EXTREME HEALTH INTERVENTION CASTING

Josh (35)
Warehouse Manager
Henderson, NV

Josh has been married to his wife, Jennifer, for 11 years. The couple has two children, Emma (11)  and Noah (16). In his late twenties he and Jennifer were overweight as a result of eating and drinking too much. They decided to give the P90x DVD workout series a try. It worked. Josh and Jennifer lost weight and were able to get healthier. The problem is Josh hasn’t stopped working out since. Workout DVD’s segued to body building competitions. Josh has won several national NPS shows but his ultimate goal is to obtain his IFBB professional card, the industry standard for body builders. Josh will do anything in his power to achieve this goal regardless of the consequences. By nature Josh is a smaller guy, so Josh struggles with putting on muscle and bulking. Josh has experimented with testosterone replacement in the past but hasn’t yet pulled the trigger and tried anabolic steroids. He has considered it but is nervous that steroids are a dangerous and slippery slope. Josh works out 7 days a week, sometimes as often as three times a day. He has never missed a work out. Ever. Even if that means he’s working out at 1am or 2am in the morning, foregoing sleep and familial obligations.

Josh’s fitness regime is a major drain on the family’s resources. The family spends 80% of their grocery budget on Josh’s food alone and Josh spends close to $1000 per month on his gear, supplements and gym membership in order to keep up his physique. Mentally, Josh is struggling with whether to give up on his dream and let himself down or to return to an average, unfulfilling and overweight life. Jennifer has witnessed health related issues: complaints of kidney pains, shortness of breath during what should be an easy walk, stomach cramps, inability to sleep and profuse hot and cold chills. Although he hasn’t seen a doctor, Jennifer is worried about what he is doing to himself physically. Although she has been a patient wife, Jennifer doesn’t think that their marriage can survive this much longer. Josh’s fitness addiction is also affecting his relationships with his children. He isn’t a present or attentive father or role model, and he knows for a fact that he is distancing and causing irreparable harm to his children.

Growing up Josh was bullied and teased by siblings and friends for being weak, skinny and effeminate. He had a rocky and tumultuous relationship with his mother growing up. Jennifer believes that an aspect of Josh’s body building is about obtaining the approval, validation and love from his mother and family that he didn’t receive while growing up. Jennifer believes that his mom might be unknowingly enabling this behavior. For Josh, he is ultimately worried that bodybuilding will never be enough and that he will lose his family, his marriage and his job in his pursuit for physical perfection.