As an athlete growing up, I knew I always loved fitness and hard work. After high school and college you feel kind of lost without a program or a coach to follow - I was a naturally competitive person, so I needed a new challenge. I got kicked out of many games of Pictionary and Catchphrase with my friends for being too aggressive before I realized I needed a better outlet! Who better to compete with than myself - EVERY DAY. A love of metal music, and an insatiable drive to always be better than yesterday is what really kept me at it in the gym. :)
Then I discovered bodybuilding.com, and taped a picture of Jamie Eason to my refrigerator with a quote "What Would Jamie Do" on it, and the rest was history :) Now I strive every day to lead by example and live a healthy lifestyle and inspire others to reach their goals and kill it every day!
I love bodybuilding because you can always improve, and always get better. I have a really hard time with complacency, and I love that my hard work in the gym inspires others to do the same! I originally started lifting to relieve stress, and take out frustrations -- because the weights never judge, they understand.
The main reason I began lifting was a way to release my frustrations, deal with anxiety, and have some time where I focused on just me and my goals - and not everything going on around me. It makes me so happy to teach other people the benefits of lifting heavy, besides just the aesthetic aspect. There is no greater feeling than watching someone achieve their goals, beyond just a number on the scale and really realizing their worth.
As my body composition improved, so did my confidence in myself, as well as how I treated my body. I no longer wanted to stay out late, go out drinking, binge on terrible food and then feel the need to deprive myself. I love that your hard work is a direct correlation to what you see aesthetically, not to mention how you feel mentally! It provides structure, consistency, stress relief, self-satisfaction... Too many amazing reasons to count why I love working out!