Background

As my first post, I thought I'd put my brief background when it comes to sports and weight training, since well this is a weight lifting blog. This might put things into perspective of where I'm coming from.

I started lifting weights off and on starting in seventh grade. I always liked the thought of getting bigger. However throughout high school, I played volleyball for four years and basketball for three. So I always kept the lean basketball player look. I think the time I really started to lift more seriously was when I was in my senior year of high school. I moved schools between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I started on my basketball team in tenth grade, but didn't start on my new team in eleventh and this really bothered me. So I set my sights on the gym. I would wake up at 4:30am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, just to get my four days of weight training in before LDS seminary at 5:45am, before I had to get to school by 7:30am. The reason I didn't lift after school is because I had my varsity sports practices everyday immediately after school and would get home around six at night.

First season was volleyball. By the time basketball season came around, I guess I was fairly used to getting up early to work out. It set me apart from everyone else at school because no one else did. it. Even the gym-goers thought I was crazy for getting up that early. I didn't mind though. I could feel my body transforming. And I liked it. By the time basketball season came around, let's just say the coach and I didn't exactly see eye to eye. So instead I went out for rugby, having never played football or anything, and made the varsity team. I not only fell in love with the sport, but I could really see how my lifting carried over to a contact sport like that. So I kept at it.

After high school, I went to BYU-Idaho for two years, and there wasn't much to do up there, so I spent a lot of my time in the gym. Since I wasn't in any sports anymore, I started to actually put on weight. I high school, I saw definition and some size, but mainly strength gains (my squat got up to 400lbs from like 200lbs) but not much size. When I got to Idaho, I saw the size come. And that's what got me hooked to bodybuilding. All in all, I have been seriously lifting for the past six years. It is not easy and it takes a lot of motivation and drive. But it's worth it.