If you had asked me when I was 17 years old if I would be a self-employed fitness coach at 50, I would have scoffed, but here I am.

I am Jay Ashman, owner of the infamously famous Ashman Strength System.

My journey has been a long one filled with stories meant for a book; to save you from a novella, I will keep this introduction to me as short as possible.

*Breathes and cracks fingers*

I started my journey into fitness at 17 years old when my mom persuaded me to lift weights at the gym where she taught step aerobics.

Back then, all I knew was bench pressing and biceps, which I did four days a week. I benched, I curled, I benched, I curled, and so it went.

Eventually, I started to learn that other body parts needed some love, and the race was on.

I became a better athlete, but I was also obsessed with size.

*tells excessively long story in 2x speed...*

In rugby, I ended up starting for a Superleague team in NYC.

In Strongman, I never placed below third in a contest.

I grew to 300 pounds, dropped to 230, and grew back to 280.

I competed in powerlifting, men's physique, and CrossFit.

I was obsessed with competition, and it almost ruined me.

When I was 41 years old, I went into atrial fibrillation. I ignored the symptoms because I honestly didn't know what was wrong. I was too scared to find out, so I pretended they didn't exist. During my Afib stint, I flew to Detroit to compete in a powerlifting meet, the worst competition day of my life.

Once I finally went to the ER with unbearable symptoms, they rushed me back into an examining room, and my pulse was sky-high. I was promptly admitted to CCU for seven days.

During that stay, the doctor told me five words that scared the shit out of me:

"You are in heart failure."

I eventually got an ablation to fix the Afib, and the heart failure slowly improved. Over a year later, I was given a clean bill of health.

I quickly realized I needed to take care of my health and stop pushing my body as hard as I had been.

As Apollo Creed once told Rocky, "there is no tomorrow!"

My tomorrow wasn't guaranteed.

I am 50 years old, leaner, healthier, and happier today.

The lessons I learned from 30+ years of sport, life, and lifting have taught me well.

The future depends on you. Let's build it together.

In health,

Jay Ashman