If there was one thing that motivated me to become as healthy and fit as possible, it was my children. I am the father of two 8-year-old twins – having them was a great motivator for me to work hard and be an inspiration to them.
My first attempt at staying healthy was a little flawed. I have 6’1 ”and was quite skinny. After watching a Netflix documentary about the keto diet, I decided to try. Keto obviously made me cut the carbs completely. My weight dropped to 145 pounds. I felt extremely sick and lethargic, in fact I ended up passing out hitting my head on the bathroom sink.
This was obviously not sustainable for me. Instead of keto, I started to eat a more balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I tracked my calories to make sure I was eating enough. I was left with a small surplus of calories and started training hard to try to gain muscle, with the goal of regaining a healthy weight for my size.
I started with calisthenics and dumbbell exercises at my home, doing push-ups, push-ups, shoulder presses and curls three to four times a week. After about a year, I started to stagnate, so I joined a local gym. Exercises with free weights helped me to get stronger and to overcome the plateaus.
I started with three full body days a week. When I started trying to increase the volume, I switched to a higher / lower program. I made good progress by reaching each major muscle twice a week.
Stephen Buckley
I also cleaned up my diet. My approach was 80-20, targeting 80% of whole unprocessed foods and 20 of any junk I wanted. This basic guideline made it easy to maintain consistency over time. That was a big deal, because diet is an important part of staying healthy, but it is also easy to think too much. With my 80-20 guide, I didn’t have to worry about too many complicated rules or macros.
In six years following that plan, I added £ 50 to my painting. I also stopped working as a restaurant manager and followed a physical training career, where I worked alongside a great trainer who taught me a lot about exercise and nutrition. I know I have very good genes: I’ve always had really good muscle symmetry. I could increase my pectorals, arms and shoulders while remaining relatively thin. And, unlike many people, I never had to switch between raising and cutting – I just trained hard for a long time.
I intend to keep going, seeing how far I can go with muscle and strength. For me, finding a consistent routine that I could follow was critical. And this is the advice I would give to those just starting out: find a style that suits you. You can learn from what other people do, but don’t just copy them, because their approach may not work for you. Ultimately, finding your own path and following it is the best way to achieve your own personal goals. —As I told Jesse Hicks
This content is created and maintained by third parties and imported into this page to help users provide their email addresses. You can find more information about this and other similar content on piano.io