I shouldn’t be here right now. Or at least that’s what I can’t help but constantly tell myself. I fought so hard for years, repeatedly telling myself that I’d get everything I wanted if I just keep fighting and believing in myself. For most of my life I was told I was meek and weak – even by my own mother! – so what was I to do? School? A flat line, existential nightmare. Home? Equally as bad, maybe even worse because I lived there.
Growing up my father was literally the one physical epitome of strength I knew. I clearly remember being four years old and seeing this 200lb behemoth of a man with a 46″ chest, and a 29″ waist with the ability to bench and squat 400lbs each. His arms? Massive couldn’t even describe them. According to Rick James in 2004 there are two types of people: those who take self defense classes to avoid getting their asses kicked, and those who take them because the ass kicking already happened. Same goes for lifting weights and of course, I finally decided to hit the gym not long after leaving high school because I was so sick of getting my ass kicked.
So I finally hit my college weight room for the first time in April 2003 and from there I discovered a life I never knew existed, one where, for the first time ever, I met truly like-minded people who were there to look after me. I began meeting people who I’m still friends with to this day. But it wasn’t all fun and games. There was a major problem in my journey to a newer, healthier, stronger me: I wasn’t getting much bigger or stronger! I’d tried countless exercises, rep schemes, multiple different programs from Dogg Crapp to Starting Strength, the latter being one of the programs that got me into Powerlifting.
This was actually somewhat of a start, as by the Spring of 2010 I finally reached a Deadlift of 265lbs. Over time I also was held back by a few injuries: two back injuries, a near rotator cuff tear, a sprained wrist, a pulled groin. But each time I fell I got right back up again, this would be what gained me the respect of everyone that I looked up to in every gym I’d ever been to. I never gave up…at this point it was all I knew. I wanted to evolve and I couldn’t do that but just quitting!
Then, one night in late 2014 my girlfriend at the time discovered she had something called Exercise Induced Asthma and suggested I might have it too. I thought she was crazy…until I started thinking about how often I have difficulty breathing after working out or doing anything physical for that matter. One day in April 2015 I got winded from playing an Xbox Kinect Game. A video game got me winded! So my girlfriend let me take two hits of her inhaler and within minutes I felt refreshed…for the first time. Within a day or two I was a given my own prescription for an inhaler and to say the least my next workout was a huge success, with no shortness of breath, no sudden fatigue, and for the first time since I began training, I felt like I could do more.
Fast forward to a year later and to my shock I finally entered my first powerlifting competition having totaled 780lbs with a 160lb Bench Press, a 260lb Squat and a 360lb Deadlift. Since then my Deadlift has reached the 400’s, having pulled 410lbs for a single in June 2019. I finally became certified as a NASM personal trainer in the summer of 2018. I’ve also expanded my repertoire, having been certified as a Nutrition Coach in the summer of 2020. It’s a dream come true, as I can finally share my knowledge and passion for strength with all of you. This website, along with my services as a personal trainer and coach, is dedicated to the struggling lifter, the beginner, the intermediate, the one who falls and is able to get right back up and try again. I’ll share with you my humble beginnings as a lifter, the mental and physical obstacles and still plague me today, nutritional/supplemental advice, gym stories, training journals, and my personal thoughts on training routines I’ve worked with. I’ll never talk about anything unless I’ve done it and can give a proper opinion. You have my word on that. It’s time to drop the excuses, get to work and become part of what I know can become a great community. Together we will stand United In Strength!
Certifications
NASM CPT #1200501584
NASM Certified Nutrition Coach #1200499083
Mike Alexander 