Hello Faith & Fitness Magazine family!!! My name is Anthony Tiller. I am a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and owner of Underdog Fitness & Performance Training in Asheville, NC. I have been writing for years in my blog called onefathersquietstrength.com, but as life has become busier and busier my posts have dwindled. Now I am so excited to have the opportunity to pick up my writing again posting here in my Faith & Fitness Magazine blog.
I am a bodybuilder, husband and father. I plan to share with you a blend of all these components in my life while educating, inspiring, and motivating you in a special way. Hopefully in the writings to come you’ll obtain a crystal clear understanding of what the name of my blog, “onefathersquietstrength.com” means to me.
My blog with Faith & Fitness Magazine will provide a place for you to obtain scientifically sound information in all aspects of motivation, coaching, strength, conditioning and nutrition. Honestly, that stuff is easy. I am an expert in this area. It’s easy and it isn’t what will make this blog special. The meshing of “life stories” and “life lessons” with exercise science, coming from this “Quiet” – Strength Coach, bodybuilder, husband and father will hopefully make a difference in your life.
If you are one of my clients, you already know how I write, train and speak. For those of you who do not know, here are a few things I don’t do:
- I do not scream or get in people’s faces to motivate them.
- I do not wear string tank tops and grunt when I lift.
- I do not have giant posters of myself in my gym.
- I do not believe perfecting a person’s outward appearance is my life purpose.
- I do not believe diet is deprivation or that a person should let eating patterns control their life.
- I do not believe the world will end if you miss a workout(and neither should you).
Sound crazy coming from a Strength Coach? Let me explain how I arrived to this way of thinking…
I am an extremely blessed man. My life and perspective on life was forever changed January 31, 2005. Our twins were born three months early – Aleck Jeremiah weighing 1 lb 2 ounces, Emma Grace weighing 1 lb 11 ounces. The ups and downs, the set backs and miracles during our three months in the NICU have made me the man, the father I am today.
Those three months were the toughest days of my life – yet I would not trade them for anything. The strength, inspiration, and purpose the experience provided and continues to provide is simply immeasurable. I learned that we truly do not have control of anything —- and guess what? It’s ok.
I actually found peace in the fact that I don’t have control. I believe God has a plan for each of us. I learned to realize the pain was and still is preparation for my destiny. Our experiences shape us for what God has planned. We must simply have faith, discipline, and strength to stay on the path God has set for us.
When my wife Amy and I present our testimony or give talks, she speaks of miracles, hope and faith. I talk about strength…..true strength – not how much you bench press, squat or deadlift. Sounds funny coming from a strength athlete, a strength coach, a man whose life is this stuff day in and day out huh? I’ve bench pressed over 400 lbs, squatted 500 +, and deadlifted over 500lbs. I’ve won bodybuilding competitions, qualified for nationals, and trained many champions…….guess what that all means?…….NOTHING!!!
That is not the strength that matters when you’re trying to get through the day knowing if one more thing hits you, you are finished. The trophies, the names of famous people you train and all the accolades that may come your way – mean NOTHING. Remember this: True strength comes when you realize your own limitations. True strength comes when you realize God is with you…and you are not alone. There has NEVER been a day in your life when you were alone or unloved. Not one day.
We are strong when we live this – living THROUGH Christ’s strength in us instead of struggling day in and day out trying to lift and carry things we have no reason picking up in the first place.
So now you know a little about where my quiet strength comes from and why(to me) exercise is important, but not everything. Exercise is only a piece of our responsibility to ourselves and to the world. I have been witness to the true fragility of life with my own children as they fought for their lives in the NICU. I have experienced the blessing of being able to discover strength through my own weakness which has shaped me into… One Father…with Quiet Strength.
I am so excited to have the opportunity to share with you my life. It is a far from perfect life and by no means do I have it all figured out, but God has provided me grace and love and an understanding that He never asked me to figure it all out. He never asked you to figure it all out. If you are reading this, I consider you my friend and family! I am excited that we will be figuring things out together – through Christ in this blog! I feel blessed and grateful to Brad Bloom for providing me this opportunity to go through life with you! I look forward to our journey and I am thankful for the feedback and lessons I will learn from you! God Bless you all – Anthony
But he said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
