BodyBlitz Challenge Measurements Before Height: 168 cm Weight: 88.4 kg Chest: 106.5 cm Waist: 101 cm Calves: 40.5 cm Arms: 34 cm Thighs: 63 cm After Height: 168 cm Weight: 73.2 kg Chest: 105 cm Waist: 87 cm Calves: 38 cm Arms: 33.5 cm Thighs: 57 cm

At first I had no idea what was involved but I agreed to take on the 12-week BodyBlitz challenge with my fiancée Yvette. I knew little about nutrition, nothing about supplements and would only ever cut calories if we ran out of food. I failed to complete the challenge on my first two attempts but managed to lose over 13 kg. I was surprised at my weight loss in the two failed attempts and also shocked at how overweight I must have been.

This led me to check out a few websites on health and diet, which indicated that for my height, my healthy weight range was around 72 kg. I then started reading the stories of past winners, some of whom had multiple attempts before completing the challenge and some who faced hurdles along the way but still completed with good results. After reading what others had gone through and still finished, it was disappointing to think how easily I had given up on my two previous attempts.

That was my initial motivation for attempting the challenge a third time. I already felt good being at 88 kg for the first time in years but I wanted to complete the challenge and see what results I could achieve. I’d done some weight training before but nothing serious and had never included deadlifts or much leg work in my workouts. I planned to stick with home-cooked meals for the duration of the challenge and write up a gym program, which I would change around a bit after each four weeks. The diet was going to be tough and half my workouts would have to be done after a 12-hour day at work. I decided that giving my best effort for 12 weeks once would be more rewarding than starting the challenge a bunch of times and only doing four weeks each time.

I started the challenge slow and steady for the first couple of weeks, with my main focus on getting used to regular workouts and not doing an injury. I picked up a copy of Iron Man Magazine for training tips and to read up on supplements. I got lucky with a few articles that helped me make up my program and after reading Jo Csik’s story from last year, I started taking Gaspari Nutrition’s Superpump250 before my workouts. In week two I added protein powder to my diet and continued taking it for the rest of the challenge.
After four weeks it was going OK but any weight loss or muscle gains were hard to notice. I had read that it could take four-to-six weeks to notice gains in some people, or even longer. So after losing only 0.6 of a kg from week two to week four, I never lost motivation and thought, “I’ll just keep weighing in every two weeks, note it in my dairy and check it at the end to see how things went.” This is about the stage where I gave up on my other attempts. Doing my workouts after a full day at work and sticking with the no junk diet was hard, but just getting past the four-week stage was my biggest hurdle in the challenge.

From week four onwards it got more enjoyable and became a bit of a routine. I was looking forward to my workouts and including cardio in the program when I wasn’t at work. The next three fortnights all resulted in losses of around three kilos and by this time gains were becoming visible, which was very encouraging. I switched to MRI Black Powder and War after six weeks to include an intra-workout recovery supplement, which I took for the rest of the challenge. The last two weeks were hard, but with the finish line in sight, I just went as hard as I could in my workouts and cardio sessions.

Now it’s over I’m so happy to have completed the whole 12 weeks. Yvette did a good job too and doing it together made it that little bit easier to stay on track when things got tough. I am stoked with my results and plan to continue with the workouts and the healthy diet after the challenge. I’d like to thank BodyBlitz for helping me lose the best part of 30 kg, Johno for his advice on supplements and training, and Yvette for her encouragement and support during the challenge and all the great meals — you’re awesome. IM