asn customers . . .

athlete Success Story - Shaun

As a result my physical fitness and appearance is terrible. As a person who had been in good athletic condition I was very disheartened.

After speaking with Simon and Kerrie from ASN they recommended I watch the Body For Life DVD's. I did this and was very moved by the information and results people on the DVD had achieved. So much so, that I have decided to do the EAS Body For Life 12 week challenge.

For the next 12 weeks you will be able to view my progress on this website, including, photo's and updates. So take a look at this embarrassing photo and see what injury, no training and over indulgence can do to your body! The Start Starting Weight : 116.5kg Starting Body Fat 25% I hate this photo, I can’t believe I’m doing this, I later found out that ASN gets Millions of hits a year on the Net, great! Do you think I could get a job modelling the new Speedo range?

I love the beach but was too embarrassed to take my shirt off and go swimming. I live near the beach but only swam at a friend’s pool.

Two beauties and me, the beast.

My nieces doing their part for nature. Helping a whale back into the water.

End of Week Two

Shaun 2 weeks in: 4.5kg lighter

Weight: 112kg (4.5kg lost) Thoughts: I look at my before photo every day and have it as a screen saver to remind me how far I have fallen. That photo is not me. The hard part is proving this statement. I plan too. Sessions missed: 0 Cheat meals: 0 Inspirational words: “To be or not to be” (Shakespeare) Inspirational Film: “Body for Life” (Bill Phillips) I have watched the DVD’s every day for two weeks. They are highly motivating and inspirational Inspirational Song: “Renegades of Funk” (Rage Against the Machine)

Training tips: “GET THERE! Turning up is half the battle.”

Diet tips: If you cheat, write it down. This may tell you why you haven’t met your weight loss goal this week.

Recipe: Tuna is muscle in a can. Convenient, full of protein, no fat and no carbohydrates. (In springwater or brine)

Obstacles: Fatigued, sore, hungry with blistered feet! My elbow is unable to do any pressing motion, this means no bench or shoulder press. I have trouble breathing at times and get a terrible stich where the chest drain was inserted. I can’t help thinking my lung has been permanently damaged.

The price to pay for 4.5kg lost. This was my first blister, he grew and grew. I ended up with them all over both feet. Had about ten but this nasty bugger became my favourite. Caused a lot of problems. I used Sports Tape to cover them, it eventually worked. Trouble was I did not stop training to let them heal.

Supplements:

	EAS 100% Whey Protein
	EAS Myoplex Carb Smart RTD Poppers
	EAS Myoplex Carb Smart protein bars
	ASN Pro Acetyl L-Carnitine
	Nutrabolics NOZ Full Throttle Creatine
	Nutrabolics Infernos

End of Week 4

Shaun 4 weeks in, 8.5kg lighter. Still with blisters, my feet are a mess!

Weight: 108kg (lost 8.5kg) Thoughts: I got blisters on my feet the first day from walking and running. They are painful! Four weeks in and I still have them but I’m still training. Maybe they will stop when they hit bone? Sessions missed: 0 Cheat meals: 0 Inspirational words: “Pain is just weakness leaving the body” (unknown, most likely a coach or someone not actually feeling the pain) Inspirational film: “Body for Life (Bill Phillips) can’t say enough about this film, still watching it. It’s about getting in shape but also passing the knowledge on so others may benefit and enjoy a healthy life style. I hope my shared experiences here will help others in their weight loss battles.

Inspirational song: “Man Eater” (Nelly Furtado)

Training tips: Tape your feet to avoid blisters!

On my walk, I would jump onto this block to increase my heart rate, doing 3 sets of 10. It has taken me 6 weeks to build the fitness to be able to do this. This is called plyometric vertical leaping. For me it’s simply ‘jump-on-block’.

Diet tips: Paul’s Carb-Smart Ice Cream. Check for carbohydrate levels in food products, not just low fat! Low fat can still mean loads of sugar and carbohydrates. The killer of weight loss. Read; understand what you’re doing, and how fat loss and training works. Strength and success through knowledge.

Obstacles: Elbow, have had a cortisone injection and taking anti-inflammatory to help with pain.

Supplements (have added):

	SOG-3
	EAS Muscle Armour
	Fusion Zuess

I was very moved by the donations to charity Bill Phillips and the Body For Life team have made. Watch the film, you won’t believe how generous and caring they are. I really want to do something too; unfortunately my financial situation at the moment is not good. I am still off work due to the attack and being stabbed. I thought about it a lot and came up with an idea. It is called “Dollar a Pound”. I am going to ask all my friends and family to sponsor me a dollar for every pound I lose in the Body For Life Challenge. I will then donate this money to charity; something to help sick kids is what I’m thinking. My mum, fiancé and ASN I’m happy to say, are my first sponsors.

End of Week 6

Weight: 106kg (lost 10.5 kg) Thoughts: Half way through. Feeling so much better! Starting to get the feeling I’m going to make it through the 12 weeks. I have hope and belief in myself, something that was lacking. I lost a lot of confidence when I was stabbed and the more I got out of condition the worse I felt. I started to drink beer and eat a lot of bad food. Doing the Body For Life has helped me get some balance back into my life. Simion, Kerri and Adam from ASN have also been great, first giving me the Body For Life DVD’s then encouraging me to do the program, checking on my progress and giving sound advice.

I run these stairs, 20 repeats everyday, as part of my pre breakfast cardio. Some days I would have a terrible stich and trouble breathing the whole way. Other days nothing.

Sessions missed: 0

Cheat Meals: 0

Inspirational words: “I know you can do it” (Yvette, my fiancé she believes in me even when I don’t).

