First Post

I'll start my first post off with something I wrote a very long time ago (4 years or so).  It from STRONG Gym's old website.
It will be good for me to reflect back.
...plus, I just need some content on this blog :{

[Discussion about my health and training]
Hey guys, thanks for thinking about me. I really appreciate it. No one has ever really commented on my training style before and it’s nice to get reminded about all the people who watch out for me. My body has been working at half efficiency due to my illness and blood loss for quite sometime now and it hurts that I can not train as hard as I want. I will and am changing many aspects of my program but make note that for me, training is my way that I deal with certain things. I know you guys are only talking about my training but I feel this needs to be said...

Honestly, its been tough...
These past 2 1/2 years have really impacted my life. After being medically discharged from the Naval Academy, I returned home and had no idea with what I was going to do with my life. All I was told by them was that I had something wrong with my gut and that I was all of a sudden not suited to be an officer. I felt at a major low and life was not fun. I was angry at myself and could not find any reason as to why God would do this. My goal was to be a US Marine, Force Recon, the type of person who kicks ass and takes names that you would never hear about. And now that was gone. I was back at home.
I remember just sitting in my room and watching every episode of Walker Texas Ranger season after season. I would laugh about this with friends but I felt empty inside. I hated that feeling.
My personality had always been more of a happy, quiet manner but I never have liked to show weak emotion or anger in front of anyone. I kept all my weak emotions on the inside. This wasn't healthy as the only times I would let out anything out were with those I loved most over something that was either very little or stupid. But then I found something that would eventually lead me to great passion that also let me deal with my anger.

I had always had an interest in lifting weights (since my embarrassing story) but it was never really directed with a major goal or anything. Being back home it was a nice transition to have good friends like Billy and Tyler, who worked at Chesterfield and introduced me to a whole new world about all things regarding lifting weights. I learned about Westside Barbell and big strong badasses and I was hooked. I even got a job at Chesterfield just so I could be close to the iron and train constantly. The more I trained, the more I forgot about the anger of not knowing what I was going to do with my life. I now felt like I had a purpose again and that was to get STRONG.
Getting strong physically helped get me back on the right track. My life was becoming very organized again and slowly I felt something was guiding me to something greater. My steps felt ordained...every step I made forward I got stronger and learned more about myself.
Soon getting stronger was far from a hobby or interest, it became a passion, and it was my life. I was moving forward to better and greater things.
That next summer I met up with Derek, Matt, and Jonny and it just gets better from here. It was great; I had found even more people (brothers) who also had a great passion about strength. Together we all trained in our garage gyms and had an atmosphere like no other. Everyone pushed each other for the better and we all got stronger. I was also introduced to competition and found great desire to be the best.
Competition led me to powerlifting, a sport like no other, suited to my very liking. It was a sport about competing against yourself. It was also a sport about showing others that you have what it takes to get stronger. I loved competing. After my first competition I couldn’t wait till the next one.
Shortly after this though, life once again became a little more complicated.
My Crohn’s disease started to come at me very strongly and left me drained. I became very ill and was in pain all of the time. But like I said, I hate showing weakness in front of others and I kept pushing myself to be stronger. Eventually my body couldn’t take it anymore and I became lifeless. I was rushed to Fayetteville and given a blood transfusion. The doctors and nurses were amazed that I had been at that low of a blood level and had still been keeping up with it all.
The blood transfusions were nice but more of a band-aid then anything. My energy was up again but I still had lots of pain. I got back to training as soon as I got back from the hospital.
This time around though, I trained to forget about the pain...
I continued training, harder then ever. Now though, not only was I getting stronger physically, my mind was now open to getting stronger in all areas of life. My passion for physical strength helped laid the foundation for my mental and spiritual strengths.
I knew that if I could show others that I have what it takes to get stronger physically, even if I had a disease that is leaving my body to work at half efficiency, I could be a great witness for God.
Training for strength was always on my mind, I made sure nothing could get in the way of this. Not only was I training hard physically, I was reading all I could about every topic that would get me stronger. Creationism, nutrition, the bible, eastern bloc and Russian strength text, you name it. I was seeing how it was all related and that got me stronger. My eyes were opened to many new and exciting things with creationism being something I found very enlightening.
The next summer had come and now I was guided to another something that was great. Matt and I talked and prayed about it and we decided to open up a gym like nothing from around here. STRONG Gym was born and there was now a place where strength was the goal of all who entered. A new atmosphere became as now we had more people who would join my family in strength. STRONG Gym is like no other.
After a couple of short months at STRONG, my health was still on a slow steady decline where I needed another blood transfusion.
This time around, I was better at managing the situation with the many principles I learned from all that had got me strong (nutrition and the bible, your body’s intelligent design, etc.). For the first time in years, I was feeling awesome and was stronger then ever. My life, in all of its chaos, was slowly starting to come together to the point where my attitude and well being were truly making me feel happy once again. I was also seeing for the first time how glorious our good God is. I could truly see that he is our creator, he owns us and we should fear him. Looking back, I could see that everything had happened for a reason. Sometimes when you pray for strength, God sends you great trials, but if you can overcome them, you will receive the strength that you prayed for.
I know life will always have its new challenges and there will always be a new one right around the corner.
It could even be something you thought could never happen.
There will always be challenges that you will have to face. Many will try to make you weaker…try.
It is up to you to find what it takes to make yourself stronger.
If you live a life with purpose…not focusing on your moment here on earth but on something even greater then your mind can conjure…if you continually search to get stronger in your passions, you can overcome all weakness and pain and be something great. For myself, I want to be a great witness for God and show all of his amazing glory.
I want others to look at me and ask why I push myself so hard in all areas of life. I want others to have no excuse as to why they can not get stronger.
I can always be stronger. I will be a witness for God.
That is my passion.
A passion forged on a foundation of strength. It is something that I will always search to get stronger in every aspect, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
A life with passion and purpose has a flavor that the weak will never know…
Get STRONG!