One day after math class in my junior year of high school my friends went to lift, so I decided to join them. They taught me the basics of exercises, and at the time I can remember bench pressing for the first time- the bar wobbled all over the place! I kept going and lifting with my friends, but after a while they became "too busy" with school, girlfriends, work, etc. Not so for me-- I was bitten by the iron bug and it was NOT letting go. Since I just started lifting, I began to make some quick gains-- diet was not a consideration at all, just to keep doing curls and benching. When I started, I wasn't able to do squats as for some reason I couldn't even get into the form to put the bar on my back-- not even bare without weight!
Once I began college, I started doing more and more research, as supplements became expensive and I was limited to protein and aminos as creatine monohydrate gave me the craziest headaches! I looked online and found bodybuilding.com, and the concept of 'bodybuilding' grabbed my full attention. It made complete sense to me-- the diet, balance, and concept of bodybuilding being not merely an activity, but a lifestyle of dedication and devotion. As I was studying for the healthcare field, the lifestyle became more and more central to my daily life, as I truly believe that you should practice what you preach; thus, if you're in healthcare counseling patients on how to live healthy lives, you better not look like a fatass who sits on his couch-- who would listen to that kind of advice?!?!?
When I first entered the lifestyle, I was told by a guy who'd been doing it 10+ years that "bodybuilding is 70% nutrition and 30% lifting"; I laughed in his face as this made no sense at all. LOOKS LIKE HE GOT THE LAST LAUGH!!! Nutrition is BY FAR the most important factor in the bodybuilding equation for success, and over the past 4 years I have continued to read articles, speak with others in the field, and try out techniques to enhance my knowledge and experience in the ongoing quest for the ultimate physique! I continue to live this glorious lifestyle day in and day out, and it's not uncommon to see me whip out a can of tuna with walnuts and a gallon of water in the middle of infectious disease class! Yea, I get some stares and some nose sniffles from people searching for the source, but eventually they ask me about it and I end up giving them tips on training! I love the sport, and having people ask me about my 'strange' habits and educating people on how to live a day-to-day healthy life continues to motivate me to give my 110% to making improvements each and every day from the last!

The ultimate feeling of satisfaction in the gym (which can't be better described than by Mr. Arnold himself), coupled with the sense that all the effort put in leads to living a healthier and better life!

It feels great that I'm dedicating my life to helping other people live healthier lives through my profession, and I'm putting my advice into practice as a way to 'test drive' it so that when I tell others the best way to get fit, I can say, "See, it works!"