“I’ve always worked out, but never got the results that I had hoped for. I now have a lot more confidence, I’ve started to sleep better, and I’m performing much better at work.”
Tom feared it could be too late to get fit at 50.
Years of energy-sapping workouts and pushing heavy weights had led him nowhere.
Now 49 years old, he wasn’t sure what he had left to give. So when his son joked that he’d never have a six-pack, he reluctantly agreed.
That all changed in just 16 weeks after working with an Ultimate Performance personal trainer.
Tom has not only transformed his “skinny fat” body to become a confident dad, but the reduction in his cholesterol left his doctor stunned.
Read how personal training helped him turn his life around.
Why did you decide to start training with Ultimate Performance?
I wanted to get into top shape. I’ve always been athletic and worked out, but never got the results that I had hoped for.
I felt as if I was rolling into 50, and I was the ‘skinny fat’ guy. I remember one day a button popped off my shirt, and I thought, “what am I doing here?”
But it wasn’t just about working out – it was a lot more than that. I wanted to get back some self-discipline as I felt I’d become careless with my diet and how much I was drinking.
What did your diet and lifestyle look like before you started working with your personal trainer?
I’d eat whatever I wanted, and drink wine with family and friends on weekends. As I said, I felt that my lifestyle meant I was rolling into 50.
I was aware that it was pretty easy to get caught in that cycle in Hong Kong, with the great food and living the expat lifestyle. But I didn’t want to go down that road.
I wanted to take control of my life, and get fit. It’s funny because I was going to wait a year to do this, but I thought, why wait? I wanted to be in shape at 49, so when I reached 50 I had muscle and was below 10% body fat.
What improvements have you made to your physique in the time working with your trainer?
I remember saying that I wanted to look like Robert De Niro in Cape Fear on day one at U.P. Now, I think I look just as good, if not better! I wanted to look good and be as strong as possible.
Did I get there? 100%. I was doing split squats with 8kg on my first session, now I’m doing 25kg. The same with pull-ups. I could manage five on my first day and I told myself I was in decent shape. I’m now doing 20kg weighted pull-ups for around eight reps.
The other day, I was at the park with my kids and couldn’t resist pulling myself up on the monkey bars.
Aside from looking better than ever, how has your transformation benefitted your life?
My posture’s better, I have a lot more confidence, I’ve started to sleep better, and I’m a lot more present for my family. I would always train at 6am, which set the tone for a lot of improvements in my life. We were getting things done early and making sure I was working my body hard.
Having someone there to check on me every single session made me give 100% every time I stepped foot in the gym. So not only was I getting in shape, but I was leaving the gym at 7am and sat at my desk at 7.30am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
From there, a lot of other things started falling in line. I’m a lawyer and I’ve noticed I’m performing much better at work. It’s an intense job, but I’m sitting there feeling great knowing that I got my workout in.
I never imagined this would happen to me. The changes won’t be temporary either – I’m going to make sure I stay this way for my whole life.
You mentioned that your transformation has made you more of an active father. How important was that to you?
It’s a great feeling.
I’ll give you an example. We were at the pool one day and one of the dads said, “whoa, you’re throwing your daughter a lot further these days.” And I said, “yes, I am.” My daughter even noticed it. It’s little things like that. My daughter said, “you’re throwing me higher daddy.” The fact that my kids were noticing that I’d become stronger made me very proud.
I remember my son once said I’ll never have a six-pack, and I agreed. I thought that ship had sailed. But guess what? I’ve got one now.
My kids see how hard I’ve worked. They see me weighing out food and being careful about what I eat, which I think has inspired them. We also go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday, so they’re slowly getting into it.
When you first spoke to your trainer, you told him about your high cholesterol. Has getting in shape improved your health?
I have high cholesterol, and my family has a long history of coronary heart disease. I’ve been watching my health closely for the last five or six years.
I get blood work done on a quarterly basis, and before I embarked on my transformation U.P., I told my trainer about my condition. I also spoke to my doctor, and said “I’m about to do a body transformation plan, what do you think?” And he said that I should go ahead with it.
A few weeks ago, I did my routine blood work. I don’t have the exact numbers, but my doctor was stunned. If I were to write it in shorthand – the good numbers have gone up and the bad numbers have gone down.
And that’s all to do with my better diet, more exercise and healthier habits. I think if I keep this up, I’m probably going to be able to come off cholesterol medication entirely.
Finally, would you recommend U.P. to other people looking to make changes to their health?
I’m Ultimate Performance’s biggest salesperson! Don’t wait, just do it.
Get in there and change your life. You’ll pick up so many habits that will stay with you for life.
It’s not just about the training and lifting weights – but the diet, discipline and lifestyle that comes with it. Now that I’ve trained here, I’ve started to help other people get fit and help them focus on improving their life.
I’d 100% recommend U.P.
If you feel your age is catching up with you, we can help. Weight training at 49 has improved Tom’s productivity, confidence and energy with his kids. Start your own program today.
- 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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