It's been over 20 years since I first started weight training, so I thought I would finally write down how I got started, and give 'props' to all the folks who inspired me to get started.

My first exposure to weight training was with my cousin Alric who competed on his high school wrestling team, and my one of my Dad's best friends Vaughn (who we affectionately call "Uncle Rumpy").  My Uncle Rumpy (who's originally from Jamaica) has been an athlete all his life and competed in bodybuilding quite a bit during the 1960s, won several first place trophies and has been involved in training amateur and professional boxers.  His passion and knowlege of the sport of bodybuilding is one of things that I feel originally inspired me to compete as I got older.

My cousin Alric was the first person in my peer group that I saw transform.  He's 5 years older than me, and when I was 10 years old, I remember him showing me a bodybuilding magazine.   The guys in the book were huge, and one of them was Arnold Schwarzenegger.   At that age, the only bodybuilders I'd seen were in the movie "Pumping Iron", I didn't know an 'average' person could look that way and transform their physique.  However, over the course of the year, Alric became more muscular and his transformation inspired me to do the same.  Unfortunately, I was too young to join a gym yet, but my Mom said that when I got older, she and Dad would see what they could do to either get a gym membership for me or help me buy weight equipment for the house. 

A few months before I bought my first weight set, I was waiting for my Mom to pick me up after school and I saw my friend Manny coming back from football practice.  He had his shirt off and I was like "Whoa! Manny's huge!".  So I asked him what he did get big like that, because when I met him earlier that school year, he wasn't nearly as developed.  His chest and shoulders really improved, and you could kinda see it in how his shirt fit, but the changes in how he was built was really obvious without the shirt.  As we talked, I told him that I was very self concious about how skinny I was, and I wanted to be big enough where I could walk around without my shirt on and not have people pick at me.  So, he invited me to our high school's weight room to show me some of the exercises he did.  Being a private school, our weight room was exclusively for our athletes, but our wrestling coach who was there at the time said it was ok for me come in and try it out.

My Before/After transformation photo

It was an awesome experience, and my friend Charles who was there at the time, came up to me during phys. ed. the next day and said, "James, you should really start working out.  I can see you looking really good one day.  You have a really small waist, and with a 40-45" chest, you'll look great."  Little did I know at the time, but those words were prophetic.  Both Manny and Charles transferred to another school before we graduated and I lost touch with them.  I wish they could see me now so I could thank them for inspiring me.  

Me (at 30 years old) with my first weight set from when I was 17.

So we went to the exercise dept. at Sears, and I found the setup I wanted.  It was 135 lbs. of concrete/vinyl weights, a standard bar, two dumbbell handles, a small inclinable bench and an exercise manual.  The bench was in one box and the weights were in another.  The weight box was too heavy for my Mom and I to lift, so we had the guy from the store put it in the back of my Mom's station wagon.  Hehehe... on the way home, I asked my Mom, "How are we going to get all this out of the car when we get home?"  My mom, being uber-smart, said "Just do what your Dad does, we'll open the box and take the weights out one at a time."  :D So I cleared some space in my room, set up the bench and read through the exercise manual intently.  My younger brother thought it was weird that I had all that weight equipment in my room, but as I got bigger and stronger that year, he understood more why I got it.  By the time school started again (now I'm in my senior year), some of my friends noticed I'd gained a little more shape.  I was no where near where I would be 5 years from then, but every little bit helped improve my confidence.

Me flexing on my trusty (albeit retired) weight bench.

I now work (and workout) at Lifestyle Family Fitness in Orange Park/Jacksonville.  I manage the club on Wells Road (which used to be a "Q: The Sports Club").  So if you're in the area, come train with me!  We'll be glad to have you join us for a workout!

and as Paul Harvey often said "...and now you know... the rest of the story."