2014 starts in just a couple of days. That means it's time for New Year's resolutions and, as usual, fitness goals are some of the most popular. People that have known me a long time have frequently asked me for some advise. I thought I spend a few posts sharing what I tell people when they ask.
With that in mind, I wanted to share my personal story of reaching my fitness goals.
MY STORY
If you've only known me the last few years, you probably don't realize that I used to be really skinny. You may be thinking to yourself, "You're skinny right now." You don't understand. At the time I proposed to my wife, I was 6' 1" and 135 pounds. That was an end-of-summer-low but, up to that point in time, I'd never weighed more than 150 pounds.
I didn't particularly enjoy being that thin, but my metabolism made it very difficult to gain weight. Even with my trademark diet of Slim Jims and Dr. Pepper, my body just didn't gain weight beyond slight fluctuations.On many occasions, I had tried gym memberships and slight diets but, while I may have gained strength, my weight stayed just about the same. I even grew my hair to disturbingly long lengths and stopped showering to let the oils and dirt build up to add a few extra pounds, but not even that worked.
The inciting incident that pushed me over the edge towards deciding to change came during my first week at Bible college. We were doing typical orientation, "get to know you" games in groups, and eventually we were called to make a human pyramid. I was the oldest and tallest in the group, and I volunteered to be part of the base. At this point in time, a teenage girl five years younger than me swiftly replied, "You can't be the base. You're too thin and breakable."
As a side note to you ladies, guys don't like being told how weak, frail, and breakable they are.
Over the rest of the school year, I made some efforts to gain weight, but nothing stuck. The school cafeteria made it easy for me to stuff my face with all I could eat. I did hit some milestones, but that's not saying much when you're extremely skinny.
A couple of weeks later, I proposed to my now wife, and I decided my engagement time would be the best opportunity to make a change. Or as I put it, I was going to go on a L.G.N. Diet. If you're not familiar with the term, ask a friend who is currently engaged.
Within a couple of weeks, I had returned to South Carolina, and my transformation had begun.
- On September 1st, I weighed roughly 140 pounds.
- By December 23rd, I weighed about 185 pounds...and lots of people were wondering what I was on.
THE PROGRAM
A year or so before this adventure began, I did some research into weight gaining programs, and I purchased a system called Gaining Mass by a guy named Anthony Ellis. His story of struggling to gain weight matched mine. Eventually, he discovered a plan which works, and he gained 32 pounds and dropped 5% body fat in 12 weeks. I liked the sound of that.
His system made no promises of tricks or secrets (okay, he does use the word "secret" but it's not really a secret). His system relied on a simple formula: proper diet + proper exercise + proper supplements = goals achieved. And he pointed out, proper exercise for a skinny guy is very different from proper diet for the natural athlete.
I marginally followed the program a couple of times to mild success. But, when it came to L.G.N. Diet, I took things far more seriously.
As I tell you what I did, realize that all of my good ideas come from Anthony Ellis. I have done a great deal of research beyond his system, but, at its core, his work is my foundation.
DISCLAIMER
While this is a record of what I did, this is not an endorsement. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a personal trainer. I'm a pastor who became very serious about exercise and diet for a period of time in my life. Before doing anything I state below, consult your doctor.
Most importantly, you must understand that I have an extremely fast metabolism. This method will only work for people who are naturally skinny.
With that stated, here is what I did:
OVERVIEW
Tomorrow, I'll write in much greater detail on the specifics of my plan, but here is a brief overview of what I did. I cannot over-state this enough, this plan is for naturally skinny guys. The goal is to gain muscle.
DIET - The Basics
- Eat six meals every day
- First meal is within 20 minutes of waking up
- Last meal is within 30 minutes of going to bed
- Every meal needs to include a serving of protein, carbs, and fat.
- Not all proteins are equal
- Not all carbs are equal
- Not all fats are equal
- You want at least 20 grams of protein with each meal
EXERCISE - The Basics
- Workout at least 3 times, but no more than 4 times per week (there's a reason not to work out more than this)
- Do VERY little cardio (once again this is a plan for skinny guys)
- Focus on compound exercises with free weights
- Avoid using machines
- Exercise each muscle only once per week
- If you focus on bench press, dumbbell rows, squats, deadlifts, and bicep curls, you'll be ok.
When I gained my weight, I didn't have access to a gym or a full weight set. I went to Walmart and bought a dumbbell set like the one linked below, and a $40 workout bench. That was all I had for about the first 30 pounds. For the last 15, I added a no-frills weight bench. It allowed me to do bench press and squats. All that to say, you can transform your body without any fancy equipment.
SUPPLEMENTS
There are no magic powders that you can take (at least legal ones) which will cause significant changes. However, there are some supplements that, when combined with proper diet and proper exercise, make for a perfect storm for growth.
Here are the core supplements I took:
Here are the core supplements I took:
- Creatine
- Glutamine
- BCAAs
- Vitamin C
- Calcium
- Multi-Vitamin
All of these are very affordable if purchased at the right store. The Vitamin Shoppe is my store of choice.
RESULTS
By my wedding date (really, a couple of weeks before) I had gained 45 pounds. Now, to be honest, this wasn't 45 pounds of muscle. I was just a big hulking mass. My body fat was the highest it had ever been, but I was ok with that. No one (except my mother) noticed the fat. Over the first six months of my marriage, I eventually got my weight all the way up to 193 pounds (for a single weigh-in, and using every trick I knew to increase my weight). But, like I said, this was just raw size.
The second six months of my marriage, I started to really doing things right. I started thoroughly tracking what I was eating, and I had an extremely precise workout plan. Eventually, I found myself at 180 pounds and less than 10% body fat. There are no secrets or tricks when it comes to reaching fitness goals. You need to eat right and workout smart.
Tiny changes will give you tiny results.
Big changes will give you big results.
It's very simple, actually:
Big change requires big change!
...notice that gaining weight did not cause me to make better choices in regards to hair, facial hair, or clothing. If you look closely at my shoulder on the right there is a red dot. That is where my wife shot me point blank with a paintball gun.
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