Hi everyone,

If you’re taking a few minutes to read this, thank you and welcome to something I’ve been dreaming about doing for a very long time. This is my passion project, my personal business, and my chance to truly utilize some of the skills and knowledge I have to help people.

That’s what this is all about: helping people better themselves through health and fitness.

I get so much satisfaction from being a coach. Whatever the case may be, if I can pass along some knowledge to another person and it makes them happier or improves how they’re living… there’s nothing better in this world. Helping people is a passion of mine, as is health and fitness, and I’m a prime example of how adopting an active lifestyle can dramatically improve your quality of life. That lifestyle is the best medicine known to man.

I’ll get into the details of the business in a second, but first let’s dive into a little background…

Over the years, I toyed around with my health and fitness. In high school I was a band nerd and always had aspirations of building some muscle. I would occasionally lift at my friend’s house and down a protein shake afterward, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. Quite honestly, I had no idea there was any kind of process to lifting, building muscle, etc. Suffice it to say… I didn’t make any progress.

I started really getting into fitness in college when “P90X” was all the rage. At the time, I was pretty unhappy with the way I looked, felt, and lived and wanted a change. So, I begged my parents to buy the DVD set, and once it arrived I went to town. I fully dedicated myself to the program, and I saw my body change.

It was pretty addicting. Seeing your hard work have a direct impact on what you see in the mirror every day will make you want to work out harder and dial things in more and more. That’s exactly what I did with my training and nutrition.

What I didn’t realize at the time, though, was that I was running myself into the ground. I wasn’t eating enough, I wasn’t providing my body with the nutrients it needed, and I wasn’t giving my body adequate time to recover. Now, years removed, I look back on this time in my life and understand I had a truly terrible relationship with food. I never saw a doctor or had anything diagnosed, but my behavior was disorderly.

I vividly remember a work trip where I hadn’t eaten all day and it was late afternoon. Finally, the group that I was with finished for the day and we stopped at a fast food restaurant. Despite the fact that I was starving (and there were healthy options, even though I convinced myself there weren’t) I refused food. This wasn’t a rare occurrence, and the end result was a massive burnout that resulted in me giving up on fitness altogether for over a year.

I took a break and became content with the break. So I stayed that way: content.

What a horrible word that is: “content.”

It means you’re not moving forward. You’re not trying to better yourself in any way, shape, or form. You’re just in a state of equilibrium. Not moving backward, but certainly not moving forward, either. Each day is the same as the last… wasting time.

I was content for a while. I had all the time in the world to watch the TV shows I wanted to, drink any type of beer on any given night, and eat until my heart was content (and my stomach hurt) on the weekends. Just like with my fitness, I was heading towards a burnout — just in the opposite direction.

During that time — we’ll call it the “era of content” — a few life events took place that saw me move back to my home of Pittsburgh, PA. I got a new job, was back around my support system, and I met a girl. Motivation started seeping back into my brain. I was 27 years old, and I started to think, ‘if I don’t chase my goals now, I never will.’

That girl, who I now call my wife, introduced me to the concept of flexible dieting and balance. These were lifestyle changes I was slowly able to adopt into my daily routine. I started weighing out my food and proactively seeking out the best choices that would help fuel me through the day.

She also challenged me to go on weekend runs and watch her compete at crossfit meets. Just being around fitness again, I started to feel that fire coming back.

I scoured the internet for more information. I began training again, and soon I found powerlifting.

Again, I was hooked. But this time everything centered around balance.

I was providing my body with the right type of fuel, I was energized each and every day, and I developed all of these new character traits I always wanted, like determination, confidence, and self-worth.

Now, years removed from the “era of content,” I couldn’t be happier and I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been. I’m getting stronger each and every day, and I’m pursuing my master’s in health and fitness to further my education and be better positioned to help others achieve their goals.

Telling you my story is not to brag, but to tell you this: you can find that right type of balance to reach your goals. Whether you want to compete in something, lose weight, get shredded, or just simply be healthier, it is 100% possible and within your means. You just need to commit to the process of getting better each and every single day.

Perhaps you need extra motivation or need someone there to hold you accountable. Maybe I can do that for you. But in the end, I’m just hoping something on this website can help each and every person better themselves and, in turn, better their lives.

We have such a short time here on this earth. While we’re here, we might as well put ourselves in the best position possible to live and love life. I want to help people do that.

I plan on offering customized online coaching for training and nutrition. If you’re interested, feel free to contact me and we can discuss what might work best for you.

I also understand that a lot of people like to tackle the fitness journey on their own. For that, I’ll be providing programming, templates and e-books for you to consume as much information as you want. And on this blog, I’ll be regularly posting about the latest information in training and nutrition research as well as talk about my fitness journey and what works/doesn’t work. Right now, you’ll notice a bunch of blog posts from over the years. Those are from an old project (Holistic Fitness) that was really just the precursor to what I’m doing here.

At the very least, I’m striving to provide content that will help everyone get healthier and happier. At the very most, I’m hoping to work alongside you and really smash through your goals and create a happier and healthier lifestyle.

So, have a look around the site and let me know what you think. If you see something you like or you have a question, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Together, let’s start to implement those lifestyle changes that will truly transform our lives.

—

CG