findthegrind

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Name

Will

Gender

Male

Location

Leeds, Leeds, England (GB)

2 photos

findthegrind › New article
8 years ago

EPISODE 2 - Linebacking.

So, the end of episode one saw me in the difficult position of wanting to be a Linebacker, when nothing about my physical condition suggested that it was a good idea.

I have also mentioned before, my belief that everyone trying to support me in weight loss was actually a factor in why I was unable to lose the weight. So, for the first time, I would like to say 'thank you' to everybody who told me I couldn't do it. I remember the first time I told anyone that my plan was to change position. We were at a BBQ, one of the team coaches, and about 5 other players were sat with me around a table, and I blurted out 'I want to play Linebacker next year.'. Hilarious. Or at least, that's what everyone else thought, I had to be joking, right? My statement was met by laughter, and the opinion that I couldn't be serious, did I realise that I had to be fast and agile, and, well, not fat to play Linebacker? Well, of course I did, I had watched enough NFL and Ray Lewis videos to know that I wasn't cut out to be a Linebacker, but I was also aware that I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

So, after the laughter fiasco, I decided not to tell anyone else my plan. I also decided that I was going to let as few people see me during the transitional period. This was for two reasons, partially in case I failed, but mainly because I wanted people to be shocked if I succeeded. Don't ask me why, I have no idea, I just thought it would be better to keep it all secret!

So, up until this point, I had been quite a heavy drinker. Being part of the rugby community generally goes hand-in-hand with a certain drinking culture, university in general is known to be an environment in which heavy drinking often takes place. At this stage, I would say I was drinking most days, and heavily probably 3 times per week, sometimes as many as 5 heavy sessions per week.As a result, I knew that the first change I had to make was to drop alcohol, so for that summer (approximately April to September), I went more or less T-total, Other than that, I did absolutely loads of cardio, I was doing cardio sessions twice per day everyday except for the day after training legs, and weight training pretty much everyday.

At this stage, I have to admit that the way I went about my weight loss wasn't exactly healthy. In hindsight, and knowing what I know now, I would have used a controlled calorie deficit and exercise to lose weight safely and healthily. As it was, I had a goal which left me with a short time frame for change and a desperation to succeed, and you know what they say, desperate times call for desperate measures and all that! As a result, I think it would be fair to say that I became at the very least, obsessed, at worst, I would say anorexic. I basically starved myself on some days. When I got hungry, I would go into the gym to make myself too busy to be able to eat. On other occasions, I would go to bed really early and sleep to avoid meals, and the extra sleep was handy as I was taking in so few calories my body was exhausted. At this stage I would say I was eating between 1000 and 2000 calories a day. I have to say that making yourself run 6 miles twice a day, and lift weights for 2+ hours per day on that calorie intake was literally brutal! It was an insane, exhausting summer, but whenever I wanted to stop, I reminded myself of two things: 1) I hated how I looked, and 2) I had people to prove wrong. I have to say, everything else aside, these are the two things I still remind myself of when I want to cheat on my diet or training.

In the spirit of proving people wrong, I remember a conversation between myself and my friend Frankie. Towards the end of the summer, he was asking around for what number people wanted to play in, the coming season. At this point I had lost around 30kg in the space of 4(ish) months, but I was more or less the only person, other than my family, who knew that. I told Frankie, who had heard my Linebacking plan, that I would need a number I could play Linebacker in (If you're unfamiliar with American Football, there are certain numbers which relate to certain positions, some numbers can be worn by a variety of numbers). The conversation was along the lines of:

'Bro, you're not going to be playing Linebacker'., 'Ok. But, what if I do?' and with reluctance, he told me 'Alright, go for a number in the fifties, then you can play O-line (where I had been playing) or Linebacker.'.

I obviously knew that Frankie didn't believe I would be able to change enough to play Linebacker. When I started trying to transform my body, I don't think I believed I could. In fact, since then, people (or maybe just Marcus) have asked me whether I knew I could do it, and I definitely didn't. As I told Marcus, I was really surprised when I started seeing results, as for the first time in my life, my attempts to lose weight was being successful. So, I understand why Frankie didn't believe in me, there are no hard feelings there!

Anyway, the summer came to an end, and it was time to go back to uni. After about 4 months of serious effort/unhealthy obsession, I had lost 5 stone. I was faster, more agile, more athletic, and ready to go! What I wasn't, was prepared for peoples' reactions. I had seen myself everyday, so whilst I could see the change which had gone on, I still saw myself as me. The difference was, though, that everyone else pictured me as the obese guy from the year before. My housemates didn't recognize me. I know Ellie, Emma and Liv all saw me and didn't know who it was. In fact, once I remember walking towards and past Liv without her recognizing me. I waved at her, she looked at me weirdly, I walked right up to her, said 'heeeeellllllllo' to her, and then she suddenly realized who I was at the last minute. I had lived with her for a year at this point!

The best part, though, was going to training for the first time that year. I went with Marcus, as always, and I've been told everyone thought that Marcus was bringing a new friend with him to try American Football out. It wasn't until I was right up to them that Aiden realised who I was and said 'Will, is that you?!'. It was me. There was general disbelief, Archard couldn't form words, it was emotional! About 2 weeks after that was my first session of training with the Linebackers. I went on to become a starting Linebacker, and never looked back!

Thanks for reading,

Will!

P.S. sorry about the photo, I don't think it was ever meant to be made so big!

