Table of contents

My earlier fitness days

My first visit to a gym

I stepped into a weight room for the first time three decades ago. I’d barely turned 15, the supplement superstar creatine monohydrate had been commercially available for just 2 years, there were no fitness influencers in every corner yet (not even social media then), and there was still the belief that “minors shouldn’t lift weights, as it can mess with their natural growth” (a lot of “broscience” still exists to this day, but this was the trendy myth of the era I best remember).

The scrawny kid

I was the typical skinny kid, in the true sense of the term. I was then 1.78 m (5’10”) tall – I ended up growing 3 more centimeters thereafter – and weighed just around 57 kg (126 lbs). I was considerably below the ideal weight, even for my tender age. However, in the beginning, that wasn’t even the reason why I joined the gym. I did so because I had the dream of becoming a professional wrestler and knew I had to gain a lot of muscle and strength to reach the desired look and athleticism. I trained for about a year, and – even though I was lifting regularly and correctly – I didn’t witness any significant results (hint: workouts were going well, but I was still very naive about my diet). My schoolmates would laugh in my face when they’d find out I was supposedly lifting weights, as they couldn’t believe it just by looking at me (they were also very naive and couldn’t understand this takes time, as no one turns into a Jay Cutler overnight just by grabbing some dumbbell and lifting it once).

The diet shift and body transformation

Meanwhile, when I learned that, due to my ectomorph state, I needed to consume way more quality calories and protein than I was (otherwise I could very well train for even 1000 years more and still see no meaningful improvement), some sort of a “miracle” occurred: in just 2 years, I put on around 20 kg (45 lbs) of body weight! It’d be disingenuous to claim all that was lean muscle mass, but the fact is that most of it indeed was, and all naturally, as I’ve never consumed PEDs or am ever thinking about doing so.

From fitness enthusiast to fitness slacker

Throughout my mid-to-late teenage and early adulthood years, I took the gym more seriously than ever, but then, due to the vicissitudes of life, I had “less time” to exercise (or so that was the excuse I’d come up with), and started slacking off. During the period I was a pro wrestler (a dream that, in a way or another, I was more or less able to fulfill), I knew it was simply mandatory to keep in fitness shape, so, at that time, it’d be hard to “not find time” to workout. But, after retiring, laziness and demotivation would kick in again. Truthfully, that’s how I’ve been living my fitness journey since, with “on & off” periods of proper physical activity.

My home fitness days

Opening my own gym (sort of…)

In 2013, I realized I could avoid gym memberships – thus saving money and time – if I just acquired a few pieces of equipment and built my own “mini-home gym” (it’d be a one-time payment only), and this is how I’ve been working out for the past decade (with those same aforementioned “on & off” periods always present to a degree). When I’m on the “on” side, I work out at my pace, my schedule, without having to wait for someone to finish their set on some machine, or without risking some TikToker accusing me of harassment for “staring at her tight clothes”.

The self-commitment

In July 2024, I decided to once again take fitness seriously (in its “home” version of course, but still), and challenged myself to – already in my 40s, without the most favorable genetics ever, and under my simplistic, minimalistic, and somewhat limited conditions – still get in the best physical shape of my entire life (from an aesthetic standpoint and not so much from a “buff” one, as I don’t care that much about size at this life stage), and all naturally, so I’ve been training regularly and closely watching my diet and supplementation since…

Interested in knowing more?

This page contains just a summary of how this hobby is a part of my life. If you’re curious to read more about my life journey (where this hobby and a few others get covered in more detail when appropriate, always UNCENSORED and UNFILTERED, unlike in some other platforms), you should consider subscribing to my 100% FREE weekly newsletter! 👇