I remember being thin growing up. I wasn't as strong and fast as other athletes. Two good things came out of this though. I didn't smoke because I thought people who smoked became slower and weaker until I met some athletes at Tech that smoked heavily and were both strong and fast. The second thing was that it made me think about my game plan and read my game and focus on technique and strategy
I joined a gym in Grassy Park at about 15 or 16 and had to cycle all the way from Strandfontein just to train. With an already high metabolism the extra aerobic sessions I was getting from the cycles was extremely counter productive for a hard gainer. It was also diffficult to workout without the knowledge which is definitely required to achieve results. I played various sports throughout my teenage years and joined a gym again in my early twenties. Still without knowledge and conditioned to football training I concerntrated mainly on cardio and circuit training.
I remember my cousin lending me a book which helped me to understand the basics of weight training and nutrition. It really put most of the pieces of the puzzle together for me.
How ever it still took me another 8 years to develope the correct mental attitude before I could put together some consistent effort into weight training to build muscle and aerobic training to burn fat and nutrition to keep my body healthy to exercise. Yes you read correctly,....8 years!!!. I had to deal with and overcome the guilt associated with missed sessions and cheat foods. I also had to change my strategy to a 'marathon' instead of a 'sprint'. This had to become a lifestyle change, which meant my life had to change to achieve the goals of a healthy, fit, muscular body. On the 26 January 2009 I made that commitment to myself to lead a healthier lifestyle.
