970Muscle: Northern “Exposure” - Do you know Nick Stanko?

Northern “Exposure” - Do you know Nick Stanko?

Hey everyone! First off, I am both honored and humbled that Derek has the faith and respect in me to represent such a powerful entity as 970Muscle!! I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to allow my voice to be heard, and potentially use this blog as a wonderful tool to make a lasting difference in even one person.

My name is Nick Stanko, and I’m 28 years old from Grand Junction, Colorado. Growing up, I always wanted to simply grow up, go to work every day, and raise a family. I still to this day, don’t understand why I wanted to rush through life. It always seemed like I was in a race to some socially driven, imaginary finish line. I carried two jobs all the way through high school and was never interested in any type of athletics. I enjoyed some outdoor activities and more of the “extreme sports”, but was never in a situation that would cause me to understand or take an interest in fitness. I graduated college with an Associates of Applied Science in Aviation Maintenance at age 20 and began my career the week after graduation. As I began to accept that I was on my way to “living the dream”, I decided to do something about my dissatisfaction with my body. I made my first attempt at a bench press in the Colorado University at Boulder’s weight room at 20 years old. I’ll never forget it. I was 5’10” tall, and 126 pounds. My buddy racked up a staggering 90 pounds on the bench. I nervously laid underneath the weight, with a cheesy grin, and immediately dropped it to my chest…and I literally mean DROPPED it!! We ended up stripping the weight until I could achieve my first successful set of 8 reps. I was bench pressing THE BAR. That’s right, no weights loaded on it, but simply a 45 pound bar.

…and so sparked my determination.

Another friend of mine took me under his wing, not long after that, and showed me around a weight room. At 22 years old, I knew how to get through a workout without hurting myself, and grew to 132 pounds!!! Ohh YEAH!! I stuck with it and “lifted weights” consistently. Change was inevitable, and nothing fueled my fire like seeing an old friend and getting complimented on putting on muscle! I got to a point where my body was no longer responding to what I was doing. Obviously frustrated, I began looking to resources and I couldn’t have been more fortunate to have found Derek Trombetta and 970Muscle in the very gym that I made my home. With a combination of Derek’s knowledge, motivation, and burning desire to help others, along with the constant motivation from my team and several incredible workout partners, I continued to transform my body. I leaned the difference between “working out” and “training” when I set a goal to compete in a NPC Men’s Physique competition in mid-2011. I accomplished that goal in August of 2011 at the NPC Warrior Classic in Loveland, CO. I had an absolutely amazing time competing with a newfound family in 970 Muscle and walked away with countless unforgettable and cherished memories!! I quickly learned what “stage presence” was at this event! J I placed at the bottom of the pack, all due to nerves and an unclear mind. This will be a topic I will discuss in future blogs! However, I can’t even count the number of genuine, kind, loving, like-minded people in the NPC community and have developed several TRUE friendships as a result! That, as well as accomplishing my goal of simply undergoing a 16+ week commitment, meant I won. I went on to compete in April of 2012 at the NPC Axis Labs Northern CO and placed 6^th in both of my classes as a result of great learning from the experiences during my last show, and continued improvements on my physique.

Just a couple of weeks after the Northern, I was in a four-wheeler accident that left me with a 6” plate in my left forearm and 6 screws. Needless to say, with a passion that requires all mobility and function of your body, I was absolutely crushed. However, with uplifting words from several friends, and nothing but support, I progressed with my goals. One week after surgery I was back in the gym. No one was going to keep me out. For over 3 months I trained nothing but legs. Legs, legs, and more legs. Every two days I would be attacking the weights with a great vengeance motivated by a healing left arm tied up in a sling. I (somewhat) followed doctors’ orders and began training upper body as soon as I could. Late 2012 also brought me a major sinus surgery that put me out for another 3 weeks. Grrr…

Ok, enough of the cry-baby crap…

Even with all the circumstances stated, I’ve made great gains in this “off season”. Remember friends, setbacks are merely set-ups for great comebacks!! I am now just under 12 weeks away from the 2013 AXIS LABS Northern Colorado BB/FIT/FIG/BIK/PHYS Championships, and my very first Bodybuilding competition. I hope you are all just as excited to follow me, as I am to have this opportunity to reach out and hopefully help everyone (in one way or another) who takes the time to read my words. Please follow me and 970Muscle along my journey and transformation to what will undoubtedly be the best package I can bring to a stage!!