Fitness
A 41-year-old transformed his body with 2 diet changes and 1 simple workout technique
An office worker got ripped and transformed his fitness in seven months with a few simple changes to his diet and exercise routine.
London-based Alec Knebeg, 41, works for a bank and said he had spent years hitting the gym with little to show for it.
“I’ve always been somebody who went to the gym, but I didn’t really know how to achieve what I wanted to do,” he told Business Insider. “I had been plodding along doing the same thing for a few years not seeing a lot of results.”
Earlier this year, Knebeg began working with personal trainer Adam Enaz, who specializes in men’s fitness transformations. Enaz helped him streamline his workouts and clean up his diet to break through the frustrating fitness plateau.
Knebeg said he was able to build muscle, burn fat, and look visibly fitter thanks to three major habits: he started lifting heavier weights with a basic exercise technique, and added a protein goal and calorie deficit to his diet.
More challenging exercise led to better results
Knebeg said he started seeing major progress in the gym after picking up a technique called progressive overload.
In his 20s and 30s, “if something was too heavy, I wouldn’t push myself,” Kneberg said.
Enaz pushed him to gradually increasing the challenge of exercises over time in order to force the muscles to adapt.
To do so safely, he encouraged Kneberg to keep track of what he was lifting and aim for lifting heavier weights with more reps. The goal was getting within a few reps of failure, the point of being physically unable to continue with good form. Some recent research suggests working near muscle failure can lead to more muscle growth.
But without the help of a personal trainer, most people underestimate how hard they can (and should) train for best results, according to Enaz.
“In a normal, day-to-day person, what they consider failure is 20% short of what real failure is,” he said. “Most people only really get to failure when they’re working with a PT.”
Knebeg said his current workout schedule involves three to four session per week for about an hour each. The sessions include a quick cardio warmup followed by six to eight exercises, using supersets (or back-to-back movements without rest) to save time. Knebeg also switched from a workout split to doing a full body workout every day. He said the change gave him more energy to push himself.
“I’ve been able to lift things i’ve never been able to do before. I’m kind of impressing myself because it’s things I didn’t think i could do,” he said.
Diet tweaks helped, too
Knebeg didn’t make all his gains in the gym. He also made a few basic adjustments to his eating habits.
Previously, he didn’t pay much attention to calories, and would often eat multiple servings of food at a time without thinking much of it.
But becoming more mindful of portion sizes, and sticking to a daily calorie and protein goal, helped him burn fat and build muscle.
How to know if your workout is effective
Some simple signs can you help tell if you’re challenging yourself enough to build muscle and strength, according to Enaz.
Your workouts are more likely to be effective if:
- The weight starts slowing down as the reps going on, indicating your muscles are under enough tension to prompt growth
- You’re struggling to complete the final rep of a set, but still have good form — if you stop when it starts to feel hard, you could be leaving gains on the table
- A workout log shows that you’ve been steadily increasing the amount of weight, number of reps, or numbers of sets you can complete over time, a clear signal of progress
The last point is key, since one of the most common mistakes is failing to keep track of your workouts, since that makes it difficult to tell if you’re improving and to keep pushing yourself.
“A majority of people go wrong because they don’t record anything,” Enaz said.
The reason that actor Shilpa Shetty manages to look this great is that she has found the balance between health, fitness, diet and rest.
Written by Prerna Mittra |Updated : September 26, 2024 9:01 PM IST
Shilpa Shetty fitness and health: Shilpa Shetty continues to maintain a healthy and fit body at the age of 49, thanks to her dedicated exercise routine. The actor’s fitness and wellness regimen includes regular Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, eating a balanced diet, doing a combination of cardio, strength training and Pilates regularly, meditation and deep breathing exercises, sleeping for 7-8 hours, staying hydrated, relaxation with self-care, and of course, a lot of self-love. Not only does she love doing all this, Shetty also enjoys sharing her routine with her fans and followers on social media, where she is very active.
