Why I Train....

First off, I would like to describe the difference between “Training” and “Working out”.  To train means that you are working towards a specific goal, you have a blueprint that is challenging, and provides measurable, and obtainable goals. Training to me encompasses all, weight training, plyometric movements, circuit training, cardiovascular training, and diet.  Those who “workout” generally have a rudimentary plan that excludes one or more of the specific elements that a training plan provides. Just because someone goes to the gym,  slings up some weights, and runs on the treadmill for 25 minutes  doesn’t mean they have direction or purpose and in most cases is doing nothing more than becoming sweaty and exhausted.

Secondly, even though I put in the work and scrutinized the diet. I have to give credit and express my extreme gratitude to my training facility Brickhouse, and  the two world-class trainers who head the program and really taught me the difference between “training” and “working out”.  I’ve learned and achieved more than I ever thought was possible using their unique training program and principles including their diet plan and appropriate supplementation. Brickhouse will always be “My Training Facility”. Brickhouse has made me, as their motto says “Unbreakable”. I have  also had the pleasure of seeing several others at this facility change their lives also.  If interested or live in the Miami area you can check them out at www.brickhousemiami.com  (you can find a before and after picture of me on their website).

So then, why do I workout (TRAIN) the way I do?

No, It’s not a mid-life crisis, nor am I showing off, and most importantly I definitely do not think I’m better that anyone else. I do not train to impress people or prove anything to anybody… (except myself).

Two main reasons……

The first reason… Me.  Besides the obvious, health benefits, and stress relief.  I train for the personal challenge…  I am a silent competitor, not only with other individuals, but I especially compete with myself.  I keep my competitive nature inside me, I don’t talk about it… I act upon it. Talking about or issuing challenges only motivates others, I prefer that no one sees me coming, I like to take them by surprise.  I have a unrelentless  desire to win, achieve, and to continuously improve, I have never been satisfied nor will I ever be satisfied with the status quo.  Besides my competitive nature which is generally motivation enough, I also have the ability to unconditionally commit to a goal, maintaining the self discipline, focus, motivation, and desire to achieve it. The transformation and results that I’ve achieved thus far only continues to motivate me more and more each day…. If that is even possible.

I’ve learned that age is an arbitrary number, that many use as an excuse. This prevents them from being what and who they really want to be or achieve. Bottom line it’s easier to make excuses because it requires no effort other than coming up with a creative story as why they can’t do something. It much more difficult putting in the work and time to achieve your goals.  That’s where I differ, while others are making excuses why they can’t, I keep finding reasons on why I need to.  I’ve also learned  that the human mind is more stronger than the human body ever will be.   Being mentally tough pushes  me through the pain, exhaustion, and gives me the energy to do one more rep whereas  most people quit. At this point in my training, I crave the pain and discomfort, I enjoy  bringing myself to the brink of total exhaustion. Am I extreme? Maybe so, depends on your own perception of what extreme is. I only consider myself extreme-ly dedicated and motivated.

The Second reason I train is…. I hope to continue to inspire others like my wife inspired me. In October of 2010, I weighed my heaviest 290 lbs. Eating fast food several times a week, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, at risk for several other health related conditions… Diabetes, sleep apnea, heart attack, stroke, etc... I was essentially a walking time bomb. I Yo-yoed often in the past….  lose weight, gain it back, lose weight, gain it back. Went to the gym “worked out”, didn’t achieve much, lost interest… I was depressed, felt hopeless, and did know how to go about permanently changing my lifestyle. While everyone has different goals ,I know there are many others out there who are in the same boat I was. I decided to abandon ship. I hope to have shown others who feel like I once did (hopeless), that healthy, sustainable, and permanent weight loss can achieved with the right program, diet, and attitude. There is no magic bullet, the road is definitely not easy, and results are not quick, but they are worth it.

