I've written a bunch of articles on training techniques, different styles of dieting and how to get motivated.
Today I want to take you back to the beginning and show you what I’ve been working on for the past 4 - 5 years of my life. Before I get started I want you to know that it’s possible. You and I are no different; I started off as your average skinny teenager with no money, no knowledge of what I was doing, no mentors or guidance.
All I had was a burning desire to succeed and get that body I had envisioned in my mind.
If you’re making up excuses it’s simple, you obviously don’t want it bad enough.
July 2010
I’d been out of high school for 6 months.
I weighed 135lbs, people made fun of me and pushed me around for being skinny. I thought wide shoulders and masses of ripped lean muscle were only possible if you were a genetic freak or were constantly ‘enhancing’ with synthetic compounds in a sharp needle. I was wrong.
A skinny-fat fellow from school I’d lost contact with a few years ago resurfaced on my radar; bumping into him at a party he was barely recognisable, having put on over 30lbs of lean muscle he was more confident and demanded respect.
After a brief chat on what he ate and how he trained it was decided.
I was going to give it everything I had to transform my physique.
The next day I went around to the 3 local gyms in my area to suss out how to join, unfortunately I could not afford a membership at any of these as I’d just bought my first car and had to pinch every penny I could…
An expensive 12 month lock in contract was not feasible…
I did not let this discourage me
Home gyms seem to be all the rage these days, maybe I could get one of those? After a few days of searching eBay and the Australian version of Craigslist I managed to find a winner.
A free-standing squat rack, an old bench press and a barbell for 200 bucks.
I got my family to help me disassemble it all and transfer it all home, I had it set up in my backyard along with a rusty set of old dumbbells that my Dad purchased when he attempted to go on a health kick several years prior.
I spent weeks performing set after set of bicep curls each day.
This isn’t working… I need a routine
After browsing through countless pages on Bodybuilding.com looking for routines I was left stumped, all I had was a barbell, dumbbells and a squat rack when every routine mentioned require a leg press, smith machine, preacher curl and more.
I worked with what I had and focused on the main lifts.
I spent the next year and a half grinding away in the backyard with my makeshift gym – rain, hail or shine you would find me out there every day working on my squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press.
During this time I learnt that my workouts were only creating the demand for my muscles to grow, I needed to give them the supplies to grow.
I started eating everything and anything in sight; I purchased a weight gainer
and smashed a shake with full cream milk after my workout each day.
My weight slowly began to climb…
+2lbs…
+5lbs…
+10lbs...
+20lbs…
Eating clean and staying lean...
I’d not only been working hard on my physique during this time but I’d also be saving every penny I could.
December 2011
At this point in time a new gym opened, just streets away from me.
I had the money, I paid a year up-front.
‘Time to take my body to the next level’ I thought to myself.
Now with the added luxury of every conceivable isolation machine possible I drastically changed my regime, opting to focus on leg extensions and calf raises instead of heavy squats.
I started a ‘bro’ split, training one muscle group per day with 2 days off per week.
Chest/Back/Shoulders/Arms/Legs/Rest/Rest
My progress began to slow down…
I assumed it was because I wasn’t taking as much weight gainer as I used to.
I proceeded to order $400 USD worth of supplements online.
You name it, I bought it.
Amino acids, ZMA, multivitamins, glutamine, nitric oxide boosters, pre-workout supplements
Progress was steady again - the placebo affect was in full swing.
I reached my initial goal weight of 176lbs.
At this point adversity struck in my life, and I was getting beaten down.
My progress stagnated, I was lacking motivation…
I was trying to use these supplements to fill the hole of half assed-ness I’d be putting into my workouts as of late…
July 2012
While searching through my room for an old assignment I was looking to reference uncovered my old A5 training journal, from the days in the backyard.
The fire was reborn.
I decided what I had was no longer enough.
I needed more, I demanded more.
Reflecting on my old full body compound workouts - each workout was so efficient, so Spartan. each workout brought me one step closer to the body I dreamed of.
I spent weeks and months researching nutrition, learning about caloric intake, manipulating calories for fat loss and muscle gain.
I learnt that the $400 USD I spent on supplements was just about as useful for my progress as flushing it down the toilet.
I combined the dieting principles I had learned with a mixture of heavy compound lifts and small amounts of accessory work (isolation exercises).
The fundamentals of my workout regime have not changed since.
Along the way I manipulated the number of calories I was consuming based on whether I wanted to bulk up further or get ripped.
2014+
I still look forward to spending time in the gym every single day, it’s no longer a mere event – it’s a lifestyle.
At the start of 2014 I stumbled across Victor's website, BoldandDetermined.
I ran through his program, 30 Days of Discipline.
I learnt to discipline myself and succeed in other aspects of my life, not just the gym but also business and relationships.
I have never been more determined to succeed
As of right now I’m 200lbs, 10% body fat.
(Above photo taken December 2013, at a gym in Indonesia).
Update: Early 2015 - stronger & leaner than ever. My documented techniques work should you have the discipline to follow them.
The reason I’m writing this is to show you that it is possible; you don’t need any special circumstances, magic supplements or over-priced personal trainers that haven’t even walked the walked to help you transform your physique.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting detailed articles containing the exercises that helped me the most, the foods I ate and how I calculated my diet, along with the few useful supplements I do use daily.
Is there anything else you’d like me to cover?
Leave any questions or comments below!
PS:
>> If you haven't already check out the actionable steps on my Start Here page. <<