Every now and then, the actor floats a video in which she talks about the importance of health, and how big of a role physical fitness plays in it. According to her, one must employ a holistic approach that focuses on nourishing the body, mind and spirit, in order to stay disease-free.
Recently, Shetty posted another video on Instagram, in which she shared some nuggets of wisdom, as to what constitutes a healthy body. “Discipline is the ultimate motivation. Consistency in keeping that discipline is the key to opening the doors to excellence,” she wrote in the caption alongside the video. Take a look here.
The mother-of-two was seen doing some exercises while sharing her knowledge with the world. “What is health? It is a relationship between you and your body,” the actor said while working out in her gym. She added that health is about finding that ‘sweet spot’. “…it is a balance between how much you eat and how you move.”
While gently doing some leg and balancing exercises — in which she folded her elbows and placed her arms on top of each other — Shetty urged her followers to not follow diets, but instead nourish their bodies with healthy foods.
She also suggested creating healthy habits, instead of imposing restrictions on yourself. Many people tend to follow punishing diets that stop them from eating certain foods. While everything should be consumed in moderation, one can eat all kinds of foods if they manage to develop healthy habits, such as exercising every day.
In the video, Shetty displayed her leg strength by lifting her legs with weights placed on them.
“Eat in awareness,” she said, asking people to consume their meals in a mindful manner, without distractions.
Finally, she said that the mantra is ‘discipline over motivation’. “Your health is in your hands; don’t just wish for health. Go work for it.” Often, when one feels demotivated, they must still push themselves to work out. It need not be a strenuous routine, but one simply has to move.
What do you think of this advice?
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Exercise is one of the most effective ways to improve cardiovascular health, but it doesn’t mean you need to run marathons to see the benefits. Moderate exercise spread over a lifetime is linked to good cardiovascular outcomes. However, it is essential to understand the right balance of volume and intensity for maximum benefit. According to the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week has been proven to significantly benefit heart health.
Exercise not only strengthens the heart but also helps in reducing triglyceride levels, increasing HDL (“good” cholesterol), lowering inflammatory markers, reducing body weight, and improving glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. It also helps lower blood pressure, highlighting the many positive effects of physical activity.
Safe limits for physical activity
Determining the precise “cutoff” limit for physical activity is still being studied. While there is no definitive answer yet, it is clear that the benefits of regular exercise far outweigh the risks of a sedentary lifestyle. The key takeaway is that inactivity is riskier than exercising, regardless of the level of intensity.
Essential guide to safe and effective exercise for heart health
When starting an exercise program, it’s important to begin with a light routine and gradually increase intensity based on your body’s response. A baseline heart evaluation is recommended before engaging in any exercise regimen, especially for those with pre-existing heart conditions. It’s also vital to include proper warm-up and cool-down phases to allow the body to adjust to the activity and reduce the risk of injury or cardiac events.
For most people, moderate-intensity exercise for 5 to 7 days a week provides significant cardiovascular benefits. However, individuals with heart issues should consult their doctor before beginning any exercise program. The message here is simple: regular exercise is more beneficial than no exercise at all.
While there are concerns about extreme levels of physical activity, such as in professional athletes or endurance sports participants, these risks are generally associated with those who are unaccustomed to such intense training or have underlying heart conditions. Data has shown that long-term, excessive exercise can lead to structural and functional changes in the heart, including enlargement of the cardiac chambers and the release of certain biomarkers, which could indicate heart stress.
Though these biomarkers typically return to normal within a week, repetitive strain on the heart over months and years can cause scarring (myocardial fibrosis) and increase the risk of arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, which raises the likelihood of stroke.
Bottom line
While regular moderate exercise greatly enhances cardiovascular health, it’s crucial to avoid extremes. Finding balance and consulting healthcare professionals ensures long-term benefits while safeguarding heart health against risks.
