Got Juice??? NOPE!!!

A few days ago someone asked me if i used steriods. Now most people that train for bodybuillding, sports performance or overall good looks would normally go off on someone for asking that question. But i calmly asked, the guy why would he think that? And he actually said he knows guys that do because he has seen them shoot them up. I simply answered with  no and then he asked wny not? Aren't you trying to build muscle fast so you can compete? Again you would think I would go off on the guy but he was relatively young and i could tell he was on the fence about doing them because of what he saw in the rapid growth of his friends as he was just beginning to start working out. That was my opportunity to educate him on why i didn't use them. As we all know this weekend, The bodybuilding world lost a HUGE name in the business, well 2 HUGE names, Joe Weider, the father of modern bodybuilding and Nasser El Sonbaty. May they both R.I.P. but when i think of Nasser he was only 47, 3 years older than me but seeminlgly looked like he was in the best shape of his life. But stories have it that the cause of death was kidney failure. Now i'm not one to be accusatory but i just had to wonder what would cause kidney failure in a man that young and seemingly that healthy? Well it's no secret that seroid use over long periods and cycles can lead to kidney disease and it's no secret that Nasser tested positive at lease once for steriods at major events and evan no secret that a lot of juicing goes on. And i'm certainly not perfect but i'm also in this lifestyle to make a career not so much out of competing but for overall health and being an example as a personal trainer/sports performance coach to people of all ages and i can't honestly be an example of good health and wellness if i put these toxic things in my body. I told the young man that i do plan to compete in a men's physique and possibly a bodybuilding show in the future but not if it means doing something that will cut my life short at an early age or dealing with health problems later in life and for what? A trophy? For who? Some big name in the bodybuilding industry to be impressed? Which is why i chose to put it on the back burner right now to look at all-natural organizations. I realize that these organizations are not the big time like NPC and IFBB but if not taking shortcuts means not being on the same level as the big names in the business, then so be it. I have come too far in my life from being a skinny weakling growing up to being an almost 300 lb guy who was close to death from raucous partying and because i am a devout Christian who believes his body is God's temple, Why would i work so hard and so long to see the results i have only to mess it up. So I made the commitment to keep anything toxic out of it, and that even includes binging on junk food, smoking, and drinking except for an occasional cigar or light beer. So when people ask if I roid, i don't get mad, I just simply tell them Nope and I never will and neither should you. I don't no whether the guy chose to do what his friends are doing and i guess time will tell but i hope he took my words to heart and will make the right decision. Peace out and until next time, DREAM STRONG!!!

Where Did You Start?

Everyone has a starting point in their fitness journey. There is something that motivated you to get to where you are today. It wasn't just something that said, "You need to go workout" and BOOM here you are. It usually comes from some kind of circumstance that probably wasn't positive. Mine was the fact that my blood pressure had gotten sky-high and my doctor told me that if I didn't do something about it, I would die. Motivation enough huh? I also decided that i just was sick and tired of sitting on the couch with a remote feeling miserable and not being able to get from point A to point B without needing an oxygen tank, even if point A to point B was from my living room to the bathroom. Then I woke up one day, looked at some old pictures of a slimmer and younger guy that i didn't recognize when i looked in the mirror. Partying, smoking(not cigarettes either) and drinking and chasing anything with boobs, a nice butt and long hair was the order of the day for me. Then it finally happened, i took a pic at a party and when i looked at it, I almost cried, yes big boys cry, lol. That's when i got up, said i'm not gonna let myself fall into being a pitiful couch potato living in denial, saying that it happens to everybody eventually or using some excuse like, " it's part of living in the south, we just love this down home cooking". So my motivation came from being an unhappy soul, smiling to everyone in public but crying myself to sleep at night over what all that hard living, not eating right and laziness had done to me. After I started, i remembered what it was like to feel good after a workout like i did in high school as a football and baseball player. As i was getting stronger, eating better and feeling better, i challenged myself more and more with each week. I've fallen sown but unlike before, i not only pick myself back up, i hop right back up and now, some 5 years later I feel better at nearly 45 than i did at 25 and i'm constanly looking for different ways to challenge myself and i love living this lifestyle a whole lot more than i did living what i thought was a great life. I am now planning to do a Tough Mudder, a Men's Physique show, starting my own personal training and sports performance business, but mainly living a healthy lifestyle and using my experience to help change other people's lives from unhappy to healthy. I've made many friends including in the fitness industry and look forward to making many more, especially the Juggernauts. We all have a starting point. I hope we all get to a place where we never want to see the finish line but just keep going further and reaching higher.