In 2003, I made the commitment while working with Rutgers football strength and conditioning to compete in my first bodybuilding show the following year, in 2004. I was all ready to go. I had studied the iron magazines for years, surrounded myself with the right crew and even had a new exercise science degree from the University of Delaware. I knew it all. Until I didn’t. I did in fact compete in 2004, yet it was physical hell. I wouldn’t change the experience for anything, b

Two weeks ago, I was working out with two of my great friends, both of whom were at my grandfather Leo’s funeral. Frank, my one friend, said, ‘I only met Leo a few times, but man, he was great. Hearing about how everyone was talking about him at the funeral got me choked up a little bit. Hearing about his life inspired me to want to live a life where I have a legacy and people talk about my caring heart in that regard’. Yup, that’s what Leo did and who he was. You don’t set

Back in 1996, I tried creatine for the first time. It was mysterious and could turn you into He-Man, at least that’s what I thought as a freshman playing highschool football. A year or two later, I began drinking my first ‘shakes’. If I recall correctly, it was the ‘Mega Mass 5000’ shake, with a banana flavor. Man, that stuff tasted like chalk. I literally had to plug my nose with each sip. But it was worth the struggle, because I remember just being so dedicated to

Two weeks ago, I was flipping through one of my notebooks. It’s an active notebook, meaning I still make notes in it and it’s not quite at capacity yet. Well, the thought hit me that I vaguely remembered mapping out my Panda philosophy and challenge in the midst of a 103 fever. Yup, that’s right, in December of 2019, I came down with a bad case of the flu. I only know it was the flu because Devon kept prodding me to get checked out because I would go through this shaking f

Just the other day, I was asking Colt, aka Tank, what he wanted for lunch. He responded, as he often does, that he wanted 3 nuggets because he is 3 years old. Makes sense on some level. And so it is with a lot of Colty logic, which often gives Devon and I a chuckle. When you can see the world through the lens of simplicity, your answers and thoughts can have a very Whinnie the Pooh type of quality. Simple and obvious, obviously simple, once they are placed in front of you. C