Project Lean in 16 - Part I
By Mark Young
I’m about to put it all on the line.
What you’re about to see here is one of the most risky public transformations you’ll ever see on this website. For the next 16 weeks I’m going to do everything in my power to get as incredibly ripped as possible and on Wednesday June 25th I’m going to post the photos of my transformation on our website.
Of course, you might be asking why on earth someone who is living the lifestyle we preach might possibly need or want to undergo such a dramatic transformation.
Truthfully there are two reasons.
1. A good leader always leads from the front.
I want to take the time to get exceptionally lean for the sake of my clients. Since I’ve been living with sound nutritional habits for some time, it’s easy to forget what it’s like to make extreme sacrifices in terms of personal comfort for the sake of jaw-dropping results. It will help me to relate to their situation and remind me what it feels like to make this level of commitment to my diet and training. More importantly, when I put it all on the line myself my clients know that I understand their pain and they’ll be more willing to give me the effort when I ask for it.
2. Summer is only 4 months away!
I don’t know how many times we’ve had people call us up in the middle of May hoping to be in shape for the beach by June. If this is you then you’re in for a big surprise. It takes those who are relatively fit a few months to get in peak condition.
I want to look incredible this summer so I’ve got exactly 16 weeks to get into the best condition of my life.
This isn’t to say that I’m fat, but I’m certainly not ripped. Right now people would probably walk by and say “I guess that guy works out”. Or maybe they wouldn’t because there are lots of people who work out and I might not stand out amongst the crowd.
What I’m shooting for over the next 4 months is to make people stop dead in their tracks, drop their ice cream cones, and stand there awestruck while someone manages to spit out the words: “Holy crap! That guy is RIPPED!”
You might miss a guy that “works out”, but it’s hard to ignore a six pick staring you right in the face. THAT is the second reason I’m undertaking this remarkable challenge. It takes hard work and dedication to undertake something like this and a part of me wants to prove to myself that I’ve still got the stones to make it happen.
THE GOALS
During this challenge I have some obvious physique goals, but those aren’t what keeps it interesting. We all know that our body doesn’t change that fast in the mirror so I’ve also come up with some fitness goals to keep me motivated along the way. Below is a list of what I expect to accomplish.
1. Get ridiculously lean by June 23rd, 2008.
I will be tracking my weight and body fat percentage throughout the whole process to adjust my program, but the ultimate determination of success will be the physical change. Ultimately, nobody on the street is going to know your weight or measurements, but they’re definitely going to notice if you’re carrying your change in the folds of your six pack.
2. Run 10 kilometers in under 1 hour.
This might not seem like much to some, but to those who know me; they’ll know that I’m not that much of a cardio guy. I hate running as much as Nicole Richie hates food. However, I’m bound and determined to make this happen. The extra cardio will also help me to drop body fat so I’ll find a way to grind through this. Maybe I’ll even start to like endurance type cardio.
3. 20 consecutive pull-ups.
A pull-up is a chin-up with the palms facing away. Typically the grip spacing is a little wider and they tend to be slightly more difficult. I think this is realistic within the 4 month time frame.
4. 10 consecutive pistols.
A pistol is essentially a one legged squat. The key is really to have the balance to not fall directly backwards on your butt and also have the strength to go all the way to the bottom and still push all the way back up.
5. Do the front splits
To be honest, I’ve never been able to do the splits in my life so it is possible that this might not happen. The closest I’ve come is when I was a kid taking karate classes so I’m going to give it my best. Maybe I’ll make it. Maybe I won’t. If I do I maybe I’ll even be selected to star in the next “straight to rental” Bring It On movie.
6. Do “The Flag”
This is probably my most ambitious goal because I have absolutely no clue how to go about training for something like this. The flag is an exercise where you hold on to a pole and somehow manage to hold yourself straight out like a flag on a flag pole. Why on earth would anyone want to do this? Because it looks wicked cool that’s why! At the very least it would make a great party trick. I’m really not sure how this one will turn out, but I’ll at least give it a try.
GETTING STARTED
There are a series of steps associated with a fantastic physique change and they’re absolutely critical if you hope to succeed. Here I’ll be thinking out loud about what I’ve done so far.
1. Readiness Questionnaire
Many people want to change, but the reality is that most people aren’t truly ready to put in what it takes to really make it happen. Recently we’ve created a readiness questionnaire to determine if people are really prepared.
Eventually we hope to use this tool to screen potential clients before we take them on, but for now I’ve used it to screen myself and I passed with flying colours. Had I not passed I wouldn’t have taken on this challenge.
2. Goal Setting
As you’ve seen above, I have a set of concrete goals that I want to achieve. This is critical for success. You can’t blame yourself for missing the target when you didn’t have one to shoot at in the first place.
