|
|
Review 2/28/2008
|
“MAKING MY MONEY AND PROVING THE DR'S WRONG"
So right around the time when my legs, arms, abs, or whatever muscle Tchicaya is destroying on my body that day is burning like never before…and I am about to stop because I think I can’t go on, I hear “This is where you make your money baby, c’mon you can do it!”. Make my money, meaning this is the time, the moment where I can make a difference in my health, make major gains...make my money. Just one of the many Tchicaya one liners that somehow drive me beyond what I thought I could do…
If your looking for the before and after type story, there are many at Warrior Fitness. However, this one is a bit different. You see I come from a family with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes etc. etc.…many of them on the cocktail of drugs for years in an attempt to control all those things…so when I found out late last year that my cholesterol was 243, and the first thing out of the Dr’s mouth was “Lipitor”, the latest drug of choice to lower cholesterol which carries the “wonderful” bonus of risks to my liver, etc, etc., I was to say the least…SCARED OUT OF MY MIND.
Here’s how my numbers broke down:
Blood Pressure: 140/81 (should be 120/80)
Total Cholesterol: 243 (Should be less than 200)
HDL: 22 (should be at least 35)
LDL: 182 (should be less than 130, or less than 100 with heart disease history)
Triglycerides: 192 (should be less than 150)
Ratio of Total Cholesterol to HDL: 11.0 (should be less than 5.0, and this number really scared me as I am more than two times the risk of having heart disease, and that number with family history, pretty much tells me I WILL have heart disease and MUST be on drugs.)
So what’s it all mean to me, at 229lbs, 37 yrs old, I was exactly where I did not want to be….a Dr. telling me to get on drugs, that diet and exercise could only do so much, so Lipitor right? WRONG. I knew I had it in me to change my lifestyle and granted the Dr. said you look pretty good, (I did look OK, but what was going on inside my body was the real problem) at almost 6 feet tall with reasonable amount of muscle, I was OK. Right? Wrong. So I dug deeper, found out my body fat percentage was 26%!!! Not good. At a minimum I should be in the 18% area…
Scared out of my mind, I went to a cardiologist, he reconfirmed what the first Dr. said, but when I told him what if I put my mind to it and got in better shape, ate right, would it change much, he said “it would help but the numbers are so bad, and with your family history of heart disease etc., I just don’t see it helping enough. You are going to have to go on some type of drug, but if you want to try it, see what you can do, lets give it some time and recheck you in a few months, but understand even if you do it, you still may need drugs to really get the numbers to where they need to be.” I said OK, game on.
My wife, scared out of her mind, me scared out of my mind, newborn kid at home...with the Dr.’s pointing me at drugs, I thought OK, this is it, I have seen what drugs can do…I refuse to go there…but now I am in for a the fight of my life…how would I do it?
An on and off athlete I have spent years working out, but I knew this was different and I knew I needed something at a whole other level to reach my goal of “NO DRUGS”. My wife had been training with Warrior Fitness founder Tchicaya for years, and she always looked great….I had even lifted weights at the gym while he trained her, but I never joined. I was to some degree cocky about my training….I thought I don’t need that…again, I was WRONG.
So at the beginning of January, I stood in Warrior Fitness, let Tchicaya and company weigh and measure me etc. I was honest about my goals and he told me I could do it if I was committed and he would take me there. (Honestly, I was a bit skeptical but did I really have a choice? It was this or drugs!
And so it began, I started training at Warrior Fitness as a client…after THREE weeks of training on the average of 3 to 4 times a week, a healthy diet…(which is critical and by the way Tchicaya will show up at your house unannounced and clear out your refrigerator!, awesome!) here are what speaks louder than anything I could say about Warrior Fitness…
IN THREE WEEKS:
Weight: from 229 to 209. / Lost 20lbs.
Body Fat: from 26% to 16% / -10% body fat
Lean Muscle Mass: added 6.5lbs
IN 4 WEEKS (one week later, not for weeks from 3rd week):
Weight: 201.5 (THAT’S A LOSS OF 27.5LBS OF FAT!!!!)
Body Fat: don’t know but less! I see ab muscles I have not seen in years! (some I HAVE NEVER SEEN ever!)
Lean Muscle Mass: don’t know but must be higher! I am stronger, my endurance is up to levels I have not seen since my early twentys.
Now, that sounds great right…but more importantly, what about the whole cholesterol deal…I go back for another check up, and a stress test…I pass the stress test with flying colors, and the Dr. cannot believe the following results: (and neither could I)
Total Cholesterol: 143, was 243 (Should be less than 200)
Blood Pressure: 130/80, was 140/81 (should be 120/80)
HDL: 38, was 22 (should be at least 35)
LDL: 89, was 182 (should be less than 130, or less than 100 with heart disease history)
Triglycerides: 104, was 192 (should be less than 150)
Ratio of Total Cholesterol to HDL: 3.9, was 11.0 (should be less than 5.0)
The Dr. was floored, he could not believe the dramatic change in the numbers, he said whatever you did, it’s amazing. He said he would check me again in a few months and continue to monitor things, but if I keep it up, NO DRUGS!!!
And that is the key to the story, I wish I could say what I did was about looking and feeling better, I wish I could say it was a new years resolution gone well, but it wasn’t, it was what many if not most are or will deal with in one way or another…we eat terribly, we eat processed foods that cause health problems because they are everywhere, it is easy and tastes good…and then we pay the price…we develop health issues and get convinced that drugs are the only way as we do not have the mental strength to live a cleaner life…to exercise or push ourselves in a way that makes a difference…
Well, THAT’S ALL NOT TRUE AND I AM LIVING PROOF.
As Tchicaya says every time someone in class gets tired, “if I can do it you can do it…if this person can do it you can do it…”
I started off barely even being able to do the warmup. I have seen others come in, feeling the same way I did and I tell them, 2 weeks ago I was you, they say “No Way.”, I say WAY. Trust Tchicaya and his staff, they are marines, they are not here to play games and they care…if you do the work, they will make sure you reach the goal.”
As I said, this is not a story of a before and after picture although I am not hating how I look, or shopping for new clothes, or cutting holes in my belts because NONE fit anymore…or seeing ab muscles…trust me, it’s fun…. But by the end of the day, mine is a humbled scared straight story that were it not for Tchicaya and Warrior Fitness, I would not have achieved this goal that made MD’s scratch their heads….
So I share this for all of those who think it cannot be done, and it does not matter how overweight you are or are not, what matters is, a healthy life, and really wanting it. And if you are willing to give it a try then all you have to do is show up, with heart, at Warrior Fitness, and get on the real train that leads to happier, healthier life.
Last thing I’ll say is it’s hard to explain the culture of it, but the energy of those who are there with you, working as hard as you do, pushing each other, cheering for each other…it’s awesome.
Just last night I had a conversation with a guy who has been there about two weeks, I told him how great his progress was, I could see already how much body fat has come off him, he said, I can’t believe it, I don’t want to eat bad anymore, I fit into shirts I have not fit into in years…. 2 weeks…wow.
So find out for yourself...or don't...but in the meantime, in fact in about two hours I will be heading to my next butt kicking served gladly to me by Tchicaya…and by the end of that hour I will be closer to my next goal…a full six pack of abs...as Tchicaya says, “It’s never over, just bring it.” Well, see you in a few hours...and boy will I be bringing it.
DRUGS? Go ahead, tell me again it can't be done Doc!, while I keep "making my money" with Tchicaya at Warrior Fitness.
Rick
p.s. It's not a gym, it's a way of life. Get there.
|
|
|
|