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Make it Make Sense: Understanding the Fitness Journey is a podcast for everyone, from beginners to seasoned athletes. Hosted by pro men's physique athlete and experienced fitness coach Frank, the show explores all aspects of fitness—physical, mental, and emotional. With candid conversations, practical advice, and insights from across the fitness spectrum, this podcast is designed to inspire, inform, and empower all demographics on their unique fitness journeys.
Yo. What's going on? It's your boy, coach Frank, on the Make It Make Sense health and fitness podcast channel, understanding the fitness journey. You know, still trying to make my way through this whole, podcast scenery and revealing myself, which is new to me because I'll say and why I have difficulty is because, naturally, I am shy and I'm an introvert. People that know me, you know, they don't agree with that, you know, my self assessment.
Speaker 1:But, you know, for the most part, it is difficult for me internally to just reveal things about myself. So, like, when I was before when I'm doing the the channel and while I was, like, hesitant on being able to do episodes was because I was trying to make everything perfect. Like, I didn't want to stutter. Like, because naturally, I have a bit of a stutter sometimes. I have a lisp, and sometimes I'm a bit you know, if I'm nervous when I'm speaking, then, like, the lisp shows a little bit more than, than I would like.
Speaker 1:But I was talking to my cousin the other day, and I was telling him I have the channel. And he was asking me why didn't I tell him about it because he's, like, my closest cousin. I pretty much tell him everything. And, I told him, well, it's because I don't feel comfortable yet with pretty much, you know, putting it out there yet because, you know, I'm still trying to learn my way. You know, I don't know how to do certain things.
Speaker 1:And and, you know, and he told me, like, he tells me about just about everything he tells me, you know, man, just be you because just do you. Like, alright. So I'm gonna backtrack into why I started training, as a fitness coach and to give my story on on who I am and what brought me to this point now where I have I am not revealing myself for who I am naturally. Alright. So I grew up in a small city, Oviedo, Florida.
Speaker 1:Trust me. You'll hear me mention it quite a few times. Was never really a big kid. I was tall, you know, tall and lanky with common, but I was never really big. You know?
Speaker 1:There were kids around my age that were putting on weight, but, you know, I was never really one of those kids. Even when we played, popcorn or football, you know, there were kids on my team that, you know, had trouble making weight. Like, I've never in my life ever had that issue. Right? So, you know, as we grow, you get older, you know, I'm in high school getting ready to graduate.
Speaker 1:And, you know, I know I'm going to college. So I do want some size going to college. So I join a I I take a weightlifting class when I'm in high school. Right? I'm in class, and I have this, we have a a TA, a teacher's assistant, because Oviedo's real close to UCF, the, University of Central Florida.
Speaker 1:So, quite often, like, some of the elective classes in, in my high school would be taught by our TAs or, you know, 1st year, teachers, things like that. But we had this guy. I don't even remember his name. And I was working out one day, and he comes over and he tells me he was like, man, you know, it's gonna be really hard for you to put on muscle. And I was like, why?
Speaker 1:It's like, because you're an ectomorph. And I was like, what is that? It's like, man, you got you're long and lanky. So, you know, like working out pretty much ain't gonna help you. And I was like, and I'm like, just starting like, wait, wait training, you know, in, in my head, like the thought process of weight training.
Speaker 1:So like, I'm immediately like deflated because I wanted to, to work out to improve me. You know? I'm getting ready to go to college. I wanna be a big dude when I go to college. Right?
Speaker 1:So I'm done. I was like, screw this class. I I probably even, like, got out of the class, went to my counselors and and and took another class. Right? Fast forward, I'm in college.
Speaker 1:You know, I try working out still. You know, everybody lives in an apartment in college. Everybody has, an apartment, weight room or whatever. So I worked out quite a bit. I mean, even 1 year, I had these roommates.
Speaker 1:We not only did we have, a weight room at our apartment complex, but we we also had, like, a weight set, like, the bench press and everything, like, in my room. Still nothing. Right? Fast forward even more, you know, taking a break from college, get well, taking a break after college. A buddy of mine, convinced me to start going to these, to these basketball camps to, like, try to, like, play, like, it was just when, like, the g league was just starting or, like, trying to go overseas or whatever.
Speaker 1:So I was like, alright. You know, if you're gonna do it, I'll do it too. I loved I loved the hoop, you know? So I was working out then, go to LA Fitness. Still didn't didn't know how to work out, but, you know, I started working out, and doing a lot of basketball drills, going to a lot of different things, a lot of different camps, things like that.
Speaker 1:Try I was actually trying out for some g league teams. I think I tried out for 2 or 3. But, anyway, long story short, I had a a tryout scheduled for a team. And at the same time, I worked, customer service for AT and T Wireless. One night, I'm driving in the car.
