My Fitness Bio

I returned home from an LDS mission in Nagoya, Japan in October 2009. I came home weighing a frail 135 pounds. I have always been very thin. I was fairly active growing up, taking a special interest in basketball. Although I played often, I never attempted to improve my game by picking up a weights program and adding a bit of muscle to my frame. It just never bothered me enough to try and do something about it. However, upon returning home at the age of 21, I finally grew tired of the person that I saw in the mirror. I felt that I was not taking advantage of the potential my physical body had.

December 2009, 135 lbs., 10 % body fat

So, I did something about it.

I was too embarrassed to actually go to the gym because I didn't want everyone else there to see how weak I was. So, I began the P90X program. It was a great starter program for me because it laid out all of my workouts; all I had to do was wake up the next day and actually do what Tony Horton told me to. Plus, I didn't have to leave my room. My family's home had a few sets of dumbbells that I was able to use. I forced myself to do the program at least 4x a week. After getting into a fairly decent habit of exercising which took about 3-4 weeks to do, I was able to add a 5th day to my workout schedule. Although it took me longer than 90 days to get the results that I was looking for, I slowly began to see progress.

2010, 145 lbs., 8.2 % body fat

Once I started seeing results, it made it much easier to want to go back to the gym and work out even harder than I did the day before or eat even cleaner than I did the day before. The hardest part was having the patience to wait for any signs of progress. There was initial progress within the first 6 weeks. After that, results were very gradual, plateauing every so often until I reevaluated my goals and got re-inspired to start again.

In 2010, as I was just beginning my fitness journey, my mom (who has been in the fitness industry for over 20 years) invited me to go with her to an AAAI/ISMA fitness conference in Colorado Springs. It changed my life. I met people at the conference who inspired me to not only want to get myself in the best possible shape of my life, but help others do the same. I never considered fitness as a career before this, but as I soaked in as much knowledge as possible listening to these fitness experts speak to me, I knew that this was who I wanted to become.

A few years of hard work in the gym and in the classroom have passed, and my journey of becoming that man is in the works.

2012, 155 lbs., 9.2% body fat

In 2014, I completed my Bachelor's degree at Utah State University emphasizing in Exercise Science & Nutrition Science. I will begin my graduate program shortly in Health Education Specialization. In 2013, I became a Certified Personal Trainer for the American College of Sports Medicine. I have worked at various gyms and facilities around the Cache Valley area in Logan, Utah. I have worked with many clients helping them to achieve their goals and I hope to continue to train and inspire even more from here on out.

Fitness never ends. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Each day that I wake up I try to be even better than I was the day before in all aspects of my life. For me, that begins in the gym. I love what I do and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to be able to help others to achieve their fitness goals. I have had some incredible experiences because of it and met some wonderful people.

You have the potential to make a change in your life, just like I did. It may end up being one of the greatest habits you will ever make.