New Exercise and Fitness Review
Why I decided to transform
At the beginning of August 2011, my doctor put me on blood pressure medication and suggested that I get gastric bypass. I had a 58″ waist, 58″ chest and 54″ hips. I was dead set against needing to surgically alter my body to lose weight. My best friend had almost died from multiple complications of the surgery so I said no! I had been approached many times to try a weight loss organization called Visalus, but kept refusing until I had no choice but to try it. I lost 56 pounds in my first 90-day challenge and knew I had something to help me get back to being the man and father I had been before I reached 430 pounds.
Each challenge I had tried, I changed my life more and more. Before, I couldn’t play with my toddler at my heaviest because doing so got me too winded and tired. Now I run circles around him. The sixth challenge ended May 2013 and was a test of strength for me. This challenge saw me become a Body By Vi Champ.
Today I am 294 pounds with a 51″ chest, 40″ waist, 43″ hips, and a body fat of 15 percent. From the initial weight loss, I continued to build myself until I developed my current physique of being fit and muscular. I have learned the three Cs of life: Choices, Chances, and Changes. You must make a Choice to take a Chance or your life will never Change.
Before
After
AGE 39 / HEIGHT 6’6″ / BODY FAT 45%
AGE 42 / HEIGHT 6’6″ / BODY FAT 15%
How I accomplished my goals
I set a goal of lifting 1.5 million pounds in 90 Days. Halfway through the challenge, I had crossed the 1 million-pound mark and decided to change the goal to 2 million pounds instead. I also added 400 kilometers of biking for the last 45 days. This whole journey has been about proving to myself that I could reclaim my youth, to be strong like I’d once been in my twenties. I have made many bad decisions in my life that cost me some amazing opportunities, but I was not going to let this happen again.
In my life, I have walked away from a full-ride college football scholarship and blew my knee out in 1996 in the wrestling ring. I have spent years thinking, “What If?” What if I didn’t quit? What if I hadn’t torn my ACL from the bone on August 16 1996? Where would my athletic ability have taken me? I spent most of my life regretting my decisions and complaining about them.
The decision to try Body By Vi was one of the best I ever made in my life, and I have continued to do so challenge after challenge. This time I was leaving nothing on the table, working like I have never worked before at achieving a goal. Even when I beat the goal of 2 million pounds lifted on day 82, but continued to lift hard until day 90, the real end of The Challenge and the finish line!
Cool Fact
Since losing weight and getting back in shape, I wrestled professionally on occasion in Canada. I’ve also been in a Bud Light commercial that was aired in Canada during the Super Bowl.
It’s been almost three years since I started this journey, and I have finally accepted that you can’t change the past nor can you predict the future. The only thing you can do is set goals, make a plan to achieve them, and live everyday to make the next day a better one for yourself and the people around you.
Do these five things every single day to be successful: Lead yourself every day, add value to the lives of others, study leadership, practice leadership and intentionally grow. I learned this lesson at an event from John C. Maxwell and I will never forget them. I have been applying these five things every day and it shows!
I am currently on my ninth challenge and am cycling 2500 km in 90 Days. I will also be at the gym five days a week, three of which will be with my 15-year-old son to help him bulk up for football season and two with my beautiful girlfriend, who has lost 60 lbs herself!
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Supplements that helped me through the journey
I used whatever supplements that came through Visalus.
Diet plan that guided my transformation
Thank you to Rob Kean of O.G Personal Training in Grand Rapids, Michigan for designing my meal plan. Once every four days, I add 1/2 cup of rice to meals 3, 5, and 6 to bump my carb intake.
Whole Eggs
3
Oatmeal
1 bowl
Protein Shake
3 servings
Lean Meat
6 oz
Veggies
1 cup
Natural Peanut Butter
1 tbsp
3 servings
6 oz
1 cup
1 tbsp
Lean Meat or 1 can Tuna
Green Beans
1/2 cup
Training regimen that kept me on track
I cycle 20-30km a day 6 days a week and hit the gym two times a week with the routine below designed by Rob Kean of O.G Personal Training in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Do these workouts with insane intensity. Try to get the best pump you ever had. The volume may seem low, but trust me that it works. Plenty of rest and a good diet will help you look your best. The art of sculpting a nasty ripped physique takes rest, patience, and a worry-free mind.
Hit these workouts hard and fairly heavy, but not so heavy you get strains or injuries.
Crunches
3 sets of 20 repsWide-Grip Lat Pulldown
6 sets of 10 repsDumbbell Shrug
3 sets of 10 reps (heavy)Superset
Bent Over Barbell Row
4 sets of 10 repsPushups
4 sets of 10Superset
Barbell Curl
3 sets of 10 repsLying Triceps Press
3 sets of 10 repsSuperset
One-Arm Dumbbell Swings (Shown w/ kettlebell)
3 sets of 12 repsJogging-Treadmill
On incline
Standing Calf Raises
3 sets of 20 repsJackknife Sit-Up
3 sets of 10 repsSeated Leg Curl
6 sets of 10 repsSide Lateral Raise
3 sets of 10 repsFront Dumbbell Raise
3 sets of 10 repsSuperset
Leg Extensions
4 sets of 20 repsLeg Press
4 sets of 20 reps
12 mins of fast pace
What aspect challenged me the most
The diet was definitely the biggest challenge. When you are used to eating whatever you want when you want, it is extremely difficult to change that. I did it in 90 day chunks. I first cut out fast food and iced tea. Next 90 days, I cut out chips and salty snacks.
After that, I switched to unsweetened almond milk from 1% milk. I have built an amazing support system online, and many of us changed this same way. If you change everything at once, chances are you will fail. Losing weight and getting healthy isn’t a diet, it’s a total lifestyle change.
My future fitness plans
I have become an avid cyclist and am currently cycling 2500 kilometers in 90 days. In 2015, I plan on entering some cycling races. I also wrestle professionally for Border City Wrestling and have a match coming up on October 22nd, 2014 in Windsor Ontario, Canada.
“Losing weight and getting healthy isn’t a diet, it’s a total lifestyle change.”
Suggestions for aspiring transformers
- Finish what you started.
- Visualization was one of the biggest things that helped me achieve my goals. Find a picture of yourself in your best shape or possibly a celebrity or athlete. Before you work out, concentrate on that picture and see yourself in it. I used to use a 14″ Hulk Hogan action figure from the 80s for my visualization.
- Do not do this alone…find accountability partners.
- It’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up! If you have a slip-up by eating something unhealthy or missing a workout—oh, well. It happens, but do not beat yourself up over it.
How Bodybuilding.com helped me reach my goals
Bodybuilding.com has become my go-to reference for health and fitness. I have helped many lose weight and get in shape. I always turn to Bodybuilding.com to help design exercise plans for them.
Pat’s Top 5 Gym Tracks
- “Machine” by Mic Lordz and Sauce Funky
- “Master of Puppets” by Metallica
- “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath
- “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold
- “Happy” by Pharell Williams
Thank You
I would like to thank Rob Kean of O.G. Personal Trainingfor my nutrition and workout plans, and Gene Schilling for my amazing photos!
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About The Author
Body Transformation: Pat, The Body Fat Killer
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