Fit/Successful Man on Campus -- My Transformation

[zane11]

I posted this in the motivational section, but thought it might be a bit more appropriate here.

So after reviewing the Big Man on Campus articles and videos I was ecstatic to learn Bodybuilding.com did a piece on how you can stay fit and, more importantly, succeed in school; however, I was sincerely wishing the article was about me!

I am living proof that BB.com can not only help you be a big/fit/lean man or women on campus, but also an extraordinarily successful one. I went from being an unhappy, disorganized, 120 lb. something, college dropout to a 181 lb., 4.0 GPA, top of my class student (in both my undergraduate and graduate education). Moreover, I was an author on multiple scientific publications, a graduation speaker, a graduate student instructor, a research assistant, and won numerous academic awards due to the determination, motivation, hard work, and lifestyle instilled in me by BB.com.

In addition to these academic accolades, I managed to gain approximately 60 lbs. throughout my college career (most of it toward the beginning years) and stay lean in the process -- I believe my highest bodyfat percentage was around 10%.

I have achieved these aspirations and goals while concurrently living in an extraordinarily happy and successful marriage, maintaining a great social life, succeeding in my environmental science employment (currently in public service), and helping my family through difficult times. The culmination of these aforementioned attributes, I hope, makes me an inspiration and role-model to others.

I really wanted to share my story so that I could motivate, inspire, and help others! So please, do not hesitate to friend me on bodyspace (zane11) and ask me any questions you may have regarding nutrition, fitness, time management, or academics -- I would absolutely love to help. I reached out to the Bodybuilding.com team in hopes of sharing my story and I am waiting to hear back from them.

In addition to the knowledge and motivation instilled in me by BB.com, I put together a simple yet useful equation that helped me stay determined and motivated in my fitness, academic, and employment goals. The equation was I = CAN where I is impact, C is consistency, A is aspirations, and N is never give up.

So this is equation was not only a motivational and inspiring saying, but also made sense to me. Your overall impact-- whether it's academics, bodybuilding, or employment -- is a result of your consistency, aspirations, and ability to never give up. I made sure I had this equation somewhere that I would see it every day because it is inevitable that hardships will arise and unforeseen obstacles will occur. But, if you keep your eye on your aspirations, consistently work toward them realizing that it won't be easy, and never give up (even if you score poorly on a test, fall off your diet for a bit, miss a workout, or miss a deadline) I know that you can succeed. I encourage everyone to embrace challenges as opportunities and make sure to utilize the I = CAN equation, which worked so very well for me!

Again, I encourage anyone with questions to contact me -- I'd love to help out. I want to pay it forward. BB.com has helped me so much and I would love to give back!

[LionRiver]

dam just saw pics. AWESOME

now i'm gonna read the wall of text

edit: inspirational man. thats a great story.

[Kaosuk]

Awesome progress, how long it take and it natty?

[ILLGRIMES]

Great job!

[zane11]

LionRiver, thanks for the compliment-- I appreciate it!

Kaosuk, the majority of weight gain came over the first 2 years of my undergraduate career. I was determined to put on the "freshmen 15", but do it the right way! I then maintained and gradually increased my size over the rest of my college career, but always stayed lean and clean.

I am totally natural and never considered any other way. I just always kept telling myself " I CAN "!

ILLGRIMES, thank a lot!

[MrTinyLegs]

Take this as a compliment, but you don't look natty...

[Deso2i]

Pretty good job (Y)

[neverquit2012]

Holy freaking cow. That second pictures is absolutely SICK! Great job man! Would you mind sharing your routine?

[zane11]

MrTinyLegs, that's one of the best compliments I have ever received! I know how crazy some of the people who aren't natty look, so thanks. That's very inspiring.

Deso2i, thanks for the props.


neverquite2012, first off, I LOVE the name and secondly thanks for the praise!

I plan on putting my workout routine on my bodyspace soon, but I'll give a quick rundown on here. First thing I should say is that I am always changing it up. I try my best to never do the same workout twice! Currently, my workout is as follows:

Day 1: Chest
2: Tri's and Bi's
3: Shoulders and abs
4: Back
5: Legs
6: Off
Repeat

I'll incorporate cardio about three or four times a week (sometimes more) for overall health and the way it makes me feel.

I also change up my rep range, brake between sets, and whether I go heavy or light.

If anyone would prefer more detail please don't hesitate to ask! I was hoping to receive more questions, friend requests, and private messages from this post. I highly encourage and welcome questions -- I'd really like to share my success.

I also encourage any constructive criticism because I am always attempting to improve!

[costas86]

Could you shed some more light on what you mean by changing up your workouts? I did the exact same thing for nearly a year and struggled to see any gains.. I put on some muscle but I'm still at 145 lbs which is where I started. I just now changed up a few of my workouts with the help of a personal trainer, but..

Is it more important to change up reps or is it more important to change up the kind of workouts you do?

How often should you change things up?

Amazing gains btw!

[foodnerd]

Incredible man. Seriously flipped back and forth between the 2 pics a few times. This is truly motivating!

[JSR402]

i have a question. Whats on your crotch in the first pic?

[EdBtz]

Good stuff, super motivational. Repped.

[Puma09]

repped OP! You seem to be successful just how I want to be in the future. Being aesthetic and smart! Tips on keeping good grades in college?