            Again, my wife was my (our) inspiration when deciding to make a lifestyle change. I was impressed by her motivation, her discipline and her desire. I wanted her to succeed and I needed to support her to do so.  My wife had similar issues as me, she was eating the same fast food that I was, and partook in the same sort of lifestyle. When people ask me what I felt was the single most important thing I always say the same answer. DIET! For us,  It all started with diet, which so many underestimate diets importance. Honestly,  training is only a small part of success. I would estimate diet is at least 75% (probably more) of our success. I can prove it.  How many people do you come across that go to the gym, or you see people jogging  but their body appearance never changes? Why? Because they never changed their diet. True, they may be stronger, and can run further, faster, but don’t change their body makeup.  While our training methods  in the beginning greatly differed, one thing we both agreed on was the diet. To this day we prepare food twice a week, we measure, weigh, cook, and package all our meals, breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, and dinner for 3 days at a time. No fuss, no muss, grab and go  this made it easier to keep us compliant with our eating. It also improved our relationship,  brought us closer together, as we each provided the  other much need support to stay on the wagon and succeed. Our lifestyle is sometimes scrutinized as always people have their opinions. They called us extreme, some people have told us that we are downright ridiculous, some said that we are crazy… Now I can tell you, we drive by crazy every once in a while and sometimes we even visit crazy but I don’t think we are crazy.  I’ve come to the conclusion, we live in a society where everything seems to revolve around food, can you imagine birthdays with no cake and ice cream, Thanksgiving with no stuffing or gravy? Reason? I believe it comes from our ancestors, a time where food was not a commodity. It took effort, hunting, and gathering to feed the family, it wasn’t mass produced like it is today. Believe me the Pilgrims didn’t just go to the Piggly Wiggly to buy the turkey and buy canned corn from the Jolly Green Giant. These get togethers  and celebrations were special and rare. People back then ate to live rather than lived to eat.  Today food is a commodity, there is an abundance to choose from, it’s readily available, unless you are the farmer, no one has to go to the field and gather or no one has to go to the woods to hunt. Food is everywhere. Bottom line we associate food with happiness. Maybe if people shared this same point of view, our diet may not be considered extreme. Yes, we fall off the wagon and we indulge every so often, enjoy our favorite foods, that’s only human, but we do so in moderation and hop back on the wagon. We've changed our perception about food and use food differently now. We eat to live.

            Needless to say I have been approached by many asking how did I did it. I’ve seemed to inspired some people and truly  irritate others.  I’ve received several compliments from some, Not so nice comments by others… So far I’ve been asked if I was sick? (especially when I shaved my head), asked Where I had bariatric surgery and who was the surgeon? How much did my liposuction cost and who did it? Everyone has an opinion and everyone at some point passes judgment. Whether positive or negative. All comments are appreciated, for those with kind words Thank you so much for them they have made me feel great and have helped motivate me  to continue. For those of you with not so kind words… Thank you so much for them, because they pissed me off and motivated me even more! 

When I started in October 2010 I weighted 290 Lbs, started with weight watcher, and was doing mainly cardio. I plateaued and needed to change things up. I started training at Brickhouse  in March 2011 my initial weigh in was 270 lbs. I  Initially started in their “leaning program”, which involved weights, and circuit training. In December 2011. I weighed in at a lean 199 Lbs and switched to the “Strength and Mass program”, which has 3 different stages in it, the stages are Strength, Leaning, and Mass, each stage runs for a certain number of weeks and the cycle begins again. I have made pretty significant progress in both strength gains and mass gains. I have put on approximately 8 lbs of lean mass. I train at Brickhouse Monday – Friday, Saturday I usually do a little cardio to work off any soreness, bumps or bruises that I have acquired over the past week or I scuba dive. Sunday’s I take off and rest.

As for future plans, regarding fitness, I plan on competing in a Sprint Triathlon in Sep 2012, Mud Run, Warrior Dash, and the Spartan Run. I enjoy a good run every now and then….  And will probably participate in a few various 5K’s. I have not ruled out the possibility of competing as a fitness model at least once (this is probably unlikely though) I plan on expanding my education in strength training and conditioning principals.