My Progress: The numbers
I am a male, 6’2” that went from 150lbs. before pic to 218lbs. after pic
I then cut from 218lbs. (19.1% body fat) to 185lbs. (15.1% body fat), documented by this time lapse video.
Before & After Pic
Time Lapse Video
Final Result
My Story:
From the beginning, fitness was a way for me to take control over my dreams. Fitness became the one thing I could control over a journey filled with uncertainty. Fitness helped me to move forwards in ways I never thought possible.
At 6’2” and 150lbs, to say I was lanky would be an understatement. All my life I had been skinny, and I had never summoned up the courage to go to the gym and make something of my body. As a young actor in my early 20s, I fantasized about getting a role that would give me the opportunity to get a trainer, and turn my body into one of a superhero. As my acting career remained more of the same year after year, my delusions and selfishness eroded away, and the truth suddenly punched me square in the jaw; why the hell would anyone want to hire me? Why would anyone want to give me a role that required getting me a trainer and months of training? Why me? It would never be me.
How bad did I want this? If I want it so bad, it’s up to me, only I to take control and turn my body into what I knew it could become. To pursue this dream has always been my reason for living. There is no other way I can accept to live my life than to be pursuing this dream. I called my agent to tell her that in the coming months, my body will be changing drastically. I hung up and I went to sign up at my local gym.
As a skinny beginner, results came quick. With results, the obsession took hold. Not only was I obsessed and determined to reach my fitness goals, but finally, at long last, I had a way to take control over my journey as an actor. I was not interested in playing the lottery of getting a role. I was determined to prove to myself and casting directors that I was willing to do anything to play the roles I wanted. The acting profession is often described as one governed by luck. As I was finishing my acting training in school, I read a quote by the Roman philosopher Seneca in my agenda that has been ingrained in me ever since, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
Every rep I was preparing myself. Every bead of sweat, every bit of soreness, every single second spent in the gym pushing my body was preparation. I knew the opportunity was coming my way, I could feel it in my bones. There was no way in hell I that I wasn’t going to prepare for it, every god damned day. It became my certainty. It was how I was going to make my dreams reality.
What happened? It worked. And it continues to work every single day. As my muscle mass increased, I found myself auditioning more and more. Soldier roles and agents became the norm. I was getting work, I was getting rewarded for my determination and hard work, and I was starting to make a living. So I kept pushing my body, never skipping a day.
When 2016 came around, I couldn’t shake the feeling… this was my year. This is going to be a beautiful year. The auditions started coming in early in the season. I booked one. Then another, and then a third. In early February my agent called me for an audition for a pilot. I was to audition for the lead. I read the description of the character and a word stared back at me. Muscular. The character was fit, built, and muscular. This was my time. This was what I worked for. It was my turn.
I went and trained that morning. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of serenity. I was at peace; I was where I belonged at that very moment. I went to the audition with a clear mind. My entire mind and body was just simply ready. As soon as I started my first line, I saw out of the corner of my eye the director and producer immediately turn and look at each other. I stayed focused and gave them what I had prepared.
When it was all over, I thought about that look. It could mean one of two things. Either they looked at each other thinking, there’s no way it’s this guy, or they both looked at each other to say, this is the guy we are looking for. I told myself it was because I was their man.
A few days later, my agent called me. It turns out it was the latter. I got the role. When I went in for the table read, the director and producer explained to me that they knew I was the one as soon as I started speaking. They saw I had the look they wanted, and then knew that I could play the character as they imagined him. Filming was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. Everything just felt so right. At this point, the show is simply a pilot looking for funding. None of this matters to me, I truly and deeply believe in this project, and most of all, I believe in myself. As of the time of this post, the pilot has been received incredibly well. It was featured on a high traffic website and has been viewed over 70,000 times on YouTube. The show is showing a lot of promise. I have learned so much through all of this. What fitness does to your body is simply a fraction of what it brings to your life. It’s all about everything in and around you that changes. You transform your body with those weights, and most powerful of all, you transform your mind. You become master of your ship.
What now? I’ll never give up fitness. Now that I have cut to take new casting photos, I plan to put on a little bit more muscle mass while continuing to push down my body fat percentage. I plan to help anyone and everyone around me who wants to get into fitness or go one step further with their goals. Oh, and I sure as hell plan to keep pursuing my dreams until I’m dead. After all, it’s my god damn ship.
