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- Age 43, 2 Kids, Stressful Job & A Pandemic: He Got In The Best Shape of His Life
Age 43, 2 Kids, Stressful Job & A Pandemic: He Got In The Best Shape of His Life
Nick was living a lie. He loves the outdoors. He loves mountain-biking with his friends. He wants an active life with his 2 kids. But he realised his values weren’t matching his reality.
He was slowly gaining more fat around the middle. He was struggling to keep up with the lads on their bike-days. In fact, he was going out more on his own, because he was fed up being the guy at the back.
But Strong Men, Like Nick, Don’t Quit When Things Are Going Bad
- *18lbs lost.
- *9.26 total inches lost.
- *Lots of healthier, sustained eating and fitness habits created.
Every man falls off track. But what we do in times of adversity makes us strong, or sends us further down the rabbit hole.
It wasn’t a lack of trying or effort that made Nick unhappy with his body. He’s a man with a great work ethic. In fact, he tried some of the same home workouts a lot of my other clients have tried, too. Like Insanity, P90X.
He was also health-conscious with his food. But despite his efforts, a stressful job and a young family meant he often found it hard to stay consistent and see any meaningful results. Which lead to confusion, second-guessing, and feeling stuck.
I had been wanting to get in shape for some time but didn’t know where to start, I had tried a couple of programs at home but without any real success. The world of fitness can seem like a daunting place but Dean’s methodology and straight-up approach was exactly what I was looking for.
He Just Focused on Practicing His One Assigned Nutritional Habit & His Program Workouts Each Week, and the Changes Happened
With a young family and lot’s of work responsibilities, Nick doesn’t have much spare time to learn about nutrition or exercise and make sure he’s doing the right things to achieve his goal, or even commute to a gym.
But with our coaching, he didn’t have to spend all his free time researching and planning his fitness and nutrition. He just focused on one simple new nutrition practice I gave him each week, and did the workouts in his plan, and the changes happened.
Even during a global pandemic, having his fitness and nutrition simplified down into small, actionable steps each week, gave him something positive to focus on, when a lot of other stressful situations in life where out of his control.
As for not being able to make it to a gym, yes, heavy weights are a great way to lose fat, tone up, and improve your body image.
But your body doesn’t discriminate between resistance from a £3000 chest-press machine in the gym, or a couple of dumbbells, with a small training space in your spare room. Resistance is resistance.
I helped Nick build his strength, and shape his body with nothing but simple bodyweight exercises, a couple of dumbbells, and a resistance band.
No Dieting, Strict Food-Rules, Deprivation, or Even Calorie-Counting…
A big mistake most men make is ‘going strict’, or trying to be perfect from week one when they get the odd motivation bug. But ultimately, that motivation feeling disappears fast. Real like obligations kick in. And the goals become a faraway dream, never to be lived.
Rather than overhaul, or calorie restriction, we focused on food quality, and creating habits that stay forever. I gave Nick one simple nutrition practice at a time, like more protein, or veg and fruit, etc, which meant he could maintain consistency, and keep making progress whilst dealing with work, kids, and whatever else life threw at him… Like COVID 19 lock-down.
Because of the simple approach we took, Nick was able to maintain all his new habits, and even made more progress toning his body during lock-down.
To Feeling Great in His clothes & Setting The Pace of The Pack on Mountain-Bike Days
Being proud of his body is important for Nick. But the journey has had some bigger impacts on his life, too.
He bought a nice jumper 2 years ago, but kept it stored away, because it didn’t fit, and he didn’t feel good in it. Now it fits nicely. And he feels great about his image.
He never struggles to keep up with his friends on the mountain bikes. In fact, he’s usually the lead man, setting the pace for the whole pack.
He’s living the life he’s always valued. He’s being the role-model he’s always wanted to be for his family. With a little help from his coach…
The Missing Elements
Work and family commitments meant I didn’t have the time to get to a Gym but the program combined home based workouts with real world nutrition guidance that I could fit into my lifestyle. Dean has been awesome throughout the year providing guidance, support, and encouragement, keeping me focused on progress and daily improvements.
The difference between the methods Nick tried before, and coaching with Dean, comes down to a few simple things…
- *Progressive workouts and training program, making him stronger over a longer period of time, rather than just a 25-minute beasting session.
- *Nutrition coaching with education, and a sustainable practice he could apply in the real world of being a dad and husband, with a stressful job.
- *Support and ongoing guidance from his coach (Dean), who kept him focused and accountable to his goal from week to week.
Men Who Seek Out Help Are Strong
One of the hardest things for a man to do is admit they need help. We’re providers. Family protectors. We look after our own. But when it comes to us? Well, help doesn’t pet our ego. And the hardest thing is getting out of our own way.
But getting help with your health, body image, and fitness, let’s you focus on being a ninja in your own craft, a bad-ass dad, husband, partner, and ultimate role-model, whilst letting your coach worry about your fitness and nutrition. It makes your life (and getting results) simple.
I am a year in now and am blown away by the results. My body is so much leaner and toned, my fitness and strength are at levels they have never been before and I feel so much better overall. If you are thinking about it my advice would be to do it, I am 43 years old with 2 young kids and am in the best shape of my life.
Nick is able to handle the stress of his work so much better, and do so much more with his family because he let’s his coach handle all his exercise programming and nutritional guidance.
He’s also feeling more confident about his future, living up to his high expectations of an active lifestyle with his kids as they grow older.
Nick is straight-up bad-ass.
Watch Nick’s Interview:
Want My Help To Transform Your Health & Feel Great About Your Body?
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-Dean
About the Author Dean McMenamin
Dean McMenamin is an Army veteran, father, dog-lover and body transformation coach to every day men all over the UK & Ireland. He's also a big eater of ice-cream.