Name: Kevin Myles
Occupation: Owner/Operator Bodysport.com, Fitness Lifestyle Coach, Digital Course Creator, Lifeplus Shop Owner
Fitness Background: Author The Diet That Works, Multi Certified Training and Performance Nutrition Specialist, Online Trainer/Coach, Contest Prep Coach, Fitness Course Creator/Publisher including The Contest Prep Coaches Course, Mass Quest- A Natural Approach To Building Muscle, and The Physique Improvement Course, Writer, Editor, Motivational Speaker, etc.
Age: 64 years old
Height and Weight: 6’1, 245
Health Issues: Pin in my left ankle that limits function/mobility, poor vision, some right knee issues, otherwise good overall health. I’ve never been on any medications.
Background: Lifetime athlete, multiple sports; competed in baseball, basketball, bodybuilding, football, and bowling, and dabbled in martial arts, archery, boxing, etc. I love living the fitness lifestyle and have turned my passions for training and nutrition into professions. I’ve worked out an average of 5 times a week for the past 40-plus years.
My Fit Life: I’m the lucky guy who absolutely loves training. I understand that it can be a difficult thing for others to stay with but it never has been for me. I have loved to exercise for as long as I can remember. I’ve always equated it with self-improvement both athletically and self-esteem-wise. My fitness journey started as an extension of the sports I loved. The more I practiced, the better I did, and the more I wanted to keep improving. But mostly I just loved playing. You’d have to drag me off the field or the court. So when I started lifting, you’d have to drag me out of the gym. And when I wasn’t playing sports or working out I was reading about playing sports and working out.
Because I was a tall (for my day), skinny kid I really wanted to be bigger and stronger. Even though I could do some pretty cool things athletically, it wasn’t quite enough. Being 6’1 and 150 was not the heroic image of myself that I desired. I was fascinated with muscle and movies like Hercules. I wanted to look like Steve Reeves.
Though I’d always done plenty of calisthenics and conditioning-type training, I started lifting weights in my garage while in high school to build size. It definitely contributed to my athletic ability but even if it hadn’t, I just wanted that look of being bigger and stronger. In my senior year in high school, I suffered a bad ankle break and couldn’t do any running or jumping for quite some time. So as a freshman in college, I officially became a bodybuilder and develop a passion for training that has fortunately never gone away. By the time I was healed enough to go back to my former sports, I was enjoying my new pathway too much.
I’ve always approached training the way I did going to practice for my team sports, so it’s never been an issue for me to get into the gym. “You’re an athlete, this is what you do and the life you live” is the approach I took. My body grew very slowly, at least in my mind. The fact that I was overtraining due to my enthusiasm certainly didn’t help. But I was around some great peers including champion powerlifters, competitive Olympic lifters, my buddies from the football and track teams, and a few obsessed, wannabe Arnolds like myself. The gym became a special place. There was a great atmosphere of support. We didn’t have a lot of equipment beyond basic free weights but that was enough to build a good foundation. People who were bigger, stronger, and more experienced than I was would go out of their way to help and encourage me. They were my new teammates.
My passion started to radiate outward. I started reading everything I could on training and nutrition. I got a job in the weight room at college. After I completed all the requirements for my Criminal Justice major, I did 2 more years of school studying all the science-related classes I would need to qualify for chiropractic college. By then I was burned out on school so I started working in a very nice health food store and I worked there for 6 years while also doing some personal training on the side. It was during this time I competed in some bodybuilding shows taking 4th in the Natural California and 3rd in the Natural Northern USA. At only 215 pounds I still needed more size for my frame.
Eventually competing took a back seat as I was recruited by the General Manager of Gold’s Gym in Northern California to come and work for them and I spent 8 years working as manager of Gold’s Gym in San Jose. It was while there I met Terry Goodlad (world-leading fitness photographer and founder of Bodysport) and discovered we had very similar visions and we started working on various projects and ideas including Bodysport, Bellafit Magazine, and Fitlife Magazine.
Fast forward to now. I no longer want or need to get bigger just for its own sake, but I am constantly working on improving my physique. My actual weight is irrelevant to me, getting on the scale is just information that I use as feedback to adjust what I’m doing. I’m looking for that perfect spot. I like my size at 245, but I know I can be leaner, quicker, and more athletic. Losing weight has never been hard but I tend to lose size and strength pretty easily at the same time. I have to train specifically for what I want in order to maximize it and the rest doesn’t always come along for the ride.
So now I’m looking to find that balance between fitness, performance, appearance, and health. Oh yes, and fun. The last thing I want is to get injured. If I stayed right here and just got a little leaner I’d be cool with that. And I know that at my, ahem, advanced age, being leaner and lighter will just be healthier and better for me. But I know that I’m capable of more. I know that if I balance this out just right and push myself, I can have multiple things. I know that if I get a little bit greedy things could get a little bit interesting. That’s the type of challenge that keeps me passionate about going to the gym as much as I do.
Pursuing this kind of challenge will make me a better version of myself, way beyond what happens physically. It inspires me to help and teach others. That’s why I’ve done personal training for so long and still do it online. That’s why I give seminars, wrote a book, coach athletes for shows, and created fitness courses. That’s why I regularly write articles about all aspects of fitness. Sharing my fitness journey with you is my pleasure. It helps keep me motivated and engaged. But it is also a joy and a way of paying back all of the people who helped me along the way. If I can help make your path a bit easier, and a bit more fun, then that would please me greatly.
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