Meet Ivan. Hes a long-time client of ours (4 years and counting), and a superstar, so today were featuring his story:

  • How he lost 14 pounds
  • How he improved his sleep
  • What hes tried before he started working with us
  • Why his workouts in the gym were going nowhere

If youd like to hear Ivan tell his story in his own words, check out the video below. And if youre interested in working with us directly (whether remotely, or in-person), just respond to this email.

What Ivan Was Doing Beforehand

            Even before Ivan started working with us, he was already a very active guy:

  • He played tennis 6-7 times per week
  • He golfed once per week
  • Plus, his job was very active, where he had to lift a lot of heavy boxes.

Despite these activity levels, he wasnt too happy with where he was at:

  • He was pretty tired much of the time
  • He didnt sleep well
  • He didnt recover fully between tennis matches
  • His upper body strength wasnt where he wanted it to be. Tennis made his legs reasonably strong, but the upper body strength was lagging behind.

He has tried going to the gym by himself a few times, and in his own words, it wasnt going anywhere. In other words, he would go in the gym, but didnt really know what he was doing. He didnt have a routine with structure. Hed just walk in the gym, look around, see which machine was free, and hop on it. He didnt really know what muscles it was working, the amount of weight that he should be using, how many reps that he should be doing, and more. He felt it was just a huge guessing game.

Additionally, besides the machines, he just didnt know very many exercises, so variety was limited. And because he didnt really know what he was doing, his motivation in the gym was low. He didnt know whether he was making progress, he wasnt consistent with his workouts, and he wasnt really pushing himself very hard in his workouts.

The Car Accident That Motivated Him

            Fortunately, it wasnt Ivan that was in a car accident. He bumped into a guy who was in a very bad car accident, the kind that should have killed him. Doctors said that the reason he didnt die was because of how physically strong he was.

Around the same time, Ivan first heard me speak at his Rotary club, and after having been reading my newsletter for a while, finally decided to give personal training a shot, so we paired him up with one of our trainers, Peter, and we got started.

Ivan wanted to lose about 10 pounds, lose some inches around his waist, and improve his recovery in between tennis games. He also wanted to improve his upper body strength.

Ivans Program

            In the 4 years since Ivan started working with us, Peter had him on quite a few different programs.

            In certain parts of the year, Peter puts Ivan on a heavier weight/lower rep program, and other parts of the year, Peter focuses more on speed and acceleration.

            What the heavier weight/lower rep types of programs do is they build strength very effectively.

            However, Ivan is first and foremost a tennis player, so we want his strength training to complement and enhance his tennis. He doesnt need as much strength as a strength athlete.

            But we dont just do strength training, because we want his strength to carry over to the tennis court. Strength is the foundation for other fitness qualities, but unless you take certain measures to convert that strength into your chosen activity, it stays as just potential, without actually realizing that potential.

            Hence the necessity for including speed and acceleration drills with Ivan. Strength training builds the potential, and speed/acceleration drills convert that potential into usable, on-the-court skill.

            On the nutrition side of things, very little had to be done. Ivan was already eating pretty healthy. His wife, Santha (who also had a feature story written about her. What an overachieving family), made sure of it. But despite that, he still wanted to lose about 10 pounds. The only real change that was necessary with Ivan was to reduce his pop, rice and bread intake, and he actually ended up losing 14 pounds. And no, it wasnt because he reduced his carbs. It was because he reduced his calories. He just happened to choose to do it from rice and potatoes. If you want to read more about low carb myths, check out this article.

The Results

            Im a bottom line kinda guy. Theory is nice, but what were the results the bottom line? Here are a few highlights:

  • His weight went from 184 pounds to 170 pounds
  • His waist circumference went from 95.5 cm (37.6 inches ) to 88 cm (34.6 inches)
  • His hip circumference went from 103 cm (40.6 inches) to 96 cm (37.8 inches)
  • His chin and cheek (yeah, we measure that) lost 3 and 6 mm respectively
  • The fat on his pec (chest) went from 16 mm to 7 mm (a loss of 56%!!!)
  • His love handles were reduced from 30 mm to 22 mm (a loss of 27%)

In terms of his strength:

  • He could squat 70 pounds when he started. Now, hes doing 100
  • Deadlift: he started at 100 pounds, now he can do 180 pounds
  • Chinups: he wasnt able to do any when he just started, and needed an assistance elastic band that took around 50 pounds off his weight to do them. Now, he can do 1 chinup, unassisted, and can do multiple reps with a band that takes about 10-20 pounds off his weight.

And by the way, hes 4 years older now (hes 59) than when he started

How His Life is Different Now

            Numbers are great, but how does all this progress translate to his life outside the gym? Wonderfully!

            Ivan feels and looks more athletic, so everyone around him is asking why he keeps looking younger and younger. In fact, Ivan himself says that he looks like hes in better shape now than he was 20 years ago.

            Despite exercising more, hes actually recovering better from tennis, which is one of his goals.

            He also snores less (in his video, he mentions that his wife says that he doesnt snore as much). She adds You used to snore like a train before starting personal training. After a few months of personal training, I noticed you were snoring softer and softer and less and less. You rarely snore like a train now.

            Even his blood tests, in every category are much better than they used to be.

            And Peter doesnt just say do this exercise, or that exercise, but he actually educates Ivan on the logic behind why hes doing what hes doing, which allows Ivan to learn, at the same time as getting in better shape. This is knowledge that hes been able to share with his daughter.

            So although personal training isnt cheap, he sees it as an investment in his health. In his own words, he says that if hes going to buy now, hes going to buy health now, so he doesnt have to spend his money on medications when hes really, really old.

            If youd like to make progress like Ivan, email me, and let me know.