VFT’s Email and Online Fitness Magazine.
If you missed the First and Second Editon you can access them here:
Issue 1 – Dave’s Transformation Story
And…
Issue 2 – Sue’s Awesome Transformation Journey
In today’s issue you’re going to meet, Chad Howse… yes, ladies more eye candy! đ
Yet another awesome fitness expert and coach, on board and ready to rock n roll with his advice and tips via VFT’s Fun, Hot, No BS Fitness magazine!
At VFT we get just as many men, as we do women, requesting help with their training goals. Whether you’re a guy or gal đ you’ll understand the predicament that Chad experienced in his early years.
Why?
Because most folk make these exact same mistakes and face simliar doubts when it comes to their self-beliefs – and their workouts!
…Meaning your training is way out of whack and actually working against the results you’re putting so much effort into trying to acheive.
This is one of the things I love about Chad… he’s NOT some hyped up steriod freak trying ram BS down your throat!
If you’re having difficulty packing on lean muscle – and don’t want to look like a steriod monster – preferring a more athletic, lean, ripped physique with improved fitness and quality of life… then make sure you read Chad’s transformation story – and advice…!
Chad shares in his transformation story below what he did to get into awesome shape… and luckily for you, with Chad being on board as one of VFT’s Featured Experts — there’s a whole heap more rockin guidance and instruction for you in our up and coming issues! đ
VirtualFitnessTrainer.com
VFT – NO BS Fitness!
Getting results in the gym has always been a struggle for me…
I started lifting weights when I was 16 with the goal of building lean, ripped and athletic muscle mass. I was an athlete, and needed to improve my speed, power, and athleticism. But I was also a young man and to be honest, I really wanted a body thatâd give me at least a semblance of confidence around the ladies.
I had friends that could walk into the gym, and within weeks pack on 5 or 10 pounds of muscle. Whereas I spent my first 7 years training, not gaining a single pound of lean muscle mass.
Confidence has a lot to do with being your best self, and I always felt that muscle would help me be that confident guy that I knew I was deep down. I knew it wasnât the only answer, but it was a piece of the puzzle. I knew that it would give me more success with the ladies and more success in my sports â in essence, it would raise my status â and in high school and college (or even in the work force) status is a pretty big thing.
So, when I was 16 I started working out. Everything I did I found in the bodybuilding magazines. It made sense at the time; they had muscle and I wanted muscle. So I figured Iâd do what they were doing.
Makes sense right?
Thereâs just one problem: those guys are nothing like me. They donât have the same difficulties in the gym that I had and have. While Iâm naturally a skinny guy â an ectomorph â those guys are freaks, theyâre the mesomorphâs of mesomorphâs. They can walk into a gym and pack on slabs of muscle like itâs nobodyâs business.
I went in circles for years trying different programs, spending a ton of money on supplements that didnât work, doing things that left me feeling drained, weak, and about as frustrated as a guy can be.
Why didnât bodybuilding work?
⢠There were just too many reps isolating muscles that I hadnât even began to develop yet.
⢠Time was also a factor. I was spending far too much of it in the gym. If youâre taking drugs, yah you can workout 5 or 6 times a week because theyâll help your body recover. But if youâre not, and especially if youâre just a beginner, you need ample time to recover. Lifting 5 or 6 times a week was too much, I needed more time to recover, and because I wasnât getting it, I had a hard time adding muscle.
⢠Due to the length of the workouts, coupled with my basketball season, there was no way I could eat enough to add weight. I needed shorter, more intense training sessions.
Do you want just size?
I didnât. I didnât want to bulk up, gaining a lot of fat and some muscle. I wanted the lean, athletic, ripped look that ladies love, and that would better suit me in basketball and later boxing.
Pure mass wasnât my ideal. I had no interest in becoming a behemoth like a bodybuilder is. I wanted to be in awesome shape. I wanted to be strong and athletic. I wanted to train and eat in a way that would add quality years to my life, not just massive slabs of muscle to my frame â and a massive amount of health problems that bodybuilderâs have down the road.
