#mcm 24 November 2014

#mcm

Today goes out to...

 

Me

Nobody pulls off a Christmas sweater vest like me.

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike  

Smile and that hipster girl on the bus smiles uncomfortably with you

Time to puke some positivity on your ass.

  Life is hard, man.  Every day you have to get up and put pants, which is just the worst.  Make breakfast, get to school, go to work, call the doctor, workout, do your laundry, clean the house, wash the dishes, call your loved ones, write a blog post.  There seems to be a never ending to do list of shit! 

  It's all too easy for us to be buried in the monotony of day to day life.  We get caught up in what we have to do to live and forget what we do to feel alive.  And this is completely bass-ackwards.  

  I am incredibly fortunate to be working and studying in a field I am passionate about.  I love fitness.  Maybe you've seen my blog?  And I get to wake up every day and study and learn and work with something that I am passionate about.  And some days even that gets tiring!

  So how do we keep fire, passion and drive alive in our everyday lives?  I'm going to tell you "Mike's Super Secret Super Easy Ways to Not be a Total Sad Sally"

Step One:  Attitude

  

  As someone who has struggled with depression in the past this was the hardest idea for me to understand.  It is also the most important.  Happiness is a choice.  Once you decide that you want to be happy you will be happier.  And once you know that, it is incredibly empowering.  If you are able to take in the day to day challenges life has to offer all of us and greet them with a smile instead of a frown there is nothing stopping you from being happy.

  This is obviously more difficult than it sounds.  Especially after your teachers piles on a ton of work, you're out of groceries, and that girl never called you back for a second date.  But once you take charge of you own happiness through your own attitude you'd be amazed how different your world will seem.

Step Two:  Surround yourself with positivity

  Some people are just happiness suckers.  They suck the happiness out of everything.  And as much as that sounds like a villain from an episode of the Teletubbies, I know you are thinking of someone who is like that right now!  That guy who is always complaining about his wife, his job, the weather.  That girl who thinks everything sucks and the world is out to get her.

Get rid of these people.

 

  You don't need that negativity in your life.  These people bring you down more than you know.  I know it is difficult but sometimes in order to do what's best for you, you have to cut ties with these people.

 

Step Three:  Find something you care about and pour yourself into it

 

    This can be ANYTHING.  While I highly recommend fitness, maybe 5 days a week at the gym isn't your thing.  Maybe reading a book series is more you.  Volunteering, cars, politics, your new fitness blog, whatever it is invest yourself into it.

 

  The old saying, "you get out of something what you put into it" applies here.  Once you invest yourself in something in a complete way the dividends paid out to you through happiness and self satisfaction are immeasurable. 

Step Four: Do some fitness

 Seriously. There are piles and piles and piles of research that show a direct correlation between physical activity and happiness.  Besides the physiological factors of endorphins and feel good chemicals being released while you exercise, nothing feels better than being able to say at the end of the day, "well at least I got a good workout in."   What this boils down to is healthy people are happy people.  And the only thing keeping you from that is yourself.  Do some pushups!

  You aren't going to be happy all the time.  Everyone needs a night alone with "Marley & Me," a family sized box of Oreos and their own thoughts every once in a while.  But I believe that if you make the effort, keep happy people around you, pursue your passion, and do some squats, there is no reason you should have to go through life a mopey sad sac of suck.


With good health, big smiles, and strong hamstrings,
Mike

#mcm November 10, 2014

#mcm

Today goes out to....

  Me

Man, I'm awesome.

  With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike 

I got called a Bro: Mike's Tumble Down the Self-Perception Rabbit Hole

I got called a bro.  And I'm troubled.

  Earlier this week I was at a live music show in Ames, Iowa with my good friend. We'll call him Bill for this story.  We laughed, danced, sang, drank beers, and had a merry good time.  We casually carried on amongst ourselves and a few of his female friends.  A good time was had by all.

And then everything changed.

