Case Studies - Action Jackson Fitness - 7 Secrets For Chiseled Abs

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“So…why did you call me? What do you want to be different about yourself?”

I really didn’t know how to put it into words that didn’t sound trite and superficial when Jackson asked me that question on the phone. Over the years of being involved in all levels of professional hockey as a photographer I’ve gotten to know many pro athletes. I’m family friends with three Stanley Cup winners. I don’t get star-struck. But it was still a little unnerving to be one-on-one on the phone with Coach Jackson only a few days after finishing Four Weeks to Fat Loss 2.

“I…Well…”—I could feel his impatience growing across the dead air while my throat went dry and I started to sweat my social-anxiety sweat. Finally I just blurted, “I want to be able to mow the grass in the summer without a shirt on and not be embarrassed.” Holy shit did I really just say that to one of the Tonal coaches?

“Cool,” he responded immediately, unfazed.

It was only a few weeks later, on one of the weekly coaching calls, when the topic came up and we got into a lengthy discussion that delved way deeper than that initial, superficial ‘why’.

For me, it was a lifetime of being the ‘fat kid’ and always feeling uncomfortable with my body. It was seeing some of my family members being morbidly obese and struggling to even walk. It was a lifetime of feeling embarrassed with my own appearance. But I had discipline for my workouts. I knew I was ready to work hard. I felt like I had most of the right pieces but no idea how to put them together properly. It was never feeling like I was a proper athlete.

I was a D1 college volleyball player. After college I played competitive volleyball, picked up soccer and golf, started to run, which turned into Spartan races, which turned into multiple Spartan trifectas each year, which turned into triathlons. But I’ve never considered myself an athlete. All throughout that twenty-odd years of being super active and athletic, I bounced around with a sizeable spare tire and fluctuated from almost 270lb down to a “skinny-fat” 188lb. I was never what I would consider “in shape” in my entire life.

Call it a mid-life crisis if you want, but what it really comes down to is my wife and I are within a couple years of becoming empty-nesters, and I’ve never been “in shape” in my life. Retirement isn’t close, but it’s on the horizon, and I see so many family and friends who seem to have just settled into the rut of eating out and not really caring about their health or personal appearance. Something in me snapped and my mind was made up to be healthier for my family, healthier for myself, and to be able to walk on the beach on vacation and not be embarrassed to take my shirt off.

So I signed up, handed over my credit card and my Tonal login info…and got scared shitless. I can work in the gym, but I’ve never made a serious effort to fix my nutrition. Weakly counting macros here and there, but intermittent fasting? Dear god I need to EAT, man! “I’m mildly hypoglycemic” was my excuse for yearrrrssss. But yeah, here we go.