Size crept on all right, but it was fat. I had the perfect excuse. I made a career move that required relocation, lots of travel and increased job responsibilities. I now had the perfect excuse to over-indulge and eat fast food on the go.

My workouts dwindled from five days per week with occasional two-a-days down to two or three sessions per week. Bodybuilding was fading fast as a priority in my life. Then to top it off, I injured my shoulder, then suffered a grade-three ankle tear playing recreational football, and finally hurt my knee just getting out of my car.

The excuses were out of control. I decided "enough was enough". It was time for me to get back in the game. I began eliminating them one by one with the help of my wife, Jen.

My first step was to rehab my knee and shoulder. I began hitting the gym consistently and started my basic off-season supplementation program of UMP, Ultra Size, Ultra-4, and a ton of Joint Care (which did wonders for my knee and shoulder).

As I began to slowly get in shape, I found another excuse. There weren’t any natural shows being held in the area. Jen swiftly eliminated that concern by finding an IFPA natural pro qualifier in Michigan. So everything is going pretty good and all of a sudden Jen gets promoted to manager of the largest personal training program in our area. Now both of us were working 16 hour days with constant travel. Oh well, I thought I would just have to wait until things stabilized to compete again.

Yeah, right! Jen wouldn’t let me give up. She purchased a vacuum sealer and prepared all of my meals for the week on Sunday afternoon, labeling each one of them. She made a huge commitment---sacrificing herself, her sleep, and her personal goals-to personally assist me in my preparation.