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| AGE 20 HEIGHT 6'0" WEIGHT 212 lbs BODY FAT 21% |
AGE 21 HEIGHT 6'0" WEIGHT 180 lbs BODY FAT 7.5% |
I always wanted to look like guys in muscle magazines growing up. I set goals to start working out and become more physically fit at the beginning of most years, but I was always lost when it came to nutrition and training to better my overall health. I did push-ups and sit-ups every night and thought I'd get fit. The results never came and the fire I had at the beginning of the year dwindled within a week.
Throughout high school, I went out and partied on the weekends with my buddies and ate fast food. Everything added up and I become overweight and unhealthy. I played high school basketball and baseball my freshman year, but quit basketball after a year to focus on baseball. I got away with eating bad because I played sports year-round, but playing baseball only left me with lots of free time. I didn't enjoy working out. I went to the gym occasionally and lifted, but my diet consisted of junk and fast food so I didn't see results.
My junior year of high school went great. I felt good and was in decent shape. That summer, I played for the St. Louis Gamers (a team that travels the country). This was the biggest summer for any player who wants to play college baseball because lots of colleges offer scholarships.
Halfway through the summer season, I was up to bat, swung to hit a pitch, and felt like I got struck by lightning. I fell to the ground in pain. When I looked at my leg, I saw that my knee was badly dislocated. I was rushed to the hospital and the doctor popped it back into place. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with a partially torn MCL. I became depressed and turned to food.
One day, I was lying around when my cell phone rang. It was an Arkansas area code. I answered the phone and it was the head coach from Arkansas State who asked how my knee was. I told him my knee would heal and he invited me to an official campus visit. A few weeks later, my parents and I drove to ASU and the visit was amazing. I was offered a scholarship to play baseball with an injured knee. In November of my senior year, I signed my letter of intent to play baseball at ASU.
Eating well at ASU was difficult because the cafeteria had lots to choose from. I ate pizza, chicken nuggets, drank soda, and started to gain weight. When fall baseball workouts started, we ran a lot and I was always the last one to finish—sometimes I would throw up. My body fat was 19 percent and I weighed 204 pounds. I was unhappy with having one of the highest body fat percentages on the team. I became upset and started to focus more on my eating.
I had a good fall baseball season. I was a team leader in RBIs, batting average, and hits. Defense was the only aspect holding me back. After the fall season, the coaches posted a travel roster and I was on the borderline, which made me upset, so I decided to redshirt. When the team traveled, I stayed back. Days consisted of me waking up, going to school, going to the cafeteria, eating unhealthy food, then snacking the rest of the night while I played video games. But it was about to get worse.
I got a call from my mom who said she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was sad and started to cry. She went through radiation, chemotherapy, and lost her hair. My eating problem got worse as a result. I had no energy and skipped class because I was too tired to get out of bed. I drove home constantly to see mom and always stopped for fast food.
At my year-end baseball meeting, coach told me to come back in better shape or I wasn't going to play next year. This pissed me off, but I shook his hand and off I went. Two weeks later, I told him I wasn't returning to Arkansas State.
When I got home, I wanted to change. I went to a local gym, tested my body fat, which was 21 percent, and I weighed 212 pounds. I learned how to eat well online, but I was completely lost when it came to supplements. Then I came across Bodybuilding.com, where I found a bunch of information about supplements, diets, and workouts.
I took baseball off last summer to focus on working out. I trained 5-6 times per week and my diet became strict. By July 2012, I weighed 180 pounds with good, solid muscle and a six pack. My body fat percentage was seven and a half percent. I started an Instagram account (@mattweissfitness) and posted my transformation photos.
It spread everywhere, even on big Instagram accounts. People started following me and asked for advice. Now I have more than 5,000 Instagram followers. The kids who called me "Fat Matt" now ask me for help with supplements, workouts, and diets. To top it off, my mom beat breast cancer and is now cancer-free.
I'm happy that I discovered Bodybuilding.com. The site helped tremendously with my transformation. Stick to a plan and keep fighting through it, because in the end you will come out a champion.
Tracking my food was great help. I knew exactly what I put in my body every day. There were days when I wanted to quit, but I found strength from within and keep grinding because I knew it would pay off in the end.
I overcame urges to quit by knowing that I could die from serious health problems. My inspiration came from the amazing transformations on Bodybuilding.com.
The most challenging part for me was the clean diet. Before, if something bad happened or I had a down day, I turned to food. It was hard to overcome these urges over time.
I want to compete in men's physique this summer or by October at the latest. I run an online fitness page on Instagram where I have more than 5,000 followers. I help people daily on Instagram with supplement information, diet plans, and workouts.
Never let anyone get in your way and track your macros. A useful App to download is MyFitnessPal. Create a BodySpace on Bodybuilding.com and take pictures along the way so you can see how your body progresses.
Don't be discouraged if you don't see results right away. Stick to a plan and fight through it. In the end, you will come out a champion.
It helped me reach my goals tremendously by providing everything I needed like supplement information, diet plans, and workout plans. I would have been lost without Bodybuilding.com during my transformation.