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Money well spent - Success Story - man's weight loss program

Men's Fitness, May, 2003

Broken promises. Chris Hodge was tired of making them. Tired of making them to himself. So one day, he stopped. Not making the promises--he stopped breaking them. That was back in November 2000. Since then, Chris has shed 123 pounds and 13 inches off his waistline. "I keep having to buy new pants," he says. "I've probably spent thousands of dollars since I started losing the weight." Chris will tell you, though, spending money has never felt so good. Here's his story.

CHRIS HODGE

Age: 24

Profession: Financial representative

Hometown: Hudson, New Hampshire

Height: 5'11"

Weight before: 328 pounds

Current weight: 205 pounds

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Waist before: 48"

Current waist: 35"

OVERCOMING INJURY

About a year into his training, Chris broke his wrist. It was a pretty severe break, and he was in a cast for a little over three months.

Chris' solution: "The biggest thing was making the gym a part of my life. When I broke my wrist, I still went to the gym and did my cardio. And the weight kept coming off. I didn't let the injury, my job, or anything else affect the fact that I had to stick with it."

MENTAL CHALLENGES

Being out of shape and overweight makes it intimidating to go to the gym.

Chris' solution: "You've got to have the guts to do something at some point. Because if you don't, you're the one who's going to lose in the end--nobody else. I just did what I was there to do, and eventually got to the point where I was feeling good about myself. I don't have those thoughts anymore."

CHRIS' WORKOUT

Workout split: Chris is in the gym six days a week, doing three days of resistance training and three days of cardiovascular work. His weight work :is broken up as such: Monday, chest/triceps/abs; Wednesday, back/ biceps/abs; Friday, legs (every other week)/shoulders/abs.

Time: Sixty to 70 minutes.

Total sets: Bigger body parts, 12 to 14; smaller body parts, six to eight.

Reps: Chris uses a pyramid sheme, starting with as many as 12 reps on his first working set, then working his way down to as few as six reps. He will then work his way back up to between 10 to 12 reps for his final set.

Workout advice: "Don't waste your time in the gym. Make sure you know how to perform the exercises properly."

Cardio: Chris spends his three (sometimes four) cardio days running outside or on the treadmill, for anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. He'll also occasionally switch things up and perform his cardio on the stationary bike or elliptical trainer.

Cardio advice: "Varying your form of cardio is important not only to keep you motivated and interested, but also because it helps trick your body a little bit. I've always had the opinion that doing different exercises affects your body in different ways."

Money well spent - Success Story - man's weight loss program

Men's Fitness, May, 2003

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