It can be tough for any man to gain muscle – but naturally slim Dimitrios found it almost impossible.
Even in his days as a semi-professional footballer training six days a week in the gym, he couldn’t get the results he wanted.
But 28-year-old Dimitrios invested in himself with Ultimate Performance and has achieved a remarkable transformation in just 11 weeks.
He gained serious muscle while cutting his body fat down to single digits – and his strength numbers in the gym have gone through the roof.
But it’s perhaps the mental benefits at work and in his everyday life that have had the biggest impact.
“I look fuller, and I look bigger in my shoulders, biceps, triceps. The aesthetic bit is a by-product of the results.
“If you come in just to transform yourself aesthetically, that’s going to be a given if you train with trainers like James.
“But what you gain outside of that is very difficult to achieve in a non-training environment.
“Focus, clarity, better decision-making, and confidence. You feel good, and obviously, if you feel good in yourself, everybody else will get a much better version of yourself. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Dimitrios talks about his struggles gaining muscle, the training gains he has made, and how working with U.P. three hours a week has maximised his time efficiency.
How did you initially hear about U.P.?
I heard about U.P. by googling’ best personal training in Hong Kong’. You could immediately tell that U.P. stood out in terms of the offering.
When you sat down with your trainer James, what were the original goals you set out to achieve from day one?
My original goals were about improving performance, not only in the gym, but in life more broadly. That includes personal performance in terms of how I felt, professional performance at work, and all other endeavours. It wasn’t just to improve my body’s aesthetic look and feel; it was a lot more holistic than that.
What results have you achieved at U.P so far?
I’ve achieved a couple of significant results at U.P.
I’ve lost half a kilo of body weight, but that’s obviously not the whole story because, on the surface, that doesn’t look like we’ve done much for the last eight weeks.
I’ve also gained about 5.2kg of lean muscle. The body composition change is obvious if I haven’t lost much weight and I’m much stronger. You can just tell that it’s been quite a significant transformation, so amazing results.
Looking back, how would you evaluate your results from an emotional standpoint and a physical standpoint?
From an emotional standpoint, I feel a lot more centred. My ability to focus for longer periods during the day, both at work and home, has increased.
I’d also say that my confidence has gone up even more. I wouldn’t say I’m someone who lacks confidence, but right now, I just feel good.
I wake up in the mornings, and I’m excited for the day. It’s just the small changes that are significant over time.
In eight weeks, you’re not going to change every single aspect of your life. Considering the time I’ve spent awake, in comparison to how much time I’ve trained, it’s a 2% investment in the gym – the hour a day, three times a week over the last eight weeks has been just 2%, so the return on investment is incredible.
I’ve always been in sport, but my body type isn’t the easiest, in terms of gaining muscle and transforming very quickly, so I’ve always been fit, or I’d like to think I’ve always been fit. Still, it’s one thing being fit and skinny, and it’s another thing working towards being more fit and feeling fuller. It’s very obvious we’ve done a lot of good work over the last eight weeks.
You mentioned you’ve become stronger; talk me through that…
So, it was very evident in the first couple of sessions that I was feeling a lot more stable, especially with exercises like split squats or pull-ups.
It’s one thing to work towards a high number of reps, but to do it in a rushed way where it’s just tallying just for the sake of tallying. Then it’s another thing to be doing the reps in a very controlled and efficient manner.
So, in terms of pull-ups, I went from six bodyweight reps to six reps with
15kg on a belt. That’s a significant difference. Split squats – I went from 8kg to 22.5kg (in each hand) on split squats. That’s nearly three times more, which is significant.
And then with the incline barbell chest press from 30kg to 55kg, so again nearly double. It’s obvious that the changes have been significant over the last eight weeks.
What would you say to a friend or colleague thinking about coming to U.P.?
I’d say in terms of anyone looking to join U.P., if you’re tired of the DIY approach, then this is for you. Even with a sports background, I used to play football semi-professionally, but I spent a lot of time in the gym and couldn’t get the results I’ve wanted because people assumed it was just about the gym itself.
The gym is important, but it’s also about lifestyle habits, hitting the right number of steps and having someone to guide you through the process, helping to track your calories, macros, steps, water, stress levels. It’s not just about putting in six workouts a week because I used to do that, and now I’m putting in a third of that time, and the results are much better.
So, suppose you’re tired of the DIY approach, and you want to invest in yourself. In that case, U.P. is an investment emotionally, it is a time investment, it is a financial investment – but if you really want the best results, people need to get into the habit of investing in themselves. That is what I’ve chosen to do.
- We show you the best, we don't show you the worst.
- We show you people who follow the plans, not those who are all talk.
- We show you those who inspire even us with their commitment to their results.
- You cannot get results exactly like these. You are unique and that means you can only get your own best possible results.
- Your results are a function of time spent following the plan; your genetic response to the right exercise and diet program; how hard you train; how consistently you come to the gym; how disciplined you are with your diet; & your starting point.
- Oftentimes the lower your starting point (poor fitness, terrible body composition) the better your results.
- We cannot do the work for you and the results you see here are a testament to the work ethic of our clients.
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Our reputation is that we are the best trainers in the world for helping you to unlock your potential, & we can lead you to the door, give you the key, even turn the handle and push the door open, but we cannot walk through it for you.
In the end the result is down to you.
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