Thank you my friend, you gave me a calling in my life.
When I first started getting serious about nutrition and exercise at around 13, I had one goal in life, to train people and change their lives and be a cover model. At 104 lbs I had goals and I worked harder than ever to educate myself to the full extent and transform myself into what I am now. I am currently 19, 175 lbs with a raw bench of 290, deadlift of 335x6 and deep squat of 245x6, I look, I think, and I feel differently. But as my body and mind matured I realized I will never grace the cover of a magazine, while not genetically blessed like the men on the frontpage and a personal refusal to ever dabble in any form of steriods, my goals changed to just beeing all that I can be. But that dream of training others and changing their lives never left.
Now me and my next door neighbor became very close this symmester. When I met him, he was a scrawny 150 lbs at around 5 10 with little to no muscle on his frame yet an ample amount of fat. He would tell me stories about how he was the fat kid growing up, the hell of everyday to day life socially and physcially. A doctors visit at 17 changed his life, with a physical came news that at this rate a heart attack at 25 would not be abnormal. He then told me how that night he went home and scared to death he reevaluted his life. After radical change in diet and constant running, 3 years later I met my neighbor as the skinny kid. He would tell me that ever since he lost all the weight, he had not seen any develpment in the weightroom and now he wanted to take his physique to the next level. Not the fat kid, not the skinny kid, but the muscular kid. I took him under my wing and tought him everything I knew, I began to train him and teach him how to eat, never missing an explanation of how and why to do what I say.
I made him forget everything he ever learned and worked on a clean slate and carved him from the ground up. His 4 day a week workouts consisted of 2 upper body sessions and two lower body sessions focussing on deadlifts and squats as his number 1 priority. On upper body days I would not allow him to use any weight he couldnt crank out 6 reps without the upmost perfect form and made him completely abandon all isolation exercises. I trained him hard and I trained him smart and after 3 months he transformed in front of my eyes. He went from a skinny muscleless kid with a gut at 150 to a lean and suprisingly muscular 165. I whatched him go from bench pressing 35s on each side to 185 for reps with amazing form. I witnessed his 6 rep deadlift climb from 115 to 245lbs!! His parallel squat drop down to ass to grass and increase a good 30lbs! Muscles started popping out and his entire outlook on himself and life begain to change as well.
Now two days ago without hearing a thank you or a prase to my name since the start, my friend sat me down and almost brought tears to my eyes. He told me about his life, as a fat kid, as a skinny kid and how he is now. He told me I changed his life, for the first time he was able to look in the mirrow and be happy about himself. His confidence soared, along with his motivation and appretiation for life. He thanked me for not training him, rather teaching him and promised me that because of me for the rest of his life he vowed to be healthy and fit till he took the dumbell to his grave. He even went on to say that for the first time in his life someone went up to him prased him for his transformation and actually asked him for advice confessing that he had been lifting for almost a year with no results. When I asked him what he told him, he looked at me and said "I gave him the Steven". Thank you my friend, you made my boyhood dream come true. From this day on I vow to save up enough money this summer to complete my certification and start training. I will continue with my business degree and I will change as many lives in my lifetime that I can. As my friend would say, "You are going to make fitness spread through America like herpes at a whorehouse".
That's a great story. So many people want to keep others down to make themselves look better. You on the other hand took your knowledge, time, and effort and helped your friend transform. If you approach life with the attitude that you approached helping your friend nothing will stop you from being successful.
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
Great story, Steve. You've been working hard at this for years and there is no doubt you will be very successful at this. It has to be a great feeling knowing you have motivated and changed your friend's life. You should be very proud.
Thanks for posting this.
__________________
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Congrats, Steve. You deserve huge props for what you did both for your friend and for yourself in the process. Good luck attaining your goals.
__________________
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
that's truly a beautiful story. And at 19, to be able to recognize what's really important to yourself, and to have the gift to help others, man, that's what "remarkable" and "outstanding" are really all about. Go forth my brother...
Steve,
We go back a few years to the MH days. I am so very proud of you at this moment. You are a living example of what I try to say each week. Thanks for sharing this story, my friend.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
This line jumped out at me: "He thanked me for not training him, rather teaching him and promised me that because of me for the rest of his life he vowed to be healthy and fit till he took the dumbell to his grave."
I'm really impressed, Steve. You could have taken the easy way out and trained him -- do this, do that, eat these -- which might have changed your friend's physique, but wouldn't have changed his life. You really made a difference.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Great post Steve and makes it all the more worthwhile in the sacrficies we make along the way to get to where we spire to be.
Make damn sure you get that certification you will be a credit to the industry and never lose site of that person in so much as that is the reaosn you are doing it.
I wish you well
__________________
BFG
"The time for talking has passed, actions are speaking louder than words."
Heartwarming, and painful. I was that fat kid 35 years ago. Sure wish you were around back then and was my friend.
I too remember you from the old MH forum. Hang around and keep posting. I'm older than you, but I have a lot to learn! It's always good to hear from someone with such positive outlooks on life.
Ray
__________________ "I'm growing older but not up. My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck. So let the winds of change blow over my head. I'd rather die while I'm living then live while I'm dead."
Thank you my friend, you gave me a calling in my life.
Thank you for sharing.
"I'm growing older but not up. My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck. So let the winds of change blow over my head. I'd rather die while I'm living then live while I'm dead."
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