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Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

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This Guy Lost 9Kg And Sculpted A Six Pack In Just 13 Weeks

This Guy Lost 9Kg And Sculpted A Six Pack In Just 13 Weeks

Small Diet Changes And A Push-Pull-Legs Routine Helped This Guy Drop 23Kg

Small Diet Changes And A Push-Pull-Legs Routine Helped This Guy Drop 23Kg

Quitting Junk Food Helped This Guy Drop 68kgs In 8 Months

Quitting Junk Food Helped This Guy Drop 68kgs In 8 Months

This Guy Cut His Weight In Half After Getting A Wake-Up Call Over His Health

This Guy Cut His Weight In Half After Getting A Wake-Up Call Over His Health

{headline}

{headline}

3 Lifestyle Changes Helped This Guy Lose Nearly 45Kg In A Year

3 Lifestyle Changes Helped This Guy Lose Nearly 45Kg In A Year

This Guy Lost More Than 45Kgs In An Incredible 10-Month Transformation

This Guy Lost More Than 45Kgs In An Incredible 10-Month Transformation

How This Guy Lost 45kg Without Setting Foot In A Gym

How This Guy Lost 45kg Without Setting Foot In A Gym

{headline}

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4 Changes You Need To Make If You Want To Lose 5kg

4 Changes You Need To Make If You Want To Lose 5kg

Jamie Oliver Shares The Two Major Changes Behind His 12kg Weight Loss

Jamie Oliver Shares The Two Major Changes Behind His 12kg Weight Loss

How Swimming And HIIT Training Helped This Guy Lose 50kg And Get Fit

How Swimming And HIIT Training Helped This Guy Lose 50kg And Get Fit

Former AFL Star Darren Jolly Shares Major Body Transformation

Former AFL Star Darren Jolly Shares Major Body Transformation

This Guy Fixed His Diet To Lose 80 Kilogram And Get Jacked

This Guy Fixed His Diet To Lose 80 Kilogram And Get Jacked

His Doctor Said He Wouldn't Live To 50 - So He Lost 55kg

His Doctor Said He Wouldn't Live To 50 - So He Lost 55kg

A Few Simple Changes Helped This Guy Lose 30Kg And Get A Six-Pack

A Few Simple Changes Helped This Guy Lose 30Kg And Get A Six-Pack

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The Training Methods That Helped This Guy Gain 27kg Of Muscle (And A Six-Pack)

Once doctors got his health in check, the changes could begin - by Jordyn Taylor
  • 20 Aug 2019
The Training Methods That Helped This Guy Gain 27kg Of Muscle (And A Six-Pack)
Alex Rosen

If you happened to be at the gym at the same time as Alex Rosen, you'd see a muscular guy—around 75kg—training clients in between his own workouts. But the 25-year-old, who's 5'11", used to weigh just 48kg, too weak to complete simple tasks and feeling physically exhausted all the time.

"Quite frankly, thing weren't great," Rosen tells Men's Health. "I was constantly in and out of appointments with my doctors, and I spent most of my time at home because both physically and emotionally, I felt as if I couldn't go out and do anything. A lot of my relationships took a nosedive because I simply didn't feel up to putting the effort into them."

The problem was that Rosen had thyroid disease, and it was taking a toll on his body in a big way.

"I had barely any muscle mass on me whatsoever, and barely any fat as well," he says. "If I had to guess, I was at about 5-6% body fat with no muscle ... and my hormonal levels were in the gutter. I was incredibly weak, and I was cold all of the time. I felt completely at the mercy of my own body and spent most days hoping my doctors could crack the code to my thyroid."

Finally, they did. Rosen's doctors got him on the right medicine and dosage, and his thyroid was functioning properly at last. The ordeal put Rosen in the right mindset to kick off his muscle-building transformation: "Getting sick and losing my health to things I couldn’t control opened my eyes to the importance of controlling the things we can control," he says.

Rosen was ready to put on mass, so he started reading all the evidence-based health and fitness content he could find—and hitting the gym.