  We returned back to Des Moines to meet up with a separate group of his friends at The Royal Mile, an awesome English pub style bar.  Whilst enjoying "Fancy Beer Whatever" we all engaged in fun, lighthearted, casual conversation.  

  I found myself in a very nice conversation with a blonde 20-something female named Allison.  Allison was very kind.  She explained to me that she is a law student at Drake.  She further explained upon my inquiry that she was going into divorce law specifically. I was intrigued and asked her why divorce law.  Allison told me she wanted to help mediate divorces because she was a child of not one but two divorces and wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for the children.  

Wow, I thought.  An intelligent, attractive, female with a heart!

  And then Bill slurred his way into the conversation.  Bill fumbled into the conversation with something to the likes of, "Hey Allison! You meet my BRO Mike!?"

And everything went down hill from there.

  Allison replied to Bill with judgement in her eyes, "Yeah, your friend Mike is a bit of a bro..."

And my stomach proceeded to fall out of my dick hole.

NO ALLISON! NOOOOO!

  We were having a good conversation.  We were talking about our goals and aspirations!  I was giving you non-confrontational body language!  I WAS MAKING STEADY CONSISTENT EYE CONTACT!  HOW COULD YOU!?

  I immediately flailed to defend myself.  I asked her why she thought I was a bro.  She pointed to the way I was dressed.  Slim fitting pants, an Express t-shirt covered by a heather grey cardigan, and boat shoes.  She mentioned my physique.  She even had the audacity to say I was hitting on her.

And then the conversation shifted.  But it was too late.  The damage had already been done.

  I was left, swirling, with my own thoughts and feels.  How could this flow-y dress wearing hipster girl, who now suddenly reeked of PBR, organic soap, and self righteousness call ME and BRO!?

And this is where my trouble begins.

  Upon leaving the bar I raised the issue to Bill, desperately seeking affirmation from my friend that Allison was overly judgement and completely unfounded.  But no such relief from my despair was found.  Bill told me that I exude "bro-ness" to those around me., quoting the same reasons Allison had given me only minutes earlier.  And further I fell down the rabbit hole.

  Bill's a smart guy but I needed a second, third, and fourth opinion to be sure.  And it only got worse.  All of my friends not only agreed with Allison and Bill's diagnosis of me being a bro, but they also questioned me.  All of them saying, "You seriously didn't know that you're a bro?"

I felt like one of those women on "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant."

  I was completely blind sided by not only this perfect strangers perception of me, but also some of my closest friends perception of me.  I have always identified as the grey area between hipster and bro.  I listen to jazz music while I bench press.  I take gluten free protein bars with me to Army training.  I wear slim fitting jeans and sarcastic t-shirts of cartoons from my childhood.  I read astronomy news articles while I prepare my meals for the week.  I have always enjoyed all the stereotypical aspects of both lifestyles.

I never thought I was just one specifically.

  A "bro" to me, is a entitled white male between the ages of 18 and 25.  They can be seen at your local sports bar wearing RVCA trucker hats, tank tops, and Reef flip flops.  Common topics of discussion include sports of any kind, that dumb sophomore they hooked up with last weekend, and that epic time they won at Edward Forty Hands.  Don't expect any type of intelligible conversation out of this type as they are too busy knocking back shots of Fireball and admiring their own triceps as they just started a new body building program last week. A bro's most likely course of action on any given night is to slam a bottle of Admiral Nelson with other bros and continue out to their favorite Darin Beck establishment to pursue this weeks flavor of blonde or brunette.

Have I painted a terrible enough picture for you yet?

 So, to me, to be associated in ANY capacity with what I view as the lowest form of human existence was like being punched in the soul by some bro's favorite UFC fighter.