Speaker 1:It's nighttime. There's a car in front of me. It looked like they were just stopping because there were breaks. Then they switched to hazards, and it was like a car pulling another car and they and they had slowed down and stopped. So I was stopping, but the car behind me kept coming.
Speaker 1:It was like and I ended up getting rear ended. And it was drunk driver I did right in front of the cops. So the cops saw the whole thing, but I ended up a bulging disk in my lower back. I was only about 175 at the time. But following the the diagnosis of my back, doctors told me that, you know, along with that, you're not really gonna be able to play basketball like you used to.
Speaker 1:So it was kinda depressing. You know, I'll be perfectly honest. I was going through a lot of back pain, so I wasn't really eating like I needed to. Of course, I wasn't working out. So I ended up losing a lot of weight.
Speaker 1:I dropped down to almost a £140 from, like, 175. Right? But then the doctors told me on one of my, physical therapy visits that I needed to to get stronger and strengthen my back because, if I didn't get stronger, then I would have I would end up having to have back surgery. And, like, well, not wanting that, you know, I I didn't want back surgery. So I was like, okay.
Speaker 1:I started working out. Now, again, I really had reservations about working out because it never worked. I mean, I've tried it, and it just never worked. Right? So I joined the gym, joined LA Fitness.
Speaker 1:Well, I was already at LA Fitness. So I was like, alright. So now instead of playing basketball, I'm gonna start working out. Work out for a full year, 365 days. On that final year, I'll say, like, I weighed a £140 on day 1.
Speaker 1:On day 3, 65, I weighed 142. I was done. I was like, this still does not work. Right? So I go to the gym on my last day.
Speaker 1:I'm just canceling my membership, but, you know, just to hoop, I'm paying $30 a month to hoop. Like, I lived in Florida, so we you can still go outside and hoop at the park at that time. So, like, whatever. Go to the gym, play a couple games, getting ready to leave. And as I'm leaving, I pass a childhood friend of mine, this guy, Chris Perkins.
Speaker 1:And I'll end up talking about him in-depth later on on an episode. But I pass him and growing up, you know, he was skinny like me, but when I see him, he's jacked, completely jacked. And I'm like, man, yo, what have you been doing? And he's like, I just work out. And I was like, when?
Speaker 1:He's like, every day. Mother, what time? He's like, at this time right now. I was like, alright. I'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1:So instead of canceling my membership, I ran into Chris who looked so dope. You know? That I was like, alright, I'm gonna start working out again. I'm gonna work out with him. So from that point, I was working out every day.
Speaker 1:And what I learned was, you know, now we we didn't know a lot about working out. All we knew was to eat clean and work hard. Right? So we would meet. I would get out of work.
Speaker 1:I think at the time I was working, HR for, Verizon Communications. I would, get off work. I think we'd meet at the gym around 6, 6:30, and we'd probably work out until, like, 10:30. Like but it was me, him, and a buddy named Dave. So it was 3 of us.
Speaker 1:And, like, we worked out hard. And, you know, what I learned was consistency, and it was training hard every day. Now that previous year, I wasn't really training hard. But what I learned in that 1st year where I only gained £2 was that I can stay committed to the fitness journey. And to be honest, that's what a lot of people don't realize is like, you know, man, I tried for a whole year and nothing happened, so I just quit.
Speaker 1:But you have to realize that on your fitness journey, if you commit to it for an entire year, and even if you don't finish with the goal, the physical goal that you wanted, mentally, you know, like, I can commit to this lifestyle. There may be some things that I need to learn, but the hurdle of I don't have the time, I can't commit. You don't have that anymore. It's now a lie. That hurdle doesn't describe you.
Speaker 1:Right? So I did learn that within that 1st year that I could at least commit to this. So once it got to that and I'm working out with Chris and Dave, it comes a new commitment to, alright, so now we're lifting weights and we're being progressive. Like, we're getting we're going heavier in weights. Like, when I was working out by myself and I didn't know things, I wasn't progressing in, like, my weight selections.
Speaker 1:It was like the same thing every single day. And when I tell you about my first workout by myself goodness. But anyway, so we're working out the 3 of us are working out and working out every day. Now Chris had, like, the ultimate body to me. Now he was shorter than me, but still he had shoulders, big chest, and he had abs.
Speaker 1:And, you know, one of the main things that motivated me on my fitness journey was, number 1, I had to work out because of my back, but I also I lived in Florida. I wanted to go to the beach and I wanted to take my shirt off. I wanted to have a nice body for girls to look at. So that was a motivation for me. And Chris just had these insane abs.
