If you want to know the story about how a 61 year old guy got in the best shape of his life, then I’ll give it to you short and sweet.
In a nutshell, at age 56 I decided it would be a neat goal if I could get ripped by the time I was 60. I didn’t know if it was possible, and I didn’t know how to do it. I was 5’8”, 145 lbs. Not fat, but not muscular either.
I started hanging out online looking for a program that would get me to my goals.
Eat Big, Lift Heavy, Get Fat
Everyone said that in order to build muscle you had to eat big to get big, and you had to lift as heavy as possible.
So, I bought a book and followed their advice. I lifted heavy using mainly compound lifts, and ate as much as I could with 5-6 meals a day including special protein shakes and 4 or 5 different supplements.
And guess what- I got bigger! My lifts were going up and my shirts were fitting tighter. I thought: “This is working great, I’m going to look awesome!”
About a year later I went to the beach with my family, and my wife took a bunch of pictures. I had gained about 23 lbs. and looked a lot bigger with my shirt on. But here’s the bad news: with my shirt off I looked like a beached whale.
So, back to the drawing board. I got back on the internet and started trying out some other programs. Started doing a bunch of cardio and lost some of the fat.
The results of eating big to get big.
Finally…The Programs That Worked
Then I came upon Eat, Stop, Eat and thought I’d give that a whirl. Amazingly, it worked great. It was easy to do, easy to fit into my schedule and NO stupid cardio! I could do one or two 24 hr. fasts per week and lose between 1.5-2 pounds while maintaining my muscle with weight training.
Next, I discovered Adonis Index and the Adonis forums, and then things really started to change fast. By this time I was 59 years old. I was looking a lot better than my beached whale days, but still nowhere near ‘ripped’.
The Adonis materials made a lot of sense, especially the reasoning behind it. Instead of lifting just to get big, no matter what, I was lifting to achieve ideal male proportions. I had real numbers to shot for, and I had a training plan focused on developing the muscles that produced that ideal physique.
I started the Adonis 3.0 workout in August of 2010, and started participating in the forums shortly after that. Immediately the support on the forums inspired me, and I began thinking about possibly entering a transformation contest that was scheduled to end in April, 2011.
“You’re going to enter a physique contest at age 60?”
Entering a physique contest at the age of 59 seemed kind of ridiculous. But I thought: “Why not, I’ve got nothing to lose. It might be fun, and maybe it will get me closer to my goal of being ripped at 60.”
Long story short, six months later, I had completed two rounds of the original Adonis 3.0 circuit and had done an arm booster and chest booster cycle.
To say that I was happy does not do justice to the way I felt. I was approaching my 60th birthday (and the end of the contest) and I was more muscular and looked better than at any time in my life.
If fact, I felt so confident that I booked a professional photographer friend of mine to do a photo shoot for the contest pictures. And I even went and got a spray tan for the first time ever (a strange experience, but not bad).
My contest photos.
The photo shoot was such a hoot! There was just my wife, my photographer friend and me, but it was like a big celebration. We got to see the photos on the computer as we were shooting. And they were coming out better than I would have ever imagined.
So, I sent the photos in to John Barban and waited for the results. My category was the men’s open for 40 yrs and older.
The day the winners were announced, I was shocked. The guy that won my category looked amazing and was 42.
BUT… lo and behold, I came in second. That was really a rush. I barely beat out the guy that came in third. He was 40 and had a lot more muscle mass than I did, and the only reason I beat him was because I was leaner, because finally………. I was ripped at 60.
So here are the take away points:
- You can get ripped at any age
- There are a lot of workout programs on the internet that will get you big and FAT.
- With those programs, you’ll look impressive ONLY if you keep your shirt on.
- If you want to look like a Greek god you’ve got to have a program that specifically builds that kind of look. Adonis Index delivers on that.
- Lose fat with Eat, Stop, Eat. It’s faster and more fun than cardio. Save your cardio energy for building muscle.
- The Adonis forums are great for the motivation, advice and support you’ll need during your transformation.
- Enter an Adonis transformation contest. They’re fun, they keep you focused and you’ll make faster progress towards your goals.
- Your end of contest photos will surprise and inspire you. Be sure to take them.
- If I can get ripped at 60 then why can’t you?
Get In Touch With Me
Here are the places you can reach me:
Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/RippedAt60
I’m also on the Adonis Index Forums at: http://community.adonisindex.com/members/1289-weave
And if you’d like to listen to the interview I did with John Barban about my transformation and training history, click here: Best Shape of His Life at 60 years old!