My Programs:
When I first started, I got great results using this program on bodybuilding.com. I used the program that won first place, and I completed the program 3 times. I’m someone who likes to perfect a program before moving on. I always learn something new.
http://ift.tt/1fdJ30S
Then, because I was more movie orientated, I decided to look up what Hugh Jackman did for Wolverine. I set that as my goal. I loved this program so much that I also completed it 3-4 times.
http://ift.tt/1aUwG09
Then, I decided to go to the next level and go for something that was tailored to me. I decided to try out a personal trainer. He made me a three phase program, and here it is.
Note: He gave me specific tempos to work with, which you’ll see in parenthesis after the rep count. For example: On bench press, 2-1-2 means 2 seconds down, 1 second pause, and 2 seconds up. This helped me SO much. My reps got so much cleaner because of this.
PHASE 1 (3 days repeated twice a week)
Day 1-4 Chest/Triceps
BB Bench Press - 4 sets of 8 reps (2-1-2) 2m rest
Incline Bench Press – 3 sets of 10-12 reps (2-0-2) 90s rest
High To Low Cable Flyes – 3 sets of 10-12 reps (3-0-3) 90s rest
1 Arm Cable Flye – 3 sets of 15 reps (1-0-1) no rest
DB Skull Crushers – 3 sets of 10 reps (2-1-2) 1m rest
Rope Cable Push Downs – 3 sets of 8-8-8-8 (1-1-1) 2m rest (Do 8 reps, lower weight, 8 more, etc. then rest).
Day 2-5 Back/Biceps
Wide Grip Pullups 4x8 (2-1-2) 2m rest
Cable Rows Close Grip 3x10-12 (3-0-3) 90s rest
Reverse Cable Flyes 3x10-12 (2-1-2) 90s rest
1 Arm DB Row 3x15 (1-0-1) no rest
Seated Hammer Curls 3x10 (2-0-2) 90s rest
Cable Curls 3x8-8-8-8 (1-0-1) 2m rest (Do 8 reps, lower weight, 8 more, etc. then rest).
Day 3 -6 Legs/Shoulders
Walking Lunges 3x8 (2-0-2) 2m rest
BB Squat 3x10-12 (3-0-3) 2m rest
Leg Curl 3x10 (2-1-2) 90s rest
Leg Press Negatives 2x8 (1-0-6) superset with Leg Extension x10-12 (2-0-2) 2m rest
Seated DB Shoulder Press 3x8 (2-0-2) 2m rest
Lateral Raises 3x10-12 (3-0-3) 1m rest
Cable Face Pulls 3x10 (2-1-2) 1m rest
PHASE 2 (2 days repeated twice a week)
Day 1-3 Legs/Chest/Triceps
Squats 5x5 (2-0-1) 2m rest
BB Bench 5x5 (2-0-1) 2m rest
Incline BB Bench 3x8 (2-0-2) Super Set Floor Press x20 (1-0-1) 2m rest
Box Jump 3x10 2m rest
Cable Chest Press then Reverse Flye 3x10 (3-0-1) 1m rest
Skull Crusher Negatives 3x10 (3-0-1) 1m rest
Dips 3xFailure (1-0-1) 1m rest
Day 2-4 Legs/Back/Biceps/Shoulders
Deadlift 5x5 (1-0-2) 2m rest
Archer Pullup 5x5 (1-1-1-3) 2m rest (1 second up, 1s to the left, 1s to the right, 3s down)
Close Grip Landmine Row 3x8 (1-1-2) super set with lat pulldown x20 (1-0-1 half reps) 2m rest
Arnold Press 3x8 (3-0-3) superset with negative leg curls x10 (1-0-5) 2m rest
Negative Preacher Curls (easy bar) 3x10 (1-0-5) super set with 21s BB curls (1-0-1) 2m rest (7 bottom to halfway curls, 7 halfway to top curls, and 7 full range of motion curls).
