[CKD] Trainer Dan are you a bodybuilder and do you compete

[catwoman]

just wondering.

[Trainerdan]

I do consider myself a bodybuilder ... but I haven't competed ... I have friends that are competitive bodybuilders, and judging by the way they look, I am not nearly big enough (6'3" and 220 lean, 240 off season ... but getting more musculare as the days go on) :D

Maybe someday, but to be honest, it isn't a major priority of mine. I weight train for athletic reason's, health reasons, and just to look good.

I am fascinated by the body and its functions/systems ... I admit to getting a certain thrill by seeing how far I can push it and change my body beyond what I was genetically pre-disposed to do (my father is of small build, and even though I am tall, my structure/body type is classical ectomorph).

As delusional as this may be, I see myself as proof to other "ectos" that you CAN build a muscular build onto that frame. It just takes alot more attention to diet, and lots of work and supplements.

I was told early on that I couldn't do it ... couldn't get "big", "cut", whatever. So, I do it just to prove those people wrong too.

[Trainerdan]

This is what God/my parents gave me to work with ... not a whole lot going on. I am 19 in the picture.

Who let me on the beach without a shirt? :lol:

[Trainerdan]

After college, I got a job (desk job). The commute was 60 miles, each way. With traffic, I spent about 1 1/2 hours in the car each way.

So, I ate breakfast in my car, lunch at the grill that was in our office building, and dinner in my car again. Snacks were coffee and soda and whatever else I got from the vending machines.

Breakfast was usually 2 or 3 breakfast burritos from WaWa (convenience store around here) ... bacon, egg and cheese. Washed down with Coke.

Dinner was usually something quick from the same store (it was the halfway point between work and home). Hot dogs, sandwich, etc.

By the time I got home, I was exhausted from work/driving and would usually fall asleep in front of the TV with a bag of Doritos, or worse, something ordered from the local pizza shop (cheesesteak sandwiches, etc).

Weekends were getting drunk either at home with friends or out at a club/bar.

All of that shows that my activity level was near zero, my diet was atrocious, and my protein level was low ... and carbs sky high.

So, the skinny stickboy blew up and got fat. I wish I had pictures from the first day I started. The best I have is about 6 months into it.

Who let me out without my shirt on again? :eek:

[Trainerdan]

this is bad ...

[Trainerdan]

After being teased relentlessly by my brother (the saint that he is), and just overall not being happy with the way that I looked and felt, I wanted to do something about it.

So, I picked up Men's Fitness and followed their advice about nutrition (low fat, but 6 meals per day). That worked to a point. I also started running, which I knew how to do already since I ran track and cross-country in high school. The scale moved down.

Then, one day I was going through the fitness mags, I saw an ad that was selling a computer software program that would program a diet for me, and I would get abs! Of course, I bought it.

I got lucky because it was a good program (Bodycraft), designed with the help of one of the legends in the strength training field (Dr. Fred Hatfield). Once I was on the phone with the sales rep, she talked me into buying the "fit for life" package, which consisted of protein powder (2 containers), bodyfat calipers, and a heart rate monitor.

Of course, the menu program programmed in the protein shakes already, and the exercise program that came with it required the use of the heart rate monitor ... so I bought it all. Hey, I wanted it.

That diet was my introduction to LC, because when I look at the menu plans, they were way high in protein and relatively low in carbs, which when used were whole grains, or veggies. Some fruit.

Anyway, everything kinda built from that. I got in decent shape and lost weight. When I wanted to weight train, I asked my Dad for a weight bench for Christmas. He said he would buy it, and that he thought he was wasting his money. Most of my family said the same thing. That pissed me off.

So I threw myself into it 110% ... nutrition, training, lifting ... Then the company I worked for put in a fitness center (I had been lifting at home).

I was in heaven. They even hired a trainer to make sure we didn't kill ourselves.

Well, I was helping some of my co-workers with their workouts before the trainer was hired, and when he came in I became friends with him. He told me, "Ya know ... If you got certified as a personal trainer, you could make a living doing this."

So, I went to get certified. At the very least, I knew that even if I didn't work as a trainer that I would at least know the RIGHT way, versus what the magazines tell us.

Eventually I was fired from that job, and it was a blessing. It was then that I decided to try working as a trainer. It was the best move I could have made.

Still, my fat loss had stalled. Nothing I tried worked. I was on the internet and subscribed to a mailing-list type newsletter. By chance, it was the same time that Lyle McDonald was still planning on writing his book about this funny thing called a CKD.

As he went deeper into explaining it, it sounded like something for me. So I did it, and liked the results. That was my introduction to the LC WOE.

Even though I am generally happy with the way my body is, I still want to see how muscular I can get. So, I alternate periods of intentional overeating (combined with heavy duty weight training) to maximize my anabolic conditions with periods of CKD which allows me to clean it up and see just how much muscle I gained.

My last CKD (before my current one) got me down to 205, then I bulked from November to January and got to 238. As I write this I am pretty lean (4 pack) at 220, so this bulk-and-cut works for me.

Here is a picture (used to be my avatar) from when Fern and I completed our last CKD, just before out last trip to Hawaii in May 2001:

We are going back in a week, so I am sure that more pictures will be up here ...

Whew. There it is. The TrainerDan story.

[Trainerdan]

this is from Feb 2002 ... I am about 225 ~ 11% - 12% bf.

