What Inspired Me To Get “Shredded”?

People on the internet judge others like this, man. When they can only form an opinion of you based on a picture, they can’t trust you. They cannot know how much martial arts training you have under your belt, how many success stories you have with your clients, how many training seminars, books or vids you’ve gone through, etc. etc.

Anyway – congrats on your success once more buddy! I am glad you are helping people get more out of life through changing their bodies

I wrote a post about the things that inspire me to get in shape right here:

Yavor

It makes me sick that people judge so harshly! How dear they make bad comments when they dont know you! You know, I have a theory, if people have to criticise someone else then they are just reflecting the sadness in themselves!

Anyway, enough of my phylosophy. The main thing is you feel good about yourself! Personally, I think you looked sexy back in November too!

One guy I know, whom I considered a really good friend, said to me one drunken night after we had been having a heated debate about why he didn’t think women should be allowed in his gym!!!!! (yeah, right!) He said “anyway, look at you! You aint exactly a gym rat. Look how fat you are!” And this was from a guy who must be 4 stone overweight!! lol Yes I felt hurt and especially after I’d already lost about 20lbs!! But you know what, his comments just made me lose respect for him. And he is now just ‘one of a crowd’ as opposed to my ‘friend’.

My motivation comes from genuine people like you. Who genuinely care! You dont have to look the part. You dont have to criticise or judge or be nasty. You just have to have passion about what you do and mean it! I get that from you

Kind regards

Tusc

Vic, not following the challenge since I’m already on a program I’ve designed.

But this week I decided to do 7 days of your workouts starting with Workout X from the Advanced/Gym. Smoked me.

Chin-Up/Deadlift/Bench/Squat/Lunge/Push-Press/Pull-Up

Did 2 rounds and was totally smoked. I love what you did with the 31-day challenge. Keep it up.

I started training during my last year in High School. I always been the pudgy small kid and I was tired of being so. Despite the fact that I was really into martial arts I was bored with it. So when I got my black belt in taekwondo and Japanese JiuJitsu, I stopped training. As I was searching for a way to stay active, they opened a small gym at my school. It wasn’t great, not that much equipement available but I went religiously each day do my training.

I was in awe of the results I was getting so even if if at the time I was doing bodybuilding exercises I stuck with it. I lost weight and I begun to add some muscle to my frame.

Did this for about two years before I got the itch to go back to my first passion martial arts. I wanted to try something new so I went to a boxing gym to try a class. It only took a class before I got hooked. I was one of the smaller guy (I’m 5.5) and they all had a reach advantages over me so I told myself, they might be taller but i’ll be stronger.

I began researching everything I could about weight training, and I began to do some strenght training with compund lifts. I got stronger and meaner, my boxing improved greatly and I knew I did the right thing. Never looked back.

I’m still doing strenght training but I switched from boxing to Muaythai and I also do Brazilian JiuJitsu. I never felt better. In fact, training is not only my passion it’s also gonna be job. I’m studying to become a certifid trainer and next i’m starting my bs sc. in Kinesiolgy.

Hitting the weight room is the besgt thing I ever done and even when i’m having a bad day I now the iron is always gonna be tere for me.

“The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.” -Henry Rollins

I’m in my early 30’s and my doctor was trying to prescribe me more cholesterol meds because the old was messing up my liver and in addition he wanted to put me on high blood pressure meds too.

I got pissed. Asked about diet and exercise. He laughed. I left.

That was last December and and 5′11″ I was 209lb. Before this contest I’ve gotten down to 170 but stalled for about 6 weeks. I loosened up my diet to try and reset my metabolism and floated at 175 until the this contest started. I’m now at 167.

Beginning last year, I started getting serious about fitness, enrolling in bootcamp programs and really building up the running mileage. After running 30+ miles per week through the winter, I began accumulating little nagging injuries. I gave up long-distance running for Lent and during that time, I experimented with ways that I could increase my fitness and lose fat without long-distance running. This came at the perfect time! Thanks again, Vic!

I’ve been in decent shape most of my adult life, because I’ve enjoyed being active and learning new skill sports. But I’m also a graduate student who has spent the past year finishing my dissertation, and between that and marrying in 2007, I started slacking off at the gym and fueling long writing sessions with caffeine and donuts. I didn’t gain a lot of weight since I didn’t really fall far off the wagon (5′5” and 137 at my highest), but I could tell that my body composition had gone to hell.

So I decided, this final semester, that I wanted to be in the shape I was in seven years ago when I received my degree. I started TKD, which has been great and hardcore, and I started tracking what I’ve eaten and making small changes. I ran across this challenge via stumptuous and figured, what the hell.

I was 127 pounds when I started grad school. Come Monday, I’ll graduate, and it looks like I’m hanging around 130 pounds again, but with lower body fat (judging by the tape measure.)

I am 48 year old dude and have been training for the last 7 years. at 40 I was about 40 lbs overweight and depressed. One day after knee surgery, my friend came in and looked at me, fat, drugged and with my leg in a machine, and said “you got to get a bike”. we both had our own businesses and small kids, and had gotten quite middle-age looking. We started training on the bike. Since then I have done 2 ironmanss, one marathon, 5 half ironmans and too many short triathlons to count. but my body composition never got where I thought it should be. And I was getting some weird adrenal burnout with all the moderate exercise and carbo flow-through. I backed off on the endurance training and have been reading a lot. I started to think a lot more about diet and exercising differently thanks to Mark Sisson on Mark’s Daily Apple. I have gone hard core primal on the diet since the beginning of the year and have been changing my workouts slowly to have more intensity. When I saw the challenge I had to go for it. I started May 5 so I am a little behind the crowd but the results are fairly stunning at this point. I kind of chuckle when I go to the gym now because I feel like I am the only one totally going for it and REALLY working out! So my motivation is to be healthy, to be there for my family and to enjoy sports and being active. I also don’t go in for being old and stopping the learning and development process. My kids are wondering what has gotten in to me and we are setting up a gym in the house so they can start to train like dad. There are these ripped old dudes at some of the tri races and I always think “that is going to be me in 20 years” Ha ha.

love… sex… attracting a mate… was the initial motivating force (and still is)… I’d let myself go in my 30’s, but now I’m back on the market…

…but now I’m also enjoying my increasing strength, feeling good, looking good… there’s something great about ‘honouring’ yourself… ‘honouring’ your body. Thanks Vic…

I’ve just watched your video, and it’s great!! The fact that you used the negative stuff you received as motivation to get shredded is awesome. Soo many people hear lots of comments and just ignore them and give up but you did something about it, and that speaks volumes. All the best!

Hey Vic,

Ive been checking out your website for the last two weeks and its amazing. Glad to see you never gave up and showed all those people who tried to discourage you that you can do it! I bet you they were just jealous of your will power, its easy to come diss someone on the net, but it helped motivate you so its good that it worked to your advantage. Your weight loss plan is great and it DOES work…you just have to push yourself, I’ve been on it for 6 days now and already lost 7 pounds, I’m totally motivated now!

Katrina

I started working out for weight loss. I have lost 50 lbs, but now like to challenge my body to see what else it can do.I love going to the military gym and doing hammer curls with 25 lb dumbells and legpressing 400 lbs.
It has done wonders for my self confidence.(and no huge boy muscles)