Fitness and Exercise saved my life! I know it is hard to believe or imagine with many of the approaches of current fitness fads and gyms that exercise, fitness, healthy movement, working out or whatever you prefer to call it can be fun, manageable, not done in vain and lifesaving, but I promise you it can be and should be!
I myself don’t even wake up on fire and ready to eat broccoli and grilled chicken while I run and do push up’s all day ;}, but I do make it a priority in my life. I make the time for exercise because it’s my medicine and I made a promise to myself a long time ago that if I made it this far in life, I would do as many things as possible to stay healthy for myself and for those around me. I do this especially for my family and my clients who I consider my family. My relationship with exercise and fitness has taken on many roles over the years and I haven’t always exercised for the best reasons, but no matter what, exercise and healthy movement have always paid me back 100-fold and this is what I so passionately want to share with you. At this point in my life, sharing the insanely huge difference a healthy and positive life can have on your entire existence is my #1 goal and I speak from deep rooted personal experience on this!!
Here’s a snapshot of my story:
I really began to exercise and move more as a kid initially because I needed an escape from myself, my head, my emotions and my chaos. I knew that if I was doing something that kept my mind busy and engaged, I wouldn’t have to deal with all of the uncontrollable noise that was flowing in and out of my head consistently. I could control my physical movement, but I couldn’t control my thoughts, emotions and my feelings. Exercise was truly my escape in so many ways. I wasn’t very naturally athletic and often times sports would just add to my feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence. Life was kicking my ass and I couldn’t find any way to gain ground.
I always had a powerful urge to overcome and to progress in life, but I never seemed to be able to sit still and concentrate on anything long enough to figure it out. In my day-to-day existence I couldn’t find a peaceful refuge, so I was always searching for something mentally and emotionally. Then I discovered the constant physical movement of exercise which gave me comfort because I was already in a state constant motion mentally, so I began to pick up different sports and physical habits. I was pretty good at Basketball and dribbling or any other sport that consisted of constant motion. My issue was I good during practice, but once it came to an actual game where something was on the line, I would fall back into my own insecurities of self-doubt and judgment which led to performance anxiety and mistakes almost always. I wasn’t necessarily scared or nervous I just couldn’t overcome my constant self judgement and doubt.
Exercise played a major role in me building up my confidence and using all of the emotional energy I had pent-up through physical exertion and achievement. I was fairly good at strength training and in my teens, I used that as a way to start building some momentum in my life. It was one area where I could see progress and positive results when nothing else seemed to work. I was never really good at school because I couldn’t slow my mind enough to really focus, take notes, etc and I didn’t have any consistent discipline or responsibility which made it even worse for a kid who was definitely hyperactive. If it wasn’t for sports, my family and a deep-rooted drive to overcome and help those around me overcome I never would have graduated high school and still barely did with much help.
Life was always chaotic around me and I wanted so bad to take control of everything that it seemed I couldn’t take control of anything. My family life had no sense of structure or progress and I was the walking talking expression of this for most of my life. I was just living moment to moment with no sense of purpose searching for answers in all of the wrong places, but full of energy and never slowing down. I was literally out of control. One thing I have always done well is work and I believe this is because I am always on the move and full of energy. The problem was for the longest time my actions and my work would just go in circles with no sense of progress or meaning. Again, I think it was really just a way to move and diminish the constant damaging noise I was managing inwardly. Which did the job as a fairly healthy coping mechanism for a while.
Joining the Coast Guard was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I honestly don’t know if I would be on this earth if it wasn’t for this decision. Making the decision to join the Coast Guard was a natural decision for me because I always wanted to save the lives around me especially my family. The truth is exercise again saved my life and my career in the Coast Guard as I aspired to be a rescue swimmer when I joined. This pushed me to become a surface swimmer for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless WMEC-624. This responsibility required me to keep up a rigorous fitness routine despite still having a lot of very unhealthy energy and influences around me. Having this responsibility allowed me to use my work ethic and dedication of saving others which was a natural fit and helped me to gain a sense of self worth and purpose in what I was doing.