  But why get so butt-hurt over one seemingly harmless comment?  Does this random strangers opinion of me have any real impact on my life?  Does her labeling me a bro therefore make me a bro?  Was Descartes right? "I bro, therefore, I am bro."  (exact quote)

  Self perception is tricky.  We want people to see us for who we believe ourselves to be.  We dress a certain way, behave a certain way in order to be perceived how we want to be perceived.  Where I went wrong was believing that this girls topical observation of me defined who I am.  But after much thought I have realized that very few people see us and appreciate us for who we truly are.  These people are called our family and our closest friends.  These are the people that will see through your quirks, your defense mechanisms, and your "social masks" and truly understand you.  And as long as you have some good ol' self love, who really gives a shit what anyone else thinks?

  As much as I detest, "Haters gonna hate," there is something to be said about this phrase.  And I believe it is the most applicable solution to bring me out of the rabbit hole.  Everywhere you go in life whether it be at work, in the gym, or at your local bar, people are going to judge you.  Others may not like what you do or who you are.  They will pretend to be better than you, raise their nose to you, and scoff.  And the best advice I can give you is something I am learning myself.  You do you boo boo.


With good health and strong hamstrings,
Mike  

      

Single and ready to pretend like I know anything about dating

If you couldn't tell from my previous entries I am single. 

Very. Single.

 

Completely heterosexual bromances don't count

And I have been for a long time.

  When you've been single for as long as I have, you start to take note of the people around you and their relationships.  I've seen friends blast through hook ups, flings, "oh, we're just talking" and long term relationships faster than I can finish a bottle of whisky.  I've somewhat jealously scoffed at my peers adorable engagement and pregnancy announcements on the Facebook.  Throughout all of this I have remained the perpetual bachelor.  The lone(ly) wolf.  The party of one.

I said bromances don't count!

  To say that I haven't enjoyed the single life would be a complete and total lie.  Independence is great.  The freedom to do what I want, when I want is almost unbeatable.  Not feeling responsible for anyone's happiness but my own is liberating!  However, there comes a time when making pasta for one person is just too depressing.

It's called every time

 

As I have ventured through the ups and downs of being single I have found some "interesting" articles from "real" writers online about what a relationship is supposed to be.  These writers claim to know exactly what you need in a significant other..  Everything from simple gestures to intricate personality matching  has been mentioned. 

I have to ask though, is finding the right person and falling in love really that complicated?

    To me, if you fall in love with someone flaws and little discrepancies disappear, both yours and theirs.  The way they don't trim their nails every week doesn't matter. Their hair color is simply unimportant.  Their passions become your passions. 

  Now I may be the wrong person to be saying this having been out of the "dating game" for so long but I myself have come up with a list of things to look for in a significant other that I want to share with you today.

1.  Find someone who genuinely cares for and respects you and others around them.
2.  Find someone you genuinely care for and respect.

And that's it.

  Too simple?  I think not.  Too often in relationships, even friendship, we overlook these rudimentary values and how much they are worth.  I believe that with these two characteristics you can build a strong and loving relationship with anyone.  Maybe even with a republican!  (LOL)

  
  Am I saying this will guarantee you find your soul mate, "the one," or the love of your life?  Absolutely not.  But you'd be amazed at how much more intimate of a connection you can have with anyone if you keep these two ideas in mind.

  
With good health and strong hamstrings,
Mike

Craigslist Posting: Missed Connections: Generation Next

I've been struggling with something for a while.

People.

  People are really hard.  We are all a complex set of thoughts, feelings, and experiences all wrapped up in a watery goo. (Taken from my human anatomy notes that I just made up)  The crazy part is generally speaking, we understand the gooey parts.  Legs go here.  Eyes go here.  Kidneys go there.  Physically there is a form and function to everything.  It's the rest of that feely-thinky stuff that really gets gooey.

  Now I am about as much a social psychologist as I am a writer. (maybe you've seen my blog?)  but in my 25 years on this earth I feel like I am no closer to understanding people than I was they day I came into it.  And I'm not even talking about the real crazies.  I'm talking about the people you see every day.  That cute girl that works at Bed, Bath and Beyond who helped you decorate your apartment, the homely bartender at your local dive, the hoards of 20-somethings with their noses glued to their cell phones and crying out for a deeper connection.  

