I had become interested in fitness early in life, using it as way to change my life and set myself up for success. By the time I was thirteen, I had already used fitness to turn my life around. As a high-school sophomore, I ran cross-country and incorporated weight lifting in to my schedule. I was determined to look like the guys from Baywatch.
I also started worrying about weight. Numerous friends were on the wrestling team, and I felt I had to “make weight” too. I starved myself down to 100 pounds at a height of 5’10” and began to exercise obsessively. I slipped into a state of anorexia, but didn’t realize what I was doing to myself. I remember looking in the mirror and thinking, “I’m fat!” No matter what I looked like, I was fat. In a way, I was punishing myself for what I had done, what I had been through. I still hadn’t forgiven myself and this is how I was coping.
About a year later, I started researching fitness and nutrition. I pulled out of the anorexic lifestyle by putting together a nutritious eating plan and a sensible exercise program. I also began training with weights to compliment this lifestyle change; however, I became compulsive and fanatical again. I surfed the internet for hours trying to find a “magical program” that would deliver the results I wanted. So much information was available. I had no idea what to believe. I also started to over-train because, if a little bit of training was good, more must be better. NOT TRUE!
At 4:30 a.m., I would role out of bed and stumble downstairs to an adjustable bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells. Workouts lasted from 4:50 a.m. until 5:45 a.m., followed by a shower and the 6:20 a.m. bus. After school, cross-country practice included an average of six-mile runs each day. Eventually, my body broke down and I became very sick. I stood up in class one day and actually fainted. My stomach felt like it was eating itself and it became hard to stay awake in class. Realizing I was heading down the wrong path, I took two months off from any training.
The following summer, even after pursuing weight lifting more seriously, my training program still didn’t take off due to so much conflicting information. I was more confused now than when I started. One day, my dad introduced me to an ex-bodybuilder who became my mentor. The bodybuilder showed me pictures of himself when he was my age and the similarities were shocking. I asked him every question I could think of, we trained together, he even gave an interview for an assignment in a journalism class.
Even though we trained together for almost a year, I still didn’t understand how to put together a fitness program. There were so many different programs around—all claiming to be the best—and I just didn’t know what to believe.
Senior year of high school, I set out on a mission to find the best, most efficient, training program that would yield the best results. To follow through, I signed up to compete in a bodybuilding competition one year away.
It took four years to find what I was looking for. I finally understood what the bodybuilder tried to teach me. THERE IS NO ONEBEST TRAINING PROGRAM. The best training programs incorporate many training programs and combine a strong nutrition plan to help sculpt the body.
I also realized something else: Although bodybuilders look very healthy, many aren’t. After competing in my first contest, I couldn’t believe how unhealthy some bodybuilders are. Instead of focusing on staying fit and leading a healthy lifestyle, they sacrifice health in order to look good. They take muscle-enhancing drugs, some dehydrate themselves, and others starve themselves until the competition. Bodybuilders even cut down to dangerously low body fat levels of 1-2 percent!
This broke the illusion. I wanted to believe these men and women were oriented towards health, but instead, they only cared about their appearance.
I want to make clear here and now that, although your goals may include changing your body, nothing is more important than focusing on getting fit, staying healthy, and, most importantly, feeling good.
So why should you read this book if there is not one best training program?