My client Dylan Owen from the UK recently uploaded his transformation photo to Instagram:
After reposting it in my instagram and facebook stories many people asked me about how he did it.
Dylan joined my Online Transformation Program at the end of 2018 after trying to transform himself for nearly a year, following some of my bodyweight training and diet tips.
He had at the time managed to lose most of his body-fat and got to 5 chin ups and 8 diamond push ups, however he struggled with gaining strength and muscle mass.
He was truly a skinny-fat hardgainer and with every bulking attempt he would almost only put on fat.
Here’s what he said in one of the sections in the 6-page client assessment form I have my Online Transformation Program clients fill out before starting:
“I’ve been pushing myself every week for the past year or so and feel that everything I do is in vain. As soon as my shirt comes off I look like I’ve never seen a gym in my life. My eyes instantly draw down to my hips which just completely throws off my body composition and my biggest goal right now is to just lose them.
I want to get to a point where I can begin bulking and gain size, however it seems whenever I try I literally just gain all my fat back and I’m at square one. I’ve tried cutting out dairy, wheat, sugar and alcohol and it’s getting to a point where I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I try to eat around 2000 calories a day (at one point I was cutting at 1200cal early this year) while balancing my diet with fruit, veg and lean meats. However week by week when I measure my waist it’s still at 35inches around. My arms, shoulders, chest and legs get smaller but my waist will not. Stubborn fat at its most stubborn!
The most frustrating part is seeing everyone else, especially co-workers, who eat so much sugar and chocolates but are able to train and stay lean while I put all this effort into my diet and training but still look skinny fat.”
After Dylan started with me we followed my 2 Phase Training and Diet System.
First, we focused on increasing his chin up and diamond push up max.
He went from 5 to 10 chin ups and 8 to 16 diamond push ups and in just 3 weeks.
A few weeks later he hit the Phase 1 goal of 15 chin ups.
Then we made the switch to weighted bodyweight exercises where he focused on weighted pull ups and dips.
Since then, his strength gains here have been very slow and gradual and his measurements barely changed.
Aggressive bulking and cutting simply didn’t work for him therefore we took the slow road of recomping.
Each month he would get slightly leaner and get more muscle tone.
Life often got in the way but no matter what obstacles life threw at him, he always stayed consistent and at the very minimum MAINTAINED the progress he made.
This is important because you don’t want to start all over again after a bout of “life coming in the way”!
The end result? A complete body-transformation.
Dylan never had any periods of fast muscle gains or fat loss.
Just slight changes each month that over time added up to a massive change.
Be proud but stay hungry!
Oskar Faarkrog, ISSA Certified Personal Trainer
Read my free 50 page guide "The 2 Phases of a Skinny-Fat Transformation"