Enjoy life.

I love health and fitness. I love it on a very personal level. I love it so much that I am making it my career to help other people learn how to become healthy and strong. I study it in school, I read about it on my own time and I put it into practice in my own life. They say that it is a bad idea to make a career out of your passion; well, in order to make a career out of strength and conditioning it HAS to be your passion. You have to live it and breathe it; it is your life. Name a successful strength coach who is fat and lazy, I dare you. And no, before you ask, fat-Dave Tate doesn't count because he had a 2,205 pound powerlifting total.

Nope, to be successful in this industry you have to believe every word that you ever tell a client. I don't suggest anything to my clients that I don't do / haven't done already myself.

With that being said, I'm more than my profession. I'm not just "Mike's-Cannonball-Delts" or "Mike's-Razor Cut-Abs". I live my life a certain way so that I am able to enjoy the other aspects of life.

I eat cleanly throughout the week so that if I go out to a dinner with Kelsi on the weekend, I don't have to be the 5th person at the table to say "Oh man, now I need to go to the gym tomorrow!" Nope; whatever calories I took in during that delicious dinner are just going to get turned into more Alpha Male.

I train consistently and with focused programming so that when a buddy asks if I want to play basketball, I can dominate. So that if friends want to go to the beach, I won't be embarrassed to take my shirt off; on the contrary, I go out of my way to find excuses to take off my shirt.

Sure, a lot of people (especially people I know) will say "Oh, but thats so strict, what fun is that? You need to enjoy life!" Well, I enjoy it. Weight training is fun to me; every day is a challenge. Eating cleanly? That is just something that needs to get done, like laundry.

You know what isn't fun? Having Type II Diabetes. Being out of breath when you play in a co-ed softball league. Being so overweight that your joints hurt just walking around. Having large bouncy moobs.

I prefer to have my fun after I've earned it. I'm more than a fitness professional. I love music. I love its ability to take you away to another place, mentally and emotionally. A favorite song can really change your mood and put you into whatever state of mind you need to be in.

Despite the fact that I eat "healthy" foods every day, I consider myself a big time foodie. Healthy food or not; I love eating. A good basket of fried clams is worth its weight in gold to me. One of my favorite restaurants in the Boston area is a place called Ten Tables. They serve simple, down-home rustic cuisine. And yes, they only have 10 tables in the restaurant.

I'm a huge dog person! My family has 3 pit bulls. I love my dog, and I try to keep her in the best shape she can be in. Yes, she eats organic dog food. Yes, I walk 2-3 miles with her almost everyday. Yes, she hates squirrels with the white hot intensity of a million suns.

No surprise here, but I love sports; both playing and watching. Being from Boston, I am a huge homer...but that is easily assumed because we are the most dominant sports city in the country.

So, sure. Fitness is my life. It's what I do, and it's what I live. But there are other aspects that make up this charming, witty not-so-classically-attractive man.

p.s. here is a hilarious blog a friend sent to me recently. I agree with the author 100%...some food's I just have to have to lead a happy existence!

I hope this helped you understand the fitness fanatic in your life a little bit! Have a great day, and go lift something heavy!