My Body Transformation
A Brief History of What I went through to Achieve My Body of Life.
The Beginning
I’ve been working out for as long as I can remember. The prime motive was to obtain those coveted abs that every guy aspires to have and to flaunt them whenever I had the chance (like in the picture above). In hindsight, that wasn’t the ideal prime mover but the journey had to start somewhere. So, with abs (and girls) in mind, I paid the subscription fees and the lifting began.
As far as I know, I wasn’t consistent with my training. Concepts like progressive overload, calorie deficit (or surplus), periodization, and eccentric loading among others were foreign to me. I was repeating the same program hoping for the magic to happen and waking up the next day transformed into a chick magnet beast.
But to my innocence, nothing happened. I got stuck into this vicious cycle, where I would find a program, fail, feel miserable, quit then come back and repeat the cycle. Something was wrong. Genetics were the first to blame, then the training programs, and the carbs, but I didn’t stop. I kept showing up to the gym because I enjoyed the discipline behind it and the idea of showing up no matter how bad things are, until….
The Pandemic Drill
…. the year 2020 happened. The world was jostled by the Coronavirus which made us prisoners of our dwelling and we had to endure the stifling precautionary instructions, lockdowns, conspiracy theories, human disconnection, and the constant presence of our parents to name a few (we love our parents but not THAT much).
Speaking of lockdown, the gym, which was my sanctuary, was no exception. I felt stuck and immediately my mind pictured these dreadful images where I will turn into a curvy cream puff if I do not train or exercise self-control and restraint when eating. So in the words of Winston Churchill “Never Let No Crisis Go to Waste”, I got my act together and started home training.
Fortunately, I was semi-prepared. I had a pull-up bar, a pair of 4kg dumbbells, and a mat. I started researching home workouts (something I could not imagine doing). I looked through YouTube Videos, installed (and uninstalled) fitness apps, and designed many program blueprints until I got everything figured out and the training began!
At first, I faced some resistance which was normal since I am not used to bodyweight programs. Never was into calisthenics but I started appreciating it more. Also, my perception of food changed and I became a mindful eater, unlike most people I knew who gave in to their cravings during the lockdown. I persisted and wanted to see where this type of training can take me. I was adamant about making it work.
The Outcome
After a few months of consistent training and mindful eating, lo and behold! I managed to reach milestones that I could not have imagined reaching in the gym.
I shed plenty of body fat to the point where I saw muscle definitions and veins that I did not know existed. I felt ecstatic with the result I garnered during the lockdown and after that, I took what I learned from training, and watching more than 200 hours of Fitness content and implemented that into my gym routine when restrictions were being slowly lifted.
The moment I set foot at the gym again, the feeling was indescribable (cue Chariots of Fire music). I was beaming with joy because I was back to lifting heavy. I began pushing my body to new boundaries, taking my time to progress, and focusing on quality workouts by making each rep count, taking adequate rest between sets, and avoiding ego lifting. Soon, I saw greater results and continued training consistently until the day when I decided to get my Personal Trainer Certificate.
During that time, I was pretty lean and cut. But by sporting a sub 10% body fat came several costs I did not anticipate. First, there was constant hunger, my sleep was affected, and I was generally fatigued. Walking felt like a chore. Later, I discovered that these are normal symptoms but in the long run, this wasn’t sustainable. I gained a few kilos so I can function again and maintain a weight that is sustainable for a longer time.
The Reflection
On brightest days, and on blackest nights, the gym never escaped my sight. I savored every moment when lifting those bars, and curling those dumbbells. Something about this sport kept calling me back to it. I was intuitively drawn to it despite the mishaps and curveballs that life threw at me.
The journey it took me to get what I always wanted was long indeed but worth it because I learned so much along the way. My perspective towards training changed completely as it now became a lifestyle rather than a temporary goal I set before dropping it altogether. I wanted to increase my knowledge so I enrolled in the certification program and on June 2022 I became certified.
This journey took some sacrifice in terms of effort where I had to push the envelope when I had to and learned that nothing worth achieving can be done without showing up and doing one’s best. Also, social gatherings and eating out were shelved as I became more independent and cultivated a sense of calmness and peace by being alone.
The lockdown was seen as a terrible phase, but I saw it as an opportunity to know who I am and why I train. It made me see that the outside world was and always be a distraction. With this lockdown, I had a reason to research more and educate myself to become wiser, and stronger. So, I can wholeheartedly say: I bid many thanks to the lockdown!
The Future
During this time, I was getting my per diems from my office job. I rotated through many posts similar to changing my workout routine to break the monotony and keep adhering to training. Nowadays, I am providing more attention to this sport but from an educational standpoint by writing fitness articles.
Writing is one of my fortes and I like to make a name in the fitness world by writing short and sweet articles filled with nuggets of wisdom to impart to the masses, especially people who have a knack for writing and reading and harbor an independent and unique mind and also want to get in shape.
I already have glimpses of where I am heading so I will capitalize on them and harness my intuition further to crystallize my vision and work toward it. The journey to reach where I am today took a lot of hard and consistent effort, many paradigm shifts, and mostly Patience.
Sometimes my current job feels like a distraction from my purpose to educate people on becoming healthier and wiser, but I am just starting to gain momentum. Once I have my fill of momentums, then the next step will be to ditch my office job, educate myself further, devote all my time to clients, and help them on their fitness journey. Only time will tell when this will happen, but for now, I shall remain Patient.
(The) Conclusion
That was a brief story of my body transformation. Currently, I am slowly bulking to reach 70kg in the next two years. I am standing at 64kg and training at home as I am writing.
There are so many things I would like to share, but I will leave it to future articles. I do not want to spoil everything in one sitting. I hope this article triggered something in you and would love to hear (or read) your fitness stories and learn from your experience.
In the end, the roots of every endeavor boil down to these 4 concepts that I already hinted at in this article, in the previous ones and will keep referring back to them in future articles which are: to be Consistent, put out immense Effort, Persist no matter what, and finally to be Patient.
With that being said, I will leave you with a collage of progress photos from the last 3 years. Enjoy!
Wish you Strength and Wisdom ✌️
