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Despite the busy schedule and zero background in exercise, here's how David reached his fitness goal.
For at least once in your life, I'm pretty sure you had this common New Year's Resolution of getting in shape for the year but for so many years now, you usually find yourself giving up by February. Don't worry, you're not alone.
While it might be your lack of real intrinsic motivation at times, it might also be because you think you are doing the right things, but then you end up getting frustrated and blaming your metabolism or genetics because you don't know what went wrong.
I can't fully blame you, with all the misinformations out there, it is truly confusing and hard to know what really works and what doesn't. In Laystrength, we do our best to spread the information on what works and what doesn't in fitness. This post will give you an idea on how we do this.
Here's how David reached his fitness goals without any injuries, with the help of personalized and science-based methods by Laystrength.
Before the Program
Before starting, we did a thorough assessment that considered everything including his time availability being a Medicine student, his stress levels at times, his exercise history, his perceived obstacles, and other relevant things that will have a huge factor in his progress and the program to be created for him.
The exercise intensity and the exercise selection process was made specifically for him based on the initial assessment. For example, he can't fully extend his arms overhead and he can't lockout his elbows during pushing movements, his upper body strength was low and he couldn't do even the easiest version of the Push Up exercise (Inclined Push Up/ Kneeling Push Up). He didn't have good movement patterns, and got tired easily.
Month #1
During the first month, we focused on exercising alone since it will still yield enough results upon initial assessment. We took this opportunity to build a good foundation and master the exercise techniques for the upcoming progressions of the exercises, which will be needed to ensure continuous progress.
We also took this opportunity to make sure that he will not develop any injury or pain during the entire program.
Month 1 was simple and just the right intensity because he didn't have any physical activity prior to this program. We didn't want to make it too hard since we wanted to build a good habit that he can sustain.
After month 1, he drastically dropped a lot of weight (he dropped 13 pounds) as expected due to his consistent efforts not just in the gym, but also outside the gym by increasing his daily energy expenditure, through an increase in daily step count.
At second and third month, we started progressing his program through relevant exercise variations, gradually increased overall volume, and still selecting the progressed exercises based on his previous performance and limitations during month one. He was clear to progress further after showing proper technique on the basic exercises, eliminating the "too much too soon" loading that usually produces injuries.
Since he already knows how to do some of the exercises, we did a Hybrid Training (Personal Training plus Online Coaching) wherein I only see him for personal training at certain times, and then he continues the program on his own using the Laystrength Mobile App.
We also started with his nutrition program so he can lose weight even further, and learn how to sustain a healthy eating habit that matches his lifestyle and preferences. His nutrition program was done by Coach Tim, a registered nutritionist-dietician providing nutrition services for Laystrength clients. Coach Tim practices an evidence-based approach in nutrition and promotes sustainable nutrition programs rather than quick-fixes, band-aid approaches, and outdated nutrition programs.
David consulted through an online video call, his nutrition plan was delivered via email the same day, and then David followed the plan customized for him and did his part in learning how to eat better — which resulted to his continuous weight loss progress.
All throughout month four to month number nine, David found a way to stay consistent in his program. This included working out even if he had few hours of sleep and choosing to try his best in eating better even on tiring days.
On our part, we adjusted his program sometimes based on his stress levels. When he had too much exams or he found it extra hard to squeeze in some workout sessions, we edited his workouts to still match his schedule by creating thirty-minute programs, split into three days, or forty-five minute programs split into two days.
9-Month End Result
After 9 months, David lost a total of 41 lbs. Most importantly, even up to this date, December 2019, this busy Medicine student was able to maintain his progress and change his lifestyle into a healthy one along with the weight loss he achieved.
Gallery - David's Progress in Exercises
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The Author:
Lay Mijares is the founder of Laystrength Inc., a science-based fitness company providing accessible fitness and health services in houses, condos, offices, and mobile phones. She's also a Bachelor Degree holder of Sports Science, a former Performance Specialist in the Philippine Sports Commission, and a former online coach for hundreds of clients internationally.
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