As we continue in this new year, it’s time to reflect on our lives and make choices that lead us toward a healthier lifestyle. Embracing regular exercise, nutritious eating, and proper rest and recovery is essential, and I encourage each of you to commit to these changes.
I want to revisit how fitness can be a transformative choice.
At the end of 2024, I turned 47. This age used to be labeled as “old,” and sometimes it certainly feels that way. But let’s go back about 35 years. I still have my original membership card from Ramona Fitness Center, now The Gym Ramona, and it’s a reminder of where it all began in 1990.
I can’t say I was deprived in my childhood. I had all the material things I could desire, but I lacked the stability that I strive to provide for my own children. Both of my parents struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, which led to many years in rehab. During that challenging time, I found some help in Al-Anon meetings and therapy sessions. While those experiences were helpful, the true anchor during those turbulent years was the gym.
Growing up in a chaotic environment left me grappling with anger and frustration. My mother, Valerie, recognized my struggles, and one day at a garage sale, she bought me a Joe Weider weight set — the kind with plastic-covered concrete weights.
That moment marked the beginning of my lifelong love affair with fitness.
It became my outlet for coping with the challenges at home, a way to channel my frustrations, and a means to cultivate discipline. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending for my parents. They divorced, and my mom died from her struggles with addiction. I later had to move to my aunt and uncle’s home, where they provided me and my sister some homelife stability. I’m forever grateful to them both.
Fitness opened doors for me that I never thought possible. It allowed me to travel the world, work with ESPN, compete in nearly a dozen bodybuilding competitions by the age of 19, make a comeback in my later 30s and turn pro at 40.
Ultimately, it led me to become an owner of The Gym Ramona.
That seemingly simple act of my mother buying a used weight set changed the trajectory of my life forever. In fact, our motto at The Gym Ramona is “Changing Lives.”
Fitness truly has the power to make a radical difference in your life! But here’s the catch: You have to take the first step. You have to pick up the phone and call your local gym. You have to get in the car and drive to that facility. You have to purchase the membership. You have to make the right choices when it comes to eating. It’s all about discipline, and it’s up to you.
So, three months into this year, my question for you is this: Are you going to take the first step?
No, it won’t be easy. It will be downright challenging. Waking up early to go to the gym before work will test your resolve. It will be tempting to drive past the gym on your way home instead of stopping. It may seem easier to hit the drive-through than to pack a healthy lunch. But the rewards are worth it!
Take that step! If you need support, reach out. Remember, you don’t even have to live in Ramona to take that step or even go to a gym. Just start and take the first step!
Do it for you, and do it for those who love you!
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