Iâm a professional firefighter and proud father of a two-year-old girl, Iâm no stranger to fitness. Iâm a 1st degree black belt and have been in competitive martial artist since 1992.
The gym didn't become a high priority for me until I walked onto the Colorado State University campus in 2003. I weighed less than 150 pounds and found myself mimicking other people in the gym with physiques I coveted. The result: little in the way of results.
I eventually grew bigger, but not in a good way. By the time my daughter was born in 2009, I weighed 190 pounds. In 2010, thanks to the encouragement of my lieutenant at the fire department, I discovered BodySpace and decided to change my life.
Using Bodybuilding.com for all of my nutrition and supplementation needs, I joined with trainers Cameron Bodner and IFBB Pro Tracy Bodner. With proper guidance finally at my disposal, I saw my body fat drop from 12 to 6 percent. I now want to rise to new heights - like becoming an IFBB pro!
At the moment, I have an even higher mission in mind: passing my healthy lifestyle along to my daughter.
My main reason for living a healthy lifestyle is to set a good example for my daughter and to make sure I am here for her for many more years. As a firefighter, my health is a huge concern not only for me and my family but for my engine company. In the last five years, 245 firefighters died in the line of duty from cardiac related ailments. It is the number one killer of all firefighters. In addition, over the last 30 years, it's been shown that 45% of firefighter on-duty deaths come from heart disease. I want to minimize this risk for myself as well as all other firefighters. The physical demands of fire fighting are extremely high. Hence fire fighters must be in and maintain top physical form. Fire fighters are often required to perform a series of physical tasks for extended periods of time while wearing heavy protective clothing and gear. And often times, peoples' lives depend on how well fire fighters perform these tasks. Thus rigorous physical training is maintained throughout the career of fire safety personnel.