throughout the summer.  She is a junior libero for the University of Kentucky averaging nearly two digs per set in the 2011 season.  Back in 2009, she was an Under Armour Second-Team All-American playing at the Holy Trinity Epsicopal Academy in Melbourne, Florida.  We are happy to have her on board!  Check back every week for her latest blog!

                           
                                                            Week  2: Rise and Grind

Hello again! This week marked the beginning of the University of Kentucky’s annual eight week workout extravaganza. That means Monday through Friday I had the pleasure of waking up at 5:30am to join my fellow athletes in our daily sweat fest. The first day was rather hectic to say the least. Not only does our volleyball team participate in these workouts, but we are joined by the women’s basketball, women’s softball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, women’s tennis, men’s tennis and women’s gymnastics teams as well. Although the workouts are brutal, our collective suffering brings us together in a way that nothing else could. We all respect each other for the pain we endure each morning, and for those of you that judge us for taking the elevator instead of the stairs, you just don’t know.



Post-workout ice baths are a must!



Like most of the athletes at UK, I like to put in extra work, aside from our morning workouts. Some people ride the stationary bikes, while I prefer to participate in group exercise classes at the gym. My favorite so far is definitely cardio boxing. Yes, it was a good workout, but mostly I enjoy it because I feel like a Power Ranger (the pink one of course). In addition to that extra cardio, our team holds open gym a few times a week where we either have full-on scrimmages, or work on skills that need some honing. Open gyms are more relaxed than actual practices, and it’s another opportunity for some team-bonding, can you say win-win?

Now with workouts in the morning, class, work, then another workout in the afternoon, you may be asking: “Jessi, when do you have time to relax?” Well, I don’t. But, the thing is, I spend my days doing the things I love, and to me that’s relaxing. I’ve already gained some great experience working at the AVCA in social media, editing, brainstorming, etc. I’ve also been super on top of my networking game and have been meeting tons of new people. Thank you, LinkedIn.

Despite the fact that I just described the million things I do during the day, I still find time in the evenings to kick-back and watch TV with my roommate/teammate, and just enjoy doing nothing for a little bit. After we eat dinner and stimulate our brains with quality programming such as “The Bachelorette,” I always make time to read before I call it a night. 

Currently, I am reading the New York Times Bestseller The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. The book is extremely interesting, and has definitely made me realize just how lucky I have it, not only to be in college, but to be a student-athlete, surrounded by people that make me a better person. One great idea that I got from the book is to keep a “happiness journal,” where you basically write down the thing that made you happiest each day. I’ve just begun mine, and my only issue is trying to narrow down the huge list of things that made me happy. I guess I could have worse problems. I encourage you all to go buy this book. It will really make you appreciate life and want to live each day to the fullest. In that light, I’ll leave you with a quote that stood out to me this week:

“The days are long, but the years are short.” – Gretchen Rubin