Body Transformation: My Success Story

[Motiv]

Greetings, gents—

As a Christmas present to myself, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge of purchasing an internet-based workout program: Six Pack Shortcuts. I know there are a lot naysayers against MCF (Mike Chang Fitness), but honestly, I figured it couldn't hurt to at least try it with the 60 day money-back guarantee.

I grew up severely overweight since high school, and I'm a complete noob in physical fitness: never received a live personal training session or ever lifted weights before in my life. I put my all into this program, and these are the results I've achieved so far after three months. I've never felt better, and as far as I'm concerened, this is just the beginning: not slowing down until I have that Daniel Craig physique—curious to observe women's reactions this summer at the pool…

Here's the cool part: MCF called me the day I emailed these pictures and asked for my consent to be one of their featured success stories!

Since GC is all about self-improvement for men, I thought it would be worth sharing this with you guys in the hopes it will inspire. Learning to work out and making it a serious priority has contributed greatly to my leading a happier life: no matter how tough anything else gets, I know I will always have my health.

It's all about sticking to process and never giving up—just like seduction.

Cheers!
-M

P.S. The last girl I slept would not stop raving about my "beautiful body" and ran her hands along my abs every chance she could get. This is a huge asset if you want to be the lover in women's lives.

 

[Jaimie Richards]

Hello M,

Seriously some awesome work you've done, congratulations! Can you tell us something more about the course - for example, why did you choose this one, how much work do you put in every day, what are pros and cons of that system? Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jaimie

P.S. As it's my first post here - and first post on any online forum for at least a decade - I'd like to just say hello to other forum members

 

[Motiv]

Welcome aboard, Jamie. Thank you!

I should probably preface that I am in no way officially affiliated with MCF. I suppose that could soon change depending on exactly how impressed they are with my results. I want Chase and all the forum admin to know that this is not any attempt at solicitation. I'm just a self-improvement oriented guy who's managed to pull off something he's dreamed all his life. I'm not going to lie: I did do this in most part to raise my sexual marketplace value—something we call SMV around here. I honestly believe that wanting to be sexy is tantamount to wanting to be healthy: if you want to be sexy, you have be healthy first.

I chose this course really because Mike Chang himself seems like a totally down to earth guy who simply decided to take control of his fitness one day—much like Chase and seduction. Since the course has a 60-day money back guarantee, I figured I had nothing to lose in the event I was not able to get good enough results within that period of time—I actually noticed significant improvements after just the first week.

I took every aspect of this program as seriously as possible. The workouts themselves only take anywhere from thirty minutes to one hour a day, six days a week, and I made darn sure to stick with that. It is also up to you to figure out weight amounts that are right for you: always err on the lighter side until you are confident in your form. From there, just be patient with increasing the amount gradually and don't let ego get in the way—that's usually how injuries happen. I also made the commitment to once and for all fix my diet (for which they also give great advice) and maintain a healthy sleep schedule (no less than seven hours a night, preferably eight—your body actually performs the most muscle recovery/growth during adequate, quality sleep). It's a holistic lifestyle adjustment.

The only cons I would point out have to do with the quality of the filming: quite often the camera angling is so bad that you can't actually see what you need to fully understand the form of the exercises, but at that point it's easy enough to just search other people's free videos and fill in the gaps. There are also numerous discrepancies between what they say in some of the videos versus what they write in the workout sheet: again, it's easy enough to use your gut and do what works best for you. We have a saying in fitness: the only bad workout is the one that didn't happen.

All in all, I think the program ties enough information together into one neat package—just enough to set anyone on the right track.

-M

 

[Jaimie Richards]

Thanks for the answer, it sounds really promising - I'll have to check it out in details and hopefully start it just after Easter.

Two quick things, just for clarification:
1. Please tell me if I figure it out correctly - these exercises help you both lose weight and develop muscle, but do they include running? If not, is it advised to do these exact sets of exercises and also start running?
2. You mentioned diet. Do you use some kind of supplementation? Or do you just follow normal diet you would have if you didn't start exercising (of course with some tweaks like no junk food)?

Take care,
Jaimie

 

[Motiv]

Yes, these exercises help you do both. There is no running (not that it wouldn't help). The gist of it is compound movement resistance training with short rest times, a.k.a. interval training. For example, do ten reps of squats (a compound movement that works multiple muscle groups all at once) immediately followed by ten reps of dead lifts (another compound movement). Rest ninety seconds. Do that another three times, four times, etc. Pick a weight to where you can barely complete the last rep of each exercise. Short rest times is key to adding a cardiovascular element—your heart rate stays high during the entire workout. By the end of each workout, your metabolism goes into overdrive as your body has to burn fat in order to repair all that torn muscle. Muscle itself raises your metabolism because it burns extra calories just for being there.

No supplements are required: just plain and simple healthy foods—you'll actually end up needing to eat a rather lot, but it's clean eating. Personally, I take a multivitamin pill every morning along with a fish oil pill—that's it.

