Today we have an interview with Keith Taylor who placed fifth in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest.
Check out his pictures:
Everyone can get in shape, it's a matter of determination.
You need to get really lean to show your muscles.
Keith's side chest shot.
Never Give Up, Ever!
Keith started lifting as a kid, all of the big guys were going to the gym, so it seemed like a good idea. He was basically mirroring what they were doing, which wasn’t so hard considering they lacked any structure and always just picked the weights and pushed them up as many times a possible.
There was very little back or shoulder work, basically it was just about working the “mirror muscles” – biceps and chest, and then they tossed in some squats for good measure.
After high school Keith tried going to a public gym, but he didn’t like it very much, so he decided to invest in a home gym.
Back then he was just following advice from magazines and pretty much working out like he did at high school, without any structured program.
He got stronger, but he didn’t gain any size. You could look at him and tell that he was fit, but he was never ripped.
Keith was also eating a lot and ate his way up to 170 pounds, which at height of 5’4” is not exactly shredded.
Then a few years later in 1991 he injured a nerve in his back while trying to lift something at work. As a result of this injury he couldn’t do any lifting for the next 20 years.
Yea, you read that right, it wasn’t until 2011 that he was able to get back to weight training.
And if that wasn’t enough, he also had asthma.
He couldn’t run or do any high intensity training.
So, if someone had a good reason to pity himself and blame the world for what has happened it would be Keith. Well, that wasn’t what he did. Keith didn’t give up and started researching for a way to get rid of his asthma.
Then one day as he was looking for something that would help with autoimmune issues he found fasting. It didn’t take long that he stumbled upon Eat Stop Eat.
He didn’t think twice about it and immediately tried it. And believe it or not, he got better in just 30 days.
Keith just couldn’t believe how much better he could breath after 30 days.
It worked, he significantly improved his asthma to a state that he could do some physical activity.
Determination Is the Key
Next step was to work on his injury. He would try to start working out every year since the injury, but it was always the same, he just couldn’t lift the weights.
Then in 2011 he noticed a difference, he could finally lift something. Not that he would be strong, but the pain was bearable and he could move the weights. This was great news.
He knew that in the Eat Stop Eat manual was a link to a workout program, so he went home opened the book and clicked on it and got to the Adonis Index website.
Since he could lift some weights and improved his asthma he decided to jump on board and give it a shot.
He started with some shoulder specializations and worked his way up to the regular workouts. After a while and with a few adjustments he could handle the volume and follow the full training program, for the first time after his injury.
Keith’s Diet and Interesting Findings about Gluten
Last thing he tried was dropping gluten. And in just 30 days he lost about 20 pounds. This basically meant cutting out most of the refined and processed stuff, but since he likes to cook, he didn’t mind. He wasn’t sure that it was really the gluten, so he decided to put it back in his diet and he got worse and started gaining again. This was an obvious proof that it worked, so he decided to cut it out and keep it that way.
He stayed away from gluten and could keep the fat off and asthma in control. Ultimately he figured out that he can have gluten a few times per week, but only a few times, because he is highly sensitive to it. And that’s how it works, most people don’t have any problem with gluten at all, some are completely intolerant, and some are just very sensitive to it. If you don’t have any issues, then good for you and you don’t have to change anything in your diet, if you do then you can try taking a similar approach and see how it works.
As a result Keith’s medical test came back at 90% of his full lung capacity and function, which was his highest number so far. And he got there just by using Eat Stop Eat and cutting gluten.
Other than cutting gluten he didn’t change much, and there was no reason to, because eating less and fasting twice a week did the job of losing weight pretty well.
He ate a lot of vegetables and about 70 grams of protein per day, which sounds pretty reasonable for someone his height. And in general, you don’t really have to consume insane amounts of protein.
And since he likes to have a large meal, he experimented with volume a bit and was trying to find the best choices that would be as low calorie as possible. At the beginning he was eating one meal a day and tapered it up later on.
He was eating more towards the end of the contest. He was basically using the principles from the new Transformation Diet protocol. He started eating low at the beginning of the contest and as things got harder and more intense, he started optimizing his calorie intake for his maintenance.
This is a pretty good approach, because a lot of fitness models try to go as extreme as possible at the end of their prep for the contest, but they often times end up gaining as much as 30 pounds afterwards. And that’s just plain stupid and ineffective, it should be about looking good, not winning a contest. So, for most people it seems like a better choice to just eat more towards the end.
This worked and at the end Keith was even shocked that he placed in the contest.
Take home message from Keith
- Lots of guys try to over analyze things, keep it simple and do what the successful people tell you to do
- Keith barely read the manual, he just went to the workouts and started there because he likes to learn from experience. He takes action!
- Nobody cares what you weigh, it’s about how you look
- Keith rarely took any measurements or weighed himself, he just takes a look in the mirror…when you get really lean the mirror will likely be your only accurate measure of progress
- Be sure that whatever approach you try it really works. Keith saw that cutting gluten works, but he wanted to be sure, so he tried adding it back up for few weeks just to be certain.
- Eat less than you burn and fast on a regular basis
- Take action, do the work, try the program, nobody can tell you what will it do for you until you try it yourself
Programs that Keith used to get in the contest shape:
Adonis Index Workout – Here are the original workout plans that have been responsible for some of the most amazing transformations online.
Eat Stop Eat – Diet and lifestyle protocol that will help you stay on track with your weight loss while enjoying social eating events at a same time.
Listen to the interview here:
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About Allen Elliott