Email: devitopa@msu.edu
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| AGE 23 HEIGHT 5'10" WEIGHT 225 lbs BODY FAT 22-25% |
AGE 23 HEIGHT 5'10" WEIGHT 165 lbs BODY FAT 5% |
Why I Got Started
I have been a competitive athlete my whole life with dreams and aspirations of one day becoming a professional baseball player. At a young age nothing but training and education consumed by daily life. I ate, slept, and dreamt baseball and excelled at it with ease. As I grew my training evolved and my talent, hard work, and dedication awarded me a Division I Baseball scholarship.
I thought my dreams were coming true as I left Michigan to travel south to compete against the nation's top talent. That dream came to an abrupt end after multiple shoulder surgeries to my throwing arm. In an instant, I was told in the nicest way possible I was damaged goods and was no longer needed. For the first time in my life I no longer had athletic direction and had nothing to fill that competitive drive that fueled me every day.
I always trained in the weight room, but never at a bodybuilding type level. I soon turned back to the gym in hopes to take out my frustrations and anger. As time progressed I found a new love and a new dream in the weight room. There, I was able to lose myself in the moment and not rely on anyone else. I controlled my own fate in the gym and could not get enough of it.
Instantly I read and researched everything possible. I continually came across the same quote "To get big, eat big" and I took that advice to the next level, and not in a good way. I wanted to get as naturally big as possible, so to transform my frame I force fed 8 meals per day, spread out every two hours.
Paul dreamed of a baseball career, but his balky shoulder had other plans. No problem - he ended up hitting a grand slam in the gym.
These foods were all healthy, but were consumed in absolute mass quantities. Eating became harder than the workout because I simply hated eating chicken and brown rice multiple times a day. Nothing was measured or weighed out and no cardio was performed to preserve calories. I gave myself a "bulking cut off" point and did not care what I looked like up until that point.
I realize now that what I was doing was completely ridiculous, hence, the giant fat whale you see in my picture. Once I got to that point, it was time to get serious. I wanted to attain that ripped-up, veiny look, and to get there, I knew it would require more dedication and willpower than anything I have ever done before.
How I Did It
To begin my "cutting program" I started a low impact cardio regimen which entailed incline treadmill walking. I slowly built up my cardio sessions over time and reduced my macronutrient consumption. In the beginning, I still did not weigh any food out, I just consumed smaller portions and did not include complex carbs in my later meals.
I continually lost weight following this protocol but soon hit the wall. I then turned to the help of thermogenics which worked well and dropped additional pounds. At the end of the thermogenic cycle, I had lost significant weight but was still not satisfied with my look.
I knew in my mind what I wanted and was still not there. It was then that I turned to a book that absolutely changed my life. I followed the nutritional guidelines and cardio suggestions to a T.
In doing so, the additional weight melted off over time and finally brought my body fat to the levels to what you see now. In a little over 6 1/2 months, I had lost roughly 60 pounds and transformed my body into what I envisioned the whole time.
When everything else falls apart, salvation can be found in clean eating and hard training. Behold, Exhibit A.
Suggestions For Others
My biggest piece of advice is never stop learning, reading, and talking to others. You never know who you are talking to and what kind of knowledge they have and how much it can benefit you.
Do only what works for you specifically, everyone's body is 100% different and adapts and grows differently than others. What works for your best friend or a specific routine you read about may or may not work for you. The trick is to make that mind-muscle connection with your body and really tune in to what works best for you and apply it to your workouts.
Absolutely nothing is immediate, and nothing is easy. If you put the time and energy into it, you can accomplish anything. Never let someone tell you that you can't succeed in what you are doing. Most likely they are jealous and are simply trying to hide their own insecurities.
The last piece of advice I can pass on to you is one that was passed on to me by my favorite bodybuilder of all time Frank Zane: "Never stop growing."