 

[Jaimie Richards]

That's what I wanted to hear, thanks man! Losing weight and bodybuilding while being able to have a good meal - that's what I've been looking for.

Keep the good work, can't wait to see your future results!

All the best,
J.

 

[Lotus]

I just want to second Mischief on this. Couple years back I spent time doing p90x version one and their lifting exercises are the same way. A lot of exercises packed into a shorter time period works as cardio and then of course you body is burning a lot of calories in rest throughout the week trying to heal muscle.

If you decide to run a lot as well you will probably find yourself having hard time putting on mass.

 

[Motiv]

Running can be a catch 22 if you're aiming to burn fat but also build muscle at the same time. My secret has been to:

A) Limit running to 20 minutes maximum (in addition to your regular workout). As long as you regularly consume enough clean calories, running does help you lean down significantly faster without cutting into you muscle growth by much. My priority with this program was to get lean and reveal my six pack abs as soon as possible, so it didn't bother me if my arms/chest took a little longer to build.

B) Use the same interval style as resistance training, i.e. regularly alternate running with walking—that encourages your body to burn fat instead of only sugar, which actually makes you feel euphoric as opposed to the near-death experience that causes most people to give up.

C) Use running as a quick fix for any sudden binging. You won't have to worry about burning muscle if you recently ate—just wait an hour so you don't get cramps.

-M

 

[Rage]

Hey congrats on the transformation Mischief looks great !!

Six pack shortcuts too, hahaha Mike Chang spams the living hell out of fitness youtube videos with his advertisements. And other fitness personalities mock him for knowing little about fitness or nutrition and being kind of a snake oil salesman with little practical information.

But his program worked for you and worked really well ... I think it goes to show that even if it's questionable if a program is ideal or not, work put in definitely surpasses the program itself.

Guy putting work into a mediocre program > Guy putting mediocre work into one of the best programs out there.

Keep at it brother

-Gem

 

[Jaimie Richards]

Great info on running, thanks for advice! One clarification question: you alternate running and walking, so in this 20min. session you 1 min. run, 1min. walk, repeat or 1 day you run, 1 day you go for a walk, or something else?

J.

 

[NarrowJ]

Jaimie,

Great info on running, thanks for advice! One clarification question: you alternate running and walking, so in this 20min. session you 1 min. run, 1min. walk, repeat or 1 day you run, 1 day you go for a walk, or something else?

J.

What he is talking about is called High-intensity interval training, or HIIT. I do a 10 minute "blast" with every workout. Run at 7 miles per hour for 1 minute, then a brisk walk at about 3.7-4 miles per hour for 30 seconds, then repeat.

Also I have to add regarding diet: it is the most important thing by far. And you'd be surprised how easy it is to eat well cheaply if you don't think you need all the expensive supplements and organic stuff. I eat a diet of mostly chicken, some fish, barely any red meat, quite a lot of fresh vegetables (uncooked when possible, and a small amount of things like fruits and nuts. Before, I was spending about $800 per month on food because I was eating at restaurants (even fast food can become quite expensive) a lot and when I switched to forcing myself to buy everything from the store and prepare it myself, it cut that number in half ($400). So over the course of two years I've not only ate much healthier and got those six-pack abs, but I also have saved myself roughly $10,000 (400x12monthsx2years) in the process.


J.J.

 

[Motiv]

Thanks for helping clarify, J.J.

Jaimie,

Great info on running, thanks for advice! One clarification question: you alternate running and walking, so in this 20min. session you 1 min. run, 1min. walk, repeat or 1 day you run, 1 day you go for a walk, or something else?

J.

What he is talking about is called High-intensity interval training, or HIIT. I do a 10 minute "blast" with every workout. Run at 7 miles per hour for 1 minute, then a brisk walk at about 3.7-4 miles per hour for 30 seconds, then repeat.

Also I have to add regarding diet: it is the most important thing by far. And you'd be surprised how easy it is to eat well cheaply if you don't think you need all the expensive supplements and organic stuff. I eat a diet of mostly chicken, some fish, barely any red meat, quite a lot of fresh vegetables (uncooked when possible, and a small amount of things like fruits and nuts. Before, I was spending about $800 per month on food because I was eating at restaurants (even fast food can become quite expensive) a lot and when I switched to forcing myself to buy everything from the store and prepare it myself, it cut that number in half ($400). So over the course of two years I've not only ate much healthier and got those six-pack abs, but I also have saved myself roughly $10,000 (400x12monthsx2years) in the process.


J.J.

Exactly. I shouldn't have left out the "high intensity" component. That's a key part of what makes it so doable for even the busiest people: short but very effective.

Ditto on the diet—all true.

@Gem
Thanks! Coming from someone with your physique, that means a lot! Insofar as the quality of this program versus others goes, I'm really not equipped to argue one way or the other. For all we know, I could have achieved these results (or better) doing any number of other programs.

I will say that I think having a lifetime of experience pushing physical limitations in violin practice gave me the mentality to see this through. You fairly quickly find your hard limit for a given exercise, remember clearly where that is, and then strive with passion and endurance to push that limit just a little further each time. Stick to process (workout format and schedule) and take pleasure in every inch of the journey—each minutia of progress matters.

