I had no idea how important food was for a workout. I was at the type of mindset where eating the 4 basic food groups was a sound get fit plan. I never really thought about food as fuel for the body. I also hadn't realized that drinking a lot of water was something that needed to be kept up not only during a workout, but before and after as well.

As far as how much time I should be spending at the gym doing cardio versus weight lifting, I was lost. Some days I would be doing way more cardio than I should have been, and other days I wasn't doing enough weight lifting to grow even the smallest of muscles. What made things worse is that I didn't know a set from a rep or why a person needed to keep track of those when lifting.

It got to the point where there was an odd development that started near my groin area that I couldn't quite explain, much less see. Well, of course I kept on with my workouts and poor diet, and the odd development that started in my body eventually turned into a hernia.

A hernia is a weak point in a muscle wall that, when pressure is present, can force the muscle apart, allowing part of an internal organ or other body part to push its way through. Most men are typically seen with this type of injury mainly because they are lifting much heavier weight at the gym (adding pressure to that part of the body). But it is possible for women to get them.

Mine happened because I was doing too much strenuous workouts and not enough refueling to allow my body to recuperate from them. My body was completely disproportionate. I was not educated on the philosophy that the more exercise you do the more food and water your body will need to sustain itself throughout training sessions.

It took a hernia surgery to get me to realize that how I was going about my fitness routine needed to change - immediately.

I decided to enlist the help of a professional: a personal trainer. I did some research, and after a couple of months, I decided to go with the one who fit well with my personality.

It was a great experience, working with my trainer. I was not only starting to resemble the fitness models I saw in Oxygen Magazine, but I was accomplishing it the right way-with education. I learned so much about what kinds of foods I should be eating, how much water I should be drinking and when, and above all; just because a person looks stunning on the outside, does not mean that they are healthy on the inside.

My journey taught me to have patience when searching for results on my way to achieving total overall health. It taught me that fitness is a discipline, a way of life and a lifelong reward both mentally and physically. Most importantly, I learned that fitness with long term successful results cannot be achieved without education.

• Warm Up: Running: 5 minutes
• Reverse Grip Pulldown: 3 sets of 20 reps
• Pulldowns Behind The Neck: 4 sets of 20 reps
• Biceps Curls: 8 sets of 20 reps
• Back Extensions: 4 add sets of 40, 30, 20, 10 reps
• Abs Jackknife: 4 add sets of 40, 30, 20, 10 reps

• Step Ups: 5 sets of 25 reps each leg
• Walking Lunges: 1 set length of gym
• Leg Curls: 8 sets of 20 reps
• Leg Extensions: 8 sets of 20 reps

• Lawn Mowers: 4 add sets of 40, 30, 20, 10 reps
• Reverse Grip Pulldown: 4 add sets 90, 80, 70, 60 reps
• Back Extensions: 4 sets of 15 reps
• Crunches: 6-8 sets of 20 reps

• Step Ups: 5 sets of 30 reps each leg
• Leg Press: 4-6 sets of 20 sets
• Lunges: 4-6 sets of 20 each leg
• Leg Curls: 4 sets of 20 reps

• Treadmill, elliptical, spinning bike or swimming: 40 minutes

• 1/2 cup oats cooked
• 1 scoop whey protein
• 1 apple

• 1 can tuna
• Large spinach salad with apple cider vinegar

• 4 oz grilled chicken breast, salmon, or tilapia with lemon
• 1/4 medium baked sweet potato

• 6 oz pan seared shrimp, chicken or salmon
• 1 cup steamed asparagus or mixed veggies

• 4 oz 99% fat free ground turkey

• Optimum Glutamine 1000 Caps: 3 caps

What Motivates You To Follow A Healthy Lifestyle?

Continued support from my loving fiancée, and images of my fellow competitors and fitness models!

What Made You Want To Achieve Your Goals?

Knowing that the more I learned about what I was doing, the better my results would be.

What Features Do You Use On Bodybuilding.com?

My BodySpace to track progress, gain motivation and the Nutrition & Training sections to stay informed.