How I Got Introduced Into Fitness

I have found that a lot of my passions that I have in life, that feel true to my core and that I can remember, are introduced to me during my elementary school years. As a kid sports were a large part of my life. I was introduced to wrestling at the earliest age of about 4 or 5, then soccer & t-ball, football followed around 3rd grade, and then finally track & field as well as basketball in middle school. Activity was always around when I was young and that is where I made a lot of my life long friends. My association with fitness has always been a net positive for me but it is not the main reason why I choose this as my profession.

I grew up in a smaller town in West Michigan with both parents being public school teachers within the school system that they grew up in where my grandfather also taught. My father was a varsity wrestling coach first and foremost, a varsity football coach, and a varsity throwing coach for the track and field team. Hopefully you can picture the amount of time and attention that was committed to sports, coaching, teaching and community involvement. Over the course of my childhood I heard about all sorts of kids that my parents taught, and all sorts of parents they had to deal with as teachers and my father as a coach. If you were wondering what teachers talked about outside of work to their friends and too each other, its usually about the kids they are teaching.

I’ve heard about kids overcoming immense obstacles, kids missing opportunities, parents being helpful, and more often than not, parents being the problem. They would always discuss how they could help, provide support, how they could celebrate wins for their students and give praise to the parents. I could give thousands of examples here, but we will save those for another time. This was what I grew up hearing my entire life until I moved away to college. But, throughout those years a past student more often than not, would seek out my parents and tell me how much their teaching or coaching helped them in other aspects of life. The joy on each face was impossible to miss and it left an impact on me.

I chose personal training to continue on with that tradition of helping others realize the potential that they have in their life, and how having an active and mobile body can be a major advantage when it comes to living out a fulfilling life.

The motto of StoelenStrength is “Taking Back Control” You were given a body when you were brought into this world as a tool to make an impact and steer your own ship. I want to carry on the tradition of helping others steer their own ships and succeed in what life they want to live.

What has Fitness Given Me?

This post could be a mile long and I would still not be done writing. I won’t bore you with the details of everything and keep this list short to the 5 things that fitness has given me.

My Wife - Exactly this. My partner in life was introduced to me through mutual friends(just another addition for my 3rd reason) and our shared passion for fitness, health and wellness and helping others is what blended our lives together. Fitness has given me someone who has a love for all life has to offer and someone who has the energy and zeal to pursue it with her mind, body and soul.

My family - With my dad being my coach in all of my sports growing up, and his dad being a coach as well and having 3 siblings who played sports, we all shared each others wins and losses. Those moments of shared experience brought us closer together as a family and something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

My Friends - A lot of the friendships that people have growing up can be the most impactful on our lives down the road. Whether those friends are a constant in your life, transient or have fallen away they leave an impact on us. My closest friends are people who I played sports with as a kid and have grown alongside. While not all of my friends hold fitness as close to their hearts as I do, those hours spent on the field, or the mat together shaped how we handle adversity and taught us how to work together as a team and lean on one another.

Opportunity - By prioritizing my health and wellness there are more opportunities available to me in this world. More energy to play with my nieces and nephews, more options for traveling, more opportunities to help others.

Trust - Always save the best for last.

Lessons Learned

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Bodybuilding

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.