[tamarian]

Dan, that's a very inspirational story, in gain and loss :thup: What do you think if we add it to our success stories page?

Wa'il

[Trainerdan]

Wa'il,

I would love it if my story were added to the Success Story page.

When I first started the whole fitness lifestyle, I never would have thought that I would be an inspiration to others. It's funny ... there was a time when I HATED being photographed.

Thanks for allowing me to share my story with others ...

And here's that pic from Hawaii ...

[dankar]

Trainer Dan. What a package! You look awesome.

I have begun reading all your posts; the info you put out there is redefining my personal health and fitness program... THANKS!

I have been training and LCing for about a year now after looking like the picture I have attached below. 2 months ago I decided to take it to the next level and pay the price to feel and look like a true athlete. Although I am 52 years old, I am not going let age keep me from feeling good about myself. I know many people in my life feel I'm foolish and wasting my time to train like I do at my age... a bigger waste of time would be for me to try and convince them otherwise. Thank You, Dan.

[Trainerdan]

dankar,

It's never too late to start. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE ... and you will succeed. There wil be bumps in the road, and some of your biggest de-tractors will be those you see everyday (I hear it alot from many people, not those CLOSEST to me though) ...

During your drive, just remember that it is a lifestyle change and everything will fall into place. And remember to take periodic "update" pictures. They will serve as motivation or a kick in the pants (if you begin to slack).

I like to take them every 3 months or so. That way you will have a history of your progress.

If you ever have any questions about your training/nutrition/etc. ask it in the exercise forum. If you feel it is too personal to be on a public forum, e-mail me at trainerdan~quadrafit.com

Good luck and good health to you. I love seeing people "flip the switch" and make a positive change for themselves. And you will see that success in health/fitness will cross over into all other areas of your life.

Stay in touch ...

-- dan

[dankar]

Thank you Trainerdan. dankar

[Trainerdan]

I just noticed your avatar ... Is that you?!?! If it is, all I have to say is "Wow".

[dankar]

Trainerdan, its really me. Somedays I can't believe it myself. You are so right about the human body being a magnificent machine. I am in awe of how quickly it responds to the care I give it.

Was it psychologically difficult for you to gain weight (even though it was muscle) after loosing the fat? It is for me. After being so fat for so long its hard watching that number go up on what has been my toughest critic - the scale. Thanks. Dan

[Trainerdan]

When I gain weight, when it is LEAN weight I am happy.

However, when I "bulk" to add new muscle mass, even though I KNOW that with the new muscle will come a little fat, I get stressed.

I can completely relate to what you are saying. I know when I am bulking, I complain that I am fat and sloppy. When I am cutting, and get down to a low % bodyfat, I complain that I am too scrawny.

Is it muscle dysmorphia? The Adonis Complex? Probably.

Will I ever be completely happy with my physique? It's hard to say ... having come so far, I keep raising the bar for myself.

Once I achieve my goal weight, I am happy for awhile, but then I guess I get "bored". Then I go through the cycle again ... bulk to a new "high weight" for 12 weeks, then maintain that weight for 4 weeks, then start cleaning it up and hope to come ahead 5 to 10 lbs. of lean muscle.

I am sitting at 220 now, not ripped but I am tight. I figure I will drop to 215 before summer, ripped, and have the abs all displayed for summer ... then see where I am.

My old goal used to be 220 and lean. Now it's 230 and lean.

I am still a slave to the scale, but I know enough that it is only part of the puzzle. As long as my strength in the gym goes up during my bulk cycles, and I can hold that during my cut cycles, I am happy.

When I had a digital bodyfat device (before another trainer broke it for me :mad: ), I was a slave to THAT thing. LOL. It kept me in check though ... Maybe I should get another one :rolleyes:

[dankar]

Trainerdan, Thanks for some more great info. 6' 3'' and a lean 230 - my head is spinning! OUTSTANDING!

Its comforting to know that I am not unique when it comes to the fear of seeing a higher number on the scale even if it means the additional weight is lean muscle.

Thanks Trainerdan... I need all the help I can get dealing with this one. dankar

[Trainerdan]

Well, I am half-way through my CKD cycle ... only 3 weeks left of "PHASE 1", then I will get hardcore and do the last 4 weeks (August) as "PHASE 2" ... complete with even more diet manipulation and supplement fun. LOL. Woo-hoo!

Fern took a few pics of me, but I think they look goofy. I have no tan to speak of ... well, that's not true. I have a FARMER'S TAN which I need to even out.

Maybe I'll try one more pic tomorrow morning when everything is tight, and I'll post that as my "half-way" picture ...

[Trainerdan]

Since this thread started, I have changed my mind, and I AM GOING TO COMPETE.

A year from now ... LOL ... but I will be on stage at a regional/local show next summer.

This is the early-early stages of my contest prep, but I am all business from here out.

[Trainerdan]

It's a self-picture, not high-quality, I need a tan and a shave, it's at the tail end of a carb-up so I am holding water, and the flash blocks my face ... LOL ... but here is my progress so far. I am pretty happy so far and expect full-on ripped six pack by then end of August.

August 1, things change a bit and get a little more hardcore and a little more "carbby" as I begin to transition to mass-mode in September. I'll post a sample diet when I get it compiled.

[fern2340]

So, this is what you do when I go home?!?! :)
Nice pic....although I liked the one i took the other day where you can see your face!