PHASE 3
Day 1-4 Chest/Triceps
DB Flat Bench Press 4x10 (3-0-3) 2m rest
Incline DB Press 3x8 (2-0-2) super set with low to high cable flyes x12 (2-0-2) 2m rest
Svled Press hold 20 seconds super set with Cable Flyes x10 (2s to half rep, hold 1s, down 2s, full rep 2s, down 2s = 1 rep) 2m rest
Cable Tricep Kick Back 3x10 (3-0-3) 90s rest
Dips 2xFailure (1-0-1) 90s rest
Day 2 Back (Horizontal)
Cable Rows
Close Grip 2x10 (3-0-3) 90s rest
Wide Grip 2x10 (2-0-2) 2m rest
Pronated Grip 2x10 (2-0-2) 2m rest
1 Arm Row 3x8 (3-0-3) 2m rest
Reverse Cable Flyes 3x12 (2-0-2) 90s
Shrugs 3x10 (1-1-1) super set with Upright Row x12 (2-0-2) 90s rest
Body weight row 2xFailure (1-0-1) 1m rest
Day 3-6 Leg/Biceps/Shoulders
Sumo Deadlift 3x8-10 (3-0-3) 2m rest
BB Front Squat 3x8-10 (3-0-3) 2m rest
DB Split Squat 3x12 (2-0-2) 90s rest
Super Set Leg Ext and Leg Curl 3x10 (2-0-2) 90s rest (switch order on day 6)
On day 3 finish with:
Lateral Shoulder Raise 3x10 (3-0-3) 90s rest
External Rotation with Cable 3x12 (2-0-2) 1m rest
On day 6 finish with:
Pronated Preacher Curls 3x10 (3-0-3) 90s rest
Cable Rope Hammer Curls 3x10 (2-0-2) 90s rest
Day 5 Back (Vertical)
Chin-ups 3x10 (2-0-2) 2m rest
Lateral Pull Down Machine:
Wide Grip 3x10 (3-0-3) 2m rest
Close Grip 3x10 (3-0-3) 2m rest
Shrugs 3x8 (2-0-2) super set with Upright Rows x10 (2-0-2) 2m rest
45 degree “Y” DB shoulder raises 3x10 (2-0-2) super set with back hyper extensions x10 (2-0-2) 90s rest
I really enjoyed this program, I felt I progressed quite well with it.
Please not that I was cutting during the second half of this program. I was in Phase 2 when I started cutting and about 13 days out I switched to Phase 3 of this program. I did not change my exercise program to cut, I did not want to lose muscle mass, so I cleaned up my diet instead. Which brings me to:
Nutrition and Supplements
For supplements:
Weigh Protein (2 shakes a day, always one of them immediately after workout, and added carb powder during gain phases)
Creatine (cycled 8 weeks on and 2 weeks off, went completely off halfway through cut)
Pre-Workout (I change brands frequently and I stay away from those with more than 200mg of caffeine)
BCAAs and Glutamine Shake during workout
Fish Oils every day
Veggie Greens only when I don’t take enough vegetables during my meals
Protein Bars for Snacks
Nutrition
Generally when I was gaining I just started eating more, not necessarily well, but I always avoided junk food and soda. Occasionally had a sweet tooth. Nothing too specific, I always prioritized taking in about 200g of protein. When I cut, I stuck to the same meals every day, and changed the 2% milk in my protein shakes to skim milk. I didn’t count my calories, I was making progress quickly enough to my liking so not much adjustment was needed.
Meal 1
2 eggs and 2 egg whites,
4-5 little cubes of cheese
Generous handful of cooked spinach
Meal 2
Plain Oatmeal and an apple or a banana /w protein shake
Meal 2
Greek Yogourt (plain)
Honey
Flax Seeds
Hemp Seeds (all mixed together)
Meal 3
Whole Grain Toast x1 with peanut butter
1 Grapefruit
Meal 4
Salmon or Chicken Breast
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes or Brown Rice
Meal 5
Can of Tuna in Olive Oil
½ Avocado
I had green tea three times a day.
I never cheated or pigged out on my portions. They were always moderate portions and this worked really well for me. In the end I only lost about 1.5 pounds of lean muscle mass.
I must admit that eating this well made me feel amazing. My skin was never better and I got an overall great feeling throughout the day. Even though I was cutting, I never felt tired or unmotivated at the gym. We all react differently I guess!
Thank you for reading, and please, ask me anything at all!!!
EDIT: Trying to format as best as possible.
