Welcome, Steemiac!
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to drop a few paragraphs on a jolty way of fitness transformation, exemplified by no one other than myself. In this testimonial, I hope to convey some lessons to those of you, male or female, who are entertaining the thought of getting fit(ter)!
To encourage you reading further, I will ask a few questions at the end of the post. You are welcome to answer them in the comment section! I will reciprocate with the few cents of my voting power ;-)
Lesson 1: Don't let yourself be discouraged. The key to the first baby gains is the right approach!
Throughout my childhood and teenage life I was always one of the worst performing students in physical education, e.g. I had never been able to do a single chin-up or run 100m under 15 seconds. Despite trying to join some form of regular physical activity, I never managed to overcome the initial hurdles of frustration that you are confronted with when you are initially incapable of properly performing the exercise tasks.
Was I too lazy to move? Partially guilty of, I had other interests. Have I ever tried to get “in shape”? Hell, yes! I had bouts of motivation when I would take up the standard movie routine of pushups, crunches and biceps curls to perform every day for several weeks, and finally give up on it for it becoming too tedious and me not noticing any improvement. I would go running and swimming for several weeks, lose some weight and along with it the motivation. (Can you identify the mistakes and obstacles already? ;-)
The result of the chaotic (non)exercise and diet pattern? The anti-beachbody 2007:
Me during my skinnyfat / chubby times, 75kg body weight.
Lesson 2: Don't trust the advertised advice that you hear or read in fitness magazines and don't assume that you've figured it all out by yourself!
Fast forward two years and I am puffing on my bicycle on the way to university. I am gasping for air and sweating when I'm finally in the lecture hall. I am annoyed at being so exhausted after this rather short ride. I feel the need to do something about it. This time I do have a legit motivation and have already some knowledge in general health, anatomy and physiology. I start running and swimming regularly. This time I'm persistent. I set myself goals: run 5km. Run 10km. Run a half-marathon. And finally, after reading an article in Men's Health showcasing how you can gain visible abs in just eight weeks, I want the holy grail of fitness for myself: a six-pack.
In physical chemistry I studied the laws of thermodynamics and knew that for my soft energy stores to dissolve, I would need to intake less energy in form of food calories than I expend in daily life. In biochemistry I learned how fat is broken down into carbon dioxide and water and that the functional units of muscles are built from a bunch of different intricately co-working protein molecules.
The solution to a six-packed torso is clear to me: eat less to lose fat and eat lots of protein combined with resistance exercise 3x/week to build muscle! Sounds easy, doesn't it? The end result of my trial? A lean, but scrawny and weak body, approaching the level of Christian Bale's emaciated shape in The Machinist:
61kg body weight. Note the absence of muscle mass surrounding the scapulae. Now it's evident why I could never do a chin-up!
Lesson 3: Don't give much on the opinion of your typical gym fitness instructor. Do your research and listen to what the strong guys are saying.
Certainly, my low body weight is an advantage when I run the half-marathon,
Look at my stick legs!
but I start to experience rather distressing back pain. This prompts me to consult a physiotherapist who prescribes a few resistance training sessions. I finally get to work my back. Afterwards, I sign up to a gym, where I am finally able to work my way up to my first chin-up and fix my back pain and protracted shoulders! In the meantime, however, I am having quite a case of a binge eating accompanied yoyo-effect. My training days sometimes consist of two-three hours spent at the gym doing different, personal trainer recommended, machine-assisted exercises and fitness courses, followed by a running session, amounting to a total of four hours of workout. I really think this will work!
It takes me some time to figure out that I'd be better off doing the cardio sessions on the off-gym days. I am steadily gaining weight and over the course of the next 1.5 years or so I reach my goal of doing a whole set of five bodyweight chin-ups! The looks of my body are still dissatisfactory and I have too little knowledge about strength training.
What changes the game for me, is a recommendation from my best friend to check out the 4chan/fit board. Now, all the trolling and shitposting aside, I find lots of good recommendations for books, blogs and internet journals to read. After carefully studying the notorious Starting Strength book by Mark Rippetoe, I finally step into the weight room and leave the pretty uncomfortable gym machines behind me. I am grasping the concept of bulk & cut and join the squats & oats crowd. After bulking up, I finally look like this:
Pretty ugly at 81kg, huh?
Lesson 4: Proper rest, sleep and a goal-oriented diet are decisive factors.
Obviously, this body needs a cut. After bulking up again and cutting, I finally reach the level that I had envisioned when for the first time embarking on the fitness journey.
Same body weight of 75kg as with the anti-beachbody, but what a change!
What made the difference? A strength routine based on whole-body compound-lifts, proper sleep and calorie-tracking to define the food intake required for bulking up or cutting. The whole process did not take even a year after the 81kg picture was taken. Since then, however, I never managed to make any comparable leap in performance and looks. My newbie gain capacity was finally used up, but I looked better than ever before!
Lesson 5: Be persistent, constantly challenge yourself, fine-tune and listen to as many knowledgeable people as possible.
Friends started commenting on my changed physique, I won arm wrestles against fighters who were always fitter than me, I was suddenly getting attention from the opposite sex and overall felt more comfortable and confident with myself. Moreover, working out became a safe harbor in stressful times, a time window when I feel in control and can clear my head from worries and negativity.
I set myself new goals to tackle, but the road continued to be as bumpy as ever. While I managed to make progress during some months, I did only maintain or even decrease in my performance capacity during others. Stress in life, lack of sleep and food intake, working out on an already tired body are devastating to any improvement aspiration.
Nevertheless, I never succumbed to the tempting thought of skipping a workout, even when doubting the sense of it all. I have been constantly improving my exercise form and extending my knowledge. For more than a year now, I have been combining weight-lifting with calisthenics exercises to get the best out of the two worlds and am finally back on the progressing track! Me in the beginning of the year:
Strength training is not only a hobby for me, it's a lifestyle, a way to stay tuned with my body and invest into my future health.
Thank you for reading this far and as promised, here are the questions. You are welcome to answer any of them in the comment section (although clues were given in the text, I will devote some of my future posts to the single aspects implied):
- To answer the title question - can you effectively turn fat into muscle?
- Which cardinal mistakes did I make during the beginning of my fitness journey?
- Which kind of exercise routine is the most effective when you are a newbie to strength training?
- What is the bullet-proof concept to increase muscle mass and obtain a sexy body?
~~~ Stay strong, may the gains come to you! ~~~
Yours, @replichara