There once was a monk who had entered a monastery and took a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain, since you got here."
What’s this joke have to do with my transformation? Complaining is just another form of making excuses. When we complain, we are just refusing to take responsibility for our own action or inaction.
George Washington Carver once wrote, "Ninety-nine percent of all failure comes from people who have a habit of making excuses." Yup, that was me. My excuses had led to my own inaction and inevitable fitness downfall.
Half a lifetime ago, I had been one of those fortunate kids who could eat anything he wanted, exercise off and on, and keep a “fit and trim” look. However, over the past 20 years I’d managed to ‘pick up’ quite a bit of extra weight, along with a long list of excuses for it. I haven’t liked the way I look for quite some time now, but never did anything about it. My wife didn’t particularly like the way I was looking either, but our beautiful children seemed to find me cuddly, so I used that as one of my excuses for inaction. Besides, at the meetings at work, most of the other guys my age looked the same as I did, so it just must be the way things are for us busy, traveling guys, right?
Up until this past January, that was where I was at in my thinking. However, after seeing my father’s recurring health issues he has been struggling with, as a result of Diabetes and heart disease, I knew I had to do something to get my own health back in line. I had also noticed over the past year that several of the guys around the meeting tables at work, who used to be in the same shape I was, had already made similar decisions and had made amazing progress. My newest excuse was that I loved food too much to just give it all up for salads, but I was now determined to stop with the excuses, so I had to find a way to make something work, and it had to be something that I could - and would - stick with for the rest of my life.
It was at that time that I started searching, and ultimately landed upon Isabel de los Rios’ “Diet Solution Program.” I liked everything I read and what she had to say (it wasn’t just a bunch of salads). So I decided to go for it. As part of the buying process, she highly recommended an exercise program by some Canadian guy named Craig. Again, reading through the information, I liked what I read (plus he was an obvious dog-lover, so he couldn’t be all bad), so I bought it. I didn’t know it then, but those were two of the best investments I’ve ever made for my future.
So, after reading through the Diet Solution and changing my eating habits, I also started my home exercises with “TT Beginner Total Torso Training.” I did start out pretty skeptical, and, weighing in at 227 pounds, I had set my goal at losing 10 to 15 pounds. But I stuck with it, and after the first 6 weeks, I had lost 10 pounds! So, I reset my goal to get into my healthy weight range, and after another 6 weeks, I had lost another 11 pounds, and was within 6 pounds of that healthy weight. I was floating on air. Friends and co-workers were starting to notice the change, and if they asked me, I couldn’t stop talking about what I was doing right, and how much I’d lost.
That’s when I saw Craig’s e-mails about the 11th TT contest beginning soon. I was again a bit skeptical that I would really be losing much more, since I had already made such incredible gains (well…losses…you know what I mean). But, I went ahead and took the before photos - “just in case.” I told my wife my new goal was to get down to my “fighting weight” of 185, like when she first met me. Now, she loved the way I was looking already, but she said, “Yeah right! You’re 41 years old. You can’t get into better shape than you were when you were 21. You’ll look too skinny. Don’t lose anything else.” Of course, the only part I really heard was “you can’t”, which I took as an issued challenge. The gauntlet had been thrown down, so I had no choice but to take it up.
So, with that, my new goal became to not only get my weight down, but to be more physically fit than I have ever been in my life. I have never been able to get a six pack, and my chest has never had the cut look I have always dreamed of. So my goal, at the end of this 12 week run, was to not only lose the additional weight, but to make significant progress towards those two additional goals of my younger years.
SO, here are my stats:
Age: 41
TT Transformation Contest Begin Date: May 5th, 2011
Contest End Date: July 27th, 2011
Workouts used:
Week 1 thru 4: TT Abs;
Weeks 5 thru 8: TT for Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks;
Weeks 9 thru 12: TT AAA Abs.
Measurements (before in parentheses):
»Height: 6 FT 3 IN
»Weight: 188 lbs. (205 lbs) = (-) 17 lbs
»Chest: 41 IN (43 IN) = (-) 2 IN
»Waist: 37 IN (41IN) = (-) 4 IN
»Hips: 40.5 IN (43 IN) = (-) 2.5 IN
»Thighs: 21 IN (22.5 IN) = (-) 1.5 IN
»Right Bicep: 14.5 IN (14 IN) = (+) 0.5 IN
I am extremely excited and proud of the progress I’ve made during this 12-week contest. Not just because of those numbers above, but because they are above and beyond what I had already accomplished since I started using Turbulence Training this past February.
The phrase I found to guide me through my body transformation was, “Keep your goal in front of you.” It is true that I have re-assessed and changed my goal several times, but it has always been in front of me - in my thoughts and in the decisions I make. There is always something to remind me of what my goals are. For a visual cue, I have a little cartoon of a guy with a pole attached to his belt, extending over his head, and dangling a medal just out of his grasp, as he runs towards it. That is my visual reminder, which I intend to keep in front of me, and apply to every aspect of my life.
So, now, as I sit here writing this essay, and looking at my before and after photos, I cannot believe how far I have come in such a relatively short time. What really shocked me was how I looked in my before photos for the contest. Holy shnikes! THAT was how I looked after I’d already lost 22 pounds?!? I really wish I’d had the foresight to take the pictures back in February for comparison (...or maybe not). But now the question I’m asking myself is: What had I waited so long for? This journey has brought to mind my now-favorite Jack London quote, “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” I truly feel that I have succeeded in my goals for this contest, and, as a direct result of this journey, in several other aspects of my life. And it is in large part, due to the inspiration that I have found in the past and present TT contest participants.
Yes, it does take a lot of hard work, and, yes, there are those days when you feel like giving up. But, as I sit here now writing the summary of my passage back into fitness, I have to say to anybody out there who might read this and is just getting started, it is AB-SO-LUTELY worth every ounce of sweat; every minute you take out of your busy schedule. I feel healthier, I feel more confident, and I’m enjoying my life with my family a lot more. When I’m out working in the yard – the shirt comes OFF. When I took the kids to the pool the other day, I had my shirt off before THEY did. Eating right is now second nature for me, so I feel I am making healthy choices everyday for me and my family. I strongly believe that all of the time, money and energy I am putting into learning about our health, and doing everything I can, right now, to ensure we are living strong, will pay great dividends, not only for the rest of my life, but for that of my children.
Thank you Craig for everything you do.