"Once I got a good idea about weight training and nutrition, I started going to the gym and eating a lot," he says. "I 'dirty-bulked' like you wouldn't believe, and just kept eating and lifting and resting. Rinse, repeat." ("Dirty bulking" means taking in a bunch of calories to gain mass, regardless of nutritional value)

alexrosenfitness View Profile
36 likes - View Post on Instagram
Surround yourself with people who say "why not?" not "why?" - Last week I hit 285 on my deadlift and had a conversation with @lariscyelizabeth about going for 300 next time around - "Why not?" was the only motivation I needed today to hit a pr and break the 300 mark and roughly deadlift 2x my bodyweight - Next obstacle? 3x bodyweight I guess. It'll be tough and take a long time and I hope to hit it someday - So, why try and hit a new level? The better question is why not? - If you told me a year ago I'd be able to deadlift 2x my weight, Id laugh in your face and point to my historically thin legs - All it took was looking that obstacle in the face and saying: "why not?" What's your biggest why? that should be a why not? - #nycfitness #deadlifts #gymmotivation #whynot #nycpersonaltrainer #structurepf #strongereveryday #onepercentbetter

He started noticing changes quickly. ("But keep in mind I started from practically zero," he adds.) It felt amazing to be able to climb stairs without getting tired, and to go outside in the summer without wearing a coat.

"Getting stronger and slowly not being able to see my entire bone structure felt amazing," Rosen says. "For the first time in a long time, I felt that I was actually taking control over my own body and not letting my body take control of me."

These days, Rosen lifts five times a week and tracks his macronutrient targets daily. He works a personal trainer now, so he spends his days training clients and doing his own workouts afterward. In total, he's gained 60 pounds—not to mention a six-pack.

alexrosenfitness View Profile
35 likes - View Post on Instagram
fitness fun in the sun☀️ - - - - - #nycfitness #bodyweightworkout #nycpersonaltrainer #rooseveltisland #explorenyc #fitness #absworkout #airmax #getoutside #onepercentbetter

Most guys aren't dealing with the same health problems Rosen was, but his advice is relatable to anyone looking to change their bodies: just start, no matter what.

He says, "I know how hard it is to be the guy curling the lightest weights in the gym and barely being able to bench the bar. I know what it's like to feel like you can't wear shorts because you don't want people to see your skinny legs. I am so far from where I started because I started.

"Whether you're underweight or overweight, 23 or 73, I urge you to just begin your journey, because one day those 5-pound weights will be 10-pound weights, and then 50-pound weights, and you'll look back at where you started and wonder why you ever waited to begin."

This article originally appeared on Men's Health

  • Fitness
  • Weight Loss
  • Body Transformation
Jordyn Taylor
Jordyn Taylor
Jordyn Taylor is the News Editor at MensHealth.com. She has previously worked as a reporter and editor at Mic and the New York Observer, and she finds burpees to be strangely relaxing.

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Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

This Guy Lost 9Kg And Sculpted A Six Pack In Just 13 Weeks

This Guy Lost 9Kg And Sculpted A Six Pack In Just 13 Weeks

Small Diet Changes And A Push-Pull-Legs Routine Helped This Guy Drop 23Kg

Small Diet Changes And A Push-Pull-Legs Routine Helped This Guy Drop 23Kg

Quitting Junk Food Helped This Guy Drop 68kgs In 8 Months

Quitting Junk Food Helped This Guy Drop 68kgs In 8 Months

This Guy Cut His Weight In Half After Getting A Wake-Up Call Over His Health

This Guy Cut His Weight In Half After Getting A Wake-Up Call Over His Health

{headline}

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3 Lifestyle Changes Helped This Guy Lose Nearly 45Kg In A Year

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This Guy Lost More Than 45Kgs In An Incredible 10-Month Transformation

This Guy Lost More Than 45Kgs In An Incredible 10-Month Transformation

How This Guy Lost 45kg Without Setting Foot In A Gym

How This Guy Lost 45kg Without Setting Foot In A Gym

{headline}

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4 Changes You Need To Make If You Want To Lose 5kg

4 Changes You Need To Make If You Want To Lose 5kg

Jamie Oliver Shares The Two Major Changes Behind His 12kg Weight Loss

Jamie Oliver Shares The Two Major Changes Behind His 12kg Weight Loss

How Swimming And HIIT Training Helped This Guy Lose 50kg And Get Fit

How Swimming And HIIT Training Helped This Guy Lose 50kg And Get Fit

Former AFL Star Darren Jolly Shares Major Body Transformation

Former AFL Star Darren Jolly Shares Major Body Transformation

This Guy Fixed His Diet To Lose 80 Kilogram And Get Jacked

This Guy Fixed His Diet To Lose 80 Kilogram And Get Jacked

His Doctor Said He Wouldn't Live To 50 - So He Lost 55kg

His Doctor Said He Wouldn't Live To 50 - So He Lost 55kg

A Few Simple Changes Helped This Guy Lose 30Kg And Get A Six-Pack

A Few Simple Changes Helped This Guy Lose 30Kg And Get A Six-Pack

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