As I strolled along the road, little did I know that a surprising encounter awaited me.

Spotting my friend across the bustling street at the university campus, I was taken aback.

We had planned to meet tomorrow, but fate had different ideas.

It had been a staggering 16 months since we last saw each other in person, since our prank-filled exploits and adrenaline-fueled late-night drives.

This friend of mine held a special place in my life, but little did I realize that this meeting would mark the beginning of a transformative journey, as he became more than just a friend.

In fact, he would become a catalyst, a well-wisher who would ignite the dormant spark of self-improvement within me.

As we drew closer, I observed a whirlwind of emotions sweep across his face. Surprise swiftly morphed into concern and even a hint of disgust.

The first words that escaped his lips cut deep

“Kya sukh gaya hai be tu?”

Translating loosely to, “What happened to you? You’ve become so skinny.”

This remark struck me harder than any physical blow.

Meeting for the first time after the long-drawn battle with COVID, he could effortlessly observe the drastic weight loss I had experienced. I had withered away to the point where I resembled a mere stick figure.

The contrast between us was stark.

While he had dedicated himself to boxing and hitting the gym during the pandemic, I had allowed myself to dwindle. Despite our similar body structures before the pandemic, he was titanically muscular now.

This moment served as a resounding wake-up call. It was high time for me to take charge, to embark on a journey of self-transformation that would reverse the tides and reshape my physique.

The upheaval caused by COVID turned our lives topsy-turvy, leaving no stone unturned.

While I had always prided myself on being athletically inclined, having even represented my state in badminton nationals, the pandemic imposed severe limitations on my exercise routines and restricted my meals to a meagre maximum of twice a day.

It doesn’t require a team of rocket scientists to grasp that a lack of exercise coupled with reduced caloric intake can render one weak and feeble.

To make matters worse, I found myself entangled in a web of dating woes, battling the clutches of depression.

This combination of physical and emotional setbacks threatened to transform me into the spitting image of Christian Bale from “The Machinist.”

Without a doubt, I felt not only physically frail but also unattractive. With barely a shred of visible muscle, my body lacked any appealing features.

I had long lived under the illusion that my leanness, accompanied by those elusive six-pack abs, equated to good health.

It was only later, in a moment of epiphany, that I realized I wasn’t lean but merely skinny.

Lean (Healthy) != Skinny (Unhealthy)

Those visible abs were NOT a testament to a muscular abdomen; rather, they were a reflection of my body’s absence of fat.

Far from being healthy, I had been deceived by my own misperceptions.

However, it was that piercing comment from my friend that ignited a spark within me. The fact that those six words were the very first to pop into his mind struck me like a thunderbolt.

I knew I had to take action.

Much like the awe-inspiring transformation of Steve Rogers, the skinny Brooklyn kid turned into the superhuman strength and chiselled physique of Captain America, I too have discovered the secrets akin to the “Super-Soldier Serum” that propelled my own journey towards a remarkable change.

[1] Eat until you puke

Amidst the noise and confusion surrounding nutrition, let me share a simple truth: it’s all about the math.

The science behind nourishment boils down to a straightforward equation that even a kindergartener could grasp.

Calorie in > Calorie out: You gain weight (enter the caloric surplus)
Calorie out > Calorie in: You lose weight (enter the caloric deficit)

💡 Calories are units of energy found in the food we eat. When we eat, our body breaks down food into smaller components, which are then converted into energy which in turn fuels our bodily functions.

Forget the myriad of complexities people often associate with weight control.

Focus on this fundamental principle of being in a moderate caloric surplus of 300 kcal and supplement it with these essential factors to enhance your understanding:

• Not all calories are created equal. Prioritize nutrient-dense calories over empty ones.
• Focus on quality as much as quantity by choosing whole foods over processed ones.
• Steer clear of saturated fats, trans fats, and simple carbs, but not forgetting “portion is poison”.
• Construct your meals around a foundation of protein.
• Stay adequately hydrated by drinking enough water throughout the day.

But by restricting myself to a mere two meals per day, I unwittingly plunged into a destructive cycle.

I was inadvertently harming myself, experiencing dwindling energy levels and succumbing to lethargy. This decline in physical activity further suppressed my appetite, leading to an even more diminished food intake.

“If you want to get big, you eat big”

And this remains the hardest part of gyming as well.

It is not the workouts.

It is stuffing your body with the right quantity and quality of fuel to keep it running and healthy.

