My Fitness Journey: Something That Completely Changed My Life

I’ll be the first one to admit that I had a terrible work ethic in high school. I was one of those kids growing up that could skate by on talent alone without putting in a lot of extra work. I was usually one of the best players on my sports teams but that was solely due to the God given abilities I was blessed with. I was also lucky enough to have my Dad as a coach growing up who developed my skills as a baseball player, because without him I don’t know if I would have even made it to play at the college level with the mindset and attitude I had in my teenage years. As I think back to how complacent I was with just being average, it’s mind blowing to see the complete 360 that occurred within me to transform me into the person I am today.

It’s sad to think about how much more I could have developed in my younger years if I would have just put forth a little more effort. Don’t get me wrong, I would show up everyday and work hard at practice and in games, but I would never be the one to stay after to get more reps or spend extra time in the weight room to really make myself better. We had a lifting class in high school that was required for all athletes to take, and that was the main reason I was in there everyday, because it was a requirement. I really had no desire to workout. I had always been a smaller kid growing up, and I felt uncomfortable in the gym. This half-assed approach worked out just enough for me in high school, and I was fortunate enough to get the chance to be offered an opportunity to play baseball at the collegiate level. However, once I graduated and moved on to bigger things I knew I had to leave my old way of doing things in the past.

I showed up on campus the fall of my freshman year at Anderson University weighing 170 pounds soaking wet. When I looked around at some of the grown men we had on the baseball team, I knew that I had to make some serious lifestyle changes if I even wanted to touch the field in my four years there. Seeing how far behind I was from the majority of the guys on my team really opened my eyes. That was the moment that I made a commitment to myself, one that would end up changing my life completely. I swore that my days of putting in minimal effort were over and that I wasn’t going to be outworked by anyone from that day forward. I got in the gym, started taking my diet seriously, and stayed after practices to get more swings and ground balls. The work I put in my freshman year paid off enough to allow me to play in 27 of the 40 games we had that season. I was proud to be the freshman on the team with the most playing time, but I still wasn’t satisfied. I knew that I could still develop. I was capable of so much more, I just had to keep digging.

I came into my sophomore year weighing 190 pounds and felt like a completely new person. I was in the gym four to five days a week and I was finally seeing changes with my body. I wasn’t the smallest guy on the team anymore, and I loved it. Each year, I could see more transformations occurring, both in my mindset and with my body. My junior year was definitely the major turning point where I completely fell in love with fitness. I could feel the passion to work hard and the hunger to develop myself grow inside of me on a daily basis. I’ve spent countless hours in the gym over the past four years and I’ve seen great results. Nowadays, I train six days a week, and am extremely disciplined with my diet. My friends and family sometimes tease me about how much time I spend at the gym and how strict I am with the food I eat, but I don’t see it as a hassle, I absolutely love it. There’s no better feeling to me than investing time and effort into myself and seeing improvements over time. Each year I look back on how much I’ve developed and it’s amazing to see the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. It’s gotten to the point now where I just crave being in the weight room. I wake up everyday excited to get to the gym to push myself, and whenever my workout finishes I find myself a little sad because I don’t want it to end. It’s something that I care so much about that I’ve recently been considering making a career out of it somehow. I have friends reach out to me all the time asking for workout and nutrition advice, and I realized helping others with their fitness journeys is something I like doing. Even though I don’t have any formal education in fitness or nutrition, it is one of the things that I love the most and is something I want to be deeply involved with for the rest of my life.

Fitness changed my life. Not only has it allowed me to become a stronger, faster, and better athlete, but it has made me an overall better person. It provided me with a way to hold myself accountable and develop a strong work ethic, two things that I can use with any challenge I’m faced with in life. I’ve seen it pay off with my studies, my baseball career, the jobs I’ve held, and the relationships that I have. I now have the tool set that I lacked several years ago in high school, one that allows me to grow into a better version of myself every single day. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come over the last several years, but by no means am I content. I don’t ever want to feel satisfied with where I’m at, I always want to look for ways to improve. I’m positive that I will accomplish big things in life because I have the internal drive to work until I reach the goals I set for myself.

No matter where you are right now in your fitness journey or even with life in general, just know that it's never too late to make a change. If there's something you want, go get it! Don't wait around for good things to come to you, wake up each morning with a plan on how you can improve that day and crush the goals you set. If you get 1% better everyday, over time that's going to add up to some major progress. If anyone reading this finds themselves in a position where they feel lost or don't know where to start, don't be afraid to reach out to me, I would love to talk and help you jumpstart something incredible!

Below, I've provided some transformation photos. Starting at the end of my senior year of high school in 2015 all the way up to now. It's been a very long process with a lot of hard work, discipline, and sacrifice, but it's been so worth it. Results don't happen over night, stay consistent and stay locked in. You are capable of so much more than you think, keep your head down and push forward!