Often when people tell me their goals they tell me they want to “lose weight”, “get stronger”, or “be healthy”. To make the plan happen I have to ask:
How much weight?
How much do you want to lift?
How are you going to measure “healthy”?
Goals should always be very specific and measurable so you can determine clearly whether you’re on track or not. Now some might argue that since I don’t care about weight, my physique goal is not measurable. I would argue that a yes or no scenario counts as a goal if the answer is obvious. Either I’m ripped or I’m not. Either I do the splits or I don’t. That’s pretty easily measurable to me.
Goals must also have a deadline. Without that there is no rush to get it done. I tend to procrastinate as much as everyone else so I’ve given myself a deadline to make me take action. After all, a goal without a deadline is just a dream.
3. Announce It and Gather Support
In the past I’ve had people put many things on the line to motivate them to achieve their goals, but nothing has worked better than making themselves accountable to those around them…not even money.
I’ve learned through my experience that a lot of people hire personal trainers for accountability, but hide their goals from their family and friends. Unfortunately, by not sharing their goals with the people around them they are giving themselves an escape in case they fail. In fact, the majority of clients who do hide this from their families, friends, and coworkers don’t do nearly as well as they could have because they’ve created an environment where failure has no consequences.
Instead, by announcing your goals to those around you, you make yourself accountable to everyone AND you create and environment where you cannot fail. Social support is also one of the largest predictors of success with weight loss so having a team on your side to inspire you when you’re down and congratulate you when you succeed is a great idea.
By posting this challenge publicly I’ve made a formal attempt to let as many people as possible know about what I intend to do. I’ve set up and environment where success isn’t only possible, it’s a necessity.
With regards to other people, it is important to note that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. If you hope to succeed you should take a good look around to see who you’re around the most. If the people you spend your time with are lazy and overweight you’ll probably be that way too. Surround yourself with similar minded people and you’ll facilitate success.
4. Create a plan
I’ve already sat down and mapped out a training plan and a basic eating template for the next few weeks. I won’t get into details now, but suffice it to say that I expect to be doing at least 5 hours of exercise per week. No excuses. This is the MINIMUM I believe is required to lose weight and keep it off permanently.
Since we often tell our clients that they can get results with 3 weight training workouts per week, I will not exceed this number during the entire 16 week process. All other work will be done with a treadmill, bike, or just plain old treads and pavement.
KEEPING IT REAL
As you might’ve noticed many “before and after” pictures look so unreal that you can hardly believe it is the same person. While I expect my transformation to be relatively dramatic I won’t be using any tactics to exaggerate the results.
1. Tanning
You’ve also probably noticed that on most “before and after” photos and television shows that the people have tanned between the start and end points to make themselves look better. This is usually done to improve the appearance of definition in the “after” shots. Since I want this change to be as genuine as possible I will not be doing this.
That said, I sometimes like to fake and bake for a couple minutes every few weeks in the winter months for a little vitamin D and to avoid looking like Casper the ghost. I also anticipate that I might catch some sun when I’m outside doing cardio during May and June. However, I will NOT be tanning in a direct attempt to improve the after pictures.
2. Water Tricks
What you might not know is that in many photographs and movie scenes they use an old bodybuilding trick called water manipulation to create the look where people’s skin sticks to their muscles like Saran Wrap. In the photo below the person on the left is obviously quite lean, but in the photo on the right you can see that water manipulation techniques have likely been used.
In essence, they increase water consumption so high that it shuts down the water storing hormone aldosterone. Then after several days of this they suddenly stop drinking water and, before the body can realize what has happened, they excrete huge volumes of water leaving the body looking dry and shredded. On top of this people often take dandelion root and other diuretics to help with the process.
Since I’d like my photos to be as real as possible I won’t be doing anything of this sort to influence the outcome. I should also say that we didn’t do this for the Jeff Franco Project either.
3. Fat Burners
Truth be told, I don’t like fat burners very much. It’s not that I think they’re too risky. I think the fear of ephedrine is terribly overhyped.
It’s just that I think that most (with the exception of illegal substances like Clenbuterol) really don’t do very much. Stimulants like that can also lead to further problems like adrenal burnout. Except for very specific circumstances, I think most fat burners are only good for sucking the money out of your wallet.
As is obvious by my position above, I will not be using any thermogenic supplements for this transformation.
THE UPHILL CLIMB
You know at the start of a rollercoaster when you’ve climbed up that long slow hill and you’re staring down off the edge at what s about to come? Your adrenalin is pumping and your heart is racing? That’s where I’m at right now.
I’m so amped for this challenge because I know it’s going to be exhilarating. I figured while I’m here I might as well include you in the experience so I’ll be writing at monthly intervals to let you know where I’m at.
In the meantime, I need to get my hands off the keyboard. Time to hold on…it’s going to be an incredible ride!
3 comments February 29th, 2008
