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Before:
190 lbs |
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After:
220 lbs |
Vital Stats
Name: Mark Haynes
Email: markhaynesbb@comcast.net
Height: 6' 2"
Weight (before): 190 pounds
Body Fat (before): around 14%
Waist (before): 36 inches
Weight (after): 220 pounds
Body Fat (after): 6%
Waist (after): 30 inches
Total Time Of Transformation: 10 months
Why I Got Started
In October of 2006 I was hospitalized for 1 week. I was really sick for a week and a half before this, but my doctor didn't know what was wrong with me until the cat scan was performed. It turned out my appendix had been burst this whole 11 days, so I had to get emergency surgery. During the surgery the doctors removed a cancerous tumor from the remains of my appendix.
When I got home from the hospital, I became depressed and did not care about my body. I ate nothing but junk food for a couple weeks. I don't think I even shaved my face because I just didn't care about my appearance at all. Then one day I looked in the mirror and was completely disgusted.
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Mark Haynes.
I tried to always wear long sleeves when I went out, but even with that, I remember being made fun of at parties for having such a bad body. Even the girls were starting to say about how weak my arms looked.
I had finally had enough of feeling sorry for myself and complaining about how bad my life was. My doctors cleared me to get back into the gym around Thanksgiving 2006.
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Mark Haynes.
When I started to weight train again, my muscles were very weak and I was embarrassed to be seen in the gym. But I stuck with it because of a lot of encouragement that I got from my brother and my close friends. When I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started going after my goal, that was when I made the best gains.
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Mark Haynes.
How I Did It
My goals were accomplished by a lot of mental power to overcome my obstacles. Not getting depressed when I didn't see immediate results or when things didn't go my way. I stuck to my diet and got in all my workouts and cardio sessions. Also, I think having people in my life to encourage me helped me stay motivated.
Instead of getting depressed and turning to drugs and alcohol to try to make myself feel better, I had my friends and family to help me through the tough times.
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Mark Haynes.
Supplements
Whey protein was the most important supplement that helped me achieve my goals. I don't really have a preference as far as what brand I use. I take about 4 to 6 scoops of whey protein a day to meet my high protein requirements. I also took creatine until 4 weeks away from my contest. Amino acids such as BCAA's and glutamine played a major role.
Other than that, I took some vitamins and a fat burner to get ready for my contest. I plan on trying some of the newer supplements now that I am focusing more on bulking up.
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Mark Haynes.
Sample Week Of Diet
I ate pretty much the same thing everyday.
Meal 1:
- 12 egg whites
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
Meal 2:
- 1 can of tuna
- salad
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Meal 3:
- 2 scoops whey protein
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
Meal 4:
- 8 oz. 95% lean ground beef
- sweet potato
Meal 5:
- 2 scoops whey protein
- 6 rice cakes
Meal 6:
- 8-10 oz chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
If I could have afforded it, I would have liked to work with a nutritionist, but with the great information that I found on this web site and magazines and such, I was able to come up with this diet myself.
Training
I trained with weights 5 or 6 days a week, and cardio was done everyday for an hour a day. Weight training was split up something like this:
So I train every body part usually once a week. For the most part, with bigger muscles like back I would do 15 sets, and for arms it would be about 10 sets. This was divided in 3 or 4 exercises.
I never planned out what exercises I was going to do before hand. I always make my workouts up as I go, so the exercises that I did were never completely the same every time; my favorite exercises are incline presses and lat pulldowns.
Off days were usually taken when I couldn't make it into the gym that day because of work or some other commitment. Cardio was broken up into two 30 minute sessions, one in the AM and the other in the PM. Usually that was at low intensity, such as speed walking.
Suggestions For Others
I would say that the best suggestion would be to just stick with it. It's not easy, but it's worth it. Don't turn to junk food and bad things when you are having a hard time, turn to your family, friends, and God. And no food tastes as good as looking good feels.
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Mark Haynes.
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