And this is where I am currently struggling.

  My generation is lost.  Not in the, "You'll never amount to anything and you've failed me as a son" (MOM!)  sense, but in the "We are all wanting to be connected to something bigger and do something bigger but we are all too 'plugged in' to see the world around us" kind of lost.

  We share pictures of pop-tarts and airplane wings in fancy filters to get an electronic thumbs up.  We share our 140 character thoughts to show how clever we are and how much fun we are having without our ex.  We put our headphones in, sunglasses on, and pretend we didn't just make eye contact across the room.

  Our interactions are hollow.  We talk about sports statistics and Miley Cyrus.  (She is still relevant right?)  We regale stories of blacked-out nights and hungover mornings.  We brag about all the "fucks we don't give."  Our conversations are as meaningful as your high school GPA in a job interview.

 It is so exhausting!

  Living in a new city has been a challenge for me.  Branching out and meeting new like minded people has been more difficult than I had expected it to be.  I have waded through so many "So where are you from?  What's your major?"  chats that if I have one more I may vomit.

   Our communications lack content and connection.

  So ask yourself, when was the last time you had a REAL conversation?  Have you been emotionally or intellectually challenged by a conversation recently?  When was the last time you talked to someone about what you or they love?  Whether they love music, fitness, cooking, muscle cars, nature, who cares what it is!  When was the last time you told someone how you truly felt?

There is such a deeper connetion we could all be having if we could just open up and talk.  Share yourself with someone else.  Ask them how they are doing, and REALLY care.

    Maybe if we shared our hearts instead of our weekend plans we'd feel connected.  Maybe if we opened ourselves up to those around us we'd feel like we belong.  Show someone kindness and compassion instead of cute dog videos.  

  People are really hard.  Our young generation is struggling to find its way.  But I believe with a little kindness and good conversation we can start to feel like we at least belong here, together.

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike

Mike Gets Menopause at the Gym

Trust me, it only gets worse.

  Today, I bring you a story from my workout.  This is all true.  It happened.  And I'm not ashamed.

  On my current program, Monday's are my heavy leg days.  Unlike many people I cherish these days.  I live for the "post leg workout I just got hit by a train" feeling.  So, today, I was very excited to get into the gym and move some weight around.  

  Now at the gym. I'm a bit of a recluse.  I put my headphones in, crank the dubstep, and shut out the world.  And today was no exception to that.  Until I started my incline leg presses.

 About two working sets in out of five I was moving 450# for sets of 4-6.  Yes that's me bragging, deal with it.  When suddenly the WUB WUB WUB WUB BWWAAAAHHH NNNNN ZZZZZ WUB WUB WUB in my headphones came to a lull.  Into my earballs wafts the simplistic piano melody of Gary Jules' rendition of "Mad World" over the gym's speakers.

For those of you unfamiliar with the song

Something in me snapped.

    I was not prepared to hear this song that I truly love.  My complicated emotions of gym rage face and a deep seeded sorrow for our worlds current climate collided like the Spartan 300 and the Persian Army.

  I began shake laughing.  Tears were welling up in my eyes because I was so emotionally distraught.  I was smiling like a crazy person because I was so happy to hear this hauntingly beautiful song I hadn't heard in so long.  My legs were screaming at me like a drill sergeant, "GET ONE MORE REP YOU PANSY!"  

Yeah, that's right.  I didn't stop my set for this nonsense.

  I felt like in that very moment I understood what it was like to get menopause.  My body not functioning the way I want it to.  Cold, angry sweating.  Violent mood swings, from pure elation and euphoria to oppressive sadness and back again, all in the matter of one leg press rep.

