Lifestyle Prior To Change
What was your lifestyle like prior to your transformation?
I had a party lifestyle. I was always out with friends drinking, not getting enough sleep and constantly slacking on my diet! I would go to the gym, but it wasn’t for any real purpose other than to mess around.
What was your low point or turning point?
I’ve always been in and out of the gym. I’ll get “big” and slack then loose all of my gains, only to repeat this cycle. This off-season I went from 185lbs to 215lbs at 15% bodyfat. I told myself I would go the whole 100 yards this time, so I started my cutting phase as soon as I hit 215lbs. I’m now down to 173 at 10% bodyfat.
Were there any unique challenges or circumstances that made your transformation particularly difficult?
Yes, There has been many difficult obstacles that I’ve had to power through. I currently live 30 minutes away from my work and my gym. So I constantly have to make sure I have all my meals pre cooked, in my cooler ready to go!
There is necessity for this as well, it teaches self-discipline. No one else was going to cook all my meals for me, so I had too. And fast food is not an option!
Please provide a timeline including when you started the transformation, and include major milestones along the way:
- Transformation Start: 2013, March 11.
- Milestone: 2 months into training, my weight went up on bench and squat drastically. Realized that consistency is key!
- Milestone: Hit 185lbs on the scale, and realized I had a lot more work to do then I had originally planned!
- Milestone: Learned the proper way to diet, getting down from 215 lbs, to 173lbs was a drastic improvement of mine, something I never thought I could do!
- Milestone: Was able to actually hit 10% body fat, and see all of my abs. I’ve never been able to see my abs before in my life, so this was a huge self accomplishment.
- Transformation End: May 20, 2013. Learned how to slim down and stay lean while getting bigger!
Noah's Training Approach
What was your weight training approach and split during your transformation?
Keep it as heavy as possible for 12-15 reps while being able to get a good squeeze in!
Please add a workout that worked best for you:
- Monday - Chest, Abs and Cardio
- Tuesday - Back, Calves and Cardio
- Wednesday - Legs and Cardio
- Thursday - Shoulders and Cardio
- Friday - Arms and Cardio
- Saturday - Cardio
- Sunday - Cardio
| Monday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest, Abs and Cardio | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 15 |
| Machine Chest Press | 4 | 15 |
| Cable Crossover | 4 | 15 |
| Dumbbell Flye | 4 | 15 |
| Chest Dip | 4 | 15 |
| Crunches | 3 | 25 |
| Treadmill | 30 min | |
| Tuesday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Back, Calves and Cardio | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Pull Up | 3 | 15 |
| Barbell Row | 4 | 15 |
| Close Grip Lat Pull Down | 4 | 15 |
| Lat Pull Down | 4 | 15 |
| Chainsaw Row | 4 | 15 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3 | 15 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3 | 15 |
| Treadmill | 30 min | |
| Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs and Cardio | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 15 |
| Squat | 4 | 12 |
| Leg Press | 4 | 15 |
| Lunge | 4 | 15 |
| Leg Curl | 4 | 15 |
| Stairclimber | 30 min | |
| Thursday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders and Cardio | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Shoulder Press | 4 | 15 |
| Dumbbell Overhead Press | 4 | 15 |
| Bow Ties | 4 | 15 |
| Front Dumbbell Raise | 4 | 15 |
| Dumbbell Shrug | 4 | 15 |
| Behind the Back Barbell Shrug | 4 | 15 |
| Friday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arms and Cardio | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Dumbbell Curl | 3 | 15 |
| Preacher Curl | 4 | 15 |
| Rope Curl | 4 | 15 |
| Hammer Curl | 4 | 15 |
| Overhead Single Arm Dumbbell Extension | 4 | 15 |
| Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Press | 4 | 15 |
| Skullcrusher | 4 | 15 |
| Tricep Extension | 4 | 15 |
| Dumbbell Kickback | 4 | 15 |
Please detail your cardio approach during your transformation?
To keep it consistent. I at least wanted to get it in once a day, just to make sure I was staying on top of it. As I continued threw the 12 weeks I upped my cardio to 2x a day, once in the morning and once after I’m done lifting.
Please list 3 things you learned about exercise, weight training and/or cardio during your transformation that helped you succeed:
- Don’t blow threw your sets, take your time and make sure your getting a good squeeze in your muscles.
- Take the time to learn how to isolate your muscle groups. For example, being able to concentrate upper chest from lower chest can make a huge difference.
- When you hit a stand still, switch up your routine. Also a day off to get some rest can make a world of difference.
How are you currently training, and has your training changed since the completion of your transformation?
I’m going to still keep my training the same for now, keep shredding down. But I plan to eventually drop the amount of repetitions and increase the weight!
Noah's Diet And Supplement Plan
What was your diet/nutrition approach during your transformation?
I took my diet to a whole different approach. Taking all of the sugars out of my diet, while keeping low carbs, low calories, and high protein.
Can you give an example of what your daily meal plan looks like?
I eat a total of 7 meals a day. 3 of those meals are protein shakes, the rest are lean meats, low carb meals.
Were there any diet/nutrition mistakes you made that you learned from?
Of course, mainly learning the best time to eat my foods. I had to make sure not to eat carbs too close to bed time, or I would get bloated.
Please list 3 things you learned about diet & nutrition during your transformation that helped you succeed:
- Switch up your proteins, don’t eat chicken all day every day. There are tons of lean proteins out there. Ground turkey, fish, chicken top sirloin, ground bison, ect.
