How elitefts™ Changed the World View of a College Student

Next to "mid-term" and "7:50 a.m. final," the ‘"freshman 15" is the most dreaded among all incoming college students. The unlimited chips, pop, Keystone, and pasta lead to not only larger waists but lacking self-esteem. Sophomore transfer student Dave was well aware of this 15-pound challenge, but his story was a little different. He came into his sophomore year heavier than when he came out—60 pounds heavier! Nothing but a full plate of dedication and a side of smart programming left Dave with self-esteem higher than the feet on a keg stand.

Luckily, Dave was able to get in touch with his old roommate who was an aspiring strength coach—me. Dave contacted me to learn what had to be done to get rid of his expanding stomach. I gave him a basic template of all the foods he could consume. If it was on the list, he could eat all he wanted. His exercise template was a simple conjugate program geared to increasing his strength while he was dieting.

What does elitefts™ have to do with this? Well, as an aspiring strength coach, I read elitefts™ daily. I read numerous articles written by Shelby Starnes and Justin Harris as they helped Dave Tate get down to his new body weight. I tried all those tactics myself before I gave them to others. I didn't ‘copy and paste’ but rather read, debated, tried, and then passed on the information.

The top five rules were as follows:

1) Use the food list: The food list contained all the foods that weren't fried, processed, or full of sugar. Lean beef patties, turkey breasts, unlimited eggs, whole wheat pastas, some fruits, and high mineral packed veggies consumed most of the list. If it was on it, Dave could eat all of it. If it wasn't on the list, Dave wasn't allowed to touch it. Sadly, if he did eat those foods not on the list due to cravings, his workouts were more brutal the following week. Live and learn!

2) Lift hard and heavy: Many times, articles that are written about losing weight talk about high reps for “definition.” Anyone in the industry knows that this is false and far from the truth. The best way to maintain strength is to train to be strong while limiting your calories and allowing your diet to do the work. Dave’s program was focused on keeping all his lifts strong and keeping the mind from thinking about his fat loss. If Dave was getting stronger, he stopped worrying about his shrinking body and knew he was on the right path.

3) Do cardio: Cardio is a tough subject for a guy who is over 250 lbs. Dave and I started with long walks outside with his iPod blasting. Dave knew that if he walked around the campus in 45 minutes, he had to make his next walk in 44 minutes. Gradually, this was progressed into a light jog for 30 seconds with walking for the next four and a half minutes. The progression continued until Dave was able to run the entire campus without stopping. We're now in the beginning or 2012 and Dave has already completed his first marathon.

4) Punch peer pressure in the face: Being a bigger guy, everybody knew that Dave was strong. His inability to be suckered into every keg stand only grew into everybody knowing that Dave was on a mission and they all took part. No friend was a friend of Dave’s who didn't understand his mission.

5) Talk to your coach: As Dave’s best friend, I knew to listen to him and his body. When things weren't going our way, we made changes. We didn't stray from the program but did add supplements when they were deemed necessary. This only made things better. If someone doesn’t like something but no one says anything, it hurts everybody. For example, Dave was feeling that he needed more help during his lifts but didn't know how to explain it. We added the use of a BCAA product and it added that extra push during his lifts to fulfill his workouts. Without work from both sides, nothing gets accomplished.

Elitefts™ not only helped a future undergraduate student become a graduate assistant strength coach and gain outside information for his career, but it also allowed an individual to better his life. Keep an open mind and reach for your goals. You can only lose so much, but you have everything to gain.