Val scrapped his ‘bulking diet’ to build this six-pack body in 14 weeks

Val had always been the ‘skinny fat’ kid growing up.

He’d never had visible muscle and remembers carrying weight around his stomach at high school.

So, once he graduated, his priority was simple. Put on as much muscle as possible.

To him, that meant eating 3000+ calories and drinking mass gainers every single day.

But that approach seemed to have backfired.

Now 27, he was heavier than ever before and the advice he’d taken from Instagram fitness influencers had done nothing for his physique or self-confidence. He felt out of breath just walking up the stairs, and even fell into a heavy drinking culture which became part of his routine.

Val was a million miles away from his ‘ideal’ body, so turned to a personal training program with Ultimate Performance to put things right.

Just 14 weeks later, he can proudly say he’s got the aesthetic upper body he’s always dreamed of.

He finally found a training routine that worked for him, and a calorie-controlled diet he could stick to. It was that powerful combination that quickly stripped away fat, transforming his body entirely.

Here, Val reveals how he achieved such incredible results…

Val, tell us what motivated you to start a personal training program with Ultimate Performance?

I'd always trained at the gym on and off since high school, but my nutrition has never been a focus or something that I really understood and followed. You know, I mistakenly followed influencers on Instagram and YouTube.

But basically, once I started work, I found myself in a heavy drinking culture and fell into that trap. That habit became a part of my week and my daily routine, to the point where I was feeling puffed out while walking upstairs.

I tried to turn it back around myself, you know, go to the gym, but work would always get in the way and then I would fall off after a week or so.

I figured, you know what, it's time to get a trainer.

You mentioned you’d tried to lose weight in the past, but never succeeded. Now you’ve achieved such eye-catching results, what would you say has been your biggest takeaway?

I think the most significant takeaway was the importance of nutrition – particularly in terms of strength gains. I always underestimated and misunderstood the role that nutrition played. Having my trainer as my guide and following the provided meal plans showed me the importance of portion control.

In the past, I used to eat two meals a day without losing weight. Now, I'm eating four or five meals a day and consistently dropping weight while still maintaining strength.

So, understanding when and how to eat has been the most valuable takeaway for me. I can confidently eat out and eyeball the right portion sizes for carbs and protein without feeling guilty.

How did you feel about your body prior to training with Ultimate Performance? Was it affecting your confidence, and if so, how has that changed now?

My confidence has definitely improved. When people compliment you – people that you haven't seen in a long time – it’s an amazing feeling. People at work that I haven't seen in one or two months noticed.

Growing up, I was always a skinny fat kid, and a priority of mine after high school when I started training was to really bulk up. I guess I achieved the complete other extreme of what I’ve got now. I jumped on the mass gainers, ate heaps of food, dirty bulked, and I was relatively fat. Yes, it came with a bit of strength, but I was nowhere near confident in that shape.

So, now that I've dropped down the weight, maintained my strength, and become the leanest I’ve ever been, it’s incredible. I’ve found myself walking around the house with no shirt on now. I’m going on holiday this summer with my family, so it will be nice to walk around feeling confident and not getting tired.

After all those years training alone, it must be a great feeling building this physique in such a short period of time.

100%. I’m stoked to be honest. I mentioned walking around a lot more with my shirt off, and that's because I just want to enjoy it.

Seeing the progress and the results of the consistency and hard work – it’s something that I would've never thought possible. I know there's more to come and I'm excited for what's next.

I never thought I could achieve these results in such a short period of time. I'm beyond excited and happy.

Do you believe your transformation has had an impact on your friends and family?

For sure. Growing up we were always a very snacky household. The pantry was full of snacks, chocolates, and sweets. The fridge had ice cream in it all the time. My dad was never able to really keep up with me and my brother when we were playing because he never had the energy.

Now that we have started training and taking our diet seriously, he’s noticed that. Seeing me commit to a step count and prepare my meals every Sunday has made him more mindful about his food. He’s started going on walks and I’ve caught him training in our home gym a couple of time.

He’s actually dropped a few kilograms himself.

You’ve shown excellent discipline following your training and diet plan in your time with U.P. Would you say that discipline and focus has extended into other areas of your life?

Yeah. I’ve needed to be very disciplined at times and I’ve very proud of myself. I’ve noticed it bleeds into other areas of my life.

I always found myself staying back at work – I’ve got a very demanding job. I often stayed back until 9pm and would use that as an excuse not to train. However, having set weekly sessions and knowing there was a trainer waiting for me forced me to be more effective with my time at work.

This allowed me to leave on time to meet the trainer at the gym without sacrificing the quality of my work.

How about your diet? How helpful was it having a structured plan created especially for you?

Proper nutrition is another aspect that has bled into so many different areas of my life. Forcing myself to be mindful of my food meant that I prepped all my meals for the week on Sundays.

This not only saved me time during the rest of the week because I wasn't cooking or thinking about what to eat, but it also saved me heaps of money because I wasn't eating out as much.

On top of that, I find myself going to bed a lot earlier rather than scrolling through YouTube or Instagram. I know that I need to get at least eight hours, bare minimum seven and a half. So, I put my phone away and make sure I get maximum recovery.

Awesome. One more question. How did it make you feel when your saw your ‘before and after’ photos side by side?

Unbelievable.

I was stoked about it and felt even more excited about what was to come. But achieving this transformation in such a short time has been incredible.

I used to see comparison before and after posts in 8 to 12 weeks and think it wasn't possible, but now I understand that trusting the process and committing to the protocols can lead to amazing results.