Health and well-being, fitness training and nutrition, as well as lifestyle changes have played a major role in my life for the past 30 years. "KAIZEN ("a term coined by the Japanese meaning "constant  improvement") is a term I live by on a day to day basis. The key to life is to always grow and improve your self in order to give the best of yourself to others. I've always loved sports and fitness, excelling in everything from hockey to a wide variety of the martial arts; anything I could do to challenge the mind and body.

 

At 14, I was a very thin young man so I was always very self-conscious of what I called my "weakness in stature". So I bought my first set of weights and started developing myself over the next few years. Changes in my physical strength came quickly but it was difficult to put on any size ("my metabolism was much too high!"). I was very determined to succeed at my goal doing whatever I possibly could within the realm of understanding body physiology and composition.

 

While in my early 20's I did some modeling, which brings me to the next stage of my life. I was 24 years old and on my way to model in a show with some friends when I was in a major car accident. The combination of the impact from the other vehicle and tensing my body at the same time caused severe damage to the lower part of my lumbar spine as well as the pelvic bone area.

 

For the next several months I began experiencing greater levels of pain in the lower region of my body, my gait motion was becoming more and more limited, and I began losing the sensation in both of my legs. At this point I went to see an orthopedic surgeon who took a series of x-rays and recommended I needed traction to alleviate some of the pressure on the discs in my lower spine. If it wasn't for the fact that I was in such good physical condition before the accident, the damage and trauma would have been much more severe.

 

I spent a number of weeks going through intense therapy involving several stages of traction; the pain was tremendous! Eventually over a period of time with the help of excellent medical professionals I began to improve my situation. The recovery process following lasted quite some time. I lost a lot of weight due to inactivity, became very depressed, and started smoking and drinking. This existence lasted for a good part of ten years of my life. I went from being in the epitome of health to a person smoking a package of cigarettes everyday. I eventually quit smoking and took up the martial arts; at this point my life was about to take a dramatic change.

 

At the age of 35, I regained my confidence and self-esteem and in the next twelve months I went back to university to get my degree, got an additional diploma and certification in Fitness and Nutrition as well as completing the International TESOL program in Business English and Grammar. I was doing all of this while maintaining and almost full-time work schedule. For the next four years my mind excelled and my body paid the price ("very little time for training!").

 

At the age of 40 when I completed all my education I knew it was time to work on myself physically. I decided to enter the 2001 Body For Life Competition and for the next 90 days I trained myself at 6:00 a.m., wrote out my goals ("on a daily basis"), and worked on a series of essays that needed to be done before completing the competition. The final results were amazing to say the least. I lost 4 inches from my waist, my weight went down 30lbs, and my body fat was well below 10%. I ended up being a top 2000 finisher and received some nice gifts from the company in recognition for my performance.

 

When that was completed I decided to pick up stakes and moved to Korea. I had done tae kwon do and other martial arts for many years so I decided to go to the place of it's origin. There I did several things from teaching business men English, motivational speaking, personal training, and the martial arts. The cultural differences and the lifestyle I experienced for the next 6 years was unbelievable; and all after the age of 40! ("you're never too old to make a positve change in yourself and a difference in someone else's life").

 

Now, at the age of 48, I have embarked on a new challenge for myself, the P90X program. I've viewed it several times and knew this was for me. My focus as a professional trainer will involve much of what I have studied and experienced over the last thirty years. I will cover more of this in detail in my website. In order to achieve any success in your life you need to believe in yourself and your abilities. You have to be willing to go beyond your comfort zone, which for some is very difficult. Focus on the present, remember the past, and plan for the future.

 

In a final note, competition out there is fierce, but the only competition you have is with yourself. The idea here is that you want to be better today than you were yesterday, and better tomorrow than you are today. Success is right there at your feet, you need to look no further. Stay healthy, stay strong, stay focused and never give up! You are the master of your destiny. "GOOD LUCK AND GOOD HEALTH"!