Over thanksgiving last year I was inspired by my younger cousin, Ben, to start thinking about my body differently. I was always under the impression that "fluffy" was just my genetic predisposition. Some part of that was an excuse not to hit the gym, but some of it was fear that no matter how hard I worked I'd never look like the muscle bound masters of free weights I would see every time I went to the gym. Fear kept me complacent.

In May of 2012 life got complicated for personal reasons I won't go into here, and I started working out. I quit smoking, and changed my diet and I followed Jamie Eason's workout regimen like it was religion. I have more energy. I can run farther, lift more, and I look better than I ever have.

I went from 170 lbs to 138 lbs and currently I'm at a lean 145lbs. My goal is to build another 35lbs of muscle by June of 2013 and to rock the socks off Tough Mudder in Minneapolis on July 20th!