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Slim fast: for Les Achord, quick was the only way to get fit

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Sean Hyson

FITNESS IS A LIFELONG PURSUIT, but it doesn't have to take a lifetime to achieve--no matter what kind of body you start with. Just ask Les Achord of Baton Rouge, La. When he took a shotgun approach to fitness, he was able to blow away his body fat in no time.

Although officially divorced since late 2000, Achord was far from lovelorn. "Getting out of that marriage was a relief;' he says, "and I was ready to celebrate?' Moving in with an old college buddy, Achord began to party hard. "He was the worst influence on me physically--I started drinking and eating like I had in college, except I wasn't nearly as active."

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An athlete and regular weight trainer since childhood, Achord never had trouble maintaining a healthy and muscular physique in his younger years, no matter what he ate. But now in his early 30s, Achord's metabolism wasn't as forgiving. While he made time for the gym, he didn't spend it wisely--mustering only half-assed training sessions with his jelly-belly roommate spotting. "I could feel myself gaining fat and losing muscle. Over the next year, I put on 10 pounds?'

Relying on McDonald's for quick breakfast fixes, Achord admits his mounting weight problem was also due to ignorant eating. "I didn't know the difference between a good carb and a bad carb, and I didn't think much about my protein intake?' But the fog lifted for Achord in late 2001, when a chance meeting with an amateur bodybuilding contest winner shocked him into determination.

"I met this guy through a mutual friend, and he showed me his before and after photos. They were the most impressive I'd ever seen--he completely changed his body in just 16 weeks!" Amazed by such rapid progress, Achord asked what he needed to do for similar results in similar time.

For the first time in years, Achord was inspired--and for once, intensely focused on his training goals. But he also was worried. "I didn't want to do the wrong things and put in a year of wasted effort," he says. So, in February 2002, Achord hired a local personal trainer (and an MF training adviser), Todd Scott, to design a blitzkrieg workout program and help him stick to it.

"We periodized his workouts" says Scott, "basing them on the three core lifts--bench presses, squats, and deadlifts--and alternating his rep ranges every week to keep his muscles adapting" To support his growing muscles, Achord stocked up on creatine, protein powder, and glutamine, and began chowing down on foods like egg whites, turkey sandwiches on whole-wheat bread, and green veggies.

"Within three or four weeks, a co-worker asked me if my arms were getting bigger" Achord remembers. By week 12, the 5'8" Achord was a rare specimen--170 pounds with 5.5% body fat. He was so pleased with his results, he entered EAS's popular Body-for-LIFE Challenge in 2002 and placed in the top 2,000 overall (out of several thousand around the country).

Now 35, Achord has a steady girlfriend and a newborn son. "I maintained my condition for two years, but lately I've had to lay off the gym to take care of my youngin'." But the break is only temporary: Achord is dying to get back into the gym and back into top condition--fast.

Slim fast: for Les Achord, quick was the only way to get fit

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Sean Hyson

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