Transformation: Three Years Later

I recently walked into the sports performance center that I have been training at for the last several years and was reminded of the first time walked in and looked at the claims that they were making about transforming athletes. I joked with my friend JR, a former NFL player and one of the owners of the facility, that they might be able do it for young athletes but what could they do with a 37 year old 265 lbs guy with fading hoop and specifically dunking dreams. He said give me six weeks and see if we don't get you that birthday dunk on your 38th bday. That was the start of an amazing journey that I'm still on today. 

As much as I thought of myself as an athlete, the reality was that I was 55lbs overweight with a long-term health condition that required me to lose that weight to improve my quality of life. Weight had always been a struggle for me, but now it was a matter of life and death. I needed do something radical that not only help me reach my goal but stay there, enter Acceleration Sports Performance (www.accelerationpro.com)

The idea of a man in his late 30's training with young aspiring athletes. After all, it's not like the league was calling or anything, but I've heard the sayings...if you want to go somewhere you've never been before, you have to take a path you've never taken before" and "if you don't want the same results you've always gotten, quit doing the things you've always done."  That's probably the best summation of the journey that I was embarking on. 

The next few years became an adventure for me. The more i trained, the better I got as an athlete. Slowly over time,  I began to see my body transform into something I had only dreamed of, but that old familiar weight roller coaster was still going. It wasn't until my trainer Jimmy Carter (www.ingrainedtotrain.com) suggested that my issue was centered around eating. I thought he was crazy since I thought I was eating somewhat healthy and I was seeing results but I couldn't get past that 220lb barrier. 

After a few months I finally realized he was right and asked him how can I make that change. He challenged me to do a cleanse and rebuild program and he would coach me through it. Knowing how I am when it comes to challenges, I accepted and what happened was simply amazing. Not only did i get past the 220lbs barrier, I got back to my doctor's original goal of 210lbs. That was over three years ago and today I'm still there!

How's that? There was no magic formula or miracle product to speak of though along the way there were things that I have consumed and done that contributed to the results I have been experiencing. This happened because I had a reason for my goal that was strong enough to fuel my journey. For me it was the desire to be all that God intended me to be and being 55lbs overweight with health issues and a family history of early death was not His plan for me. 

There's a part of all of us that knows that our current situation isn't all there is for us. We all have goals, dreams and ambitions in life. The problem comes in when we let life's circumstances drive what we do. While I was pursuing my health and wellness goals, life continued and things happened. One of the major life events for me happened after my 40th birthday when I had a sudden, unplanned career change which led to a series of life altering events. Something like this would definitely derail anyone's plans but for me it became the platform to keep pursuing my health goals. 

I heard it said that life is 10% the things that happen to you and 90% how you handle it. In this case, I saw my training as the one thing other than my faith that I could turn towards to maintain my sense of life balance. Posessions, people and problems come and go, but for me my health and faith are the two things that will always be with me and are within my ability to affect. It's all about choices. You can choose to persevere or you can choose to let life's circumstances stop you.  For me, I decided that for whatever life was going to hand me, I wanted to be physically able to do it. 

What's your goal? What's that thing that you've always wanted but seemed to never be able to achieve? Whatever it is, you have the power to make it happen, but you have to start with the decision to get after it. So get off that couch, get in the game and reach those goals!

Stay Forever Strong!