[romeoyjulieta]

This thread is epic.

[rowza]

Wow. Inspiring dude. Welldone !

[Alieli]

I wish I did what you did during my college years. Great job man. True inspiration.

[mariusdeac]

I do believe you are natty. Vascularity does give that impression of being bigger and you have great vascularity. Regarding your routine. Aren't triceps used in chest and shoulder workout (given that you do bench press and shoulder press)? Doesn't that lead to tricep overtraining?

[moshvr]

Amazing ... super motivated by this dude!

Repped!

[zane11]

Could you shed some more light on what you mean by changing up your workouts? I did the exact same thing for nearly a year and struggled to see any gains.. I put on some muscle but I'm still at 145 lbs which is where I started. I just now changed up a few of my workouts with the help of a personal trainer, but..

Is it more important to change up reps or is it more important to change up the kind of workouts you do?

How often should you change things up?

Amazing gains btw!

By changing up workouts, I mean either changing the order of the exercises performed, changing the exercises used completely, changing the tempo of the routine, or a combination of those things. It sounds like you are very determined and I really encourage you to stick with it! I know it sounds chessey,but try the I = CAN equation. Write it down and put it somewhere you'll see it daily. Set your aspirations/goals and consistently work toward them while never giving up and I KNOW you'll get results!

For me, I had better results when I changes my workouts, but with that said, my most noticeable changes came when I altered my diet and temp of my workout.

I'll make changes when my body starts to get use to the new routine and this definitely varies.

And thanks so much for the compliments on the gains!

[zane11]

Incredible man. Seriously flipped back and forth between the 2 pics a few times. This is truly motivating!

Thank you so much, foodnerd... I can't even express how much all these compliments mean to me. I'm happy to hear it is motivating! I recently reached out to BB.com with my story as well and I hope they think it is motivating, too!

[zane11]

JSR402: Haha, it was a gift that I just unwrapped.

[zane11]

Good stuff, super motivational. Repped.

Thanks a lot EdBtz!

[zane11]

repped OP! You seem to be successful just how I want to be in the future. Being aesthetic and smart! Tips on keeping good grades in college?

Thanks Puma09!

I HIGHLY encourage students to set a schedule for themselves early on (just like you do with working out and nutrition). Look at your schedule and plan where you will do your work, study, hang with friends, and hit the gym. I know it sounds cheesy, but my I = CAN equation truly works. Tell yourself "I CAN" and believe in yourself. Set your aspirations/expectations and go at them with consistency and never giving up and you WILL achieve your goals. Make sure to get in good habits early on because it's SOOO much easier to stick with them. Also, make sure to surround yourself with a good group of people. Don't be afraid to go to your professor and/or teaching assistant for help -- they'll appreciate your efforts, enjoying talking to you because it's the area of expertise, and it's good to build relationships and show your interest. I highly encourage anyone reading this thread to ask me any questions you may have about college I'd love to help out!

I personally would study in the gym with notes cards... people thought I was crazy at first, but by the end of my college career I had a bunch of people doing it.

Lastly, it's important to prioritize! Know what's most important to you and invest your time accordingly. For me, it was family, academics, and fitness! And don't forget the I = CAN equation!

[zane11]

I do believe you are natty. Vascularity does give that impression of being bigger and you have great vascularity. Regarding your routine. Aren't triceps used in chest and shoulder workout (given that you do bench press and shoulder press)? Doesn't that lead to tricep overtraining?

I agree that vascularity does give the impression of greater size. I have a lot of people at my gym guess my weight at 200 lbs... I always respond " geez I wish"!

You are right that my tri's are used on my chest and shoulder days, but so far I don't think it has inhibited me. And since I change my routine a lot (sometimes tri's are with chest or shoulders) I don't think I stick with a routine long enough to overtrain them. You make a really good point, though.

[zane11]

romeoyjulieta, rowza, Alieli, moshvr --

Your compliments are sincerely appreciated. It's so great great to hear that I inspire others... it has been a long time goal of mine.

Keep working hard everyone!

[rayowns1]

Woah, nice job man; all the stuff they basically put on here can be applied to everyday life "dedication" "motivation" etc.

[wazzu]

great post! I like the CAN attitude. ibiceps and back looking massive! what was the hardest part on the journey? Keep at it

[Rally Dog]

Pretty impressive - great job man.

[zane11]

rayowns1 - Thanks! You're totally right. BB.com has literally changed my life.

Rally Dog - thanks for the compliment!

wazzu - The "I = CAN" equation has made a tremendous difference in my life and I think it's a simple enough way to tackle daunting challenges for everyone!

Thanks for the props on the biceps and back, especially the biceps! My bi's have always been a weak point so I've really been going at them.

As for the hardest part...
Academically, it was going from being a sub-par high school student and college dropout to believing that I could and would succeed in college. It was an extraordinarily scary and overwhelming challenge.

In terms of bodybuilding/fitness, the big challenge was not knowing ANYTHING about it and being the smallest and skinniest guy in the gym.

In both cases, my I=CAN equation/attitude was tremendously pivotal in overcoming these challenges and turning them into opportunities. The other big factors that helped me along the way was to never develop an ego and always being open to constructive criticism.