My Personal Journey
With this being my first official blog entry, I feel like a good place to start would be, well, at the beginning. I am going to share with you my personal transformation journey; how I went into it as one person, and have come out the other side a completely different (and I think better) person.
I don’t share this with you to brag…or even to inspire. I share this because I feel it provides a good background of who I am and where I come from, and also sets the stage for what I want to accomplish here at Jorden Pagel Fitness.
I want you to understand that I am not just another person preaching from a mountain top, but rather someone who has been where you might be; wanting to change, but not knowing how or where to start.
Let me briefly take you back to my childhood. I was a chubby kid pretty much from the get go. Kids at school would occasionally tease me about it, but I never let it bother me too much. I always assumed that as I got older, it would just take care of itself.
When I got into middle school and high school, I thought with sports and lifting weights that would be enough to see the changes I wanted. I had always been active as a kid and pretty strong, so I figured sports were a good fit for me. But as the years went on, sports and lifting became less and less enjoyable and less about my body changed. In fact, I probably got fatter.
High school turned to college, and like a lot of college students the endless choices in the dinning hall, hours of video games, copious amounts of alcohol and late night food runs were too much to resist. I threw discus on the track team for a few years and would go workout with my roommates occasionally, so I did stay active. But my concern with my health was minimal at best.
After college I moved back home and got a full time job working in an office. But when I wasn’t working, I didn’t really have a lot to do. None of my friends lived in town anymore so I started hanging out at the local health club. They had a hot tub, steam room and sauna that I enjoyed, but I figured as long as I was there, I would try and workout too. So I started riding bike, running, walking and some resistance training, but it was more of a “See how long I can stay on this cardio machine, then go do arm and chest exercises” kind of a workout.
So you’re probably sitting there reading up until this point thinking, “Where did it change…Every transformation story has some sort of an awakening; a call to action if you will, right?” Yes, it does. But my transformation didn’t start with seeing a scary number on the scale or just looking in the mirror one day and thinking enough is enough…I looked in the mirror every day and saw myself, but did nothing.
No, the reason for my transformation was basically the same reason a man does anything…to impress a woman. I had never been very successful with women in the past. I thought I had a great personality. All my friends thought I was a great guy, funny, kind, all that stuff, so I figured it had to be my physical appearance that was holding me back. And because this woman was so special and amazing and beautiful and blah blah blah, I was going to get in shape and then she would have to like me right? Wrong!
I didn’t get the girl. But my plan to lose weight to attract a girl ending up changing my life forever, just not in the way I expected. I fell in love with fitness, working out, proper diet and nutrition…and most importantly myself. What I thought to be difficult and even impossible my entire life turned out to be a lot more attainable than I thought.
So there you have it. Not a grandiose tale by any means, but that was not the point. The point I want to illustrate with this story is that I have been where some of you may be right now. Whether you feel lost or feel like giving up, I understand.
I won’t lie, its not easy. If it was, everyone would be walking around at 4% body fat. Heck, I’m still working at it. But it’s also not impossible. Its just about finding the approach that works for you; and trust me its out there. Like I wrote on the About page, the key to any successful program is finding a sustainable approach. One that you follow, not just for a month or a year, but for life.
Want to find out your sustainable approach? Fill out the Online Coaching Form, tell me about your goals, and Ill tell you how we can achieve them together.
If you like this article, please share it!
