My story isn't a new one...skinny guy wants to get bigger etc. I started lifting in high school but didn't start taking it seriously until about a year ago. I have always enjoyed the gym and being active in general, whether that meant climbing, hiking, biking, running, martial arts, or weight training but never really had any direction other than a random fitness magazine article here and there and watching what others were doing while at the gym. While this was fine for staying in shape I put on a total of 5 lbs in the 8+ years of working out. This past year I decided to get serious about my ambition to put on some muscle mass and hired a trainer. My trainer suggested the BodyBugg system and to start paying more attention to my diet shooting for a 40/40/20 split...protein, carbs, fat. When I decided to spend the money on a trainer I also made a commitment to follow through with the diet to a "T" because I figured there was no point in spending the money and going through the motions if I wasn't doing what I needed to do at home to reach my goals. I learned in a hurry that the gym is only half of the equation. While my diet before wasn't bad I was eating too many carbs and not enough protein or fat. Since that time I have been working out 6 days a week, measuring every gram of food I eat as well as recording it, and following different splits in my training regime from low rep high weight to high rep low weight with HIIT training every other day and continually looking for ways to tweak and improve my routine. I no longer work with my trainer but I am greatful for the experience and focus he gave me and I look forward to continually improving my diet and training splits to reach my goals.

Stress Relief and black and white goals. I love the fact that I control where my training takes me, whether it's through my diet or the type of workout I'm utilizing it's on me to find success.