Although I was involved in organized athletics since the age of 9, I did not begin lifting weights until right after I turned 30. It was dark the evening of the accident that changed my life. I wanted to get an early start on my birthday and I decided to pick up a few beers from a bar several blocks from my house. It must have been instinct or whatever as I asked the neighbor and friend to watch my oldest daughter Tina while I went to the store. Had I not she may not be here to grace us with her lovely presence. As I was crossing an intersection a car, El Camino, black came careening around the corner. It was one of the short arm terms where they are approaching the corner from a 45 degree angle. Due to the angle I never saw the car until I was hit. Up and over the car I went landing awkwardly on my feet and injuring my knee and my hip was bruised where the car hit me.

Luckily a neighbor came out and assisted me, flagging down the police, who took me at the hospital. I was told I needed surgery on my knee and I was out of work and on crutches for some period. Tired of limping around I bought a weight bench attempting to strengthen my knee. Initially all I did were leg exercises, primarily leg extensions. Soon, curiosity took over I began testing my strength and let’s say I was mere shadow of the man that has evolved. After months of working out at home with bench and trampoline, I began to feel limited and wanted more.  So I joined a gym, I believe it was Bally’s. Some of you may remember the club they ran under the clothes pin on 15^th & Market St.

I had a lot to learn but I am a fast learner when motivated. For weeks I went to the gym like many people and I did what I could do. Weeks went by like this with little progress in strength. Well on weekends I would attend the club that used to be located in the Plymouth Meeting Mall. It was closer and easier to get to since I lived closer than downtown. One day I overhear someone making fun of the relatively light weight I was lifting compared to my size. It was an awakening and after being mad I watched and watched what those who were stronger and bigger did. Although some may consider it rude I owe a lot to that moment in time. It lit a fire under me that was unreal. I wanted to be considered one of the best weightlifter in the area. I wanted it as bad as I could breathe.

I learned a lot about myself during those next few weeks as it was one the hardest things I ever did. Getting used to the discomfort that is naturally associated with weight training is not easy. Your natural instinct is to move away from discomfort and stay away from it always remembering the hot stove. I took the discomfort and overtime associated it with success rather than the hot stove. I did it over and over and I began to do it very well. The biggest thing I learned is you must move out of your comfort zone if you want your life to be different, to improve in quality and perhaps quantity. I realized it is a choice to move out of the zone and live a little and it would be okay.  Hard became normal and I grew in size as I grew in knowledge about my newly adopted lifestyle and craft. Approximately 3-4 months later there was a weight lifting contest based on the accumulative total weight of all your lifts including legs, chest arms shoulders and back. I won and it was not even close and against the same individuals who months earlier had a good laugh at my expense. Needless to say they were shocked since I had not been there in weeks. I trained in center city with a great group and it worked.

Now do not get me wrong, I was happy but not overly ecstatic since I realized this was small time a becoming known around the community was not going to be easy or fast. Look environment changes things and over the years I dominated a few of the commercial gyms in terms of weight lifted, intensity of workout, stamina etc…  Several Bally’s LA Fitness all went down but again it was not the real thing. The intensity and drive in these places is just not there like some places. My highest bench at Bally’s was 325, not bad eh!

I kept hearing about this small family owned gym called the Fitness Place but when I drove by I never saw it until one day I was walking, saw the sign and went in. I liked the feel of the place right from the start. There was this blue collar, no nonsense, let’s grind in the air and on all of the old, worn equipment. It was not pretty but it felt like home. Let me say this, I do not care how big and bad a weightlifter you are “The Fitness Place” will teach you humility like no other gym I have seen or been told. Humility slapped dead in my face the first workout after I signed up and I knew for sure this place was for me. It’s Monday and I am doing bench in the early evening. I do  a few light sets and now I piling on the weight until I get to 315 and do say 5-6 reps and as I finish my set a guy I will later know as Marvin comes over and ask to work with me. I say yes and ask him if he wanted to take some weight off. His response was to add weight and do 12 reps. Lesson learned, you have stepped up to the big leagues and whatever you did where ever you came from we are not impressed. Sadly, the owners lost the lease in July of 2005 and my workouts have suffered until now as a result.

Since then I have drifted from gym to gym still one of the dominant figures in all the areas I listed earlier but it just has not been the experience I enjoyed with the members of the Fitness Place> when we run into each we each express the same sentiments and since of melancholy caused we loved. It is almost like a brotherhood among. In fact last week at LA Fitness a guy came up and said he recognize me from there mainly because of the intensity of the workout. This felt good since I was thinking the same of him a few minutes earlier when I say him shrugging 315 with ease for multiple reps.

Over the years, since leaving my favorite gym I have experienced several setbacks from illness initially and after nine months I returned to the gym and the grind was unbelievable. In September 2011, I left the gym again because I was overwhelmed by a job and too tired to work out regularly. In March of this year I finally returned to the gym after seeing myself on a video and not liking at all what I saw. The re-entry process was more difficult mentally this time and I am not sure why. I was embarrassed by my inability to function at a level anywhere near my previous WARM UP weight on any routine. Although, intellectually I knew after being out for over 6 months there was no way I was going to perform as previously. The first couple of workouts were a disaster. I was out of shape, out of breath and without any real focus.

If I was going to succeed I needed a plan and for the first time I documented my workouts and it made a tremendous difference.  The ability to monitor my progress and not be able to mislead myself has forced me to work harder than I ever have before in the gym. Earlier this year I retired and took my pension. This allows me to concentrate on my first love fitness, wellness and good health.  I have finally committed to myself and what I love to do. It does not feel like work although I realize it is and when I start posting my stats you will see that during any routine I lift tons of iron every day. Sounds like hard work doesn’t it well it doesn’t feel that way. I am as happy as I have been since working in the community with Prevention Services. Doing this full time is producing some amazing results for a 55 year old man.