LB3 isn’t just a name or a brand. It has deep meaning to me. You see, I have not always been the “fitness guru” I am today (please detect the heavy sarcasm there in quotation marks). In fact, for most of my life, I was the farthest from fit you could imagine. I was a nerdy kid growing up, and spent the first twenty or so years of my life being a skinny-fat, un-athletic, unhealthy video-game addict. I never played any sports, and still don’t.

        The truth is that I, like many of you reading this, fell into fitness out of pure necessity. I never WANTED or even CARED to be super “fit.” However what I did not want any longer, was to be UN-FIT. I was one hundred and eighty pounds of pure, unadulterated fluff. Not an ounce of muscle tone on me. I knew I was never going to be a 6-pack wielding magazine cover model, but I figured I could at least lose the belly and maybe pump up “the gunz” in the process. 

        The desire to look better, as vain as it may be, is what got me into the gym. It forced me to pick up my first muscle mag, and actually start pay attention to the food I was eating. I started, as many do, with cardio and endless crunches, thinking this would lead to me losing my belly. Throw in some curls for the biceps (and the girls), and I figured I was all set. I mean, what more could there be, right?

        Unfortunately for me, no, I was not right. Far from it in fact. Turns out, that just going to the gym and running and doing my interpretation of “lifting” was not doing the trick. I got nowhere fast and ended up completely wasting my first several years in the gym. Hours, days, weeks, months, tons of sweat, crushing workouts, crippling soreness, and not a thing to show for it. I finally realized that I was doing something wrong.

        What I needed was not simply “to lift”, I needed to LIFT BETTER. You see, all workouts are not created equal. All the time spent in the gym is not the same. While I figured that hours in the gym five days a week HAD to create results, I was sorely mistaken. As a wise man once said, “there’s levels to this shit”, and although I felt that I had put in my time and knew what I was doing, I was truly on level one (probably actually zero).

        So I began to learn. Reading books, watching videos, listening to podcasts. Whatever I could do, I was going to fix my shitty body if it killed me. I started to dive deep into nutrition, recovery, sleep, and other factors that effect health and fitness. I implemented what I was learning into my life and my training, and like magic, all the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.

        No longer would I just go to the gym and wing it. I made a plan. I hired a coach. I got out of the dogmatic mindset of “healthy eating” and learned how to actually eat in a way that worked for both my body, and my lifestyle. Slowly but surely, these changes started to take effect, and people started take notice.

        I lost my belly, and my arms started to have some shape. It felt great. After years of guessing and checking, and trying unsuccessfully to figure it out, I finally started to get somewhere. I was finally starting to LOOK BETTER. If you would have asked me a year prior what I wanted to get out of going to the gym I would have enthusiastically shouted “THAT! THATS IT!” 

        Something else happened though around this time that I had never expected. I started to feel better. For the first time in my life, I felt strong. I felt healthy. I could do things, both in the gym and out, that I never could before. As much as my physical appearance was changing, I felt the internal changes even more. Yea it was cool to see the numbers on the bar increasing as I got stronger, but I found that for me, it was the other stuff that really stuck out. 

        Flights of stairs that used to leave me winded, I sprinted up in bounds. The couch in my apartment that I used to have to get help with, I could move on my own. My legs didn’t hurt anymore after long bike rides or snowboarding sessions (I could finally start enjoying these physical outings my friends used to have to force on me). I could carry all the groceries in one trip, and if that doesn’t make you feel like a bad ass, I don’t know what will! Yes I was lifting better, and I definitely looked better, but the real difference, is that I was now LIVING BETTER. 

        It was at this point, several years into my “fitness journey” that I truly GOT IT. Even when my looks first started to improve, I was still pushing myself through every workout, dreading the next, searching for motivation almost daily. Yes looking better was great, but it only motivated me to a point. 

        Learning to lift better and more efficiently made me stronger. My lifts went up, my stamina improved, my overall athletic performance sky-rocketed. It felt good, but being “weight room strong” was never really one of my main goals. I quickly found out as well, that as little as benching and squatting big numbers meant to me, it meant even less to literally everyone I knew outside of the gym (hint hint: no one cares, so don’t talk about it).  

        Once I felt the true benefits of health and fitness, beyond looking better, beyond being stronger in the gym, is when it when it everything clicked. I realized there was more to exercise that just changing my outward appearance. I began to feel better. I had more energy. Tasks became easier. I slept better. I wanted to eat better, because it was congruent with my goals, and it truly made me feel good, so it did’t feel like a sacrifice. 

        That brings me to today. I got certified as a trainer and nutrition coach so that I could help others, and give them the guidance I wish I had had when I first started. Rather than wasting years “figuring it out,” I have used my experience and expertise to help hundreds of people live the LB3 lifestyle. 

        I truly and whole heartedly believe that fitness should not be reserved for athletes and “elite” instagram models. It is for everyone. I have found immense joy in showing this to the people I have been fortunate enough to work with, and help them to enjoy the same benefits that I have. So, if you’re ready, click bellow and lets chat about how I can help you lift better, look better, and live better!