Andrew Stewart
Andrew Stewart
Andrew is a personal trainer who came on board to complete a photoshoot for two reasons: firstly, to promote his business, and secondly, as a personal goal, as he wanted to get in the best shape of his life. In addition, Andrew was committed to learning about every detail involved in the processes of extreme dieting. As such, we made sure that education was a crucial part of the journey, where the method and thought process behind every decision we made was explained thoroughly to him.
As we started working together, I immediately noticed how incredibly busy Andy was. On his check-in sheets, he described his dedication to his clients, his business, and his physique. However, with these many commitments, something had to go, and for Andrew, he ended up neglecting his sleep. Inevitably, his chronic sleep deprivation meant that when it came to training, he was not able to perform to the highest of his abilities, which was then hindering his progress.
With this in mind, upon starting preparation for his photoshoot, we agreed that 8 hours of sleep per night, as well as no phone activity in the 2 hours prior to bed, would be two non-negotiable rules we’d set together. Those two simple – but not easy! – changes had an immediate positive impact on Andrew’s ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. As a result of the improvement in his sleep quantity and quality, it only took 10-14days for us to see his energy levels and performance dramatically increase.
Not only that, but combined with the overall reduction in stress on the body, he was able to mobilise fat in a far more efficient way. This was reflected in his weekly progress photos: as his coach, I could see that his physique was getting better, meaning that sleep and stress were no longer a hinderance to his ability to build muscle and get lean.
As well as working on his sleep hygiene, we also modified his training week and strategically placed a full rest day before every lower body training day. This allowed him to go into the most energy-demanding sessions of the week feeling fresh, ready to attack them head on. Weekly strength progression, weekly muscle tissue accrual, and maximal muscle tissue retention even when dieting the three main positive outcomes we saw from implementing this strategy.
Dieting down to low levels of body fat without compromising muscle tissue loss is a tricky process, but Andy did this effortlessly. He is a shining example to everyone – especially his clients – of what can be achieved with hard work and consistency. I’d be lying if I said Andy looked anything less than incredible in his photoshoot with TT Image.
Here is what Andy had to say about his journey:
“I was burning the candle at both ends, but after working with Vaughan I now know to value the little things. I went from being tired, weak and stressed to feeling alive, strong and calm. I wouldn’t be where I am without the big man who taught me that I can only train as hard as I can recover!”