HOW TO TRANSFORM YOURSELF!
SUP SWOLE SQUAD!?!?!
Was that a douchey intro?? Yes? No? Ok sweet so here’s the dealio on this post. I want to discuss how I went from the itty bitty guy on the left to the slightly larger guy on the right.
SPOILER ALERT- this plan will not take days, weeks, or months. Physical fitness is a lifestyle change that is forever ongoing. Results will depend on an individual’s determination to succeed and ability to follow a set plan designed to achieve their goals.
One of the most important things I can pass along to all those wanting to make a change is to take it one day at a time. DO NOT think about it taking years, that is incredibly de-motivational and will mess up your inner tai chi (BOOM Chinese word, look it up). Best way to combat this is to literally go one day at a time. If we can follow a nutrition plan to perfection for just one day, we can accomplish our goals. Before we know it days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months, months to years. Then BOOM, your body has completely changed and we can then post badass transformation pics to the gram (#Fitlife #Blessed #Nodaysoff)!
In all honesty the fit life isn’t glamorous. It consists of a lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings. Hours of meal prepping are a must and about 10 million steps on the Stairmaster will be taken. There will be nights you have to skip going out with your friends, countless meals where you’re ridiculed for being “that person” who skips out on a hamburger and get a chicken breast with salad instead. Relationships will be challenging if the significant other doesn’t understand the gym and countless friendships will be lost because they don’t understand our lifestyle (wow, depressing right?). HOWEVER, the relationships and friendships built from being around like minded individuals is truly amazing. There is something to be said about being around people who lift us up and make us better people and help us pursue our goals. Those are the individuals we want in our life. With all that being said, is it worth it? YOU’RE DAMN SKIPPY IT’S WORTH IT. Soooo now it's time to get to the transformation.
First thing to do is set a goal. For me, my goal was to look like Steve Cook. He has the ideal physique in my mind, plus great hair. Once I had that goal in mind I absorbed all the information I could on him. What he ate, how he trained, what gel he used, all of it! I watched countless YouTube videos and spent many hours researching nutrition. It’s fairly common knowledge but THE GYM IS THE EASY PART. Anyone can move weight and break a sweat, the real work comes in the kitchen. Nutrition will be the #1 catalyst to speed up your goals and results. Nutrition will 100% depend on your goals. I will be doing blogs specifically tailored to “bulking” and “shredding” within the week. Also a blog on my daily eating routine with explanations for everything I follow.
Steve Cook #MCM
Next step is putting a plan to action. Failing to plan is planning to fail, right? For me that was balancing out my nutrition, workouts, and cardio tailored to get to a Steve Cook level. In the left picture I was about 185 Lbs., so I needed to eat. I upped my proteins and carbs to much higher levels so that it would force my body to grow. Some of you may be thinking oooo he bulked first then did a cut! NOT TRUE, I have personally tried strictly “bulking” and absolutely hated it. I became way too heavy, lost my lean feminine figure, and my body hated me. I will cover bulking and why I hate it in a later blog. So what I did was up my nutrients but maintain an active lifestyle with plenty of cardio. Like I said this didn’t take days or weeks, and for a long time I felt like there was little to no progress being made. However, with proper meal timing (blog specifically about this coming soon) and doing the correct exercises FOR MY GOALS, I was able to see differences. First thing I noticed was my increase in chest size (you know what they say about no pecs, right?) I was able to go from about a 37-inch chest on the left, to a 42-inch chest on the right. This came from hitting chest 3 times a week with emphasis on upper chest to give the pecs a more “boxy” look. Other areas I focused on was my overall width. I was not blessed genetically with broad shoulders and wide lats so those needed a huge amount of attention from me. I incorporated several lifts that had width as their primary benefit. Once I discovered the nutrients that I needed, and also the lifts necessary to achieve my goal, I set to work. My workout regimen became religion. I was lifting 6 times a week with cardio incorporated 2-3 of those days. My split was as follows
· Monday- chest and shoulders
· Tuesday- Back and arms
· Wednesday- Legs
· Thursday- Chest and shoulder
· Friday- Back and arms
· Saturday- Legs
· 2-3 times a week- 15 minutes of Stairmaster before lifting
This split is fairly simple and can certainly get boring at times, but it is what I followed for the majority of my transformation. I focused on areas of weakness during each day and made sure to stick to the plan as close as possible.
Once my plan was in place the most difficult challenge was simply sticking to it. The common issue I see among people that reach out to me is that “life” gets in the way of their fitness goals. I get it, we all think we’re busier than we actually are. We might have a high stress job, or a family to take care of, or school, or whatever other reason. Seriously I understand that, and I know that life can get pretty busy. However, it’s all about prioritizing your goals and learning how to maximize your time. If fitness is your priority, then jump head first into it!
