Hi all,

I have been in to fitness since about my mid to late twenties, before that was never really an athlete of any sort - more of a mathlete really.

Then I realized I couldn’t run a few metres without wanting to keel over. So first I started with running, then I did some gym and my wife and I joined one for probably 4-5 years. At that time I mostly did “whatever” when I was there, got some newbie gains and subscribed to “bro science” despite my better judgment.

Then I fell off the wagon. Had to move due to a job change and I got to my heaviest at almost 200 pounds. Then I saw a pic of myself in a tight fitting shirt and started to feel the weight of my own body while lying in bed. So, enough is enough.

Unfortunately, in the journey to find balance, we often go to extremes. My wife and I got on Focus T25, which is an excellent program, by the way, but I cut way to hard on the calories (don’t worry we didn’t waste our money on shakeology), and I went down to about 150. Yay! I had my abs...but that was it. Skin and bones, pretty much. Some muscle, but not enough for my frame.

So then my weightlifting journey with some HIIT sprinkled in started. I began watching some YouTube channels that were more science based, like Athlean X, Scott Herman Fitness, and to a lesser extend, Kinobody. I really liked the latter’s workout structure, so I adopted that for a while, and I still use it somewhat today.

So bodybuilding for a year or so...some muscle gain, but always struggling with my nutrition and my obsessiveness over having abs.

Then I took 3 months off this last winter (to spend with my wife because she took a job in another town), hunkered down to figure this shit out for realz this time. I soon realized that I cut my calories too hard, and soon found balance in my nutrition and dedication and consistency in my workouts. I also fully embraced warm up, proper form, and stretching/myofascial work to protect my shoulders. My results came!

It wasn’t magic, or a specific diet, or special supplements, it really was simply calorie tracking, adequate protein, and hard fucking work with my weights, tracking my strength progress. I did HIIT as well, mostly for cardiovascular health, but it was a great way to earn myself a splurge every now and then.

Moderation is what people always say, it’s a cliche, but it’s true. Hard work, balanced but not necessarily really strict diet, but also, and I felt this was the most important part - realizing that it’s not a race - I need to enjoy every step of the journey, not just strive for the goal. That’s the only way to make a lifestyle change.

You can see some pics on my profile from a recent photo shoot I did with a professional photographer friend of mine and if you want to follow me on Instagram my handle is @analyzedatheist.

Cheers and feel free to message me any time!

-Terry

PS. The only supplements I take are the two that have the most scientific evidence to support them: protein powder and creatine.