changes would start to happen fast if I buckled down. I knew
he was right, but I just couldn’t find the motivation to be
persistent. I knew I could do it because I’d get a spark, but then
it would quickly be extinguished by thoughts of how far I had to
go. I felt overwhelmed!
Those false starts were disheartening, and I had a number of
them. My before pictures were taken in September, and that’s
when I decided to be gin a tra nsformation program. The
problem was I couldn’t commit completely. I went to the gym a
few times in September, but I didn’t stick with it. I decided that
Thanksgiving would be my starter pistol, and right after the
holiday I’d go full force. Nope, it didn’t happen. I put it off till
Christmas, New Year’s and, finally, my birthday, which was my
41st, at the end of February.
B i rthdays are milestones, and turning 41 finally ignited my
enthusiasm to more than a flicker. I’d gone through my first year
in my 40s in perhaps my worst shape ever—not a good way to
enter the prime of life. It was time to change that and prove to
myself that I could achieve my best shape ever and be a
h a p p i e r, healthier person. Steve was beginning his annual
c utt ing pha s e, so th at he lped m y m in d-s e t. ( I s t ro n g l y
recommend having a partner or friend go through the process
with you. Steve and I ran and walked together a lot—and ate a
lot of the same things.)
How I Trained
I started with some easy full-body sessions for a few weeks,
training two days a week (see the Phase 1 Break-in Workout),
and then Steve created a split routine for me, using h is
Positions-of-Flexion training method (more on POF in Chapter
8). I started going to the gym three days a week and training
more intensely. The first two days I did a split routine, and then
on Friday I did a full-body workout with slightly higher reps on
each exercise.
If you look at my Phase 2 routine that begins on page 50,
you may notice that there ’s direct and indirect work for every