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Beware the Mad Irish
Location: Wish I was on the N17...
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One of the boys gets results using Body For Life
Quote:
David Plew: Better Than Average
David Plew was frustrated. He felt as if he was going in circles, unable to make sound decisions and steer his life in the right direction. Even worse, he was in the worst physical condition he had ever been in. He knew that something somewhere had to change.
David wasn’t sure where to turn for help. He knew he would need better fitness and health advice than what he had been getting. “I was frustrated being like the other 95 percent of the population, getting my information from those who didn’t know anything,” David says. “Where I was at that time in my life stemmed from decisions I made in the past, which were often made with feelings I didn’t know how to control. I think the word ‘mediocrity’ best describes the state I was in.”
It wasn’t long before David found what he had been looking for. He discovered the Body-for-LIFE Challenge (a 12-week training, nutrition and supplementation program) and immediately set out to change the course of his health and well-being. The program stressed the importance of goal-setting and planning, the two elements that David desired most.
Still, it wasn’t as if David could just flip a switch and undo all of the poor decisions and bad habits. It would take practice and perseverance—two things that David began to cultivate. “As I began the Challenge, I had to overcome the hardship of making what I wanted to do into a habit,” says David. “It took me about 30 days of persistent effort to change my diet and exercise routine so I could put some of the goals I wanted to achieve in motion.”
Visualizing the prize
Whenever David found his confidence flagging or his body fatigued, he looked to a picture of himself—well, some of it was him. He pasted a picture of his head to a picture of the body of a bodybuilding champion in order to visualize what he could look liked if he applied himself fully to his personal Challenge. “By visualizing my head on the body of a bodybuilding champion, it helped me to overcome the excuses I had been giving myself,” says David. “Seeing what I could be lessened the amount of pain it took to reach my goal. I kept the prize—my body transformation—bigger than the obstacles I had to overcome.
During the course of David’s Challenge, he began to commit himself to setting a series of short-term goals for himself in order to maintain perspective on his overall goal. He charted his progress every week, and as the plates on the barbell accumulated, so did David’s confidence. “To keep focused on my fitness goals, I checked my results in weekly intervals. I began carrying a goal card around with me which I read regularly and updated often,” David says. “I began to see noticeable results around week four or five. It was also around this time that other people started to notice the changes in me as well.”
David’s family rallied to his cause, and cheered him on as his daily nutrition plan changed along with his physique. “I began to cook a lot more chicken and would hear the comment from my wife, ‘You’re eating chicken again?’. It wasn’t long before my wife realized I was finally serious about accomplishing my goal and she supported me throughout the rest of my Challenge,” says David.
A desire fulfilled
Within a short time, the 12-week Challenge came to an end, and David looked and felt better than ever before. He sent his Challenge contest packet in to Body-for-LIFE, and looked forward to a new life—full of newfound physical and emotional health. Many weeks went by, and David continued to set goals for himself and achieved them every time. Then, while he was at work one day, David got the surprise of his life.
“I can remember the day that Body-for-LIFE called me,” says David. “They reached me at a job site when she asked me to sum up my Challenge with one word. As I stood there, only one word came to my mind—desire. At that moment she put me on the speakerphone; I could hear several people in the background clapping and cheering form me. It was then that Kerri told me I was the 2002 Body-for-LIFE Grand Champion in the Men’s 26- to 32-year-old category.”
That was the best news David could have heard. The process of the Challenge had given David his life back, and his Challenge victory only inspired him further. “I realized then that with desire, a decision and persistent effort I can do a lot more than I ever believed I could,” David says, “I am more determined to achieve greater things in life than the average, and I feel a sense of duty to help others achieve their goals—whatever they may be.”
A source of inspiration
It’s not just the new body that David loves the most. He feels he has gained back a part of himself that had been lost, and more importantly, he has inspired others to do the same. “Several months before I knew I won the Challenge, many of those around me had come to believe in themselves through seeing my belief in myself,” says David. “Many of my friends have become inspired to take the Challenge for themselves and successfully complete it. I know from experience, that first you have to decide to start—finishing is just part of the beginning.”
David’s Before and After Stats
Lost 25 pounds of body fat
Gained 18 pounds of lean muscle
Waist size decreased from 35” to 31”
Body fat percentage: 4 to 5 percent (at its lowest)
David’s tips for staying on track:
Set short and long-term goals
Keep a goal card with you at all times
Review your goals on a weekly basis
Get family and friends involved with your fitness goals
Take a “before” picture of yourself—use it as positive motivation
David’s workout plan
Day 1: Upper body—Chest and triceps
Incline dumbbell presses
Cable flyes
Incline Smith machine presses
Weighted dips
Seated military presses
Triceps pulldowns
Day 2: Upper body: Back and biceps
Seated rows
Lat pulldowns
Bent-over rows
Chainsaws
Shrugs
Iron crosses
Day 3: Cardio
Skip rope or run stairs
Day 4: Lower body—Legs and abs
Legs
Hack squats
Good mornings
Leg extensions
Lunges
Hamstring curls
Standing calf raises
Abs
Bicycles on bench
Decline medicine ball sit-ups
Oblique crunches
Ab flexor machine
Day 5: Same routine as Day 1
Day 6: Cardio
Stairs, bike or skip rope
Day 7: Rest
David’s nutrition plan
Pre-workout meal: 8 a.m.
12 to 16 ounces water
Multivitamin
CLA
Fruit
Meal 1: 10 a.m.
Nutrition shake
HMB
Meal 2: 11 a.m.
6 scrambled egg whites
1 serving of oatmeal with raisins
Meal 3: 1 p.m.
1 can tuna
1 egg white made in 2 patties (cooked in skillet)
½ cup cottage cheese
Meal 4: 3 p.m.
Nutrition shake
Half of an apple
CLA
Meal 5: 6 p.m.
Chicken breast
Steamed rice and broccoli
Meal 6: 9 p.m.
Nutrition shake
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__________________
What are you willing to give up in order to get what you want?
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