Brandon Wallace’s Success Story

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Consistency, confidence, community, and don’t over think it! These lessons helped me transform from 246 pounds., 33 percent body fat, and 45-inch waist to 194 pounds, 12 percent body fat, and a 32-inch waist.

That’s 52 pounds and 14 inches in just 8 months!

A special thanks to Brandon for documenting his progress so well, and for sharing his success story. I’m sure it will inspire many others to take action on their health and fitness.

Where were you at physically and mentally before joining VIGOR Training?

I joined VIGOR Training in May, 2018. Prior to that, I tried many different forms of fitness programs, classes, and camps. They gave me a good understanding of what it meant to be healthy and fit.

Though I learned a lot over those four years, I realized that I was mainly doing body weight or simple kettlebell workouts, which weren’t getting me much for results.

In 2017, I stopped going to the gym completely. At the time, I couldn’t make it work in my budget. “Not fitting it into my budget” became an excuse to not exercise.

Within a few months, I’d gained weight, was consistently overeating, and didn’t like how I looked.

When I started VIGOR Training, I got my baseline body composition measurements: 246 pounds, 33 percent body fat, and a 45-inch waist.

What was your tipping point?

My tipping point was a couple of months before I joined VIGOR Training.

At a guy’s event called Advance, Tom Nikkola gave a talk on The Emotional Cycle of Change.

I realized I was making excuses for not exercising, and needed to make a gym membership and the training program work into my budget. I sat down with my budget and worked it out to make it happen.

Then, the next step was to then find a gym that was reasonably priced and had the right equipment. A month later, I found a good gym that had everything I needed. Then in May 2018, I began my journey with VIGOR Training.

What lessons did you learn along the way, that you’d want to pass along to others?

I’ve learned four key lessons from VIGOR Training:  consistency, confidence, community, and simplicity.

1. Consistency

Becoming fit and healthy is not something that happens overnight. 

It requires doing what needs to be done every single day.  When I started, I committed to training four days per week. So, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I woke up at 3:00 am and got to the gym by 4:00 am. I knew the only way I’d remain consistent was by working out before work.

Some mornings, I didn’t feel like going in but I would still go anyway. I committed to the process.

Time at the gym was not the only thing I stayed consistent with.

I followed the nutrition and supplement plans laid out in Tom’s post, 28 Days: Four Weeks of Fat Loss.

After those four weeks, I followed the recommendations for transitioning to a more sustainable way of eating, which I follow to this day.

2. Confidence

This was something I didn’t expect. I committed to becoming a better version of myself physically, and in the process, my confidence grew. 

I gained confidence with the exercises, and my ability to handle more weight. This confidence grew outside of the gym, too. It allowed me to advance my life and move toward a new career path in wellness and life coaching!

3. Community

4. Simplicity

Training and nutrition don’t have to be complicated. 

If you have been training over a few weeks and you feel like you can add more weight, go for it!  It means you are getting stronger and you might even get a new personal record (PR)! 

Trust me, there is nothing better than hitting a new PR after four weeks of consistent training.

As for nutrition, I just kept it simple and meal prep each Sunday. That way I have healthy meals ready to eat the rest of the week

How has your thinking changed about health and fitness?

Before I started, I didn’t think too much about my health and fitness. 

I just ate what I wanted, lived life day-to-day, and didn’t care about how I looked or felt.

Now that I have incorporated VIGOR Training into my life, health and fitness has become an important aspect of my life. 

I pay closer attention to what I eat, and have added supplementation to support my body systems.

I also live with greater purpose and passion! 

Lastly, because of my physical transformation, I feel so much more confident in how I present myself. I know I can accomplish other goals and dreams I have for my life.

What has changed for you?

From May, 2018 to January, 2019, I worked hard at the gym four days per week, focused on my nutrition, and participated in a couple of 28 Days.

By January 27, 2019; I achieved my lowest body weight and body fat percentage. On that day, I was 194 pounds, 12 percent body fat, and had a 31.5-inch waist.

That’s 52 pounds and 14 inches in just 8 months!!!

Even with this amazing transformation, maintaining my body fat at 12 percent required a little too much restriction. I maintain it at 14-17 percent and keep my waist at 33 inches.

I feel like this is more my ideal body composition, and I continue to build muscle week after week.

When I started VIGOR Training, my lean body mass was ony 165 pounds. Today, it is 182 pounds!

With this lean mass gain, I have also been able to hit some solid PR’s in my training!  I’m so excited to see what is next!

What’s Next?

So if you are on the fence about joining VIGOR Training, I highly recommend getting started. Trust the process, and see what new life you can have.  I look forward to seeing you on the leaderboard and in the VIGOR Training Facebook group.

God bless!