Hitch Fit Living Magazine Volume 5 - March/April 2016 | Page 29

That, along with the constant breaking down of the homemade equipment, was the
main reason for my loss of focus and why after 6 months my workouts had gotten
stagnant. I expressed my frustration to one of my Sergeants at work. He introduced me
to some powerlifters he knew, and I started training with them. I was getting strong
with this new powerlifting routine, and I liked it.
In 1985, I relocated to southern Louisiana. The gym I joined was perfect- 3 blocks from
home, and it was owned & operated by Paul Cormier, a former Mr. Louisiana. He
helped me refine my workouts and showed me a few new routines. Even though I was
training 6 days per week, I still did not have a clue as to how important nutrition was in
being strong and healthy. My body weight was heavy at 225.
In 1989, I moved to Kansas City for my new job at the federal penitentiary in
Leavenworth. I was delighted to learn they had a fitness center for employees,
accessible 24/7. I started working out with some of my co-workers, usually about 5 am
before work. My workout goal back then was to get bigger and stronger. I peaked
strength-wise in 1994, at the age of 34. I benched 325 for 3 or 4 reps, my deadlift was
475. This might sound great, but my overall fitness was poor. I did very little cardio, I
was all about size & strength- and eating what I wanted when I wanted.
My workouts changed in 2003, about the time I turned 43. It took longer to recover
from those heavy workouts, so I focused on simply maintaining my size & strength. As
time wore on, I focused on everything except my workouts, and I spent less and less
time in the gym, which resulted in quite of bit of weight gain and loss of muscle.
In 2004, the fitness roller coaster started up again. My wife Vickie and I started buying
equipment for our house, with the intention of working out at home. We figured it
would be easier and less expensive than joining a gym. Unfortunately, the equipment
became a clothes hanger and dust collector. Just like my earlier workouts, my home
workouts became very sporadic- almost non-existent. I was back to making excuses for
not working out. As time went on, I even stopped making excuses, and just didn’t work
out. I was still eating what I wanted, when I wanted. There were quite a few times that
my dinner would be a medium pizza. I would also pound down a pint of ice cream
several times a week. By this time my doctor had put me on pre-diabetic meds,
cholesterol meds and blood pressure meds. I just figured this was my predestined path,
and it continued for 10 years.
In 2013, Vickie discovered Hitch Fit, and dove in head first. She started eating clean
and working out 4-5 days per week. I would spot her during her workouts, and I started
doing some light weight training, but I was still not eating right. Her transformation
was amazing. As I was acting as her spotter, the old weight lifting fire started to burn
again. But, there was a new problem. My right shoulder was bothering me. I had very
little range of motion, and almost no strength. An MRI revealed I needed rotator cuff
surgery, which I had in April of 2015. After an 8 week recovery period, I was ready to
get active again. I had gained even more weight during that 8 week period and I was
feeling very….blah. Vickie suggested I do the same program she did- “Lose Weight, Feel
Great” from Hitch Fit.