In just three months of training with Garth, I gained 25 pounds while remaining under 12% body fat and returned to my wrestling team ready to compete as the starting 138-pounder. At the time, that result felt almost impossible.
When I first came to Garth, I was a scrawny 14-year-old who had recently won a state wrestling title at 106 pounds. I was proud of the accomplishment, but I wanted more. I wanted to put on muscle, become stronger, and carry myself with greater confidence.
I weighed around 113 pounds and could bench maybe 115 pounds for a couple of reps. I dreamed of being able to do dips or squat more than a plate.
Garth did not simply hand me a generic workout routine. He dedicated three days to learning everything about me, from my flexibility and joint movement to my physical limitations, and the qualities that made my body unique. From there, he created a plan specifically designed around what I needed to improve.
What separated Garth from every other trainer I have worked with was his understanding of nutrition. Anyone can confidently throw numbers on a board, but what made Garth effective was the breadth of knowledge behind his approach. He understood nutrient timing, recovery, muscle growth, and overall physical and mental health just as deeply as he understood how to build an effective lifting program. He knew that real progress depended as much on what I did outside the gym as the work I completed inside it.
Three years later, I was recruited to wrestle at the Division III level and had exceeded nearly every expectation I once had for myself. Who would have thought that the 106-pound kid who dreamed of doing dips would eventually become a college wrestler?
Garth did more than help me build muscle. His dedication, discipline, and mentality became part of the way I approached not only training, but every area of my life. The consistency he demanded in the gym taught me how to stay committed when progress was slow, how to hold myself accountable, and how to keep working toward goals that once felt out of reach.
Those lessons stayed with me long after our training sessions ended. The strength I gained was measurable, but the mindset he helped instill in me extended far beyond the gym.
Thank you, Garth, for seeing what I was capable of before I could fully see it myself.
