Ralph DeVito is the definition of dedication. The picture above was taken when Ralph started with us earlier this year. He was 47 years old and decided it was time to get in great shape. He had trained before in the past but this time was different.
Like my friend, Mark Crook, who I’ve written about in the past, he became obsessed this time around.
He wanted to do everything in his power to achieve his goals as fast as possible. He did everything I told him and asked all the right questions.
He ordered every supplement I recommended, got foam rollers, lacrosse balls, switched to only organic, grass fed meat and local farmers market produce, was the first person at the gym every day, studied technique of the more advanced lifters and mastered his form on every exercise, did his fasted morning cardio every day he was supposed to, ran hill sprints… whatever it took.
In less than a year he has surpassed a great number of people who were light years ahead of him in the gym when he started simply because they didn’t posses a tenth of the dedication and discipline that Ralph has.
I’ve always said that the results you get from training are directly related to your IQ. Unless, of course you are a genetic freak.
Ralph is the owner of a very successful company, so needless to say he’s a pretty smart dude. Without fail, the smartest guys I’ve trained since 1994 have always gotten the best results. Because they “get it.”
When you’ve worked with someone for over a year and they describe their breakfast to you like this you know they’re a lost cause:
“I ate really good yesterday. First, I had two egg whites and a packet of apple cinnamon oatmeal…”
“Two egg whites?! I told you to eat forty grams of protein and you ate six?!?”
“Oh, I thought I was being good. I shouldn’t be eating the yolks, right?”
“You shouldn’t be eating the yolks!? When have you ever heard me… Actually, just kidding… you’re right. Perfect meal. Have a good one, buddy.”
There simply isn’t enough time in the day to explain things for the 469th straight time to people.
You either get it or you don’t.
The Details
The first thing we did was cut all carbs out of Ralph’s diet except for fruit and vegetables and a sweet potato or rice for dinner each night. Normally this would be hard to do cold turkey but Ralph had his mind set on what he wanted and did it overnight.
He also cut out dairy and all other inflammatory foods. Within two weeks of doing this he told me that some aches and pains he had for years were completely gone!
He followed The Renegade Diet which meant he ate light during the day and had a big dinner each night.
On training days he would have a serving of fruit and 10 grams of BCAA 15-30 minutes before training. When he was done he’d have Biotrust Low Carb Protein and two jars of sweet potato baby food.
At dinner he would again have fish, chicken or lean, grass fed beef with a salad and vegetables and potatoes or rice and sometimes a healthy dessert.
Every day he drinks a gallon of water and supplements with:
• Athletic Greens
• Omega 3’s
• Digestive enzymes
• Vitamin D
• Protein powder
• Probiotics
For the first 12 weeks he had a refeed (carb) day once a week. Now we have him doing a once every five day refeed where he loads up on red potatoes and is free to have a little dessert, pizza, pasta or whatever else he wants. But at this point he doesn’t really miss those foods anymore so he keeps the carb up pretty clean.
He trains four days per week, with workouts I post in Renegade Strength Club, focusing on:
- Big compound movements
- A lot of bodyweight exercises
- And some finishers like the prowler
One thing that Ralph understands better than a lot of people is the importance of not training to failure or grinding reps and always making slow, steady, consistent progress. He’s never come close to missing a rep yet.
Instead of trying to jump up 25 pounds per week he is always happy with small gains on a regular basis. By not being overzealous he has slowly surpassed a lot of guys in the gym who were stronger than him because they burn themselves out and push it too hard, too often.
Three or four mornings per week I have Ralph doing 30 minutes of fasted cardio at 70% of max heart rate. Some people will claim this is outdated and doesn’t work. I don’t care.
On one other day he runs hill sprints.
That’s about the nuts and bolts of it.
Hard work and dedication. That’s what it takes.
If Ralph can do it at 48 years old, as the head of a major company, with three kids and wife, there’s no reason you can’t.
Make no excuses and start kicking ass.
Got any questions or comments for me or Ralph? Post them below.
