Look... You don't need to take your journey to an extreme like Jag.
This was his goal and his purpose and he went the extra mile... or 10...
But... Where to start with Jag's journey...
I guess the start of his journey with us is a pretty good place! As a vegetarian, Jag felt he was always going to struggle to achieve his dream body shape.
Here is how he looked when we first started working together:
I remember sitting down with Jag to talk about his goals.
At the time, all he knew was that he wanted to feel better, he wanted his efforts in the gym to be worthwhile and he was fed up of feeling tired all the time, he was fed up getting nowhere!
The more we delved into his health form, the more red flags were popping up.
Jag had been training for a while but always felt that whenever he was going to make a breakthrough with his body shape, he would get ill or injured.
His personal bests in the gym had become stagnant and he felt like his joints were constantly on fire.
Working through questions on his perceived gut health, it was clear there were some underlying factors that needed to be addressed as its not normal to feel bloated all the time, constipated and then go through bouts of loose stool.
He was at a precipice with his journey and with a lack of progress over a few years, he wasn't sure whether to press on or give up on his dream.
Luckily, Jag reached out for support at the right time and we were able to make a plan of action!
We started with health, as you would expect if you have been following my emails and work for a while. If an individual is healthy, they are going to be in a far better position to perform!
The areas we addressed included:
- Managing recovery
- Improving sleep and sleep quality
- Diversifying his dietary intake
- Supporting digestion
- Improving cardiovascular health
Most of the work we did with the aforementioned points required a lot of breaking down preconceived notions of what was necessary to gain lean muscle tissue, build a better body shape and lose body fat, especially as he is a vegetarian.
This is how he looked 6 months after we worked on these areas:
After spending years being told vegetarians cannot get enough protein to build muscle, Jag had been consuming a LOT of protein. The bulk of his protein intake came from supplementation and alternative meat products (you know the ones... tofurkey, quorn products etc).
Through fear of not being able to put on muscle mass, Jag had been training 7 times a week on top of a manual job that left his body crying out for rest and recovery.
Unfortunately, with the belief instilled within him from social media, bodybuilding pros and "motivational" public figures, he was ignoring these signs and his body was suffering as a result.
His blood pressure was through the roof when we first began, his resting heart rate was over 75 and he hadn't had a good nights sleep since he could remember.
By showing Jag the importance of recovery for his long term goal, he was able to improve his performance in the gym, he didn't feel sore all the time and he became much more aware of his body.
We were able to drop his training to 4 times per week, drastically increase his nutritional intake from wider ranging sources and pull back on the excessive protein intake from alternative meats and whey protein supplements.
Getting him to take his foot off the pedal was actually the most important aspect of his journey, because once his body began responding to the changes, it meant he was ready physically, physiologically and psychologically to go full throttle!
12 months later... This is what Jag looked like:
Before you say anything... This was Jags ultimate goal! This was his vision and he wanted to take his body to extremes.
Does that mean the staples of what we have worked on is irrelevant to you?
NO! Not at all!
You have to build the foundations of health to get anywhere with your body and when you do, there is no limit to your ability to succeed.
I would say this...
I have barely mentioned the usual rhetoric I hear about difficulties with vegetarian diets and achieving a certain body shape...
I haven't mentioned the obstacles people always refer back to...
"It's hard to get protein in."
"It's hard to prepare vegetarian meals"
"It's hard to get a good balance in vegetarian diets."
"It's hard to find good vegetarian food when out and about."
The reason I haven't discussed this, is because its not hard. It only seems difficult because it requires education, but once you are educated, you can make more informed choices in life. When you can make more informed choices and you take action on those choices... That is called empowerment!
I hope you can all take a moment to appreciate what a magnificent this man has been on and applaud his success.
If you would like us to applaud your success in coming months then we have something for you.
We will be opening limited spaces for coaching and unlike any other coaching service available, you get the best of our entire team of nutritionists, performance coaches and Dr's of cardiovascular health and psychologists.
We cover all bases because you are more than calories and macros, you are a unique individual that requires bespoke programming and support.
To join our 121 coaching program, message us HERE with your goal for more information.
