Josh Englehart

http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/JoshBme/ Time to get real. Many have an idea of my story. Here is a little of it. Grew up in the city. Had a loving family, good friends. Lived the whole "inner city" life with friends. You had gangs, guns, drugs, all that. I did my best to stay away from it. My parents divorced when I was a freshman in H.S and my whole life changed. I became distant, starting smoking, ignored friends and family. A loner if you will. Lost my best friend in 2001 when he shot himself in the head. Lost my older brother to cystic fibrosis in 2002. These events made me change my life andhow I saw my health. My fitness success for the past few years were bron from that. But in the process, I lost a lot of who I was. Image became important. I have been humbled the last year. I reconciled with my dad in 2009, and soon after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. We lived like a father and son should after that. Sadly I lost him this last June. But with sadness, comes smiles, not the other way around in my world. I got married in May (my dad was able to come) and am now expecting a baby girl named Hadessah Lee. I have a awesome wife, 4 kids, and work hard at my job. Getting back to the basics and enjoying what God has put before me. That is life to me. We all have a story, this is a small part of mine. height: 5'11" | weight: 197 Lbs. | body fat: 7% | gym: Great Lakes Health & Fitness Vital Stats Name: Josh Englehart Email: [email protected] Age: 25 Before: Height: 5'11 Weight: 150 lbs Current: Height: 5'11 Weight: 198 lbs How long I have been lifting: Seriously for about 4 years. Why I Got Started I was always an athletic kid growing up - I loved playing basketball and football. I just never had the passion (or height) for basketball, and never had the size for football. When I was 14-15 years old I started smoking (never start kids) and I continued to play sports at home and sometime on school teams. I ran track while I was still smoking! I felt like cigarettes kept me skinny and I never had any trouble with breathing or anything so I kept on. Well as I got older, around 17-18-years old, I could feel the strain cigarettes were starting to take on me. I had an older brother who was born with the lung disease cystic fibrosis and he would've given anything to have two healthy lungs so he could play sports. So guilt was also playing a role in my quitting smoking. RELATED ARTICLE Effects Of Smoking And Drinking On Bodybuilders! Smoking and drinking have various effects on the body, causing individuals to want to quit. I'll explain some of the effects of continuing those habits and suggestions to stop. [ Click here to learn more. ] In 2001 I lost my best friend to a self-inflicted gun shot, and he was in his early 20s. So I put a lot of things in perspective with choices I was making in life, because when all things go wrong, what's the only thing you have left? Your health. Click Image To Enlarge. Josh Englehart. So I stopped smoking and in the process I gained 20-30 pounds of fat! I went from a skinny 150 pounds to a soft 178 pounds - I was so depressed. So all I ate for months was salads and water, and I jogged everyday. I could tell my body was breaking down and I was doing something wrong. I fell down to a 145 pounds! I was not "cut" or "shredded" like I thought I would be, I was skin and bones. I started to learn how much diet plays a role in having a good physique. So I started to read, and read, and read about good clean foods to eat with high calories. And I learned how much protein I should eat. In this time I lost my brother Ryan to disease, so my motivation was really up to do a 180 on my lifestyle. Winter 2003 I saw a picture of myself at 150 pounds and freaked out. I knew I had to eat a lot more food and workout hard to achieve whatever goal I set for myself. I dreamed of hitting 200lbs, but never thought I could do it. But trying wouldn't kill me, would it? Josh Englehart. How I Got Started I basically lived by some simple rules: Eat like a machine and train like you're crazy! I love lifting weights. The physical challenge, the sores you get on your hands from lifting, its great! I had some old weights lying around. All I had was some dumbbells with some plates. I put on the heaviest weight I could lift at least 6-8 reps, doing 3 sets. Kept my workouts short but fierce. In the first week I gained 2 pounds! I am thinking, "Of what?" I don't see any fat, or muscle. I kept lifting, kept eating, lifting, eating, it just became routine. People started to notice the changes, and that makes you feel like getting more! I kept reading websites (especially Bodybuilding.com) and books on exercises and diet regiments. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to hard-gainers (which I am) a clean, high calorie diet is. Food is vital in your mission to gain quality mass. Lifting weights everyday and eating a burger and chips now and then won't get it! I learned that if you really wanted to grow you would eventually have to either buy a gym set-up, or just join a gym. I don't have $4000 so I joined a YMCA. WOW! I made tremendous gains the year I was there. All these machines and free weights, it was great. About 6 months working out there I noticed my weight had hit 192 pounds ... I realized that I could catch my goal of 200 pounds. So I ate and trained, ate and trained. Click Image To Enlarge. Josh Englehart. Then I went to the doctor to get a physical and the nurse weighed me, (w/o my shoes on) and it said 205 pounds! I couldn't believe it. I hit my goal. All this in a year and a half of lifting, staying focused, dedicated, and eating right.