My fitness journey has been everything but simple!
From being an athlete throughout my high school years to joining the Marine Corps and now pursuing my bodybuilding career I have continuously dealt with different challenges and this is a bit about me.
At 13 I tore my labrum playing football. I wasn’t diagnosed until 6-8 months later due to lack of continuity I received from primary care. By this point there was no other option for me besides surgery to reattach my labrum to my bone. They expressed that because of I was young the recovery would be a breeze and they were not wrong to a certain point. After 6 months of recovery, Physical therapy and a lot of Advil and Tylenol my shoulder felt good as new and I was able to continue playing sports throughout high school. This didn’t last forever as I struggled with issues with my opposite shoulder from compensation and overuse during that time. Regardless I finished out my high school career an athlete and thank god because I had no idea what else I would be without it until I found bodybuilding.
Enlisting into the Marine corps I dealt with issues as anyone would expect from making that choice. I was driven to challenge my body beyond and my mind in ways I didn’t know I was capable of. This constant challenge drew me to start bodybuilding and pursue the growth in all aspects that came with it. The growth that came with it became addicting. Very early on I struggled with issues from my right shoulder. numbness and tingling sensations during my lifts or even to the point where I had to completely stop because it would lock up and I would be unable to lift my arm up. As you can imagine this played a huge factor on my mental health as well because no one likes being stopped from doing what they are passionate about. I would push through it as much as I could until I realized I needed to make a change if this was what I really wanted to do. I humbled myself, put my ego in check and really reestablished a baseline for all my lifts in the gym. Yes it was embarrassing lifting weights plenty of people “smaller” than me could lift. It wasn’t about that though it was about stripping myself from the ego that would continue to get me hurt. I still struggle with this to today and am in no way perfect but this gave me the idea that it doesn’t matter how much you lift just how you lift it!
I took time working through corrective movements to assist with the development of my shoulder and the issues that arose from it. This challenged me to find a new love for what the body is capable of recovering from and how many different ways there are to go about increasing performance. Building muscle is great because it increases your bodies ability to move and with this comes its own challenges. So as a bodybuilder I learned that increasing my mobility and ROM would only benefit my ability to grow and challenge my body. Outside of this I have continued to pursue many different avenues in fitness to really help shape my body into what it is now.
Since getting out of the Marine Corps I have had more time and ability to pursue these different avenues of growth for myself. From challenging my ROM and mobility to increase my lifts and optimize my recovery outside of the gym. To looking at the foods/fuel I am putting into my body to increase my lifts and energy on a daily basis. To really focusing on what supplements are intended for and what purpose they really provide. The last thing which I feel has increased everything else tremendously would be constantly looking at my mental health and allowing myself to recognize where I am with my habits and thoughts. Establishing better habits towards all of these goals and being okay with not being perfect right away is definitely one of the biggest things that has helped me on this journey. Through this I have learned to be okay with challenging my thoughts and daily routine so I can really create the best possible version of myself. This in my mind is the best way for me to help others as well. Establishing these winning behaviors and habits allows me to help others in ways I never thought possible. Learning to lead with your heart and back it up with the knowledge and constant pursuit of betterment is really what my life has become about.
