Growing up I was a very active child. I was always playing outdoors, running around my yard or around town with friends. Track, baseball and basketball were deeply embedded into my life, though track was by far my favorite. In the summers, you’d likely find me daily at our local swimming pool.

All through my K-12 school years, I don’t recall ever being concerned or focused on what my body looked like. I was, however, in decent shape and had never been overweight during my childhood. After leaving high school, my activeness did not fully vanish, but certainly began to decline.

In the Fall of 2010, I moved from my home state of South Dakota to Missouri. This was when I began making some very poor health decisions. I had nearly quit working out altogether. Unhealthy foods were a constant on my daily menus and grocery lists. I was hooked on Cherry Pepsi, and on top of it, working a job that I truly despised, which invited some very poisonous stress into my life.

Little did I know during this time, I was packing on pounds left and right. I was becoming a very well rounded person… quite literally.

After gaining a ton of weight which had somehow gone completely unrealized to myself, I began eating a bit healthier. I slowly started to shed a little weight.

Shortly after beginning to lose some weight, I was thumbing through some photos of the prior months, and happened across a shocking photo of myself. It was not until that moment, that I realized how overweight I had become. I was wildly disgusted with how I looked in that photo.

I vowed at that very moment that I would never allow myself to look like that again.

I never really recalled seeing myself that way in the mirror. I do, however, remember not ever wanting to be a subject in photos and doing quick ducks and dodges to ninja myself away from being the subject of a photo. I also recall having very low self-esteem and being highly self conscious… but I never had really realized why.

I had also become slightly depressed, and had very low energy. This realization however, really brought these feelings to a heightened place for me. I believe that this and some other life events, played part to my later anxiety that had developed, but that’s a story for another day.

I knew I had not taken many photos over the years, but seeing how much I had changed without noticing, sparked me to go back and try to formulate a timeline. It was depressing just how few photos I had actually taken over the course of my teenage years into my mid-20s.

All this looking back, and seeing that awful photo of myself, started to kick my ass into gear. I got a gym membership again. I began eating even healthier. My job hadn’t changed and I still despised it, and that was the one thing, still truly holding me back. It suffocated almost every ounce of motivation and energy within me.

At some point during the beginning stages of my fitness journey, I found Instagram. I had decided that I was going to post progress photos on instagram, to track my fitness journey. Little did I know, I was about to uncover a huge drive and motivating force for myself. One which still holds me accountable to this day.

My Instagram page had been started by me and for me. Not only did I post my progress photos, but I searched for other fitness minded individuals who maintained physiques I dreamed of having. I began using them as motivation for myself.

As I became more engaged on Instagram, I started receiving likes, comments, followers and messages on my page. My instagram presence started growing like crazy, which motivated me even more.

Instagram became an outlet that truly pushed me. I used it in a healthy way, to further drive my already intended goals. It has since grown to a point where I feel that if I backtrack too far on my fitness goals, that it will not only be letting myself down, but also those who have invested time in following me over the years.

In the Fall of 2015, a new prospective job with a Sheriff Department in Colorado was uncovered. As I began applying and going through testing, I realized a fitness test was required. I started researching the fitness test, and also the requirements for the academy. I quickly realized, that to meet the requirements and to do well, I was really going to have to step up my fitness game. I began really pushing myself to get back into decent shape.

I was offered the job, and in January of 2016, I began the para military sheriff academy. The academy lit a fire and finally got me in shape. I absolutely loved it. My self esteem started to get better and I was in much better health. We did intense workouts of various types, which helped condition us in multiple fitness areas. In June of 2017, I left my first department and took a position with a different agency, starting yet another academy.

Two police academies later, my fitness journey has been filled with some ups and downs, to say the least. I’ve been through sickness, injuries, anxiety and lack of energy. I struggled with many lulls, when motivation was just lacking, and laziness was the easiest option. Much time was taken to get my life back in order, and now I am moving in the right direction again.

In some of my upcoming posts, I will spend a bit more time, diving a little deeper into some specific topics from this post. Until then, feel free to follow me on Instagram @loganaugust to stay up to date with my workout progress and fitness journey.

Much Love,

Logan August

The Start of My Fitness Journey