- Stay consistent, pre cook all of your meals so you have no excuse to cheat or miss a meal.
- Staying hydrated was a big help, try to get at least a gallon of water down a day!
Did you allow yourself cheat meals?
Yes! I allowed myself 1 cheat meal each week! I kept it somewhat simple, every Friday I ate sushi for my cheat meal. So while I was cheating, I was still eating pretty clean!
What supplements did you use during your transformation?
- Dymatize ISO-100 Protein
- All American EFX Karbolyn
- SciVation Xtend
- Animal Pak
- Various pre workouts!
Advice For Others
What are your best 3 tips for someone looking to make their own transformation?
- Set a goal, make steps towards that goal every day!
- Never set the bar too high, people tend to get discouraged when they fail. If your just starting to lift, chances are you wont be the next Mr. Olympia anytime soon! It takes a lot hard work, dedication, and consistency to make it that far. So keep it simple at first, just make sure you have time to make it to the gym a couple times a week, and go from there!
- Always stay true to yourself; don’t let others throw you off course! If you have a dream make it yours!
How do you stay motivated? What advice would you give to someone who’s having trouble staying on track?
My motivation is seeing the changes my body is making each week. But I also let my friends and family keep me motivated as well! Surround yourself with positive energy!
Your Life Now
What is your life like now that you’ve made a transformation?
I feel better physically and mentally. Hard work pays off, and it feels good knowing that I had to grind it out in order to reach my goals.
What motivates you currently to keep improving yourself?
The unknown, I want to keep going to see what I could transform into. You’ll never know unless you try!
How can people contact you?
Like I said before, just stay true to yourself! All good things will come, it just takes a little bit of time, and dedication!
32 Comments
Okay wait a sec just TIMOE OUT for a sec!! So if he was 195 with 15 percent body fat, that would mean roughly 10% body fat would be less than 20 pounds.. so if he got down to 176 at 11 percent body fat, that’s roughly 20 pounds... 15 percent minus 11 percent is 4 percent,, where did the other 6 percent or more body fat go??? So the only way this would be legitimate is if Noah lost muscle along the way.
The difference you have identified is probably water weight. I believe the average human body is around 60% water, so would easily explain any ambiguity in the figures.....
Why people always mention roids in the first place? It is a matter of fact that when you follow up with a good routine and a well planned nutrition plan that you can bring your body up to a new level. It's easy to figure who does roids and who doesn't!!
I think he used steroids because it impossible to have those nerves what I mean it's too many.
What's up with all the dislikes? The guy obviously made some amazing progress... Go ahead and dislike my post too ;) I bet your lifes are just so sad and pathetic you've got nothing better to do than hate on other people... how sad :)
how much money u spend for this transformation in every month? and did u use any steroids in u r diet plan?
Yeah def not the same guy. Disappointing. Come on m&s.
Jb, it's the same guy. Noah Elias is a good friend of mine.
How come the difference in the moles and freckles? Only explanation would be from tanning or the before pic is way older.....
They don't seem to be the same guy. Just look those spots on the right abdomen comparing to the one on the left.
First of all, great transformation! Second, some questions. What were your calorie totals for the day? / Week? Were they consistent throughout the week or did you utilize zig zagging at all? What were your macros?
Amazing progress and I know what you've been through to make this happen. Keep up the great work!!
That's awesome! But I like beer so.........
what is that bowtie exercise?
There was no listing of the cardio on Thursday or Friday. I'm starting in the same situation as i read that you began your transformation. I am trying to isolate my cardio routine thus any extra tips and/or information would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the hard work and thank you for this motivating article!
Hi Noah , first of all ,good on you mate! Well done and respect! It does seem to me that you are not entirely open in sharing your knowledge ,how about bit of info on your treadmill cardio,is it running flat out,jogging slowly ,walking ?
HI GREAT MAN ,I SCALED 95 Kgs down to 85kgs in 2.5 months then stuck up with 85 -86-84 , from for past 2.5 monhs no change at all....want to get to 73 ,i walk 12 km per day ,used dumbells ,pushups exts but now lost the workup part ,continuing 12km walk with out fail for min 5 to 6 days a week ,Gym is 45 km away from my place ,yes diet i take care may be 60% yes , guide me .... thnk u
ramesh
would you suggest this workout without suppliments?
Thanks for all of the thoughtful replies guys! It was really hard work, and something i am very proud of! To those of you struggling, keep your head up and progress on.. I promise you will get there!
Hey man, do you have any tips for beginners like me? Can your workout routine be used by beginners? Thanks!
So for your cutting phase, you just continue to do mostly
4 sets 15 reps. So lower weight, but still being able to hit 15 reps each set.
How much rest in between sets?
Could you give an example of a day of your meals, with times?
What sort of cardio do you do and for how long?
So basically, it's low carb diet, combined with cardio up to 2x a day?
Can this workout plan work for beginners ?
It seems very unlikely he was at 15% bf in the before picture...
I'm so proud of you, such an amazing transformation you did to show people that it can be done naturally if you listen to your body & know what your doing! I'm excited to see where this takes you! I love you to the bottom of the ocean to the tip of the stars :) xoxo
Tay-
Nice
Good job tell us more about cardio.
explain me this when it says 3 sets 15 reps, does it means you do all the same exercise set one after another with some relax time in between?
tell us more about cardio, 30 minutes each day, how about the intensity?
Love you
Super sirrrr your my dream trainer from tomorrow onwards I follow your instructions
So what food was included in your meals? Give me an example of a day? Thanks. An well done by the way!
Respect. Amazing transformation man