My Story

…but why? Am I the only one who’s sick of hearing this? Somehow we’re expected to just swallow wholeheartedly whatever the rest of the world tells us is normal and "somehow" find joy in it all. We’re told there are things we just cannot change and have to accept. Now, I’ve come to terms with a few things in my life that I allow to govern me because they really ARE truths that cannot change. I accept the law of gravity. Yes, eventually, what goes up WILL come down. I accept that God is infinitely in control of everything that happens and we have the free will to move within the rules of nature He’s established. I know that aging is inevitable and eventually, everyone dies. Some people choose to live like they’re immortal, but it’s one thing we just can’t change.

However, there are a lot of things people seem to accept that I just can’t agree with any more. "Couples have to fight, that’s healthy." Well sure, any time you have 2 people in a situation, you’re going to have 2 different views, feelings, beliefs, preferences, habits, backgrounds, etc. and that’s always a good recipe for conflict. I don’t expect that 2 people always have to agree, but fight? Why? One person has to prove they’re smarter, more stubborn or just completely feel that they’re dominating the other? Sorry, I’m not in if that’s the case. In the end, you have 2 choices after a fight. Either 1, you make up and move past it or 2, you end the relationship. If you go into the fight NOT wanting option 2, then you KNOW option 1 is how it’s going to end because that’s your only other choice. As such, what’s the point of a fight if you’re just going to make up later? Why not just stay on good terms, DISCUSS the situation and skip right to the "move past it" stage? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

"You go to school to get good grades so you can get into a good college. You get good grades in college so you can find a good job. You perform well and brown-nose as much as you can in your job so you can get promoted. You go to a job you hate to make money which you’ll spend on things you don’t really want to spend money on and ultimately don’t NEED. You work a thankless position for 40-50 yrs so you can get a nice watch, ‘retirement package’ and a hearty ‘thank you.’ Your kids will shove you in a home and wait for their inheritance check and nobody will even remember your name after they’ve read your will the last time." No thank you! I refuse to accept that as "just the way things are" as well. Frankly, I’m finding there’s a better way to really make a life than that, but again, that’s for a completely different entry.

The point is, if you want what everyone else has, then do what they do. If you want a life no better than your parents’ lives were then follow their examples to a "T," but I just don’t want to hear about it when you end up wanting MORE. Before you decide to take advice from someone, make sure you want to be like them. Each person can’t tell you more than how to be exactly like they are.

Change is hard. Anyone that tells you anything different is selling something. Making your own life and being happy and successful and free…it’s no walk in the park getting there. But I’ll tell you this, the results are worth it. Just like having the body of your dreams is hard to get, having the life of your dreams is just as hard if not worse! But if you focus on the results and won’t settle for anything less, I guarantee you can get there. If you want ANYTHING in life badly enough to, "do whatever it takes to get the job done," then you’ll make sacrifies and be patient when you have to and through your blood, sweat, tears and sheer determination… you’ll get it. You see, pain is one of the greatest motivators in the world. You just have to focus on the pain of NOT having the life you want to motivate you to make whatever changes in your behavior, thoughts, actions, etc. that your goals require. It hurts knowing, "I could have done more…I could have had so much better…but I settled for less." Don’t let that be you!

So, my friends, you have 2 and only 2 choices in this life. 1) When things aren’t the way you’d like them to be, you can accept that, "That’s just the way things are." 2) You can CHANGE that! There’s no third choice. Personally, I’ve been put on this world to make a difference…and I WILL!

Will you?

Isn’t it interesting to think that your entire life is controlled by numbers? Not only that, but your quality of life is determined by balancing those numbers. For instance, we budget our time (which we keep track of) with numbers. 8 hours for sleep, 1 hour for cardio, 2 hours to lift, 8 hours at work, etc. We track our progress in the gym with numbers. "I can bench 350" or "I lost 3 inches in my waist this cut cycle" or "My 5 mile time is down 2 minutes from last season." We measure our food with numbers. 2,000 calories per day, 6 grams of protein in a large egg, a Burger King Double Whopper has the fat content of my entire diet for 3 days, etc. Our supplements are managed with numbers. Take 90 mg tablets of EGCG 3x daily, standard dose of argenine is 5 grams, mix your whey with at least 8 oz. of water for it to thoroughly dissolve…

So here’s the thing: You can control your life just by making the numbers work. Don’t believe me? If the number of calories you burn in a day is greater than the number you take in, you’ll lose weight. If you spend the right number of hours with your girl in a week, things stay smooth there. If you work the right number of hours at the right number of dollars per hour, you’ll have the right number of dollars to pay all your bills and have some to put back…for supplements, workout equipment, magazine subscriptions, fitness expo tickets, gym membership upgrade, etc. If you don’t drink too high a number of beers on the weekend, you won’t blow your progress and maybe you won’t drive so drunk that you get pulled over, thrown in the drunk tank and…well, that’s not so good for your "progress" either. But hey, you get the point, right?

