April 2022 Challenge Winner
May 26, 2022
By Jake Shaw
This challenge was my second attempt and first successfully completed one of the year. The first attempt was in February and it got a bit derailed. I was a little frustrated with myself but knew I could fall back into line just as quickly as I fell out of line. I was motivated by a desire to get myself into excellent physical shape. I first got down from 275 to 255 when my first son was born, five years ago May 2nd. I then did an Mtn Ops challenge a few years later and got down below 230 for the first time since high school.
I recently had been hunting after a big snow storm and felt tremendous fatigue in my legs and hips from trudging through the snow. I decided it was a good time to not just be in better shape but to be in excellent shape. I have been very consistent all month with exercise and diet, weight training and or calisthenics 4x a week and jiu jitsu 3x a week. I have also been going through a lifeguarding course, playing basketball with my students at school (perks of being a p.e. teacher) and chasing around my two boys at home. The older one is a wrestler so we do bear crawl races around the house. I have yet to win but am gaining on him. I have always been active but my biggest obstacle is portion control on the diet side of things. Growing up with football and playing it through college conditioned me to over-eat and it was encouraged. My mother being an excellent cook did not help, neither did me founding a competition bbq team in 2012. I have never been a huge junk food guy or really had a sweet tooth. I simply eat too much at each meal.
I have really benefitted from the return of the mtnops protein bars, which I eat every day at work for breakfast. It is quite literally the only bar on the market which will keep me from getting hungry before lunch time, and I have tried them all. I partially blame their temporary hiatus for my fall weight gain. The other products I take daily are the mens multi, ignite, enduro and the bcaas. I use the ammo protein powder frequently as well as slumber, especially on nights before a big hunt when I am otherwise too excited to sleep.
I wear one of my many mtnops hats every day at work, even though some of my students threaten to take them from me. I have been very consistent with having better portion control which usually does pay dividends for my on the scale. my waist size is down to 36 from a 38, I am even fitting into some of my size 34 grappling shorts.
I only lost 12 pounds on the scale but all of my clothes fit better and my body feels significantly leaner, I think the cleaned up diet has me holding less water and has allowed me to put on a bit of muscle.
Overall I am extremely energetic and grateful for the experience and the whole MTN OPS community which adopts the values of hard work towards a wonderful cause. It has been fulfilling and rewarding. Today is not a finish line for me, just a mile marker. I am rolling into my next 30 day challenge immediately and look forward to more growth and better health.
Joe's Favorites: Performance Bars, Men's Multi-V, IGNITE, ENDURO, BCAA's, AMMO, SLUMBER
I recently had been hunting after a big snow storm and felt tremendous fatigue in my legs and hips from trudging through the snow. I decided it was a good time to not just be in better shape but to be in excellent shape. I have been very consistent all month with exercise and diet, weight training and or calisthenics 4x a week and jiu jitsu 3x a week. I have also been going through a lifeguarding course, playing basketball with my students at school (perks of being a p.e. teacher) and chasing around my two boys at home. The older one is a wrestler so we do bear crawl races around the house. I have yet to win but am gaining on him. I have always been active but my biggest obstacle is portion control on the diet side of things. Growing up with football and playing it through college conditioned me to over-eat and it was encouraged. My mother being an excellent cook did not help, neither did me founding a competition bbq team in 2012. I have never been a huge junk food guy or really had a sweet tooth. I simply eat too much at each meal.
I have really benefitted from the return of the mtnops protein bars, which I eat every day at work for breakfast. It is quite literally the only bar on the market which will keep me from getting hungry before lunch time, and I have tried them all. I partially blame their temporary hiatus for my fall weight gain. The other products I take daily are the mens multi, ignite, enduro and the bcaas. I use the ammo protein powder frequently as well as slumber, especially on nights before a big hunt when I am otherwise too excited to sleep.
I wear one of my many mtnops hats every day at work, even though some of my students threaten to take them from me. I have been very consistent with having better portion control which usually does pay dividends for my on the scale. my waist size is down to 36 from a 38, I am even fitting into some of my size 34 grappling shorts.
I only lost 12 pounds on the scale but all of my clothes fit better and my body feels significantly leaner, I think the cleaned up diet has me holding less water and has allowed me to put on a bit of muscle.
Overall I am extremely energetic and grateful for the experience and the whole MTN OPS community which adopts the values of hard work towards a wonderful cause. It has been fulfilling and rewarding. Today is not a finish line for me, just a mile marker. I am rolling into my next 30 day challenge immediately and look forward to more growth and better health.
Joe's Favorites: Performance Bars, Men's Multi-V, IGNITE, ENDURO, BCAA's, AMMO, SLUMBER