  Trying to see myself from an outside perspective in this moment, I had to have looked like Michael Fassbender in X-Men: First Class, minus the fantastic hair and glass cutting jaw line.  That moment where Magneto finds "the point between rage and serenity" and Michael Fassbender is smile-crying whilst making peace with his mother's death and simultaneously stopping Beast from DVRing that weeks episode of "Game of Thrones" by moving their giant 1960s DirecTV dish.  Yes, I realize that joke is fraught with continuity issues but I don't care.  This is my blog.

THAT IS WHAT I LOOKED LIKE

  

  And then the song ended.  I cooly finished my remaining sets, got up from the leg press machine, and began to strip the weight off, being sure to avoid any chance of eye contact with these strangers who had just seen me go through the emotional equivalent of watching Disney's "Up."  And I carried on with my workout as if nothing had happened.

  There is no lesson to this story.  I have no advice based on this event.  If I did it would be something to the likes of, "Don't have an emotional breakdown at the gym.  It makes everyone uncomfortable.  Do that at home with a plate of cheese and season four of Dexter on Netflix by yourself." 

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike

Just a thought

  You know how people buy drinks for girls in bars?  Why can't people do that at supplement stores?  Like if I'm looking at a pre-workout at GNC and some person walks up to me and strikes up a conversation and offers to buy the pre-workout for me there is a lot better chance of me working out harder.

More to come soon!

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike

#TBT

 

 

Because Arnold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody has ever said anything better than this ever.

Mike Does Des Moines

I'm moving!

 

 

Home sweet temporary home

 

 

  That's right fitness friends, I will be spending the majority of my summer in lovely Des Moines, Iowa.  As I was looking for summer work in Cedar Falls, I was unable to find anyone who was willing to hire me for a short term period of time before I move down to Iowa City in the fall.

 

 

Luckily my friends are awesome.

 

  I will be working for a fellow fitness beast, Andrew Brown, (who just squatted 315 lbs! Almost twice his body weight) as a private security officer. 

 

We look awfully "secure"





 

 

  I will be moving down to Des Moines for the last half of May then returning home to go play lost in the woods for the majority of June with Uncle Sam. 

 

^Prick

 

  So all you Des Moines locals, I have a major question for you.  Where the f^$% should I workout while I am in Des Moines?  I have a few simple requirements for my gym.

 

Requirements

 

1.  Squat racks on squat racks on squat racks. Because, duh.

2.  Good pullup bars.  Not those bs pull up/chest dip/leg raise systems.  Give me a bar hanging from the ceiling and I'm happy.

3.  West Des Moines locale.  I will be living with the only woman I trust and want to something close to home.

4.  I am not paying $100+ dollars for a Crossfit gym.  Cheaper is better.

5.  Concept 2 Rowers.

6.  24 hour locations would be good as I don't know when I will be working yet for sure.

7.  Short term memberships as I won't be in Des Moines more than 2 months.

 

 

  I know it's a little bit picky but it's what I want in a gym.  But if you find me a gym I like and end up going to not only will I love you even more but I might even let you watch me work out!  Thanks in advance and I hope to see my Des Moines friends in the gym soon!

 

 

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike 

 

 

  



Sexy Gym Girls are Sexy

I'm sorry.

This is going to get slightly misogynistic.

I warned you

  Every single day I am confronted by a very serious issue.  And that problem is beautiful women just being beautiful at the gym.  It's no secret that men are hardwired to seek out these lovely potential mates.  However the gym is not your typical Darren Beck establishment and neither of us have enough Coors Light in us to obscure the line between casual conversation and blatant flirting.  Hopefully...  There must be a way to treat these muscular vixens while they get their fitness on.  Let's take a look at these problems and how we as gentlemen can coexist with pretty girls at the gym.

 Problem #1-  You are staring at her.

  Resting between sets, your mind and eyes begin to wander.  Unfortunately your eyes have wandered towards the five foot two inch tall blond in yoga pants and what barely consummates a sports bra doing deep lunges.

