If you’re looking to make some changes to your life and get in shape, you could do worse than having strongman Eddie “The Beast” Hall as your trainer. The former World’s Strongest Man winner has a new show with on Facebook Watch called Beasted: each episode sees him showing a new guy the ropes in the gym and setting him off on his own transformation journey.
In the first instalment, Shaw works with salesman Sam Parcell to kickstart a lifelong change with a six week transformation challenge. Sam is interested in taking a more proactive approach to his own health and fitness, as his father passed away from a heart attack and he wants to decrease his risk of going the same way. Now that he and his wife Amelia are thinking about starting a family of their own, he wants to be able to keep up the energy to run around after kids and be healthy enough to stick around for a long time.
Strongman and strength conditioning coach Luke Fullbrook and sports rehabilitation specialist Chris Peil join Sam and Eddie for day one of the challenge, which starts with six exercises designed to test Sam’s strength, agility and endurance: a 220 kg deadlift, a 140 kg bench press, a goblet squat, a shoulder press, a frame carry, and the SkiErg.
Once he knows his way around the equipment, Sam is left to his own devices for the six weeks. After just one week on his training program and new meal plan (consisting primarily of chicken, rice, oats and greens), he’s already noticing that clothes are starting to fit better.
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“I can’t believe after having so much time out of the gym, doing that strength stuff, how strong I’ve got so quickly,” he says at the halfway mark. “It was vital to do something like this,” he adds. “What it’s done it put everything in perspective.”
Sam weighs in at 130 kg (286 pounds) at the start of the six weeks, with 30.5 per cent body fat. By the end of the challenge, he’s dropped a staggering 13 Kilos, and has considerably improved his stamina and gym technique: he only managed five reps on the shoulder press to begin with, but six weeks later he smashes out 18.
“The number’s incredible, it’s more than tripled,” says Hall. “Absolutely incredible.”
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health