Being a mother is exercise enough, but find out what makes Sacramento Monarchs forward Yolanda Griffith's face twist up when she works out.

For upper body?
I lift weights for my upper body weights, do lat pulls and the bench. We have a coach who does a lot of strength and conditioning with us. It's good to do it two or three times a week because WNBA players do travel a lot. If you can't get more in and maintain your strength as a result of not lifting weights, you can lose that strength as the season goes on because your body wears down.

What do you during the offseason to keep your strength up and get ready for the next season?
Normally, a lot of us tend to go overseas to play in the offseason. When you're overseas, you don't always have access to the same things that you do when you're back home in the States. Sometimes, working out is not easy because some places don't have the weight rooms or specific equipment that weneed. So we improvise and make up different kinds of exercises. But it's always important when you're overseas to do cardio and lift weights, because when you come back to the WNBA season, you go right in to it and cannot miss a step,

Is there an exercise that you hate, that you have to force yourself to do?
Not really. I twist my face up on everything that I have to do, but I know I must do it. I make faces when we have to do abs and cardio, but mentally and physically, I know I must do it. And I do it. I'd say we do about 600, 700 abs every day before we work out in practice, then we still get up and down the court. After that, I'm done.

How would you describe the role of exercise in your life both as an athlete and a person?
I exercise everyday because each morning, I get up and do things with my daughter. If I'm not playing basketball, I'm doing something -- maybe walking through the mall taking her shopping or swimming. So I do a lot of things. If I don't have a basketball in my hands, I'm doing something with my daughter that keeps me going like I'm actually playing basketball. Having a child is a challenge, also.