Over the years my personal exercise programs, nutritional considerations and life circumstances have varied considerably.
Thankfully fitness can be fluid and adapting to life.
I’m going to break this “about me” into two sections. The first will be about my fitness practice; then the second part will be about how I became a personal trainer.
Part 1: My Fitness
My fitness origins start with bodyweight workouts in a Midwest basement. The fitness formula I’ve always followed has been: read, practice. Read. Practice. Then evaluate the results. After several months of bodyweight practice, weights were added to my routine.
I really got into a bodybuilding style of working out for over a decade. I even competed in a few local bodybuilding shows.
Eventually I was ready to explore outside of bodybuilding and I got into push/pull powerlifting. You might think that powerlifters and bodybuilders are the same. Most often they are not. They focus of different things and their styles of weightlifting are different. I was lucky to happen upon an enthusiastic coach that got me to compete. I competed in W.A.B.D.L and the 100% raw federations.
Beyond bodybuilding and powerlifting a few highlights are:
- ran several half marathons (San Antonio (3 times), The Big Sur, Galveston).
- passed the StrongFirst kettlebell level 1 (three times).
- even took an ice bath in front of Wim Hoff (while he sang who let the dogs out, “who, who, who!?”).
Part 2: Becoming a Personal trainer
After going to college for business, I got a sales job in construction and carried on my fitness as a hobby. Then in 2009, with a little nudge from my wife, I decided to work with my passion and became a personal trainer.
As a personal trainer, I’ve had the good fortune to travel and work at multiple gyms in multiple locations:
- Texas
- Virginia
- California
- Nevada
Traveling has allowed me to learn from other talented trainers and work with a variety of different clients (different body types, different skill levels).