After 12 months of Legion coaching, Matthew lost 26 pounds of fat, gained 10 pounds of muscle, and is now leaner, stronger, and fitter than ever.
After years of spinning his wheels, he’s finally built the body he always wanted and now easily maintains it using the habits, programming, and techniques he learned during his year of coaching.
What’s more, he did it while eating foods he enjoyed, doing workouts he loved, and on a schedule that suited him.
Here are his results:
Matthew’s Journey
Before joining us, Matthew was on a different path: He didn’t see the value in strength training and ate whatever he pleased, which often meant overindulging in junk food. Here’s how he looked:
Despite this, he couldn’t understand why he was out of shape. He’d been a keen sportsman and run track, cross-country, and marathons his entire life. By his own admission, he was athletic, and he believed he knew how to stay in shape.
Yet, he also recognized that something had to change—he was picking up running injuries more frequently and finding it increasingly difficult to play with his son. These wake-up calls spurred him to get serious about building muscle and losing fat.
Matthew had tried to “recomp” before, but his earlier attempts were misdirected.
They typically involved eating more calories, drinking more protein shakes, and running more often. However, his efforts never produced consistent results. Instead, he usually ended up heavier and more frazzled than ever.
That’s when Matthew reached out for coaching.
Matthew’s First Cut
“Sometimes the stars align,” Matthew said, “and I got paired with a phenomenal coach in Henry.”
The client-coach relationship is paramount to a successful transformation. A partnership built on trust and understanding streamlines everything, from training and nutrition to recovery and stress management.
As we do with all our clients, we reviewed Matthew’s consultation notes and paired him with a coach who matched his personality and needs. For Matthew, Coach Henry perfectly fit the bill.
Once connected, Henry set clear and realistic goals for Matthew, some of which caught Matthew off-guard.
Initially, Matthew thought bulking would be the ideal way to kick-start his transformation. However, Henry saw it differently and started Matthew on a 12-week cut. As these pictures show, this was an excellent decision:
In just 3 months, Matthew dropped from 169 pounds to 143 pounds, trimming 6 inches off his waist.
The best part?
Matthew could still enjoy his favorite foods—like meatballs, pasta, and pizza—in moderation, without compromising his energy levels, souring his mood, or subsisting on tiny portions.
Matthew’s First Lean Bulk
Now that Henry and Matthew had laid the groundwork—adopting flexible dieting and cutting excess body fat—they transitioned to a lean gaining phase.
Previously, Matthew’s attempts at bulking lacked precision. He haphazardly added calories, protein shakes, and training volume, only to get inconsistent results and lingering soreness in return.
But Henry steered Matthew toward a more measured approach: he set a calorie surplus of around 5%, enabling Matthew to steadily gain muscle and strength without gaining excess fat.
In 6 months, Matthew went from 142 pounds to 162 pounds, gained just 2 inches on his waist, and still managed to eat his weekly treat meal:
Matthew’s waist measurements were an excellent indicator of his progress. Usually, a change of an inch in waist size represents a 4-to-6-pound shift in body fat. Given that Matthew gained 20 pounds and added just 2 inches to his waist, we were confident he’d gained around 10 pounds of muscle.
Matthew’s Second Cut
Having gained significant size and strength, Matthew started his second cut, eating an extra 150 calories per day than he had during his first cut (2,000 calories daily, rather than 1850).
He also continued to eat his weekly treat meals, which gave him the energy to train hard and helped him avoid the “burnout” that sometimes accompanies prolonged dieting.
During this phase, Matthew dropped from 163 pounds to 149 pounds and trimmed 3 inches from his waist. As a result, he weighed 7-to-8 pounds more than after his previous cut (before bringing himself back to maintenance calories):
Matthew’s Results
During his 12 months of coaching, Matthew . . .
Lost a total of 28 pounds of body fat
Slimmed his waist from 37 inches to 31 inches
Reduced his body fat percentage by 10-to-12%
If Matthew Can Do It, You Can Too
There were no shortcuts, “secret” insights, or “special” exercises or foods. Instead, Matthew’s mastery of the fundamentals and consistency shaped his success.
Everyone has the potential to achieve similar results, but not everyone can navigate the path alone. For many, including Matthew, the route toward your best body only becomes clear when a coach takes you by the hand and walks you through the entire process.
If you want to transform your body but don’t know how to start, piece everything together, or stay the course, our one-on-one coaching service is for you. Click here to check it out and set up a free consultation.
The post How Matthew Lost 26 Pounds of Fat & Gained 10 Pounds of Muscle in 12 Months appeared first on Legion Athletics.