Hello, my name is Bryan Hill. I currently have an Associate's degree in Business Administration from Hillsborough Community College and a Bachelor's degree in Management of Information Systems (MIS) from the University of South Florida. I spend most of my time studying, reading, and working out in the gym in my garage.
Well, to give you a complete history for starters I was born in St. Petersburg, FL. Then before I started elementary school my family moved to Europe. I lived in Maastricht, Netherlands for a bit then moved back to Minnesota to start the first grade. I grew up in Waconia, Minnesota on a farm. Not a big farm, 5 acres, but decent. We had horses and llamas, and that's where I learned how to drive at the age of 13 driving our tractor. Not a big tractor, a Ford 1220 with a 6 foot mower deck. My dad always used to say I mowed the lawn too fast but I would say it was done efficiently.
I then progressed through school, excelling in mathematics and taking advanced placement math classes with my peers and friends. Long about my sophomore year of high school my family decided to move to Florida. We settled in Spring Hill Florida because that's where my uncle lived. By that time I had already completed all of the requirements to graduate so most of the classes I took were electives. I was a good artist so I took a lot of art classes. Proceed to the next paragraph for the rest.
If you're wondering how that story ties into the home gym, calm down and read on. In 2006 I started feeling like I was in a much better state overall. Part of that I believe was fueled by my efforts in my home gym. My gym didn't start like you see it now, I started out with a few dumbbells and that was it. In 2006 I set out to gain 70 lbs. Yes I said 70 lbs, of muscle. So I began to do some research into what that would take, without using steroids mind you. My oldest brother told me about a website called T-Nation where I might be able to learn some things about gaining muscle. Now, the website is geared toward elite body builders but I figured if anyone knows how to add muscle it would be them. Turns out they do know a thing or two. I read an article entitled Massive Eating and then based my entire diet around the principles laid out in that article. Based on the principles of that article in order for me to reach my target weight of 200lbs, from my weight at the time of 130lbs, I had to eat 4,000 calories a day. I did so by eating 6 times a day, and approximately 200 grams of protein per day. Now if your wondering how the gym went from a few dumbells to what you see, well it grew along with me. As I got bigger and stronger, I bought more weights. I started with a Gold's Gym XR-37 rack and pulley system. It is an adjustable weight rack with a low-pulley and a high-pulley attached. As I progressed I changed the bench to an adjustable Iron-Man bench, although I had to drill an additional hole in the adjustment bar to allow me to adjust the bench to completely vertical for shoulder presses. I also added an Iron-Man Dip/Pull-Up/Leg-Raise station. Over the years the dumbells have increased to the point where at present I have dumbells 5-120lbs in 5lb increments. The only ones I am missing are the 105's and the 115's. As for the weight gain goal, by the end of 2006 I weighed about 185-190. I have since put on another 40lbs and currently weigh 225lbs (still too skinny...). However I no longer eat 4,000 calories a day, that was only for my gaining phase. If your wondering what supplements I used to help me gain the weight I gained they are not extreme at all. During my 2006 gaining phase, when I was eating 6 times a day and working out twice a day, I used a lot of BioTest brand supplements. They are available on the T-Nation website. I also used a lot of GNC brand supplements, and other supplements available at GNC. The most important ones are Biotest's Aplha Male testosterone booster, one of the only T-boosters I have found with minimal side effects and effective results. The other important supplement, more important than a T-booster is simply protein. Lots and lots of protein, whey protein and whey isolate to be specific. BioTest has a whey protein called Grow that I used and a whey isolate called Surge that I used. I also used the BioTest brand creatine product as well. From GNC I used their Amplified Mass XXX, and several of their other GNC Pro Performance brand proteins. I also take fish oil and glucosamine for my joints, ashwaganda, ginkgo biloba, and Muscletech Platinum Multivitamin. For a more detailed analysis of how I gained the weight I gained please reference my Get Big link in the menu bar.
An update on my bodyweight progress, by 2016 I was no longer working out, and was eating like crap so I got up to 243 lbs. I then began noticing peripheral neuropathy in my extremeties so I did some research. The number one cause of that is uncontrolled diabetes. So I tested my fasting glucose, not diabetic, but pre-diabetic. With some advice from my father I began the ketogenic diet, and over the course of 6 years I lost 95 lbs and got down to 148 lbs. I then started another bulking phase (minus carbs) and built myself up to around 183 lbs. Once again though in my bulking I thought I had put on too much fat so I started another cutting phase and have since cut down to around 160 lbs.
Here's a shot of my bodyweight progress:
Back to my progress in school, as I built my body my grades in school also began to improve. About that same time I saw my physical goals realized my scholastic abilities peaked as well. Starting in the fall of 2006 I began seeing A's and B's - whereas when I first started college after the accident in 2003 all I was able to earn were C's. By 2007 straight A's were common. Perhaps it was simply by challenging myself physically I pushed myself further mentally as well. It also helps that I continued to challenge myself each semester, taking classes that logic would have told you I shouldn't have been able to pass given my head injury. It was a very challenging period in my life, when I started at HCC I had to take remedial math classes to help get myself up to the level of a basic math class. By the time I finished I had taken up through Calculus II (MAC 2312). How did I do? I got an A in Calculus I (MAC 2311) and a B in Calculus II (MAC 2312). I ended up focusing on Business Administration for my Associates degree, and I received A's in every core business class I took. I am not trying to boast, it was not easy, I worked VERY hard to receive those grades. My point is that it is possible, with the right mindset.
One of my favorite quotes that has helped me through the years:
Out of discord, find harmony.
In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity"
- Albert Einstein
Now here in the years since college things have been tough. I worked one job that lasted only 8 months and only ended because a coworker thought it would be a good idea to send me a video of a fat naked man, I complained, and they fired me. I sued them for wrongful termination and won.
I worked a few jobs after that, where I learned the basics of Agile Software development, and after the last one ended in 2019 I began pursuing my certification as a Professional Scrum Master. July 18, 2019 I obtained my certification as such and began pursuing jobs as a Scrum Master. Then COVID-19 hit and jobs got cancelled. So I began my studies in order to obtain my Professional Scrum Master II certification. I have read every well written book on the subject and know the subject well. I have attempted the certification exam for my PSM II certification 3 times, and on the last attempt only missed getting it by one percentage point. I'm really getting sick of this COVID stuff coz if it weren't for that I would have been working for the last 5 years as a Scrum Master.
But what I have done is begin to apply Scrum to my every day life, working transparently on my goals and continuing to adapt based on inspection of my progress. It works perfectly. There is nothing that cannot be accomplished using this method. Hopefully soon I'll catch a break.
BTW, my head is shaved because I'm balding and got sick of fighting it, not because I'm a skinhead. I believe that we are all capable of accomplishing the same things and should be treated equally, if one person can do something anyone can. However, it's a bit of a dichotomy, we're not all the same in the sense that if one person likes something you cannot assume the next one will as well. Like gangster rap, death metal, or gay sex. Some people like those things, but not everyone does. Regardless, equal treatment for all.
LOL, at this point only stupid people think they know me. Legitimately, no one from my past knows anything about me now. I haven't had any friends for over 18 years, therefore anyone who claims they know anything about present day me is clearly full of shit and should not be believed. Stupid people suck. Don't be one.