The world of fitness encompasses many athletes who have had to overcome adversities to achieve triumph. Each story has its own way of inspiring others to move forward and be their best. Serena Settlemier and Sara Hurrle are two athletes who are very familiar with both the highs and lows that come with fitness and life. That was why Alina Popa and Lenda Murray had both ladies on as the featured guests on this week’s episode of Femme Flex Friday.
Hurrle’s Road to Sobriety
Hurrle is not only a college hockey strength and conditioning coach, she is also an IFBB Pro League Women’s Physique competitor. She had third at the 2013 Women’s Physique Olympia. She had dreamed of competing since she was a teenager, but she knew she had to overcome a pretty big issue first.
“I started drinking at the age of 12. I knew at 16 that I had a problem. This was an all or nothing thing for me. I couldn’t control it. It was a mental obsession,” she admits. Hurrle was burning the candle at both ends, trying to keep up a fitness lifestyle while also partying with friends regularly. “I very much felt like a fraud.”
While she had quit drinking multiple times over the years, she would pick the habit back up. Hurrle told Popa and Murray that at the age of 29, she reached up to a higher power for help.
“I truly, finally, got on my hands and knees and asked for help. I started going to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) regularly, and I submitted myself to their program.” That choice is what she credits for helping her turn things around.
“This is what allowed me to do the things I’ve done in my career.”
Serena Settlemier Needed a Strong Arm for Softball
Settlemier comes from the world of softball. After playing at the University of Kansas, she got to play professionally and travel the world for several years. Prior to that, she had to deal with a serious arm injury that could’ve ended her career.
“Back in high school, I broke my ulna, and I got it casted. I cut the cast off because I wanted to play because I was a punk teenager,” Settlemier explained. The problem resurfaced in college, and she said that the coaches had to drain fluid from her arm between innings. It took a bone narrowing surgery to repair the damage. The doctors told Settlemier that she would never pitch again.
“I remember coming out of that surgery being like ‘everything you worked for your whole life is gone. Where am I going to go from here?’ I remember coming home from the surgery and thinking ‘I’m going to create my own destiny. I’m not going to let this defeat me.’”
Settlemier discussed how self-help books, meditating, and self-accountability got her on the road back to the diamond. She would return to the game and ultimately was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in her senior season at Kansas.
The show goes into much deeper detail of how both ladies were able to achieve the success they had as well as how you can do the same in your own life. Catch this and every episode of FFF, Fridays starting at 6 p.m. eastern time over at www.wingsofstrength.net.