I hope she isn't pointing that finger gun at me

And you're caught!

 You play it cool and pretend like you were looking lazily around the room and proceed to hold eye contact with everyone in the gym for just a little too long.  And she'll never know.  Whew!  Crisis averted.

  There isn't a single guy at the gym that hasn't done this at least once.  And to women it really isn't fair.  While you are just trying to move some weight and tone up that posterior chain so you can wear those cute new Buckle jeans you got out on the town with your girlfriends, we are staring at and objectifying your posterior chain. It's rude, disrespectful, and we just can't help it sometimes.  I'm sorry!

  Helpful tip guys- Keep your eyes up and be mindful of where you are looking.  No woman wants to be stared at at the gym.

  

Problem #2-  She likes fitness.  I like fitness.  Maybe I should talk to her and date her.

  I love talking about fitness.  Maybe you've seen my blog?  But the gym is not your own personal live action eHarmony dating site.  There is a time and place to talk about workout programs and opinions on steady state cardio vs HIIT.  The gym is not one of those places.

"Do you Crossfit?  You look like you Crossfit."

  Women come to the gym with one purpose and one purpose only.  To workout.  They don't want to sit and talk to you about their weekend.  They don't care that you just started doing Arnold's arm workout.  They didn't see that Youtube video of Frank Medrano being a freak.

Seriously though.

Helpful tip guys-  Stop talking and start lifting.  If she wants to talk to you let her come to you.  Besides, avoiding her makes you seem more mysterious.  Right?

  

Problem #3-  She is squatting wrong.  I better go teach her how.

  If you do this you are the worst human being in the history of Earth.  You have combined the two worst things to do to a female at the gym, (staring at and communicating with) into one maelstrom of chauvinistic douchebaggery.

Let's break this down.

  1.  You were staring at her while she was squatting.  I thought we talked about this!?

  2.  You are using "teaching" as a way to open a conversation with her.  Hint: They know you are doing that.

  3.  You are assuming you know more about working out than her because she's a girl.

  4.  Chances are the advice you are giving her is verbatim what you saw in an Elliot Hulse Youtube video and you have no actual qualifications to be teaching her or anyone.

  Let me be clear I hate watching people do things "wrong" at the gym.  I've even stepped in when I see guys do this:

It hurts my everything

  But unless you think she is truly going to hurt herself there is no reason to suddenly become an amateur movement coach.

  As a matter of fact what makes you so qualified to teach her how to do "x" exercise?  To assume you know more than her is just plain sexist.  If she is working in the rack chances are she knows just as much about squatting as you do; and what you remember from your high school football coach isn't going to help her any. 

  Helpful tip guys-  She doesn't need or want your help.

  Women can't seem to escape male sexuality, especially at the gym.  On behalf of every gym bro who has oggled you, tried to coach you, flirted with you, or interrupted your workout in any way, I sincerely apologize.  Most of us mean no harm and are just glad you are here.  Guys, show some respect and let women do the same thing you came to the gym to do, workout!

Did I mention I'm sorry?

  

  

Monday Motivation!

Get to it!

Hashtag Woman Crush Wednesday 23 April 2014

Oh my...

If I make eye contact with her I will pee

 Allow me to introduce Jill Coleman.

  Go ahead.  Take a minute.  Jill is a fitness model/trainer/wellness coach/business owner/writer/triathlete/CHRIST HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HER!?

  There isn't a fitness cookie jar that this woman doesn't have her hands in right now. Her beautiful, muscle-y hands...  From being on the cover of such magazines as OnFitness, Fitness & Physique Magazine, and Natural Bodybuilding to owning her own health and wellness brand, JillFit, this woman has it all.  Including a husband.  Yet another missed opportunity for me.

  Her blog is just as stacked as she is with great information on everything from nutrition to relationship advice.  Mrs. (still hurts to say it) Coleman includes some great workout programming in her blog that would benefit anyone of any fitness level.  Jill's passion for living healthy and positivity is infectious in her writing and is a true pleasure to read.

