Big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond?

The sunshine, palm trees and ocean breeze welcomed me when I landed in Charleston, South Carolina. Mid-70s and the smell of seafood wafted through the air. In just one day, I would indulge in some authentic seafood. Until then, it was time to decide which type of fish to be.

Have you hear the analogy of being "a big fish in a small pond?"

This concept demonstrates that the fish has outgrown its habitat and environment. It could also be related to leadership and experiences. Have you become good enough in an area and are not surrounded with room to grow or develop further? Or is the talent pool around you less than or equal to your capabilities? I was disciplined and focused on this goal for just over a year in bodybuilding and felt confident and comfortable. Was I becoming a big fish in a small pond?

No matter the placing, I finished first at my second show.

The jitters and nerves did not ramp up until 10 minutes before show time.

I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in August 2015 (blog here). Experience increases comfort and confidence. I definitely carried more of both for this second show. The 2016 NPC Central USA Natural Championships was held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb.

This go around, the show seemed to fly by. Saturday morning was prejudging.


I made a few mistakes.


That evening for finals, those errors probably added to my results.


I placed second in my class.

Stage photos courtesy of npcnewsonline.com

Initially, I was bummed.


I had worked my tail off. Yet, again, I got second place.


After some reflection and kind words from my coach and friends, I knew that in reality, I finished first.


There were some tough competitors in the group. I brought a better physique and stronger confidence to this show. I also practiced posing much more and it felt much more natural on stage. For only my second show ever, placing second two times is a big accomplishment! I even made some friends along the way.

It's fun meeting other competitors, especially those who live nearby!

Why I am so critical on myself and don't take time to celebrate the little successes? It was a local show with a comforting environment.

The most comforting part was the group of people there supporting me.

3 nuances in change and consistency

This past week was #FFAWeek. The National FFA Organization serves as the largest youth organization in the country focused on agricultural education and leadership development. I can attribute much of my skills and development to the FFA.

As I reflected through some photographs found (in the dusty cobwebs of my hard drive), it brought back some found memories. It is remarkable how quickly time can pass and feel like yesterday in the same sense. I have changed a lot. However, I have also stayed the same in some ways.

It is weird to me. There are many leadership books, podcasts, theories stating how change is the number one factor to development. However, consistency also plays a role in progress. How do these two elements work together for us as people and leaders?

I think there are only nuances in change and consistency.

Thankful 30 - Day 2, leg day.

Yes, I am serious. The second edition of my #thankful30 is leg day.

Humans are an amazing creature. We have opposable thumbs and walk on two legs. These legs of ours can handle not just our weight, but also stresses and impact around us. Sometimes, I take for granted that I have the ability to walk on my own, feel my feet, jump, run, and of course, do squats and dead lifts (my favorite!). None of this is possible without functioning legs.

There are many amputees, people with disabilities or injuries, and elderly who do not have full functionality of their legs. Therefore, it is important to not only take care of your joints, but be appreciative of the things you can do with them if you have them!

In the spirit, here is a great leg workout to work your booty and hamstrings.

Thankful for Leg Day Workout 

(rest 30 seconds to 1:30 minute between each round, and about 2-3 minutes between sets)

+ Barbell Squats (increase weight each round) - 5 rounds: 20 reps, 15 reps, 12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps

+ 4 rounds: Barbell Walking Lunges 12 reps per leg (24 total),

immediately followed by 20 Jump Lunges

+ 4 rounds: Glute Hamstring Raises 12 reps (machine, bosu ball or improvise),

immediately followed by 15 Hamstring Ball Tucks

+ 4 rounds: Wide Smith Squats 12 reps, 

immediately followed by 15 Goblet Squats (lower weight)

+ 4 rounds: Romanian Smith Squats 12 reps per leg,

immediately followed by 12 Leg Curls

Work those legs and be thankful for leg day!

Muscle Mint Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats

Since I am on my "off season" from competition, I have been playing with new recipes and counting my macros. Breakfast has always been my favorite. I workout in the mornings and enjoy coming home and making something fresh or having something flavorful waiting for me when I arrive.

Pinterest has been overflowing with the sensational "overnight oat" recipes and I had yet to try one. Until now. I think I am in love. I created my own spin on this overnight oat recipe. Thanks to my awesome app, MyMacros+, I was able to put together my recipe and calculate my macronutrients from it.

So here it is, the Muscle Mint Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats.

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 300
Proteins: 31.2g
Carbohydrates: 34.2g
Fats: 4.5g
Fibers: 6g

Things worth having do not come easy... go figure.

It is all about the journey, the challenge and the outcome. In my [short] life experience, I have found that most things worth having do not come easy. Go figure. In this case, competing in my first figure bodybuilding competition was not all easy or fun.

However, I did it. I competed. And obtained my goal.

There are many complexities to competing. Lifting, cardio, diet, posing, preventing injuries, balancing life, overcoming self doubts, sharing your story, ignoring naysayers, remaining positive, staying focused and more. Saturday, August 15, 2015, was the day I proved I could and would do it. I drove 8 hours to Arnold, Missouri for the NPC Midwest Naturals.

And guess what? I gave it my all.

I placed second and am now nationally qualified in NPC Figure! :D

Below are some images from the experience. My best friend from Ohio came out to see me compete and we spent her birthday weekend not just at the show but enjoying St. Louis, Missouri. Here are some other professional photos from NPC News too.



What's next? A few months of reverse dieting, building more muscle and maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I plan to compete again next spring in a smaller show and then at the NPC Junior USA in May! I am at a time in my life where self-discovery and opportunities go hand in hand.
So are you. 

What are experience or thing have you always wanted to do but have not taken the plunge to try because of obstacles or excuses? Ask yourself, is it worth obtaining in your life? If so, what step can you take to reach that goal? Remember, things worth having do not always come easy. Go figure. Now, go get them!

