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(I know it looks like I'm posing for a Fat Burner Ad,
Name: Alexander Vukcevic
Before:
After:
In January, 2006 I tore my left hamstring. This—combined with deployment to Iraq—played a large part in getting to my 'before picture'. I felt sluggish and tired all of the time. I was drinking excessively and couldn't break myself out of the cycle. I finally couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror, and I had to change. What better time to change than while in a war zone?! My exercises changed - Here is a sample week of training that I would follow:
I only do cardio 2 times a week for about a total of 20 minutes (including warm up and cool down). My running regiment consists of a .5 mile warm up jog, 1.67 mile sprint, and a .5 mile cool down jog. On Sunday this is done wearing my 40lb body armor. On Thursday it is done without the armor. I believe in intensity before duration. I want the physique of a sprinter, not a marathon runner. I have received some criticism as to the undue pressure the weighted run will put on my knees. I did have a problem with that the first month, and I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is not already on some sort of running regiment. If this were a distance run I could see the argument, but it's an all out sprint. I can run the 1.67 mile in about 11:45 with the armor on, and I have run the 1.67 mile in 10:13 without the vest on. I have never been this fast in my life.
My reps change monthly and my exercises change every 2 months. This has made it difficult for me to track direct strength gains. However, my endurance and physical improvements were, and continue to be, obvious on a weekly basis. Since power and size wasn't my focus, I don't consider the lack of strength progress to be a problem. Plus, I lost 25 lbs while maintaining the strength I began with.
Every 2 months I take 1 week off to rest. I do 1 work out as a 'self test' on Tuesday. I should have done one before I started working out, but I wasn't planning on tracking that well at the time. This test consists of:
The first big change is ZERO alcohol. I drink 4 liters of clean water a day, and a liter each time I take VP2, or Ny-Tro Pro 40. I take L-Glutamine after I work out and Glucosamine before bed. I use no fat burners, stimulants, or Creatine. My diet on an average day looked something like this:
0800 (This is a powder I made myself. It has an oat carbohydrate, and 4 types of protein that digest at different rates.) 
1030 1200 1345 *1430 Gym* 1600 1730 2030 2300 Go ahead and shake your head at the ice cream, but I don't get cravings. I have a terrible sweet tooth and it hasn't been a problem for me. The ice cream may be impeding my fat loss a bit, but it keeps me from feeling the need to gorge myself. The 'scoop' is small and I find the trick is to eat it with a very small spoon.
The 2 most important parts of this change for me were:
I hate to spit out such generic answers, but it is the truth. I found a system that worked for me and I stuck with it. I treat each workout like it is the workout that will be what defines my success or failure. I have learned to deal with days that I feel sluggish, or can't push as much as the week prior, by focusing on the moment.
Alexander Vukcevic Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
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