Inspirational film: “Shawshank Redemption”. Tim Robbins digs his way out of a prison. I feel like I’m also slowly digging my way toward a healthy life.

Inspirational Song: Wake me up (Ebernence)

Training tips: Keep moving. I only get tired when I stop, so I keep moving. Also if you’re tired or sore, don’t say it or think it. Say, “I’m not tired, I’m not sore. It helps me with the mental game. The old “I think there for I am”. I do this thing where if I say I’m tired I have to do more training. For example, if swimming I have to swim another 100 meters or stay on the treadmill another 10 minuets. This stopped negative thinking.

I try to “bound” five of the twenty repeats, covering two steps in each stride.

Lunging became a staple component of my cardio sessions. 10 sets of 25.

Diet Tips: Your body will not burn fat as efficiently if it has simple carbohydrates (sugar) on board. It will burn them first. Stay away from Hi GI foods before fat burning.

Recipe: Half-cup oats, 4 egg whites 1 yolk with sweetener added. Cook like a pancake and eat with a little cinnamon and banana on top.

Obstacles: Left Elbow, hungry at night.

End of Week 8

Bent over rows are always fun. I'm really starting to notice the difference in my body. It's only taken 15kg!

Weight: 102kg (lost 14.5) Thoughts: Feel good, in a really good groove and will not stop for anything. Mental state is improving also. Starting to realise I had been depressed and completely unmotivated. Sessions Missed: 0 Cheat Meal: 0 Inspirational Words: “Shut up and train!” (Read it on a t-shirt, thought it was great) Inspirational Film: Haven’t been watching films or TV, just training. Inspirational Song: “Straight Line” Silver chair. Training Tips: Consistency is the key. Do it again, and again, and do it again.

Diet Tips: Do cardio on an empty stomach. Morning is the best time, perfect conditions for fat burn as your body will be empty of any energy sources that it would burn before fat.

Recipe: Pan fry onions and mushrooms with garlic and fresh-diced chicken breast.

Obstacles: Have been finding my way around, under or blasting through any obstacles. So I have none to report.

Single-leg leg-press to failure. I would keep swapping legs until I could do no more.

Same principal with both legs.

I said "Lord let it rain" and it did. It's all good!

Cardio was completed rain, hail or shine. I still loved it, not so long ago I could not get out of bed.

Looks like I'm giving birth to a bicep! I seem to pull a lot of funny faces when training. This guy looks pretty serious.

My shoulder workouts consisted of raises and more raises, from the side, in front and behind.

End of Week 10

Weight: 96kg (lost 20.5kg) Thoughts: I realise that I have been fighting everything that was negative in my life through exercise. It’s why I have worked so hard. Sessions Missed: 0 Cheat Meal: 0 Inspirational Words: Every journey begins with a step.

Inspirational Film: A documentary about Winston Churchill in WWII, his courage and determination was unwavering in a terrible time. (Title unknown)

Inspirational Song: Black Betty (Spider bait)

Training Tips: There is always someone better than you, settle for being YOUR best!

Diet Tips: Use your supplements as a tool. Protein shakes got me through some hungry times.

Recipe: Try protein powder on your oats or cereal. It has become my favourite meal of the day.

Obstacles: Having to say no to parties and eating out with friends. I find it easier not to go. Keeps me away from temptation. Am committed to staying the coarse and completing the challenge.

Apart from the 'finish photos' these are my favourite action training shots. I have to thank my fiancé Yvette for making me look so good. It must be some sort of lighting or mirror trick . . .

Really have to thank the team from ASN. They really took an interest and supported me through the Body for Life program. Adam Lauder, the Newcastle manager was a regular companion on my morning cardio sessions.

End of Week Twelve

Obstacles: Having already achieved a lot I found it hard to push through to the end of the challenge. I was tired and looking forward to seeing the finished product and the photos.

Pretty darn happy, look pretty good and can run 5x200m sprints in under 15mins. And am running 100m sprint in around 12.25sec. No breathing pain and only get a stich every once and a while. Elbow still needs work but I have worked around the problem.

Reflection

The biggest realisation was that I had no belief in myself. You have to believe you can do it. Hope is the key word, without hope you have nothing. Start small, you can’t reach your dream in a day or a week but you can do something small every day that will help you reach your goal. For example, you can’t lose 50 pounds in a week but you can lose 1 or 2 pounds. Put the weeks together and you have a goal.

At the start I just wanted to look a bit better and lose a little weight. I did that, and then I did a little more and then a little more. As you achieve small goals your confidence will grow and your goals become larger but achievable.

I needed to change my mindset, at first all I thought about was what I wanted to eat, pizza, ice cream, and pasta. I thought about working hard and rewarding myself. This only made the challenge harder because I was always thinking about the things I wanted but could not have. So, I stopped doing that and thought about losing weight, about looking a little better every day, being a little fitter and stronger every day. This became my reward; every morning I would assess how I was looking and weigh myself. This became my reward, seeing the pounds come of and my body slowly take shape. Positive reinforcement of my goal, one supporting the other.

The Finish: 92kg (lost 24.5kg)

Take a look at the Body For Life DVD and book; all of the information you need to succeed is there. Seek out professional advice from people like Australian Sports Nutrition; they are there to help you.
Finally, believe in your self and through repetition results will come. Do something every day that is a step toward your goal. Don’t do something that is a step away from your goal. Do this and one day soon you will reach your goal.

Finally, I hope this helps you in your fitness or weight loss program. You will also be able to contact me through ASN Newcastle, where I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best wishes Shaun Perrett