-M

P.S. Sometimes, I will hit an exercise that I literally cannot do or only barely perform, i.e. chin-ups. To this day, I can only do four per set to exhaustion, but when I started this program three months ago, I could not even do one. I used a lat pull down to work my way up with weight below my body weight. My point is, even if a workout called for 10 wide grip chin-ups, I didn't let that stop me from finding a way to do what works best for my own development.

 

[Motiv]

That's amazing man, great work.

I'm curious though, how did your arms and chest get sculpted from a six-pack ab program or were you using it in conjunction with a weightlifting routine?

Thanks, Drexel!

The program I used develops abs mostly through compound movement training—the same movements that sculpt arms, chest, and everything else.

For example, in order to execute a standing heavy barbell curl (where five reps reaches exhaustion) with good form (no shoulder joint movement or back bending) and no back support (not using a wall to steady yourself), you'll have no choice but to tighten your abs (and other core muscles around the lower back) to the maximum in order to get that sucker up. Your abs will be engaged in some way in nearly every exercise of every workout.

Gem and J.J. might be able to add addition or better information, too.

-M

 

[Ross]

As long as you workout hard with progressive overload, you're going to make a change .

Well done Mischief.

 

[RDawg]

Awesome stuff Mischief, truly inspiring for many people!

Rdawg

 

[killerman]

Great work man, you've done an amazing job. One question though, how often do you work on your abs and what does the workout consist of?

 

[Motiv]

As long as you workout hard with progressive overload, you're going to make a change .

Bingo! The rest is, as NarrowJ put it, all in the diet (and sleep)—can never go wrong with chicken breast and fresh veggies. There are a million and one ways to grill super tasty chicken breast—do it on my Foreman grill every week.

Seasoning and low-calorie marinades are your best friends!

@ Ross and RDawg

I appreciate your support—many thanks guys!

@ killerman

Technically, I work on my abs a little with every exercise—compound movements do that. This program only consists of about 3-4 minutes per day of pure abs-only work—always at the very end.

If the forum administrators don't mind, here is a link to an extra ab workout I started doing in addition to my regular SPS workout—I just wanted faster results ;-) … and it only takes four minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQYFr697pYg

 

[Big Daddy]

I'm a little bit late for this post - it was only brought to my attention after J.J. mentioned it in an article - but what a nice transformation!

What's you before/after weight and measurements? And what's your height?

 

[Motiv]

I'm a little bit late for this post - it was only brought to my attention after J.J. mentioned it in an article - but what a nice transformation!

What's you before/after weight and measurements? And what's your height?

Hey Big Daddy (and everyone else!)—

I am pretty stoked as well as humbled that I was the inspiration for a GC article! I am genuinely honored to be able to contribute real value to this forum.

I weighed in at around 185 pounds on Christmas Eve, 2014 (the date of my before picture). Currently, I have leveled off at around 170 pounds. I know I have lost at least two inches around my waist, as immediately washed and machine-dried 32" jeans can now be pulled quite a distance from my abdomen—new belts are all that keep my trousers up these days, haha.

As for other measurements (chest, arms, etc.), I am honestly not quite sure how to take those.

I've included an updated shot, taken right after an intense leg workout, which I think shows even greater progress than before (shaving my chest and mid-section for the first time in my life helps illustrate too!). Based on comparing my most recent picture with those online, I'm estimating my body fat percentage to be right around 9-10%. I am around 5'11" tall.

One most important point of emphasis: low body fat percentage is critical to achieving the chiseled look. My muscles are not necessarily that big, but they look that way due to being lean. According to the theory I've learned through the program, afterburn training achieves the lean effect by breaking down multiple muscle groups in every workout (lots of compound lifting with very short rest times), which then drives up your metabolism as your body races to recover all that muscle around your entire body at once. That stubborn belly fat once and for all gets burned away!

Cheers!

-M

P.S. Now you all get to see what I really look like—let the critique flow forth! If the authors aren't afraid to show their faces, then why should I? I think it's all part of finally accepting myself as a true sigma.

REDACTED

 

[Motiv]

Pardon the apparent narcissism, but I thought it might be worth something to post additional progress pictures for the purpose of illustration.

REDACTED

I took this picture today, after two days of intense arms and chest workouts. While my chest and arms are noticeably more pumped, my belly area is also less lean than the last picture (taken about one week ago).

Back when my abs were super ripped, I was having a hard time jacking up my arms and chest. I increased my protein and healthy fat intake (nuts, fish oil, egg yokes), which I think made it easier to build up my arms and chest, but now some of that belly fat has returned—just a little bit, but it's enough to feel a little frustrated.

I'm just trying to illustrate that body building progression is very much a process of ups and downs while one uses their body like a laboratory to figure out what works best—kinda like seduction.

More progress pictures to follow (for those interested). I genuinely believe any of you could do this, too.

Cheers!

-M