(Author: Dr. Rockey Katheria, Interventional Cardiologist, Manipal Hospital Varthur)
Over the past few years, Brooke Shields has re-examined everything, from her haircare to her childhood in Hollywood. That same philosophy has applied to her fitness, she now reveals.
“I’ve changed my entire approach to exercise,” Brooke, who exclusively chatted with Women’s Health in partnership with GSK for their Thrive@50+ campaign, says. “I really only do things that, at the end of it, I want to do again the next day. I don’t do any other things that make me dread being physical. I just can’t do it anymore—whereas it used to be a badge of honor to be miserable.”
For more than 30 years, Brooke, now 59, used dancing as her main form of fitness. But once she quit a few years ago, Brooke wanted to find a new kind of exercise—and ended up breaking her femur, falling off a balance board during a training session. She needed six foot surgeries to heal her injuries.
Years of rehab “changed the entire way that I approached working out,” she says. Here’s what to know about Brooke Shields’ workout routine.
She does Pilates and other group fitness classes.
Before her foot injuries, Brooke used to work out with a trainer. But she’s since discovered that she doesn’t “love individual attention,” instead preferring to be “one of a group.”
“I don’t try to cheat during classes, but I don’t feel like being scrutinized,” she says. “I know they say they’re helping, but I’m just like, ‘I don’t want that kind of attention!’”
But Brooke is particular about what classes she attends, adding that she can’t do “80 percent” of the intense ones that her little sister does. “My knees won’t work,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of damage to my body. So now, I really put myself in a position to look forward to how I’m going to feel—not just after, but during.”
Brooke attends low-impact fitness classes four to five times per week, mixing in Pilates with “anything that deals with strength and stretching.”
“I can probably make myself arrive somewhere for 50 minutes, and I’ll always feel good during it,” she says.
Ultimately, she wants to incorporate strength training into her routine, too. She’s hopeful that it will help build up bone density, which she’s become “acutely aware of” as she gets older. (According to experts, resistance training can make for “stronger, denser bones,” plus weight-bearing exercises like running and walking.)
She fuels her body with ‘balanced meals.’
Over the past few years, Brooke has also been shifting the way she eats, sharing that she listens to her body more now.
“I’m really starting to realize that if I crave something, I probably need something in it,” she says. “I did it when I was pregnant—I just gave into all my cravings, because it was usually eggs, and protein, or pasta. But now I’m better off.”
Brooke likes to eat “smaller, more balanced meals” throughout the day so she can remain full.
She’s saying ‘yes’ to the things that energize her.
From food to fitness, Brooke is focusing on prioritizing herself—and that applies to all areas of her life.
“I’m saying ‘yes’ to doing things that give me joy rather than everything having a purpose to get you to the next thing,” she says. “It’s like, ‘Do I want to go see the ballet?’ Maybe I do, but I’m not going to go for the wrong reasons anymore.”
Each night, she tries her hardest to get eight hours of sleep. She’s also drinking less alcohol. “I never really drank a lot as a kid, and then made up for it in my thirties and forties,” she says. “I realized the toll that takes on me physically.”
Part of that work, she says, is partnering with GSK for their THRIVE@50+ campaign, which encourages everyone 50 years and older to ask their doctor or pharmacist about their risk for shingles and potential vaccination. She’s seen the effects of the “isolating” disease firsthand: Two of her close friends have dealt with it, one of whom had extreme “pain.”
Overall, Brooke encourages women to take charge of their wellbeing–no matter the obstacles in your place.
“Start owning the information that you take in about your health,” she says. “Once we start making this the norm, I think it will be easier for women to self-advocate. You’re not being difficult. Self-advocation should be empowering, rather than something to be afraid of.”
Charlotte Walsh (she/her) is an associate news editor with Women’s Health, where she covers the intersection of wellness and entertainment. Previously, she worked as a writer at The Messenger, E! News, and Netflix. In her free time, she enjoys reality television, tennis and films starring Nicole Kidman.
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