Fitness journey to-date
Before August of 2015 my workout program was one of working out once to three times a week to look better than someone who doesn't workout at all. My routine was so redundant I remember it well. I did interchange these a little but rarely tried new exercises. The good news was that even while talking to coworkers and moving at an extremely slow pace, these workouts rarely took longer than a half an hour:
Workouts (always 3 sets declining reps and increasing weight)
Day 1
Chest/ tris straight bar bench super heavy for me super low reps. Sometimes 5-4-3 finishing with 315 or so ( I can't bench that anymore and don't want to)
Flys machine or dumbbell
Tricep pull down on machine
Day 2
Back , Bis and abs
Lat pull down
Heavy curl bar curl
3 sets of 20 decline crunches
Day 3
Shoulders and legs
Arnold Press
Sitting squat machine
Calves on sitting squat machine
That was it, and rarely all of this in any given single week. I was fine with the way I looked and really didn't think I could do anything to change anyway due to my age , time requirements, and the time and money required to eat better did not seem to be there.
That's when Cyndi (wife and soon to be coach) introduced me to some of the fitness challenges she was involved in. She was getting some positive results and wanted me to pick a workout program and start drinking the shakes that came with them. I picked the Body Beast challenge pack because it looked like old school weight lifting ( something I was familiar with). My company had also started allowing me to work from home more frequently which meant I needed an alternative to the company gym.
So with that I went on the 90 day program.
At the start:
Waist 38
Weight 222
(Height 5’10)
(Age 44)
I went from meandering around in the gym a few times a week to working out hard 6 days a week between 30m and 60m a day. The good news was, by following the trainer on screen, I was utilizing every minute fully and getting way more in. Using drop sets, super sets, giant and progressive sets I started to see results quickly using only dumbbells and a curl bar. I was also able to get a bigger look using a lot less weight. To this day the heaviest dumbbell in my house is 50 lbs, although I will go up some when I'm in the gym.
I went with the Huge Beast (vs. Lean Beast) program as I was more interested in gaining muscle than anything else.
On the nutritional side, I found that the shakes had given me the ability to do something I've never done before. Give up bread and soda for the most part. Also included in the package is the “Book of Beast” nutrition guide. I can’t say I followed this to a T, but I did try and found myself being more and more conscious of my eating habits during the day. When I finally got serious about tracking the nutrition plan I found that I was not eating enough food. Still, the effort towards nutrition greatly improved my overall diet. Most importantly, Cyndi began buying and preparing clean foods for the house. It was easier to satisfy cravings and eat additional smaller meals throughout the day. Optimal is 6 meals a day but I would generally do 2 to 4 in addition to the Shakeology.
From August - Late November 2015 (completion of Body Beast 90 day)
Waist went from 38-36
Weight 205
I took December off completely and started hammer and chisel in January 2016
Hammer and Chisel ended in March and it trimmed me down some,and I lost some muscle, but I felt great (and light!). I have to admit, I was worried about losing gains by not pushing up as much weight but this unique program left me feeling very strong ,energetic and agile. These workouts give you an appreciation for the importance of balance and agility. They really helped me to better understand the whole picture when it comes to not only the body but the connection with the mind in creating efficient motion.
Early March 2016 (completion of Hammer and Chisel 60 day)
Waist went to 34
Weight 199
From then I pretty much went back to Body Beast workouts (and some of my own) but only about 3 days a week. The picture above is from May. I still drink Shakeology every morning and really don’t eat garbage food or bread very often. The beauty of it is that I really have no desire to. Although, when I do break down and have a coke at the movies I will admit that it tastes exceptional!
Maintenance has proven a lot easier than doing the actual program. I took a couple of summer vacations and probably totaled about three weeks of not working out over the summer. On the weeks I did work out I would either do Beast - Bulk sessions or parts of sessions to his each muscle. I’ve only averaged about 3 workouts a week since march.
The below was taken in August 2016. (No formal program since early March)
Current Waist 34 (although fairly snug)
Current Weight 203
Other things to note:
Alcohol: I am not a heavy drinker but I usually have one or two drinks after work and a fairly heavy amount on one or two given days a month. This did not cease and continues to current day.
Medical Stats: Before - the program my stats were good with slightly elevated cholesterol and triglycerides
After - blood work is good all the way around.
Before the program blood pressure was generally high, now it comes in normal range.
Medications: Six years prior I had been on Aciphex daily for acid reflux. I quit Aciphex in November of 2015. Although I sometimes still take over the counter medications for heartburn, these were never enough to do the trick in the past. I currently am prescription drug free.
Cardio: I do very little cardio however I find myself in much better cardio shape than pre programs. H&C does have a cardio element and so does Body Beast. However Body Beast completely loses the cardio workouts in the bulk phase. I do take stairs to the third floor in the morning two steps at a time.
Meal Prep: Although dinner and snacks around the house improved things greatly, I generally did not meal prep for lunch or breakfast except for two weeks in 2016. I will say that when I did (or Cyndi did for me) I felt even better. For the most part I would just make the healthy choice towards vegetables and meats and try to avoid complex carbs such as breads and pasta. Breakfast potatoes in the morning where a good choice for some energy for a workout a couple of hours later.
Supplements: I do not consider Shakeology a supplement but that is the only thing I was consistent with. By consistent I mean every day, even on trips for the most part. I found that Beachbody Energize helped when I really needed it but I’ve gotten to the point where I generally can get myself going without it. As far as recovery goes, I would sometimes use a protein shake within an hour of working out. ProEnergy is what I use when I remember to do so, and recovery drinks do help in my opinion.
Motivation: How did I stay motivated? I joined a challenge group. This kept me accountable to others to finish the program. A challenge group can be tied to a specific time frame or just be an on-going group on Facebook or some other resource. I found that aside from holding me accountable, it gave the activity, that I was often doing alone in my living room, more meaning. The challenge group helped me realize I was not alone and the struggles that I was facing were not unique. It also amazed me how my dedication could inspire someone else and vice-versa. My program was given more purpose as I could witness it changing my life and the lives of others.