But don't trust me!  I'm just some guy on the internet!

Be sure to check out her blog and to wipe the drool off your keyboard when you are done!

:Heavy Breathing:

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike

  

I'm on Google+ because Xanga seemed a little elitist

  Have you ever been sitting in your dad's basement reading fitness articles at 2 o'clock in the morning, avoiding that reflection paper I have to write for my Diversity in America class that is due next week and thought to yourself, "Hey, I could write a fitness blog!"  No?  Yeah, maybe a little too specific. 

  But for times sake let's pretend you have had that same sad experience.  And let's say you are so lucky as to have a very loving and supportive group of friends and family members that always encouraged you to do whatever it is you want to do.  Unless that thing you want to do is to become an active volcano.  Thanks mom.

I could have been someone, mom

  Well of course that would lead you to write a fitness blog on an almost completely irrelevant blog site.

^Previously mentioned irrelevant blog site 



  But since it's the only thing I know of it will have to do.  And while you are here I might as well extrapolate in excruciating detail my story, and how I have come to write about fitness and all things related.

  Being completely honest, I am pretty new to the fitness world.  I often get asked when at the gym, "What did you play in high school?  Football?  Did you wrestle?"  I love relish this question.  Only because I'm so narcissistic that I think my reply is hysterical.  And my reply is ALWAYS, "the saxophone."

Every bros reaction

  I'm actually still laughing to myself about that one.  But it is true.  I was not involved in organized sports after middle school.  I was too busy with choir, band, jazz band, all-state auditions, theater rehearsals.  If you look at that sentence carefully it actually says, "I was too busy being a nerd."

  And it gets worse. 

After I graduated from high school, I went on to major in being a nerd saxophone performance at the University of Northern Iowa.  This was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn about my passion at a school that allowed me to develop my own voice as a young musician.

Buuuuuut I didn't.

  My first attempt at college was more of an opportunity for me to eat lots of pizza rolls and develop my own affinity for Keystone Light.  Advisers always warn you about the "freshmen fifteen."  However they don't warn you that it isn't limited to fifteen pounds or your freshmen year.

I had a girlfriend then too.  Shame on her.

  I never said it was pretty.  I was 5 feet 9 inches short and weighed 190 lbs.  After two years of looking like that, and feeling even worse about it, I did what any lost 20 year old would do. I joined the Iowa National Guard.  Basic training is where my fitness journey really began.  It's a lot like a game of Candy Land really.  Except there is no candy because your meal plan limits your carbohydrate intake.  And instead of rainbow colored paths and bright inviting characters there was a lot of running, push ups, and big, scary drill sergeants yelling at me.  Just imagine Candy Land as a movie directed by David Fincher.

  By the time I graduated Basic Training I had lost 25 pounds and no longer looked like Gloppy the Molasses Monster's younger brother who pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  (Seriously?  More Candy Land jokes?)  I had even put on a little muscle!

  I came home and found a gym immediately. Taking  the small amount of fitness knowledge I had acquired at Basic Training, I began to push myself physically.

  Glossing over the past five years of my fitness journey like a Rocky training montage, we arrive at where I am today with fitness.  Fitness has become a passion and a staple to my everyday life.  Ask anyone of my friends or read my Facebook posts and you are sure to be annoyed with how much I talk about fitness/working out.  I do this because it is a passion I want to share with everyone.  

  

  This blog is a stepping stone for me in becoming a fitness professional.  I am by no means a fitness professional yet.  I am even less of a professional writer!  (Just ask my community college Composition II professor)  So please bear with me as I grow as a fitness professional and a writer.  And by no means should you take what I have to say as gold.  I encourage you to read what I have to say, post hurtful comments about my poor writing skillz, and learn whatever you can about living a happier, healthier life.

With good health and strong hamstrings,

Mike