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EPISODE 2 - Linebacking. So, the end of episode one saw me in the difficult position of wanting to be a Linebacker, when nothing about my physical condition suggested that it was a good idea. I have also mentioned before, my belief that everyone trying to support me in weight loss was actually... Read more

8 years

Flutterbydee › Wow, bring on the hot, slimmed down guy! Five stone is a massive loss... well done doesn't seem a strong enough comment! The photo is fine on my screen :)

8 years

findthegrind › Ah that's good, it was really blurry on mine! Thank you, it was a really brutal summer, but worth it!

8 years

LAFFINGKNOME › Well done to you!

8 years

ze2000 › Well done man

8 years

findthegrind › New article
8 years ago

EPISODE 1 - Hey there!

I've been giving this a lot of thought. Should I bother writing a blog? If so, how should I go about it? As you can tell, I decided the answer to question one is 'yes', otherwise you wouldn't be reading this! As for question two, I gave that the most thought.

I guess to begin with, I had to decide why I was writing this. The conclusion I came to is that I'm going to write this; A) to clear some space in my head, and just get a lot of what goes on in my head... out; B) to share my experiences and life with anyone who's interested, and; C) to help and/or inspire other people who are working hard towards a goal, whatever that may be!

So, that being the case, I decided that the best way to write this is to just be open, honest, and candid about my life, the decisions I make and have made, and the things I'm doing to get to where I want to be.

Background of... me

So, obviously, I wasn't always an aspiring bodybuilder. From the earliest age I can remember, I was overweight, at times very overweight, at others, just obese. Until the age of about 20, I was bullied for my weight, which wasn't great, and has left me with some pretty huge self-esteem issues. As a result of that, I spent a lot of my life trying to lose weight. but never had any real success, which I believe was actually because everybody was out to help me! But, that comes later.

So, overweight through primary school, couldn't seem to lose weight. Obese through secondary school and still couldn't lose weight. But, during secondary school, I really discovered sport, specifically, rugby. I played a bit of rugby through the lower years of the school, but didn't really get into it until I was about 16. Looking back, I don't know whether that was because I was then allowed in the school gym and could focus on getting 'bigger' and stronger, or just a coincidence, but that's when I finally really got into sport.

Thus, I entered the next phase of my life. from 16-18, give or take, through sixth form. This was the start of the times when I began to think that my ability as an athlete was directly proportional to time spent in the gym. As we go through these blogs, there will be a lot of times when I realize how I had, in fact, been doing things wrong. Back in those days, I ate pretty healthily but cut big corners. It's clear that I was kidding myself. This is a case of where everyone was trying to help me lose weight, but just couldn't do it. I would tell myself I was eating really healthily, but in truth I was eating puddings at school and telling myself it was just a treat, but in truth it was just a lack of willpower.

Enter the days of uni. At this point, I was a rugby addict. I lived and breathed rugby, I went to the Fresher's Fair in my 'Lean, Mean, Scrummage Machine' (the 'lean' part was a lie, or at best unrealistic), and was embracing my size as a sign of my rugby ability. I remember when I made friends with some lifelong (I believe) friends, and we were weighing ourselves for fun, and I was shocked to see myself at only just over 17 stone. I stated that I would be worried if I dropped below 17 stone. I look back now and realize how ridiculous that was, 17-something stone is great for rugby, but my body composition wasn't. I would say that my rugby flourished at Leicester uni, and that it was the first real step on my path to fitness. I was pushed harder in training than ever before, my fitness and strength went through the roof. Then I tore, practically snapped the ATF ligament in my ankle, and that was rugby done for that season. That did my fitness and body comp no favours.

As it would turn out, that was the end of my time at Leicester uni, but I owe a massive amount to the University of Leicester Rugby Football Club. I can honestly say that that club was run exactly the way a team should be run. I couldn't have asked for a better first experience of university sport. This meant that, with my move to Swansea University, I was leaving a club that I had fallen in love with, to pastures new. This is where owing ULRFC comes in. Unfortunately, well, as it turns out: fortunately, arriving at Swansea uni and joining the rugby club there, just wasn't something I got on with. It was a new team, a new environment, and I just didn't feel like the club environment worked for me, mainly because it just wasn't Leicester Rugby Club.

As a result, I moved to American Football. Two of my flatmates in first year played for the Swansea Titans, and after much deliberation, I decided it was time to try a new sport. I went along to training, I started playing on the O-line, and I fell in love with American Football. I started watching the NFL and supporting the Baltimore Ravens, and discovered a man who would have a hand in changing my life forever. Ray Lewis, #52, Middle Line Backer, and the guy who I had suddenly realized I wanted to be. Ray Lewis inspired me in a massive way. His attitude to life and the game he played, his talent, his drive, he was what I wanted to be. The only problem? He was lean, fast, agile and I was, well... 19 and a half stone with an unhealthy amount of body fat.

So, that's where rugby's impact on my fitness journey ends. American Football has taken over, and things are about to change!

Thanks for reading,

Will!

Cancel

EPISODE 1 - Hey there! I've been giving this a lot of thought. Should I bother writing a blog? If so, how should I go about it? As you can tell, I decided the answer to question one is 'yes', otherwise you wouldn't be reading this! As for question two, I gave that the most thought. I guess to... Read more

#52

8 years

Borderline › You made a big change mate!

8 years

Flutterbydee › Very well written article! I could feel for you as I read it. It's never a smooth ride losing extra lbs (or £s ha, ha). You have a strong will and a good plan for getting fit. Looking forward to episode 2 :)

8 years

findthegrind › Cheers guys, it was tough, but definitely a positive life change, it's all onward and upwards from here! episode 2 will be online a little bit later today :)

8 years

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