THE ARTICLE
As you may already be aware, I made some radical changes in the 12 week BodyBlitz competition - which I ended up winning and was titled the BodyBlitz 2005 Grand Champion. Yet, during the challenge I did not simply exercise and diet for 12 weeks to go from overweight to having a six pack. Rather, I embarked on a journey of self discovery where I learnt to respect myself, which was reflected in my physical changes.
Back in my teenage years I suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome - a disease that left me bed ridden for nine months. I was so physically fatigued that I couldn't take a quick shower without nearly passing out. Being in this state for a prolonged period of time lead to the onset of depression, a sense of helplessness, isolation and boredom. This lead to further implications - I verged on anorexia and my asthma became very bad. Through a physical rehabilitation program, I was eventually able to become involved once again in everyday life.
However whilst I had recovered physically, many of my emotions stayed with me as they were not addressed during my rehabilitation program. I had little self esteem and could barely look myself in the mirror or photographs without being disgusted with what I saw. I had very little self respect and as a result I would overeat and binge drink. It didn't even matter what I thought of myself, only other peoples opinions mattered. I became extremely unfit and overweight. My asthma worsened yet again. I wasn't who I wanted to be, physically or emotionally.
Fast forward a few years and take a look at my photos before my 12 week challenge. I'm fat, I look terrible and I simply just wasn't happy with where I was in life. I wanted to be happy with who I was. I needed a change - a drastic change. Sure, I had tried to get in shape before, but it just simply didn't work. I then stumbled across a number of inspirational stories written by previous winners of these 12 week challenges - other people that have also endured many of life's struggles. Yet they didn't feel sorry for themselves - they managed to conjure up a power inside of them to instill miraculous changes in only 12 weeks. I then thought to myself - I'm not diseased, I have two legs and I am sick of making excuses! This was the point where my life turned on its head and I headed in a completely new direction.
Initially I began by educating myself. I spoke to reputable people, I analyzed scientific studies and I read books. I then enlisted the expertise of Josh who assisted me in recreating my workout regime and diet. Now, armed with knowledge and the confidence that I was able to tackle this challenge, on August 30th 2005 I began.
Adjusting to the new program in the first week or two was slightly difficult. My entire lifestyle had changed - from my eating habits right through to my training regime. I approached every workout as if it was my last. Slowly the new program became routine and I then began to consistently set personal bests on a regular basis. Goals I previously never thought were possible were obliterated in front of my very eyes. This brought out a very competitive spirit - I was in competition with myself. Every day I sought to beat the Jay of yesterday. Every day I became a stronger Jay, a faster Jay, a better Jay. Every day was a new day and I would never look back.
That feeling of helplessness I used to struggle with very quickly disappeared. I was now taking control of my life and look at how I was being rewarded! The fat melted off, I bench pressed 100kg and I was slowly getting into the best shape of my life. I then gained respect for myself and who I am - this gave me the courage to respect my own opinions more so than anyone else's. I was damn proud of my daily achievements and slowly realized that I was capable of ANYTHING I set my mind to. My confidence soared and I finally came to the realization that I could win this competition.
It was about week 10 in the challenge where I looked in the mirror and saw exactly what I wanted to see - ME. I saw someone who was happy, feeling great and looking great - someone who oozed confidence - someone with the whole package. The last 2 weeks of the challenge were the beginning of my new life. I felt like nothing could stand in my way. I continued to set personal bests right up to the very last day of training and made some of the most drastic physical changes in the entire challenge.
When I received the final photo's, even I was amazed. I never realized I looked that great! These final photo's were much more than showing off my newly found abs - they were a representation of my entire transformation. Through these photos you can see the happiness and confidence reflected within my physical appearance. Never in a million years would I have ever been able to achieve such a change without rewiring my approach to life.
Looking back, it is so easy to make excuses for yourself. I'm sure if I could travel back in time and asked myself why I couldn't get on the cover of a bodybuilding magazine I would begin by saying "I can't because...". You know what that is? It's called making an excuse - something I no longer believe in. Instead, now I say "I will because...". But in order to make that change, for me it required a number of events to "flick that switch", so to speak. Changes like these require a catalyst - they just don't "happen". I found inspiration through others, which helped me to tackle my issues head on and break away from the world of denial. This lead me to believe that the mind is the biggest limit to what your body can achieve - NOTHING is impossible.
- Click here to see my before/after photos!
- Click here to read my article (and cover) on becomming the BodyBlitz Grand Champion!
YOUR FEEDBACK
Have you got any comments about this article? In an effort to provide an unbiased site for our visitors, we ask that you provide your opinion!