Speaker 1:And then one day, Chris, Dave, and I were talking, and we're talking about abs. And and Chris was like, you know, you know, Frank, you and Dave should have a, contest on who could get the best abs. And I'm just a competitive person, but I wasn't really thinking about it. So I didn't really, you know, press that issue. Right?
Speaker 1:And Dave laughed and said, No problem. Listen. I'm just a competitive person. So, yes, I was already motivated by the fact that I wanted to have a nice body, but now you just you made this a competition. I will never forget the day I was getting ready for work.
Speaker 1:Now keep in mind, on along this competition, I'm doing abs every day. I I, I remember I joined, a lot of pea a lot of old old school, you know, Jim Jim Hedgewell, Jim Ratzenou, the bodybuilding.com and, bodybuilding.com. Like social media, like their group, the Facebook for them or whatever back in the day. And there was this lady and she had the sickest abs I'd ever seen. And what she told and I asked her how did she get them.
Speaker 1:And she told me it's reps. It's repetitions. And I was like, how many? And she said, I do 500 reps a day. And any of my clients said, no.
Speaker 1:You you've all heard me. 500 reps a day. You've all been you've all been assigned at some point, 500 reps a day. And that's where I got it from. And so I just went bananas.
Speaker 1:And I remember the first day that I I was getting ready for work, and I was brushing my teeth, and I bent over to to spit the toothpaste out. Right? And when I bent over, I just happened to look down, and I still had a 6 pack. My stomach was flat, and I had a 6 pack hard. Man, like, I was by myself, but, you know, I I wanted to just cheer, clap.
Speaker 1:It was the it was a great feeling. For me, it was I set the goal of this is what I want, you know, fitness wise. And and you gotta keep in mind, I never had abs. I was skinny. So, you know, I had, like, skinny abs, but I'd never had muscles that that was never in that was never me.
Speaker 1:But now I had worked towards it, and I had achieved it. And I had like, now I've gone from what starting out the first year, I was 140, 142. Started working out with Chris. My weight started building. I think by the end of the year 2 or so, I was maybe 185 or something like that, but with abs.
Speaker 1:And now I'm muscular. So and then people would see me, and and they would think that I had that body my entire life. And it was like, no. I worked towards this. And and that's when I had the idea to become a fitness coach because it wasn't just that physically I I I achieved something.
Speaker 1:But mentally, I had worked towards something. I put set a goal in my mind, and I'd worked towards it. And and I hit. And then emotionally, you know, I wanted to feel better about myself. It was a self esteem thing.
Speaker 1:You know, there was, you know, it's so hard for people to to read me now as an introverted person because of how easy it is for me to conversate in groups and and and things like that. And it's because I'm just confident in me because there's a confidence that you find within yourself when you build yourself. And that's what I ended up doing was was building a me that I I am confident with who I am. I I have no issues with speaking to someone and being or feeling less than at any point in time. And it's not just because I look a certain way.
Speaker 1:It's just because that my my posture is different because of how I've worked physically. And it forces my chin up, and it forces my eyes to look people in the eyes and things like that. And and it's just been such an internal growth simply from staying consistent with my workouts. And once I noticed it, I said, well, I there I have to share this. I have to give this to other people.
Speaker 1:And and that's when I, you know, I, like, I have to be a fitness coach. I have to be a personal trainer because, you know, along my journey, you know, prior to meeting Chris throughout that 1st year, you know, I would ask other trainers, you know, how do you do this? How do these things work? And no one ever helped me. Like, no one ever gave me an answer.
Speaker 1:They didn't know. I just do this. Blah blah blah. It was just it was it was damn near deflating, to be honest. But, you know, I believe things are supposed to happen when they're supposed to happen.
Speaker 1:And I believe that my work as a fitness coach and helping change people change their lives through their health and fitness, and that's the mental, emotional, and physical, health and fitness aspects. I'm supposed to be doing this, but I believe that for me to get to this point, I had to go through my hurdle first. And now that I've overcome that, look, you know, I passed that goal, became a fitness coach, kept working out, became a pro bodybuilder. That all started from a guy that was a £140. So it's your boy, Frank Hamilton, fitness coach.
Speaker 1:The motto, be grind the man with the motto, be grinding or be nothing. That is my story. That is why I became a fitness coach, a personal trainer, because it the feeling that it gave me as an individual, I wanted to give that to other people also. Alright. Tune in.
Speaker 1:Subscribe. Do all the podcast things that people say you're supposed to do. I'll get more fancy as I learn this process. But if you tuned in, I appreciate you tuning in. Comment, whatever.
Speaker 1:Let me know. It's Frank Hamilton. You know, and man with the motto. Be grinding or be nothing. Peace.