Most rewarding and most challenging part about bodybuilding

When a person thinks about "bodybuilding", they immediately think of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Big, buff and bad ass. He is pretty rad. But when I started training for my bodybuilding competition, I wasn't totally certain what to expect. Everyone kept telling me that the training was the easy part. What? OK, I'm in! Well, they were right. There is something much more rewarding and challenging than the workouts.

To excel in any sport, there must be a combination of physical and mental strength. Physical comes from conditioning, practice and performing the techniques your sport or game requires. How do good basketball players become great? They start with fundamentals. If a ball player cannot dribble, how can they possibly get the ball down the court to score a basket?

In bodybuilding, physical strength is a foundation of weight lifting and cardio. Yes, that includes my dreaded cardio. To optimize body condition, bodybuilders find balance of targeting muscle groups and increasing volume and weights over a period of time. To continue tightening the muscle mass developed, incorporate plyometric movements and cardio.

I find this part fun! It is exciting keeping my body on it's "toes" and changing my workout routines and movements over the weeks and seeing my strength increase. The physical strength that I have developed comes with practice and precision in my workouts. However, it cannot be accomplished only through training. The body needs fuel.

To reveal the muscularity and toned physique, appropriate diet must be part of the equation. A meal plan is in place for consistency and prove that science can make regular people look like super heroes! It starts out exciting. But after 17 weeks, food options are restricted and boring. This is where it gets tough.

If there is one thing I have learned about myself through this process, it is that the key to having successful training as a bodybuilder is self discipline.

This mental preparation is also the most challenging and rewarding part of the process. Nowadays, may people (including myself) are coached online. I do not have a personal trainer at the gym I use. I do not have a roommate to hold me accountable. It is all in my head.

This is all on me.

It is definitely mind over matter in the process of setting a goal, changing habits and fulfilling it. You know what? Many people have told me "they could never do what I'm doing". With that thought in your head, you are probably right.

You can't and you won't. 

If you want something bad enough, do you have the self discipline to work your butt off and make it happen?

Hop to it.
Prove it.

Until then, I'll just keep making gains and ignoring the mental "pains". Those little Devil's inside my head saying cookies are good for me are lying...

until after my show on August 15th. :) Wish me luck!

Less than 2 weeks left
until I compete.

A shift from encouragement to genuine support

Sometimes, I doubt myself. I doubt myself quite often, really. The past 10 weeks have pushed me beyond what I thought was possible or probable. However, it has also opened my eyes to a bigger question I asked myself, "Why do we get discouraged, unmotivated and filled with self-doubt?"

The Struggle Stage

After a few reflections of all areas of my life, there are some patterns to personal development that can impact us. One of these areas is within learning tasks and performing. Specifically, the Ken Blanchard Situational Leadership II taught me that there are four levels of learning and performing tasks. Right now, in my job and bodybuilding, I am stuck in the second phase: D2.

To give you a quick intro to what this means, I have passed the first stage as an excited beginner, "honeymooner" at D1. I am stuck at D2, where you start to know what you are doing but get frustrated with processes and the unknown, and in turn, have decreased motivation. This is the stage right before D3, where you start really performing and become a high achiever in that task or goal. You guessed it. D2 = struggle stage and lots of self doubt.

A few thoughts I have experienced recently (for bodybuilding primarily, but also for some work experiences):

I have a confession: I cheated.

The first step towards recovery is acknowledging your failure or weakness. I have a confession: I cheated. 

The worst thing about cheating is whenever someone cheats, he or she may not acknowledge the probable cause or the "why" of the situation. Well, I am about to do just that.

I cheated on myself.

As you may know, I started a new role back in March with Syngenta as a Seed Advisor Manager (abbreviated SAM), and a few weeks later, I also started training for a bodybuilding competition. At the time, I figured I could easily handle to large life changes happening at the same time. I was wrong. It is challenging, mentally draining and above all, demotivating. I pushed myself too hard in both work and training and am now paying the consequences.

View of Weihl Farms in Perrysburg, Ohio from the pasture.

One week ago. Just a bum look.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I went home to Ohio to see family and friends. This was the first time going home since Christmas. Yes, I know. I am crazy. I should have gone back home before now. At the time, I didn't see the need. Now, I do. To have life balance, you cannot work all the time. It is not healthy. Some might argue "I enjoy my work and am passionate about it". So am I! But, you know what? I have other priorities and life passions that I need to prioritize sometimes. I had not been doing that. I have concluded this as the cause of my cheating.

I planned a meeting with my Seed Advisors the week after Memorial Day. The focus of the meeting was to share updates on planting progress, agronomic updates, discuss tactics on how to continue relationship building through summer and talk about programs and business settlement details that will play a great importance in the coming weeks. We held the meeting on Thursday and I collaborated with some other Syngenta employees to split the talking points. The meeting was fine and my Seed Advisors expressed they had some takeaways. However, I think it sucked. 

5 tips for being the coach and the athlete.

9 weeks. It has been 9 weeks since I began my new "coaching" role as a Seed Advisor Manager. 

Yes, I said coaching. I may be in the "sales" facet of the business. However, my job requires I do more than understand my products and hit our sales targets. I must understand the business of my eight seed advisors and help coach them to be as successful as possible.

For example, the image to the right is from a morning where I assisted a Seed Advisor plant a soybean plot in south central Nebraska. Having an awareness of how my customers are acquiring real-world data of our products gives me more exposure to strengths and weaknesses in my overall territory and individual seed advisors and their businesses. I can then coach them on where changes might be needed or where we are excelling.

You know what? I never envisioned being a coach. It just happened to fit the profile of what I do on a weekly basis with my customers. But that isn't the only thing I did not imagine.