Michael Hudson's New Family Inspired Him To Get Fit

With a new family to inspire him, Michael Hudson decided to become a shining example by building muscle.

Vital stats

Before: 23 years old, height 5ft 10in, weight 143lb, body fat 13%

After: 26 years old, weight 163lb, body fat 7%

Family inspiration

I had always been unfit; I have never been comfortable with the way I looked and always wanted to have a physique I could be happy with, but I never put in the effort.

I had always looked up to my dad. He always had time for me and was the strongest person I knew. Becoming a dad in 2016 has ensured I will keep at it, as I never want to be the guy who wont take his son swimming because he’s uncomfortable with the way he looks.

Finding balance

Through a little trial and error I’ve found that I get the best results when I try to lift around 80% of my maximum doing eight sets of eight reps, or I’ll try and do 90% of my maximum using four sets of six reps.

I make sure I’m training roughly six days a week but never work the same body parts twice in a row to allow for a full recovery. I’ve found the best results come from sectioning my training into three distinct areas, namely: upper body, lower body and core.

I try to rest no more than one minute 30 between sets as this keeps the intensity high and creates a fat burning effect even when I’m building muscle.

Staying pumped

The best way I found to be stay motivated was to get up around 5:30am so I was at the gym before I could even think about missing it for the day. After I began to see results I knew I wanted to continue this way. I had been going to gyms on and off for around seven years beforehand and got nowhere.

I have taken up badminton with my wife and take my baby boy to the swimming pool, I think the key is that, even on your day off, you should try to do some physical activity.

I’m stronger and faster than I’ve ever been, I feel great with loads more energy than ever before. It’s been three years since I’ve taken it seriously but 10 years overall in the making. My overall goal is to still have the definition and six-pack at 50.

Food strategy

Unlike a lot of other lifters, I make sure that I don’t vary things up, sticking to the same plan everyday where I try to keep everything low carb and high protein for lean muscle mass.

My reward for keeping to my diet and training each day is a handful of sugary sweets. If you’re strict enough through the week, you can make up for it at the weekend.

I took one sachet of a combination pre-workout that included nitric oxide, creatine and various minerals. Immediately after and before each workout, I took one scoop of whey protein.