I remember when I first started working out in the gym over two decades ago. I honestly had no clue as to what I was doing. Like most Iron Virgins, I found myself wondering around the gym aimlessly from machine to machine just trying to copy what the other gym members around me were doing. I couldn’t do a pull-up, I was unable to do a push-up, and like most so-called “Men”, I figured no one could see my legs if I kept them covered, therefore I wouldn’t even attempt to do a squat. All I knew how to do was bench press and do arm curls with dumbbells (which looking back now, I really didn’t know how to do either) so that’s all I would do every single time I set foot in the gym. Well after a good 3 months of bench pressing and doing arms curls, all I was left with were two rounded shoulders caused by an overly developed chest and a weak under developed back, along with arms that were now bigger then my legs. I looked ridiculous! I wanted to quit the gym. And I almost did. Until I came across Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. The book in which started me on the path to developing my physique and later on in life, formulating my career.

Beginner’s Luck

I consider myself to have been so fortunate to grow up in a time where reading was still popular. I believe that in order to read a book (especially a book that is so comprehensive), a person needs to have a strong attention span. A person who reads books for information cannot allow themselves to become distracted too easily. I like to think of myself as someone who can focus and provide my undivided attention to any subject that I choose to learn about. However even I can’t guarantee that it would be so easy for me to focus on a book growing up in today’s era. With the prevalence of the internet and social media, it’s seemingly becoming more and more easier to get lost in a cyber world that offers all the information that one could need at the click of a button. Unfortunately unlike a good book written by a reputable and knowledgeable source, it can also become easier to receive incorrect and misleading information at the very same click of that button. But I got lucky. I grew up reading books and still read books to this day. And where I got really lucky was the book that taught me almost everything I know about training, was one that I found at a young age.

School Didn’t Work for Me

I never did well in school. Hell, after grade 9, I rarely even went to school. The subjects that were taught in school bored me. I may have been a bit rebellious, and I most certainly was naive, however I knew that what I was being taught in school was not going to help me pursue my own goals in life. So therefore when it came to school, well, I just didn’t try. Yes, I graduated highschool, but just barely. I wasn’t dumb, I just didn’t care. And if I didn’t care, then I figured that what I was learning would never be useful to me.

And I was right.

Finding My Passion

I honestly believe that in order to be successful at anything you do in life, that you need to love what you do. I’m sure that if I had really applied myself in high school and went onto college to get my degree in something that paid well and offered amazing benefits, I would have been quite content with my life. However I didn’t want to be content with my life, I wanted to be successful. Therefore I looked for ways in which I could become successful by doing things that I enjoyed doing. And if it wasn’t for the Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, I may have never discovered my passion for helping people better themselves through diet and exercise. This in turn has enabled me to have a fairly successful career as a Personal Trainer/Online Coach/Small Business Owner.

I’ve been working in the fitness industry for close to two decades now. During this time I’ve never worked for anyone except myself. I built my business though relationships that I formed while working in restaurants and night clubs as a young adult, along with the numerous referrals that I have received over the years from clients who were/are happy with our level of service. I’ve never relied on cheesy marketing gimmicks or sleazy sales tactics to generate more business. I’ve surrounded myself with some of the best trainers in the industry today, which motivates me to continue to learn and demand more from myself as both a trainer and a business owner. I’ve built long lasting relationships with all of our clients, many of whom have been training with me for over 15 years!

I ofcourse could not be where I am today without the support from all our amazing clients and the trainers that I now work with today. And I could not be continuing to do what I love and be successful at it unless I had found my passion. And who would of thought that the trigger for that passion would have been found in an old dusty book.

So perhaps I was wrong to think that a book could not change a person’s life. Because looking back on everything up until this point, The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, most certainly changed mine……

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance