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Before
After
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Bill Garvey
256
POUNDS........and I really wasn't concerned. I had once been
at 278 and with most of my friends gaining weight as they
got older it seemed that I was the only one who looked
better now than ten years ago. I could jog a couple of miles
without a problem as even and flirted with weights now and
then. I felt great most of the time and believed the despite
the extra weight though I was healthy. But the truth was I
looked horrible in pictures and it was only a matter of time
before my weight, bad eating habits (fast food, sweets, etc)
and a family history of diabetes caught up with me health
wise.
My parents and I run a family business
and I run my office from their home. They were members of
Anytime Fitness and my mother talked with C.J. She was
concerned about my weight and while I maintained in the 250
pound range for the last couple of years she knew I was
still too heavy. He told her to send me in to talk with him.
I had been thinking about getting a personal trainer for
awhile but was too lazy to do the proper research and kept
thinking that all I had to do was work a little harder and
hit the fast food joints a little less. With her prodding I
made an appointment with C.J. around the end of November
2008.
I liked C.J. right away as he seemed
very personal and with his build I knew he knew what he was
talking about. I told him that with all my years of reading
up on fitness and running endless miles of pavement and
swimming miles at the rec center and eating right
(sometimes) I knew what I was doing but just needed a little
guidance.
At
that point in the conversation I believe C.J. thought he was
just dealing with another clown who thought he knew more
than he did and in the end was going to start out strong
only to once again become board with the routines and quit
when instant results did not come easily. He was almost
right....almost.
I would have thought
the same thing as I basically told him I had been working
out for my entire life yet looked like someone who never
did. I signed up three months of training to start after the
New Year as not to impede on my holiday party season. I even
stopped by a fast food joint on the way home for dinner as a
last meal (it wasn't but I always liked to tell myself that
right before another failed attempt at dropping weight).
I attended the gym a
couple of times during December and one day noticed the
poster featuring Bart Morrison as the winner of the total
body challenge. "I could do that" I said to myself. Over the
next couple of days I thought about it more and kept looking
at the before and after pictures of Bart whenever I was at
the gym. I noticed we both had similar builds (the before
one) and then it became clear.......CRYSTAL CLEAR. I COULD
DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was it. I could not wait to get
started. I was going to be the next winner, NO! I was going
to beat Bart's weight loss and kick total butt at the same
time.
We did meet C.J. had a book for me that
outlined my entire workout, eating regimen, supplement page,
and everything I needed. A blueprint to a healthier life.
All I had to do was read and follow. It was the exact
guidance I needed. I found as C.J. went over everything that
for years I was doing it all wrong. Eating the wrong foods
at the wrong times in the wrong amounts. I was exercising
the wrong way and doing the wrong exercises. For all those
years I did everything WRONG. What a waste of time. WRONG
WRONG WRONG!!!! Well it was time to get it right.
We had our first personal training session (also my first
personal training ever) and I was hooked. I really enjoyed
it even though he beat the hell of me. I was ready to come
back for more. I was going to win that damn contest if it
killed me. Because of the limited times I had available to
train, C.J. asked if I would mind having Loren Sisson (one
of his trainers) work out with me for the next session. I
did not mind mixing it up with someone new and besides, I
had met Loren earlier that week as he offered to help me out
when I was working out alone one day. I found him to be very
professional and mature beyond his years. We hit it off
immediately. One of the aspects of training with Loren that
I liked was that he challenged me on a constant basis to
"bang out that extra rep" or to try out a different
exercise.
With Loren's expertise in changing up
both the degree and various types of workouts, and C.J.'s
overall guidance (he was always watching out of the corner
of his eye) I began to see small but suttle changes. My
weight started dropping, clothes got looser, family was
noticing. But as good as I thought I was doing, C.J. knew I
was still not really giving it everything I had. I was lazy
with the cardio as I preferred to run in the afternoon and
evening so that I could sleep in most days. After another
morning of not seeing me along treadmill row he made his
move. Ironically I was on the treadmill when I missed the
call from him. When I finally got in touch he let me know in
not so many words that he knew I wasn't really giving it my
all and that I had a great chance to make major changes in
my life. I just needed to work harder and start earlier.
I felt really bad
about that conversation because I had indeed promised him
when I first committed to the program that I would work
hard. I really felt like I was letting him down. Then I
decided to make some changes. I added a couple of extra days
with Loren (all in the morning) and stopped the minor
cheating on my diet plan (yes I did sneak in an Ice cream
cone or slice of pizza here and there) but I could not sneak
in past C.J. He can just look at you and know. He would have
made a great KGB officer.
With new dedication
in cardio and a couple of extra workout days, my weight loss
suddenly picked-up.......incredibility. Pounds seem to come
off with ease even though the work itself was hard. Once I
had fully "drank the Kool-Aide" and followed the Program
there was not stopping me. I was a machine, a beast, a
hurricane, a tornado in a trailer park.
As the weeks went by
my results were nothing short of astonishing. I went from
thigh 38 size jeans to loose 36's. Even before the tags came
off the new jeans I had to take them back for 34's. I went
from avoiding the mirror at all cost to trying to find new
places in the house I could put more up. And through it all
I managed to ask millions of questions (most of which I had
to re-ask several times over as I never wrote down the
answers) bug the crap out of everyone, break equipment
(accidents I tell ya, accidents) sweat gallons and gallons,
and make improvements on an almost daily basis.
One of my favorite
things to do was to try crack Loren up with an ill-timed
joke or story. All too often another client would be within
earshot and on a good day weights would hit the floor
unexpectedly along with some laughter. To those I offended I
apologize. As the total Body Challenge comes to an end I
find myself about 58 pounds Lighter and much more muscular.
To say I look like a different person is a gross
understatement. I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON.
I have to give
thanks to C.J., Loren, Jenn, (ELITE USA) Bart Morrison,
Anytime Fitness, my family (especially to Mom who got it
started) for all their support. I could not have done it
without them. I fully credit the program that was created
for me by C.J. for not only changing my life.......but
saving it.
Thank You. William (Bill) Garvey
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