My Own Fitness Journey
My name is Mike W. and I have been through most of the ups and downs of reaching different fitness levels. I have been FAT, SKINNY, LEAN and soon to be SHREDDED.
Each of these phases teaches you something about your body.
Like most of you, I started my fitness journey in high school.
When I started out, the gains were awesome and even over the years I made great progress, but I never quite found the sweet spot for working out and finishing a goal of getting ripped — that chiseled look…
Until I buckled down and took everything serious. I made the conscious choice to stay consistent to my goal.
I scoured forums, watched YouTube videos, read ebooks, and most importantly tested and tried whatever I learned.
I was lucky enough to have this really tiny gym inside my school to use. I literally spent every day there.
As a beginner, you’ll see “Newbie gains” which are the most motivating and fastest progress you will see.
Once I looked in the mirror after a month or two, I was hooked.
I would spend about 45 – 1 hour lifting at school, then go home and perform bodyweight exercises. I grew really fast, even though I barely knew anything about nutrition (common newbie mistake).
Soon enough, I landed a girlfriend because I had made myself more attractive.
By the time I got to college, I had some decent definition from those beginner gains.
Eventually I started dating someone else and during my second year I gained a disgusting 17 lbs. BOOM! – So many late-night chinese food and fast-food runs and I felt like shit. And whats worse is up until then I had never been out of shape! This was the first time I was never my usual athletic self.
So then, in a panic, I started hitting the college gym and researching EVERYTHING build muscle. Every fitness magazine and website focused on bulking up to 30+ lbs and cutting 40…Seemed legit right?…That was the traditional way of all the greats like Arnold and Ferrigno. I mean, who could argue with those results?
Well I wanted something different…I wanted to look good naked but be able to fit in regular clothes…I didn’t want to have to consume 4000-6000 calories per day to bulk and then less than 2000 within just a couple months to achieve this Greek god physique…
It seemed like a huge hassle…and who had time to prepare 6 meals a day when being a full-time student balancing two jobs?…No thanks.
So I took my search efforts to good ol Google again searching terms like “perfect physique” and “proportion fitness” and for months I would end up getting closer to finding someone who was training the way I wanted to…
After months of searching, I had finally stumbled upon a few websites that weren’t preaching the same old traditional methods of getting the perfect body. In fact, they were teaching ways to get stronger and more defined without eating a ridiculous amount of calories.
They taught a specific goal — how to maintain a lean and defined physique all year round.
It was then I realized I wasn’t alone in this feeling. There were actually guys who didn’t want the meathead look! Guys who wanted to be strong, using certain bodybuilding methods but didn’t want the typical bodybuilder physique.
Nowadays this may seem mainstream, but just a few years ago, it wasn’t popular…Hollywood and those who are fans of the old school fundamentals of fitness understood that a guy with a slim waist and broad shoulders – or for women, a narrow waist, curvy hips would be the ratios for perfect bodies…
Back then, I felt like I found the holy grail of fitness!
This concept is common nowadays because of all the information afforded to us through the modern internet and the rampant overweight and obese numbers in the United States.
So I followed the advice of these fitness gurus that I felt hand real-world experience and bought both their programs and put them to work one after the other…I hustled!
Slowly but surely, I was getting stronger — really strong. I was showing more definition than I had before. I was a sexy MF!! (quick humble brag)
[I made alllll kiinnnddsss of gaaaiiinnnzzz (hodgetwins reference)]
I was riding high on this for months
For the first time, I had achieved a level of fitness many people don’t reach – I had a low BF % (9-10%) and extremely fit body at a comfortable weight (173lbs/78.6kg). The next step was to figure out how to get more size and shred more fat…
But I didn’t…and I did what most of us usually do…I got comfortable.
I went from going to the gym 4 times a week to 1-2 times a week then only 1-2 times a month, then almost never going at all. The self-motivation I had disappeared… and so did my abs.
If you’ve ever lifted weights or exercised at all you already know that once you miss 1 workout, then 2, then 3 that it becomes a slippery slope and it becomes really hard to get consistent again.
The vicious cycle of becoming comfortable, gaining some of your weight back then hitting the gym again just to lose it again.
And f*ck did I ever lose my drive!….Before I knew it, I was staring at a fat guy in the mirror (no offense to anyone reading this and changing their lives for the better..I’m glad you’re here).
My waistline jumped. I got b*tch-tits. I was nearly 200lbs at 5’10”. I was THAT guy ..and it wasn’t pretty.
Even though I didn’t know everything, I was the guy with the fitness knowledge but had no results to show for it. Essentially I developed the dreaded “dad-bod”.
And no matter what the memes tell you, it’s not sexy.
So I took to google again and started researching how to get back in shape. I came across a few experts who had the body I wanted to achieve and decided to really commit.
Using methods from all these leaders of fitness helped me build a respectable physique.
Over time I realized, that the body I wanted wouldn’t come overnight, but it was always right around the corner.
I tailored the methods that have been proven to work for thousands of people and used it to create my own simple system that works for me and will work for you too if you be consistent.
Through years of trial and error and ups and downs, I achieved the body I’ve always wanted — a few times.
However, since 2020, we all witnessed how life can often knock your plans sideways like Mike Tyson in his prime.
Many of us (including myself) let the quarantine be an excuse to give up on our fitness goals.
As someone who dropped the ball when staying committed to exercise during the global pandemic, I gained a substantial amount of unhealthy weight.
I’ll be honest, with the gyms closed during those few months, I had never felt less motivated to stick to my routine.
Now in 2021, I’m determined to reach my goal again.
As the COVID-19 virus continues to create struggles for our society, I realize now that being adaptable and prepared for anything is just as important for your survival.
Something good came of this tragedy though…
The world and social media showed us that we can turn anywhere into a gym. With that being said, we don’t have any excuses.
Tribe Fitness is just my piece of the internet that intends to keep these promises to push exercise and healthy living to the masses.
Let’s get there together!!
disclaimer: this page is always being updated because its important for you to see that the philosophies and programs associated with Tribe work!
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