Transformation Part 1 (5'7/M/34, 170+ -> 151) - Looking for trainer for Part 2

[terenence]

https://preview.redd.it/vy2ng93tsrb...bp&s=30c95662fc42c914d508d942a8f103693b78fc30

My Story-

I've been working out in some modality or another for 20 years. At 28, I was a 180lb powerlifter that couldn't touch his toes. I went through a major yoga phase. A year of calisthenics. You name it. While getting more and less fit, I've never actually gotten lean. My body is good at getting big + strong, but my first suit size was "husky" and I haven't seen an ab since birth.

Several years ago, i started eating modified keto (aka. keto + brussel sprouts), which is something I enjoy a lot, but this didn't make me lean. Turns out the laws of thermodynamics (aka calories in vs calories out) are not particularly concerned about macros. I've been intermittent fasting for about as long.

February 2020, after doing the recommended routine from r/bodyweight religiously for ~1/2 a year, I was still pretty chubby. I stumbled across a pretty popular youtuber who showed transformation after transformation, many of which were very impressive, on the basis of 2 simple ideas

1. Count calories
2. Lower calories over time (or increase their expenditure)

I bought a scale, stopped f'ing around, and over the next 6 months, despite covid bringing my workout momentum to ~0, I lost ~15 lbs*. I ended up skinnier, but sort of unfortunately flabby.

Major Lesson #1: Not counting calories is the longest shortcut I've ever taken.With the proper method, it took me 10 months to do what I couldn't in the preceding 20 years.If you want something, figure out the price and pay it.

In October, I bit the bullet and engaged the YouTuber for 12 weeks of online personal coaching. The past 12 weeks have been very tough. To be honest, my coach was very B-rate (to be generous). He gave very vague and generic responses - almost certainly being generated by an assistant in a 3rd world country. Any question regarding the nuance of the training, he answered in the most non-commital way possible. Mostly, 1x/week he'd text me "stay consistent. Keep your macros," with 2 occasions on which he decreased my macros, dropping me 200 calories from where I started. I indeed stayed consistent working out 6-7 days a week, something nearly impossible with a career as demanding as mine.

Even with a B-level coach, in 12 weeks I achieved my leanest state and lowest weight in 20 years.

If you take nothing else away from this - if I take nothing else away from this, it's this...

If you're stuck, pay a goddamn pro with a track record and listen to them. Even a crappy pro will help you get more done in less time than you will on your own.​

At this point, I'm 5'7 151 lbs. I'm proud of how far I've come this past year.That said, if I've gotten this far, I know I can get all the way.I want to see divisions between my abs.

If you've worked with a body transformation or men's physique coach (non competitive), I'd love to hear your positive experiences/recommendations. I'm actively looking for a coach for the next phase of my journey.

If I can be of any value to you (maybe you've been stuck for 20 years despite your best efforts), ask me anything and I'll do my best.

*The screenshot says starting weight 170, but that's a retroactive approximation, pretty sure I started ~172).

March-October Progress - Not working out. Just counting calories on my own

https://preview.redd.it/4kr09lr1trb...bp&s=663225e4477dd10b81e8e9e3c35c1d653585ebce

October - January Progress - Counting Calories + Working Out + Coach

https://preview.redd.it/nqe8e518trb...bp&s=2896203a35ac302195c75644c566f567b25abf9a

 

[dawn16]

@terenence Haha I had to laugh at that laws of thermodynamics aren’t concerned with your macros.

 

[danlion8884]

@terenence Great work man!

 

[discipleduchrist]

@terenence I worked with Menno Henselmans, and he was worth every penny. You may have to wait a bit to start with him as he tends to be very booked up, but he's well worth it.

 

[jely]

@terenence Why are you suggesting to pay a pro? He told you everything you needed to know for free and when you actually did pay him, it appears he did next to nothing. What did he actually do for you?

 

[terenence]

@jely If you're looking to just not be fat/reasonably ok shape, then yes, there are a million free and/or cheap off-the-shelf programs that'll get you there. I've been there and done that, gotten into decent shape.

If you want to hone in and achieve what you haven't been able to in decades in spite of your best efforts, pay a pro.

The devil is in the details.Yes, what he told me for free helped me lose 15 lbs.But that alone didn't get me lean, just lighter. And weaker.

Despite my annoyance with his responsiveness, he brought structure to my macros, not just calorie count. He gave me a workout program (despite its faults) with calorie implications taken into account. And, he told me to drop calories at plateau moments when my own internal resistance would've probably had me conclude "it's ok, you'll just get leaner slower/your body type just can't get lean."

IMPORTANT: When you fail at something for a long time, if your brain is capable of any kind of data-driven processing, you're kind of forced to conclude that you cannot do it. I truly was beginning to come to the conclusion that no matter what I did, my body type was just incapable of leanness (I frequently cite Kelvin Gastelum & Daniel Cormier as examples). Working with a pro, even a suboptimal one, turned that hope back by virtue of results, not faith.

Additionally, a deep inertia had set in over the months of corona. I started working more and more (that did happen to some of us) and the environment for my previous workouts became inaccessible. Having someone, in 1 clean swoop, remove any indecision & deliberation about how I was going to workout, when and where probably saved me ages of indecision/inaction.

I'm not saying paying someone is the silver bullet solution to all of your problems. But if you've been tinkering with something forever, haven't been successful and you still refuse to pay someone more qualified than you, then you have to conclude 1 of the following

a) it's not that important to you

b) you're in denial

c) you've chosen a suboptimal path, prioritizing a relatively modest amount of money over years of time, effort, frustration, etc. The only person who'll pay for that is you.

In my case, it was definitely C. I'm from an eastern european background and we don't like to splash around on "American creature comforts," as personal trainers are often thought of. And yes, there are beverly hills socialites paying people to "personal train" them through extremely generic, unnoteworthy workouts, but that's not the only use case. If you think of this person as "professional services," like an accountant or a lawyer, you can use them to achieve things you couldn't achieve alone.

If you have the body of your dreams without help, then more power to you.