With school officially back into full swing, times are getting busier and the grind is inevitable. With times changing fitness has become a standard to most people’s lives and educating the youth that may not know much is vital. To make this process easier and to aid you on your fitness journey we have interviewed one of our youngest athletes, 16-year-old student Nathan Kline.

What does your daily routine with school look like? 

“I start my day by prepping my meals for the day and school, I go to school, do homework, shoot photos for Instagram, and then usually train at night.”

How do you find the time to work out as often as you do while still being in school?

“I find time to work out while still in school by making the gym a priority, whether this means losing a little bit of sleep, or time with friends I’m willing to make the sacrifice in order to go to the gym.” 

What inspires/motivates you to maintain a fitness regimen at such a young age?

“I love training and pushing myself to the limit, the gym has helped me to relieve stress and get through difficult times in my life. Whether it be difficulties with school, relationships, family, work, etc. the gym always help get my mind off things.”

How has fitness impacted your life and school?

“Fitness has absolutely changed every inch of my life. I’m more confident about my self-image, I have more friends, I’m more social, I’m happier, and more driven. Before I started weightlifting most of my peers looked down upon me, and I was bullied quite often, fitness has changed that, I now look to be a role model to my peers and inspire them.”

What does your diet look like?

“My diet consists of high protein foods such as chicken, fish, and eggs. I tend to eat a lot of clean carbs as well so I can build a solid foundation of muscle at a young age, these include, fruits, vegetables, rice, oatmeal, granola, smoothies, etc. For my fats I typically eat almonds or avocados.”

What are some tips you would give your peers at school for fitness when getting back to school this year?

“One of my biggest tips for my peers would be to be consistent with their diet. Diet is the key to growth. I would highly recommend tracking your calories and macros, this will help you know how much you need to consume in order to lose or gain weight, often times I see my peers ask “why am I not growing I’m training every day?!” The reason most of them don’t see growth comes down to their diet. I also would recommend they pick up a school sport and get a gym membership. School sports are great ways to become more social, learn the basics of weightlifting, and condition your body.”

What are you current goals for your physique?

“My current goals are to build a solid foundation for when I’m older, while staying reasonably lean. At the moment I’m trying to put a few inches on my arms and add some size to my baby calves. “

Where do you see yourself in the future?

“In the future I see myself having a full time career as a bodybuilder and influencer. I really would like to use my social media platforms to inspire others to become better, and to show young teens like myself that’s it’s never too early to get started.”

Why do you keep going to the gym?

“I continue to go to the gym every day because it’s a huge stress reliever, the gym is like therapy for me, and if I have anything on my mind the gym helps clear it. I want to improve myself every day and become better than I was yesterday. One of the biggest reasons I continue to go is to motivate others that were in my shoes being overweight, and show them that anything is possible if you put your all in!”

What helped you the most during your fitness journey?

“I got the most help on my fitness journey by asking questions! Whenever I saw a guy with a better physique than me in the gym I would ask questions about his routine, diet, and workouts, this helped me gain knowledge over time and improve my routine and diet. Most of the time people are intimidated to ask questions in the gym, but most people are willing to help.”

What or who got you started on getting into fitness and why?

“Growing up I was overweight and bullied, over time it continued to get worse, and in middle school my weight shot up even more and I became extremely depressed. I had a low self-image, hardly any friends, and hated myself, I would use food as comfort. Going into high school I knew I had to make a change. I joined the football team where I was introduced to weightlifting, I then got a gym membership at a local planet fitness and started training for fun. I started following a diet and then the results really came in, I lost 45+ lbs and became happy with my body. Ever since then I have continued to go to the gym and try to improve myself!”