This article is giving you a little piece of ME and how I grew up and what got me started in fitness. I was born in Dayton, Ohio and grew up on what I call a yuppie farm. We had a great house with several acres. Our neighbors were not real far apart but enough to where you would have to ride your bike to visit. You look at where I grew up now and it is so different.

They put in a highway near it and BOOM tons of houses and businesses. I love the outdoors probably cause I was an only child until I was eleven and had to keep myself busy. My mother is a strong and independent individual and had me involved in fitness and sports starting at the age of two. I was in a too too at two. I loved a sport called tetherball. Have you ever heard of it?

Well it is similar to volleyball but you play against only one other person and you are in a circle with a pole in the middle and attached is a ball on a long rope. The object of the game is to keep serving back and forth until you get it over their head then you have to keep hitting it until the rope wraps all the way around the pole and the ball tightens on your side. Different HUH? Well I was the champion in my grade school, even beat the boys.

Throughout my high school I was pretty popular. I ran track and field, softball, soccer, and was the captain of my drill team. I have two twin brothers Scott and Jeffrey. We are about 11 years apart. They have a real talent for art. Their drawings are amazing. I remember when I introduced them to working out when they were in high school. They still like to work out and they also use supplements since they lead a busy lifestyle.

When I was living on my own trying to work and go to college, I started getting into some unhealthy habits. This kind of hurt me in the long run cause I never really thought about nutrition then. I had been working for a corporate bank as an analyst and dealing with stress, while still attending school part-time. I was gaining weight but it made me look more stocky then fat. I had been getting back pains and one day it was to the point where I couldn't even standup. I went to the hospital and found out my bowels had back up into my system.

The doctor said I had a digestive disorder and needed to start paying attention to my eating habits. While I was dating my husband, (who is in the army) he got me interested into more advanced ways of weight training. I really enjoyed it cause I was strong. Plus I like how other soldiers respected a female who was serious and understood weight training. That got me motivated in learning sport nutrition and learning how to get better at my workouts. One day after several years I started getting bored with working out and seeing how there isn't much challenges in military cities, I started searching for adventure. See when you're married to a soldier they are gone a lot and you are left alone.

You have to keep yourself motivated. So I wanted to try competing but thought maybe it was for younger athletes. See I want to establish a lifelong dream in this but didn't know if I had a chance at the age I was. Sometimes it take years to establish a spot in fitness. Then I came across information on obstacle course competitions in a fitness magazine. That is when I entered my first national women's tri-fitness competition for all ages and finished in top 10 overall. That got me fired up so I started doing regional fitness competitions, then now here I am after two years getting ready to do the Fitness Universe Pageant. So, you don't have to be young in fitness. Don't let that discourage you. Always Believe to Achieve!

Name: Traci Shoop
E-mail: Traci Shoop
Website: http://tracishoop.com/
Sign: Virgo
Age: 33
German/Italian
Weight: 128 lbs. in-season
? 135 lbs. off-season
Height: 5ft 7 ins.
Measurements: 36-25-35Top 40 in Fitness Universe 2002
Won Georgia Model Search 2002
Won Venus NC Model Search 2002
Won Hawaiian Tropic NC Model Search 2002
Won in category and 5th overall in Model Quest Universe 2002 which was at the Olympia at Club Seven pics are at www.modelquestamerica.com soon.
2001 Fitness America Nationals
2001 ESPN Series runner-up
2001 Model Quest Nationals 7th
Ms Sport Aerobics Great Lakes 2001
2001 Ms Fitness Legacy Great Lakes 6th
2001 Ms Fitness Legacy National 16th
2000 Women's Tri-Fitness 10th overall
2000 Ms Fitness America NC runner-up

Drill Team:
Miss Wright State of OHIO
Miss Drill Team of OHIO runner-up
Former All- American Girl
Captain of High School Drill Team

Dance:
Dayton, Ohio
experience in tap/ballet/jazz/hip hop/break dancing/funk/Urban. I have been a performer since the age of two.

Memberships:
Associate of American Dietetic Association
National Association of Sport Nutrition
done volunteer work for Army Veterans/Cancer/Meals on Wheels

Check Out My Website: http://tracishoop.com/