Joe Dropped 8.4kg (18.5lbs) and Now Runs 10Ks with Ease – All While Getting the First Six-Pack of His Life
Marketing Director, Joe came to Ultimate Performance already active, but despite years of running and playing squash, he was stuck in a frustrating plateau.
The 31-year-old had never done structured strength training and he struggled with consistency in his diet, so he had never seen real, lasting changes to his body.
Weekends routinely derailed his progress, and though he kept fit during the week, he never quite hit the physical goals he truly wanted – like getting lean enough to finally see his abs.
What changed everything was structure, accountability, and expert coaching. With U.P., Joe didn’t just get lean – he beat personal bests, built real strength, and now runs 10km races faster than ever with ease.
Ten weeks later, he’s leaner, stronger, and more confident – proof that even high performers can unlock another level of performance with the right support.
What made you want to start training at U.P.?
So for me, it was probably two things. The first one was more performance related. I wanted to get stronger and leaner, so I'm better at sports like running and squash. Those are some of the key hobbies that I have in life. I felt that coming to U.P. would help me reduce my body fat and get me better, performance-wise. Also, everybody probably wants to look better. I've never had a six-pack in my life. It's something that I wanted to achieve at some point. And so yeah, they were they were the key drivers for me.
What was your lifestyle like before U.P.?
Healthy for 4 days of the week. I'd say for the other 3, not as healthy. Weekends were difficult and one of the biggest changes at U.P. was getting my weekends in check. Lifestyle, it was really the same. Healthy those 4 days a week. I was doing quite a bit of training in terms of cardio training, so running and squash. The big change with U.P. was getting the strength training, which has definitely, definitely helped all of us.
How did you feel about your body before you started?
Before I started training, I wasn't happy with it. I didn't feel fit enough for what I wanted to do, and some of the activity that I wanted to do. I wasn't as confident in my appearance, I would say just carrying excess fat that I didn't need. Not as muscular as I wanted to be.
How quickly did you start seeing results?
So in the first set of two-week pictures, I could see a big drop. Then having the pictures taken every two weeks, you've got something to look forward to. To see the progress provided motivation throughout.
Did you think you could really achieve this kind of transformation?
There is a doubt in your mind, you do question yourself thinking, ‘am I going to be able to do it? Am I going to be able to stick to the diet?’ And there's also pressure when you see all these people getting good results, wanting to achieve that as well. I did think it was possible because I've seen thousands of clients go through it and do it. But you do question whether you can do it, definitely at the start.
How do you feel about your progress so far?
So fitness wise, I'm faster when I run. Running 10k is pretty easy and a time that would have been a PB when I first started. I feel like when I play squash I don't really get that tired, and normally it's my opponent that gets tired now!
Strength wise is massive difference. I think that's probably the biggest change. When we first did the bench press, I was struggling with light weights, now I feel like I've really pushed on. Same with lat pull downs. I think we've made significant increases – in every strength exercise. So massive difference there.
It's also changed my mind set on having the right habits. So making sure that you are a bit stricter with yourself on weekends. If you're not going for a severe calorie cut, you can have the occasional weekend, but you can cut out more than you think without it having any detriment on your lifestyle.
What would you say to people who don’t believe they can achieve results like this?
I would say a result is always possible. It depends on what result you want to get. I think if you want to come to U.P., it gives you the best chance of getting that result. So, you can try it yourself and can be motivated two weeks – that's easy for anyone. The difficult thing is sustaining it, the consistency over 12 weeks to 36 weeks. It will definitely be possible for anyone that joins, in if they want to commit to the process.
What have been the biggest lessons you’ve learned from this process?
The big one is like the lifestyle changes in terms of you don't need to have a drink every evening. You never really need that. You can sacrifice certain things. There's no point eating Friday, Saturday and Sunday unhealthy.
The other one is the importance of strength training. I probably neglected it for a few years and focused just on cardio, which is good for your heart health and cardiovascular. But I think the strength training is really important.
If you had to sum it all up, what would you say about your transformation?
It's transformational, isn't it?
When you look back at you body 10 weeks ago – it's a huge difference. I think the only positive things that you can say really. I look forward to the training sessions. The eating is probably the more difficult part, but the training you can get up for, you enjoy it, you've got a routine.
