The path leading to my transformation was a bumpy one. After a fun and successful 20 years teaching English to corporations in Japan, everything came to an abrupt halt. The financial crisis hit hard and teaching contracts disappeared overnight. My wife and I made the decision to return to Canada and to reassess our situation. Filled with optimism, I made it a goal to send out 10 resumes a day to find a job that I enjoyed as much as I had previously. Things were not much better on this side of the world; rejections became endless. Emails went unanswered, and nothing seemed available especially on Prince Edward Island. The couch was my only comfort and nightly binges on potato chips, donuts, and ice cream were the only consolation. Macaroni and cheese was a daily staple and one month I went through 9 pounds of butter!! My wife encouraged me to get to the gym, but I wasn’t ready for it.
My belly continued to grow and so did myself loathing. Clothes became restrictive so I bought new bigger ones and loved the soft comfort of my sweat pants and loose tops. Gone were the days of my slim suits and flattering dress shirts and neckties. I was a dumpy wreck lying on the couch snoring through the night and plagued by indigestion with every “meal”.
In December, I randomly came across something on the internet about a training program in Charlottetown for an upcoming body building show. It was a 15 week program and I decided to look into it. It didn’t seem right for me so I stopped into a local gym in summer’s ide to discuss it. That was how I met Corey Arsenault. He understood that body building per se wasn’t my goal, but rather getting a more fit physique. He recommended the Turbulence Training Program to me and suggested the Transformation Contest. I agreed that I might be able to do it. I told him I had 4 goals:
• Get back to the gym
• Strip the fat
• Build muscle, and
• Look good.
We started each workout with a warm-up from TT Strength and Resistance Training for Fat Loss and I religiously followed TT for Reformed Meathead Fat Burning Workout Guidelines. I kept moving on rest days with yoga and interval bodyweight training. I started to feel better and got off my butt and hauled it to the gym. My metabolic furnace kicked into overdrive and improvement continued.
My wife was a constant support and she encouraged me to drop the white junk: potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, etc. She switched to sweet potatoes, brown rice and lots and lots of fruit and veg. My morning “breakfast” of six slices of white bread dripping with butter became a delicious and filling fruit salad with yoghurt and granola. Twice daily servings of pasta became tons of veg and lean meats. I had tons of energy to get to the gym, ate constantly, and never missed a workout!
My flexibility and strength improved and I learned to love yoga. I decided to take a yoga teacher training which fit nicely with my previous classroom experience. I’ve started teaching 5 classes a week and am back to my former self looking good in my new but different “work” clothes. I love leading others along the road to fitness, while setting a good example.
My results with Turbulence Training have truly been a transformation. My start weight was 197- now 173. Down 24 lbs! Waist: 39” (setting me up for all kinds of health problems) now 32.5” Down 6.5” Overall body inches: Down 12.5” The snoring has stopped and no more indigestion at all.
I am a lean, mean, yoga teaching machine, hitting all four of my stated goals from 12 weeks ago!! I plan to continue teaching and have my next course in May. I will keep with my Turbulence Training workouts and praise them from the rooftops! Real change IS possible with the right program, support, and food.
Weight before 197
Weight now 173