Having made a few mistakes and creating hardship once again in my life during my first few months in the U.S. Coast Guard. I was still in a bad place emotionally and mentally and if I hadn’t been allowed to work as a surface swimmer and prove myself to the crew and my leadership I may have been kicked out of the Coast Guard. I believe this would have led me down a very dark and dangerous path. Unfortunately, getting in trouble meant I didn’t make it to rescue swimmer school, but I did manage to find another mission and move on with my career in the Coast Guard. Fitness again played a huge role in helping me to stay focused and on task as I attended one of, if not the most intellectually challenging enlisted rating A-Schools (specialty school). Marine Science Technician school.
During this training I threw myself into working out almost every day and was voted the most inspirational in the class, earned the most fitness points in the class and really embraced fitness and healthy living as a lifestyle. This helped me to develop my own identity and sense of self-worth which I had always seemed to lack. As a kid I never wanted to just go with the flow. I wanted to set the example and work hard and stand out somehow and this was one of the first times I had been recognized by my peers for doing so. Maybe I developed this drive as part of my insecurities or the feeling of not being able to overcome my family hardship. I don’t know if this is the case or not, but I did learn how to use my overpowering energy to my advantage in many healthy ways through fitness and healthy living.
Once I finished A-School I was sent to Baton Rouge La. my first primary duty station as a Marine Science Technician. Again, I found purpose and a path to use fitness as a tool and an asset in my life. I was asked to go to training and become a Unit Health Promotion Coordinator which I really enjoyed and embraced. I was lucky to attend training in Kodiak Alaska and I learned a lot. I earned the most inspirational award at this training as well. The instructor gave me The New Encyclopedia of Body Building by Arnold Schwarzenegger as my reward, which I still own and cherish today. The leaders who recognized my efforts in the U.S. Coast Guard really boosted my belief in myself and the possibility of helping others. They changed the way I saw myself and inspired me to want to do this for everyone around me. At the end of the day I am the coach I am because I know what it feels like to have someone put faith and trust in you when don’t even have faith and trust in yourself. It can literally change your entire life and that’s what I aim to do for everyone I coach!
As a unit Health Promotion Coordinator I began to help many of my shipmates make healthier choices and design fun activities and workouts for my unit and our members. This really helped me to even further embrace my role as a coach and mentor in fitness and health. Over the next 3-4 years I would advance in the U.S. Coast Guard and begin to take on more of a supervisory role which I didn’t necessarily enjoy due to the lack of movement once again. I loved leading and coaching, but I wanted to see consistent results and progress which my job and the service in general isn’t necessarily built around. I still did my best and received the Enlisted Person of The Year award for my unit in 2013, BUT for some reason I still wasn’t satisfied with my level of impact on my shipmates and those around me.
This realization was a hard one and led me to look for answers and impact elsewhere. I sought out and took a personal trainer job in my off time to explore this option for my future. I quickly realized I could help more people and use my energy constructively teaching others about fitness and exercise and sharing the personal experience and benefits I had received through fitness and healthy living. At 28 I had finally found my passion which was coaching! As, I always do, I went all in and started college for exercise science. Despite my lack of success with school in the past I knew I could overcome my faults at this point with sheer effort and dedication.
To further develop my skills and knowledge I found the top fitness coaches in the U.S. and I began to follow them, study what they were doing and spend time with them and their teams. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet as I had already spent 10 years on active duty and had three years left on my contract, but I knew I loved coaching! I went back and forth for a while on my decision and in September 2014 with the help of my faith I decided I was going to be a full-time coach somewhere and own a gym one day. As a Fitness Professional I was finally changing lives in real time and it was the most fulfilling thing I had ever done. Exercise again had given me life when I couldn’t find it anywhere else.
Now, it’s 2019 and I have over 10,000 hours of coaching under my belt, a degree in Exercise Science, 11 certifications, a gym and more passion than ever before to change the world. Today, I can calmly and happily say that exercise and fitness has again saved my life!
I am not saying that fitness fixed all of my issues and allowed me to never have any emotional distress or pain, but it really is my medicine and it really helps me to manage all aspects of my life better and makes me an all-around better person. I still deal with many different weaknesses to this day, but my #1 medicine is fitness and I know that it can and will change your life if you decide to approach movement and exercise as an opportunity and benefit rather than an obstacle or burden.
EXERCISE IS
Healthy
Rewarding
Invigorating
Empowering
Motivating
It’s so many things for so many people and for me it’s been truly LIFESAVING!
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