A Client Success Story: Tair, Helsinki

Tair came to me recommended by a mutual friend.

After having stopped training for a couple of years, he noticed he was getting out of shape and didn’t want to end up fat and ugly at 40 (his words, not mine). Working long hours at his job while no longer possessing the humming metabolism of an 18-year-old – coupled with lack of strenuous physical activity – had lead to adding fat onto his formerly slim, although not very muscular frame.

When I asked him about his goals, he told me the following:

- Build muscle

- Burn fat

- Get stronger

- Learn about nutrition: how to eat properly and have a healthy lifestyle

So basically he repeated what every client of mine wants to achieve. The good thing was Tair already knew how to do the big barbell lifts since this is a prerequisite for online coaching clients. All we needed to do on that front was tweaking his technique and he was good to go.

This allowed us to dial in the nutrition part for a body recomp with muscle gain as the main objective in the relatively short amount of time I was given to produce results (13 weeks).

Weight: 72.3kg -> 76.4kg (+4.1kg)

Waist: 80cm -> 77.5cm (-2.5cm)

Deadlift: 55kg x5 -> 125kg x5

Squat: 30kg x5 -> 90kg x4

Bench Press: 50kg x5 -> 80kg x4

Because of his 2-year hiatus from lifting weights (and training in general), I had him start very light so that he could hone his technique and get back into the groove, which would allow him to make solid progress on a weekly basis. One mistake I often notice beginners and those coming back after a layoff do is that they start too heavy, plateau quickly and then lose motivation.

Furthermore, the rather impressive jump up in numbers was not merely a consequence of gaining back lost strength.

For reference, his best numbers previously when he used to train on his own were 90kg on the deadlift and 60kg on the squat for reps, both of which he clearly blew right past within the 3 months we worked together.

Strength gains across the board on all other exercises as well.

As this project was a decent example of simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss accompanied by new PR’s, I decided to ask Tair about his experience for those of you interested.

Q1. What was your fitness/training/nutrition background like before working with me?

“I have been trying to keep going to the gym for many years now. First, around 8 years ago when I was about 22 years old. I remember the longest time I went to the gym more or less regularily was around 10 months.

Later on, I stopped as I had not seen any major results. I had unbalanced lifestyle and that is why I think it had negatively affected my fitness results. Working out was not something new to me. I used to swim for couple of years, went to Karate for several years, played football and already knew various fitness exercises.”

Q2. What was your main concern about hiring me?

“I do not think I had any concerns to hire a professional. I remember I finally realized I am getting older and fattier than I used to be. Hence, I decided to find someone to help me train more efficiently with greater results.

It was a coincidence that my friend Valentin [Editor's note: our mutual friend who is responsible for the awesome design on this site] has been involved with http://fivehourfitness.com. I checked the website, read about page and fully agreed – my life is ending one minute at a time, so if I don’t change my lifestyle now, I will probably never get to it.”

Q3. What did you find as a result of buying my services?

“Besides the knowledge I got about the fitness, I understood that getting stronger, loosing fat, and gaining muscles is all about self-discipline. I also understood that it is not enough just going to the gym. It is more than that: It is your lifestyle, your diet, your sleep, your mindset and your priorities.”

Q4. What specific feature did you like most about working with me?

“The most I liked about your service is the distance :) I will try to explain. When training in the gym with a professional, you have less chances to get off the track. However, when having a remote assistance you get only the crucial knowledge but everything else you do on your own, and that’s the most beneficial part of your service. Only when you are alone, you can really test your motivation, think of the training details and learn by mistakes.

Moreover, with remote assistance you go through provided information and find the answers, in contrast to repeating the in-gym personal trainer as a monkey. After all, fitness is a lifestyle and we have to learn to live with it.”

Q5. What would be three other benefits of my service?

“a) Quick results in a short time – Looks like you have gone through many training programs and absorbed lots of fitness information. I think you got the best training program by focusing on the core exercises. I am extremely happy I started doing Squats, Deadlifts and Chin ups instead of hundreds of other machinery exercises I used to do in the past. The “Fat bastards guide to getting lean” is an awesome program that I already recommended to some friends.

b) Attitude – I really liked your attitude towards clients. Initially it may appear a bit rude, but later on you find it motivating. Still remember the “kick your ass” clause in the pre-agreement phase :) Things like “fat bastards”, “you are weak”, “the truth about abs” etc. is an honest feedback, which really motivates. Keep going this way!

c) Site information – Your website is excellent. You are doing a great job publishing so much information on fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, etc. That was one of the main reasons I used your services. I bet, whenever someone sees this much information and activity from the service provider, he starts to trust and believes the person behind it is an expert.”

Q6. Would you recommend me to your closest friends? If so, why?

“I would recommend by the same reasons I mentioned in 5th answer.”

Q7. Please name and elaborate on three significant lessons you learned during our project.

“Lesson 1 – Lifestyle – I learned that to look good and being strong it is not enough going to the gym regularly. I learned its everything, including what you eat, how you sleep and how you live. Practically, one needs to change his lifestyle to achieve greater results.

Lesson 2 – Goals – I learned it is important to set the goals, which may look unrealistic in the beginning. Not having the goals in fitness is the same as in life. No goals, no achievement. Therefore, at every training it is important to aim bigger weights, longer distances, better results.

Lesson 3 – Step back can be a step forward – I learned that sometimes it is important to take a step back so that later you can go even further. Hence, deloads, week off, etc. are a good thing :)”

Word.

Muscle was gained, fat was lost, strength increased nicely and the world is a better place as a result. I’m really looking forward to continuing working with Tair over the next few months now that a solid base has been built.