How I Started

In the last two years, my physical fitness and overall health have increased incredibly. I've been in pretty good shape since my high school days, but nothing compared to what I am now. My transformation began back in 2006 when I discovered CrossFit.

CrossFit is an incredible fitness philosophy that has swept across the military, police, and fire department circles in recent years. I could go more in-depth into what CrossFit is, but you'll get a much better answer here. Since starting CrossFit, I have seen almost non-stop gains in my physical performance and appearance. I feel healthier, stronger, faster, and more agile than ever before. If I could recommend one training method to you, it would be CrossFit.

Besides CrossFit, three people have shaped by life's hard routine. First, my wife. Diet has forever been the weakest aspect of my fitness. During my youth and (brief) bachelor period, I ate absolute crap. In fact, during the months that I was in Infantry Officer Basic Course, I ate nothing but Chinese delivery. I would order two large meals at night and the left-overs would become my breakfast and lunch for the following day. During that period, I was working out five days a week and doing military field training. However, despite my intense physical activity I constantly felt sluggish and heavy.

Luckily, my wife didn't let me continue down this culinary path of destruction. After only a few months of gentle "reminders" and "suggestions," my diet had improved greatly. I was eating home cooked meals and enjoying fresh veggies and fruits. I had a Chinese food session every month or so, but that was it. The difference this change had on my overall health and fitness was amazing. I felt fitter, lighter, and all around better.

I was so convinced about the importance of food that now I am the picky eater in the family. I hold myself (and my wife) to a very healthy standard and have even given up meat. I still eat plenty of fish, but the impact of no meat has been remarkable. What CrossFit did to my workout philosophy, my wife did to my diet philosophy.

The two other people who have shaped my hard routine are Pavel Tsatsouline and Brooks Kubik. Pavel is a former Russian special forces soldier who was instrumental in bringing kettlebell workouts to the US. Kettlebells are old style Russian weights that consist of a large iron ball with a handle. They are cheap in comparison to normal weight sets and brutally effective.

Brooks Kubik is the most recent contributor to my hard routine life. He has helped bring back the training techniques of the old-school strongmen. His program is called "Dinosaur Training" and it will set you on the path to brute strength. He is also a very motivational trainer. His lessons and stories have taken me to a new level of dedication and passion for my fitness. Whenever I feel like I'm losing focus or dedication, I turn to Kubik. Five minutes of listening to his "Dinosaur Mind Power" CDs and I'm back on the hard routine path.

These are the people and things that have shaped my fitness. Check in to future posts to see how they, and those like them, will continue to guide me in my quest to becoming an unstoppable beast of a man.