I would literally stuff myself till I felt like puking as I watched Zyzz posing on Legend by Tevvez on repeat until my food finished.

That became my ordeal for the next few months.

Another thing that helped was calorie tracking through an app.

“If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it” – H. James Harrington

Measuring my calories helped me know how much I was lacking behind.

This made sure that If I was targeting 3,000 calories a day and was still short by a couple hundred by the end, I needed to get that milk packet and a few eggs and drink them before I could get some ZZZZ.

Let’s clear up any misconceptions about my calorie-tracking obsession though.

Unlike the unhealthy mindset of letting numbers on an app dictate my mood, which many anti-calorie trackers warn against, I used it as a tool to provide much-needed guidance and direction on my nutrition journey.

And I went from 143 lbs to 165 lbs in no time.

Happy me!

Here are a few foods that became a staple in my journey:

• Eggs – High in protein and a good breakfast option
• Banana shake – Age-old recipe to gain weight
• Paneer – Veg-friendly alternative to egg
• Sprouts – A powerhouse of nutrients
• Peanut butter – A calorie-dense food with a good balance of healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates.
• Brown rice – Nutrient-rich whole grain providing a steady release of energy
• Lentils – High in protein and fiber, which aids in muscle repair and digestion

[2] Stop running, immediately

In my quest for a healthier and more muscular physique, I mistakenly opted for running as my primary form of exercise.

Little did I know that I was undermining my own progress by neglecting the power of resistance training.

Consider the difference between sprinters and long-distance runners. The former, with their explosive power and well-defined muscles, embody the results I was seeking.

It became clear that my preference for galloping 5 kilometers every day across my favourite park back in Delhi Campus, accompanied by minimal bodyweight exercises, was NOT aligning with my goals.

Why was resistance training so important for me, you ask?

Unlike running, which primarily improves cardiovascular endurance, resistance training stimulates muscle growth and development. It enables progressive overload, where the muscles are consistently challenged with increased resistance, leading to hypertrophy and strength gains.

Even when I started prioritizing resistance training, I stuck with bodyweight exercises and couldn’t have been more wrong.

While exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats are excellent compound movements, they have limitations in terms of progressive overload and targeting specific muscle groups.

There’s only so much you can do in terms of repetitions within a set. To build muscle effectively, progressive overloading is crucial.

And it requires providing stimulation that your muscles haven’t grown accustomed to.

Despite being proficient in push-ups, pull-ups, and squats due to my background as a skater, gymnast, and badminton player, I could perform 50 push-ups in a single go, yet still not achieve significant muscular hypertrophy.

It was only when I finally made the decision to join a gym (last month) that I witnessed astounding results.

As a beginner, my muscles responded rapidly to the new regimen. I could visibly observe my chest, back, and shoulder muscles growing within a matter of weeks, accompanied by prominent veins—a testament to the effectiveness of proper stimulation and progressive overload.

Running still has its place in my routine as a warm-up activity, but it no longer takes center stage in my workouts.

I learned two valuable lessons from this:

1. The gym isn’t just for weight loss; it’s essential for sculpting our bodies and avoiding an unhealthy appearance, even if we realize it later than we’d like.
2. Aligning actions with goals is crucial. No matter the effort, if actions don’t align with goals, results will be lacking. I should have realized sooner that muscle building required a different approach than running, and adjusted my workout regimen accordingly.

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Final Words

In conclusion, building a remarkable physique akin to Captain America’s requires a strong foundation built on the fundamental pillars of nutrition, exercise, and rest. To embark on this transformative journey, I urge you to embrace the following steps consciously:

• Nutrition:
  • Consume a caloric surplus to support muscle growth.
  • Opt for clean, nutrient-dense foods with a focus on protein.
• Exercise:
  • Prioritize resistance training over excessive cardio.
  • Continuously challenge your muscles through progressive overload.
• Rest:
  • Allow your body to recover adequately, including getting a good night’s sleep.

Having made significant progress in my own journey, I am now shifting my focus to body recomposition as my fitness goal, from bulking.

Maintaining a healthy weight of 165 lbs for my 5’11” frame, I aim to replace body fat with lean muscle mass.

By adopting a state of high energy flux, I strive to achieve this desired transformation.

So far the journey has been nothing short of life-changing and I am even more excited about what lies ahead.

Fingers crossed and focus locked!