Name: Jeff Scanlon
Email: jeffscan@live.com
BodySpace: jscan1

Before: Age: 42 Height: 5'11" Weight: 268.5 lbs Body Fat: 30 % Waist: 44" Hips: 49" Thighs: 25"	After: Age: 43 Height: 5'11" Weight: 170.4 lbs Body Fat: 6% Waist: 30-32" Hips: 39" Thighs: 23.5"

Why I Got Started

In April 2009 I went on a men's retreat with some friends, gorged on food all weekend, and felt horrible. I told everyone there that enough was enough, and I was going on a diet and getting back to the weights (after about a 17-year break) starting Monday. I jumped on the scale that Monday morning weighing 265.8 and that evening I went to the gym.

How I Did It

I got in my head early that no matter what I did I had to just walk through the doors of the gym Monday through Friday and let the chips fall where they may. If I was tired from work, I went. If the Red Sox were on TV, I went. If it was really sunny outside, I went.

Also for about the first 50 pounds I used a 40% Protein 40% Carb 20% Fat approach and capped my calories at about 2100. I tracked everything using Fitday. Once I decided to do my first bodybuilding contest I shifted my diet to a stricter carb cycling approach to get extra lean.

I also did 40 minutes of cardio after every workout, and the last 8 weeks before the contest I added a 5:30 a.m. 40-minute cardio session.

Click To Enlarge.
I Got In My Head Early That No Matter What I Did I Had To Just
Walk Through The Doors Of The Gym Monday Through Friday
And Let The Chips Fall Where They May.

Supplements

• Creatine Monohydrate
• Multi Vitamin
• L-Arginine
• L-Ornithine
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B
• Vitamin E
• Whey Protein
• Yohimbe HCL

Note: Supplement schedule and dosages listed below in Diet section.

Diet

Pre-contest - I Carb Cycled, so M, T, Th, Fr, and Sun I would eat the following:

Meal 1:

• 1/2 cup Oats
• 4 servings of Egg Beaters
• 1 serving Multivitamins, Vitamins C,B,E
• 1 serving L-Arginine, L-Ornithine

Meal 2:

• 8 oz of Boneless Chicken Breast
• 2 cups of Broccoli

Meal 3:

• 6 oz Turkey Lunch Meat
• 2 cups of Spinach

Meal 4:

• 2 Ground Beef Patties, 4 oz, 4% fat
• 1.5 servings of Almonds for a snack in-between Meals (A serving is 28 Almonds, so I'd have 7-8 when hungry)

Meal 5: Pre Gym

• 1 serving Creatine Monohydrate
• 1 serving Yohimbe HCL

Meal 6: After gym

• 1 Whey Protein Shake mixed with Water

Meal 7:

• 8 oz Tilapia
• 2 cups Chopped Spinach

Meal 8:

• 1/2 serving of Almonds or
• 2 servings of Egg Beaters or
• 4 oz Turkey Lunch Meat

Note: Sometimes I would swap Tilapia with Chicken Breast or 8 oz Lean Beef.

Wednesday:

Same as above but would make my carb totals about 300 grams by making Oats 1 cup with 1/4 cup of Raisins and two teaspoons of Brown Sugar, along with half a cup or a cup of Brown Rice at each meal, also sometimes a few servings of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Saturday:

Same as Wednesday except would go to Wahoo's Fish Tacos and have 4 blackened Fish Tacos a la carte (you could make this one meal a reasonable Cheat Meal of your choice to keep metabolism firing.

Training

I prefer low reps and heavy weights and usually shoot for my last set being about 5 reps with as heavy weight as I can handle. I am starting to mix in days where I focus on lower weight and more reps (currently am doing one high rep leg day on Tuesday and one heavy leg day on Friday. And I am working on bringing up the width in my back and bringing up my hamstrings for next year.

Day 1: Chest/Triceps

• Incline Bench Presses: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Flat Bench Cable Flyes: 4 sets of 5 reps
• Incline Dumbbells: 3 heavy sets of 5 reps
• Butterfly: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Close Grip Bench Presses: 3-4 sets of 5 reps
• Dips: 3 sets to failure
• V-Bar Cable Pulldowns: 3 sets of 8 reps

Day 2: Back/Biceps

• Wide Grip Chin-ups: 3 sets of 10 reps
• Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps
• Seated Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps
• Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 5 reps
• Seated Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 5 reps
• Preacher Curl: 3 sets of 5 reps

Day 3: Legs

• Barbell Squats: 5 heavy sets of 8 reps
• Lunges: 90 ft up and back hold Dumbbells in each hand
• Stiff Leg Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Leg Curls: 3 sets of 10 reps

Day 4: Shoulders/Calves/Abs

• Military Press Behind Neck 3 sets of 8 reps
• Shrugs: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Dumbbell Side Laterals: 3 sets of 8 reps
• Calf Raises on Leg Press: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Hanging Leg Raise 3 sets of 20 reps

Day 5: Back/Chest

• Bench Press: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Chin-ups: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Incline Press: 3 sets of 15 reps
• Rows: 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 6 And 7: Rest

Suggestions For Others

One of my favorite sayings is "Suit up and Show Up." I think it is easy to find every excuse in the book to not make fitness a priority. If you keep it simple and just make a commitment to walk through the gym doors, good things happen. While some workouts are better than others, once I get to the gym I know I am always going to feel better when I leave.

Track your calories. There are so many great programs, I use Fitday. BodySpace even has some tools you can use. Pack your food for the day and eat several small meals. I cook about 6 pounds of Chicken Breast on Sundays and a couple of trays of Tilapia then break it down into 8 ounce servings that I freeze so I can always grab a good clean source of protein.

Read labels and don't eat a ton of processed crap. Oh, and take progress pictures; they are fun to look back on. In my before picture I was already down to 25 pounds and thought I was looking good ... lol. And seeing the progress keeps you motivated!

Click To Enlarge.
If You Keep It Simple And Just Make A Commitment To Walk Through
The Gym Doors, Good Things Happen.

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