Like I said earlier, it made sense for me to follow what the bodybuilders were doing. But now that I know what I know, it really doesnât make a whole lot of sense. Weâre completely different people from a body-type or somatotype perspective, and we canât expect the same results from doing the same training.
I needed more variety in my training. And being an athlete, I needed to focus on performance as well as lean muscle mass gains.
Finally, the Solution
So I have tried everything there is by now. Iâm fighting (boxing), and Iâm looking for a job. The job came in the form of a personal training gig at a high level training facility in a neighboring town.
There was a junior hockey team that trained there, as well as a pro football team. I lucked out in a big way. I was pretty excited to be working there, but I still didnât know how much of an effect this job would have on my life, my business, and my body.
My first day on the job I was lucky enough to shadow the head trainer there. He had some pretty interesting theories about training, building muscle mass, strength, speed, and so forth. And I was all ears â although, having not gained a single pound of lean muscle mass in 7 years, I was a tad skeptical as well.
We got to talking after the day was done, about my boxing, my lack of success in the gym, and my many frustrations regarding diet, and training. He said he wanted to help. He said that he thought that if we sat down, took everything under consideration about my performance and lean muscle mass goals, that we could build a kick-ass system that would get me my ripped, athletic muscle.
What the hell did I have to lose right?
Success, Finally!
When we first talked the guy started ripping in to all of the âmythsâ that were out there with training. Things like the time you should be spending in the gym, what you need to be eating, and when you should be eating it.
He flipped everything that I thought was âcommon knowledgeâ absolutely upside down. It became very apparent, very quickly that I had been following the wrong people. Which would explain my lack of success.
NOW, I was starting to get excited!
We came up with a system that incorporated power-lifting, and circuit-type training into one program.
A couple changes we made from my usual routine:
1) I was only to train 4 times a week.
2) My sessions would range from 25 to a maximum of 45 minutes.
3) We changed up my split every 3 weeks to avoid plateauing.
By training less frequently and for a shorter duration â as long as the workouts are effective and intense â youâre allowing yourself to see the benefits from your training. By getting in the gym 5, 6, or even 7 times a week for an hour or more each session, I wasnât giving my body a chance to recover â hence, no gains.
4) I dramatically changed my diet. I changed all of my carbohydrates to slow carbs (oatmeal, veggies etc..) except for the meals during, or surrounding a workout, when I gave myself a bit more freedom.
During a workout (or immediately after) Iâd have a shake that consisted of a 2:1 fast carbs to protein ratio. This gave my body something to burn besides muscle during my workout, but it also spiked my insulin levels â an absorption hormone â that ensured the nutrients of my post workout meal would go to the right places, and more of the protein that I needed for recovery would end up where I needed it most.
So, how did I do?
I started off with a couple of pounds a week those first couple of weeks, then never looked back. At first, I was losing fat and gaining muscle, which was great for boxing as I won my next two fights by knockout!
After that, I just kept on packing the lean, ripped pounds on. I ended up gaining 32 pounds of ripped, athletic muscle in only 32 weeks!
Down to Business
After my transformation I broke off and started my own training business, and eventually my web site. Both of which were started to help people build ripped, muscular physiques, but also get into kick-ass shape at the same time.
I cover a lot of lifestyle tips on the site as well, ranging from goal-setting, to planning, and even covering some of the finer things in life.
With my newfound physique my business took off. And because of the internet I was helping a lot more people than I ever thought possible get in great shape.
âââââââââââââ
Chadâs transformation of building 32 pounds of ripped, athletic muscle in 32 weeks, spurred him to start ChadHowseFitness.com and PowerHowse Challenge: a web site dedicated to helping people get in great shape, building a strong body and a strong life. Chad has helped hundreds build ripped muscle, burn fat, or all of the above, and continues to do so with unique articles that he publishes on a weekly basis.
[wlsp_jvftbasecontentluvthisbanners]