When people find out how I run my life, the same questions come at me all the time. Yes, I’m hyper-organized. No, I’ve not been diagnosed as OCD. Yes, I’ve made people mad because I won’t negotiate with my time and miss meals, workouts, etc. But you know what? It’s okay that they don’t understand the life I live. If I wanted to be like "most people" I’d run a similar schedule to theirs and I’d eat the junk they shovel down their throats every day…but I don’t want that. I love having my life and being something that’s better than what most people have. You feel sorry for me than I can only wear wide-leg jeans, but I LOVE the fact that I recently crossed the 1,200lb mark on my leg press! You feel I’m "trapped" by sticking with the same boring foods every single day at the same time, but I LOVE the fact that I’ve dropped 3% bodyfat this cut cycle while only losing a total of 3 lbs…and my strength is up for all my lifts! You get mad at me for not blowing off the gym to party with you this Saturday night, but you don’t wanna see the mood I’m in when I miss a day in The Cage.

So it’s simple, really. Either you control the numbers and make your life into what you want it to beand achieve the greatness you were BORN to have…or let the numbers control you and take whatever life this world decides to hand you. Personally, I’ve made the decision to never accept the phrase, "That’s just the way things are." Well, brothers and sisters…NOT ANYMORE!

Outside it’s slowly changing from Fall to Winter here in Indiana. Like usual, it’s happening quickly. Likewise, I’m entering a new season in my training. I’ve reached the goal I’d set for my bulking cycle and now it’s time to cut. Here comes the calorie depletion, the extended cardio sessions, the intense ab workouts, the thermogenic supplements and a slightly more irritable disposition. I’ve worked out my diet to an exact science. What works for me is about 3,300 calories on workout days and if I happen to have an "off day" when I can’t make it in, I’m punished with a 2,010 calorie allowance. Yes, all of my meals are pre-prepared, diverse enough to keep me mentally entertained and 100% clean. It’s not an easy plan to stick to considering my size. Some centerfolds eat more than I do. However, I’m serious about the results I’m after and just crazy enough to be this dedicated to my sport. Frankly, between you and me…I love it. I love how with the right numbers, you can make ANYTHING happen in your life, but I’ll leave that for a future post. Wish me luck as I make this transition in my Journey. I’m in for an amazing ride!

It’s said that the most difficult part of any workout is getting started. The same can be said about beginning a regimen for the first time. For me, the journey started in highschool. I grew too fast for my muscular structure to catch up and was hovering around 6′7" and below 200lbs. I was an athlete, but I wanted so much more than my genetics were giving me. A fast metabolism and an ectomorph frame do not an intimidating figure make. I had no direction or guidance, but enough desire to just "make something happen." I had the basic principle of resistance training in my head, so I took my dad’s bar clamp from the basement and hung 2 buckets full of rocks from the ends and had my first curl bar. My first year of training consisted of pushups, crunches and curls. While I didn’t reach insane milestones with that, I learned discipline and paid close attention to how what I did or how I moved affected my results. I laid the foundation of knowing my body and understanding how it responded. I journaled every day on my progress and eventually added biking and running to my routine. I was hooked.

I later began a mentoring relationship with my uncle who competed on an amateur level in his younger years. As he taught me about life, he shared with me his passion for fitness and his view of the body as God’s temple. The whole concept planted roots inside me and have stuck to this day. He introduced me to freeweights for the first time and I spent over a year slowly progressing and learning the fundamentals of training. Occasionally he would let me push my limits, but always stressed form over weight. He’d share stories about the heroes who had inspired him over the past several decades and taught me to love this great sport known as bodybuilding. I finally bought my own home gym a couple years back and when I grew out of that, joined a local gym.

The progress is amazing. The discpline still governs my life. The lessons I’ve learned and experiences I’ve had have left me changed and formed me into the man I am today. i love this great sport. It’s my passion…my high. I’m an addict to this game and it’s made me who I am. I am continuously driven by the idea of "Content but not satisfied." I’ve come many miles, made great achievements. I am blessed with strength and wisdom from years of experiences and would not trade where I am today for anything. But I refuse to stay here. I have miles and years ahead of me that I can’t wait to see. It’s a journey and I will NEVER have the feeling of "I’ve arrived." Every mountaintop just gives you a better view of the next one to climb. I am driven to go further, push harder and be the best I’ve ever been each day…and I will be.