Memphis City Schools art teacher Kelly Hatton has been physically active, particularly as a softball player, since she was a little girl.

Lesley Young Special to The Commercial Appeal

Kelly Hatton, 30, who says she has been physically active all her life, found a new and challenging workout regimen in kickboxing. "It's new and different. It really feels like a personal trainer sometimes," she said.

"I still play for my husband's business league," said Hatton, 30. "I've worked out all my life, it seems like."

With a wedding looming ahead last year and feeling like she had plateaued with her workouts, she decided to try something different.

"Kickboxing has really conditioned me," Hatton said. "It feels like personal training sometimes."

Hatton has her own pair of boxing gloves -- a Christmas present from her father -- and goes to the gym to hit the bag on her own.

Hatton also attends two classes a week with instructor Mark Akin, a nationally ranked competitor, at Envision Memphis Downtown.

"There are usually only three regulars, so it's a tight-knit group with a lot of individual training," she said.

Hatton says she doesn't lose weight easily.

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Success Story: Kelly Hatton