@howtogetasixpackinaweek

decade ago, in June 2005, five GQ colleagues and I took part in a six-week body transformation challenge, each doing different work-out programmes, ranging from training with the army to aerobics with supermodels. I had just returned from LA after shooting the original Baywatch superstar, Pamela Anderson. It is hard to forget that shoot, but another reason I remember that issue of the magazine so clearly is because I had promised myself ever since that I would return to the fitness I achieved back then.

I was 31-years-old and I weighed a not-too-heavy 85kg for my 6ft 3in frame, but almost a quarter of that weight - 24 per cent - was fat (28 per cent is considered clinically overweight). By the end of the programme I weighed 75kg, with a trim 14 per cent body fat. But old habits and routines kicked in. Long hours in the office, skipped breakfasts, one too many drinks after work - the hard work was undone in no time. I never made it as far as packing my gym bag since. My annual new year's resolutions always came to nothing. Work, smoke, drink, eat, repeat. Suddenly I was 42. I had a dad-bod and I didn't even have children, so I rechristened it the "bar-bod", and on the horizon, coincidentally, was another shoot in LA, this time for the new star playing CJ in the Baywatch reboot, Kelly Rohrbach. I realised the time for false promises was over.

In February I ran into an old GQ colleague. I hardly recognised him. He was slim, ripped and looked liked he had been photoshopped. "Twelve weeks," he said, whipping out his phone to show me some images. I begged for the details of his new fitness programme. On the back of my newspaper he wrote, "Evolution Of Man".

I met Tim Walker and Lee Bennett, the founders and head trainers at Evolution Of Man (EOM), the following week. Their website said that the 12-week transformation programme would help me lose more than a stone (6.3kg) in fat while building almost the same in muscle. I wondered if this was even possible. They told me to trust them - if I committed 100 per cent, ate what they told me to, lifted what and how they said I should, then I would, in their words, "look and feel better than you did in your thirties".

Walker, Bennett and their young recruit Hakim Mefai were all involved in my training over the coming weeks and I quickly saw that their expertise was going to produce extraordinary results. Most London-based gyms have exercise machines designed for a comfortable work-out, but being comfortable is not how Brad Pitt got ready for Fight Club. At Evolution Of Man there is no treadmill, but there is a sprinting track armed with a "prowler" (google this horror and tremble), a sled to drag, beer kegs to lift, tractor tyres to drag, sandbags to carry and throw, and sledgehammers to wield. "We just want men to go back to being men - strong, agile, fast," says Walker.

At the end of this first meeting at the gym, Walker took my measurements. I was close to where I was more than ten years ago - almost 22 per cent body fat - and it was clear that nutrition would be the decisive factor over three months. "You can't out-train a bad diet," growled Bennett. Full diet plans and training schedules were emailed to me within two days and off I ran to Nike Town to get kitted out with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Image may contain: Human, Person, and Tire

"A lot of men would look at Paul's first photo and think, 'Hey that's fine. I'd be happy to look like that,'" says Walker. "But our job is to make people the best they can be. Before we could do this we needed to correct some structural and postural issues - classic city worker problems - so we had Paul seen by our physiotherapist."

It was obvious my lifestyle had to change too. I stopped buying my morning coffee on the way to work to avoid the need for the morning cigarette. I also made sure I left the office on time on Friday to avoid going out for the evening. This seemed tough enough - but it was nothing compared with what was to come.

I found that doing all the food prep and cooking myself helped take my mind off what I would usually be doing at home: drinking, smoking and watching box sets. Getting into a new routine at home as well as the gym is the best thing you can do. And when it got tough - and it did - I would simply remind myself of how much I had consumed in the previous ten years and the damage I would do if I continued.

Then the hard work began. It would not have happened without the continual support of the team at EOM. "If the client commits to us and our plan, we'll give them everything," says Bennett. "Paul has learnt how to train and eat properly. He not only came out at 11.9 per cent body fat (a reduction of 9.1kg), while gaining 4.5kg of lean muscle, but his postural issues have also improved and at the age of 42 he has achieved the best physique he has ever had."

This programme became more about my state of mind than physical transformation. Keeping a diary was essential and when I look back I can see when I was focused and when I wavered. From a page with the word "Meltdown!' sprawled across it, to the detailed, measured notes of the later weeks, it shows how this level of success depends on a totally immersive approach. I also remember that in week eight, when I was really suffering, the boys from EOM stepped in to help me maintain my focus in the gym and sent messages of encouragement at home. The website offers you 24/7 support. You'll get it and you'll need it. Thanks, boys. See you when I'm 50!

eomfitness.com

Three of the best... or the worst

1. The prowler AKA 'the widow maker'

Image may contain: Sport, Sports, Exercise, Working Out, Human, Person, Fitness, Gym, Shoe, Clothing, Footwear, and Apparel

As with all of these exercises, this is a whole-body conditioning tool that leaves you no option but to become extremely fit and powerful (if you make it to the end). It builds strong legs and shoulders and teaches you to keep pushing when you think you have reached your limit.

2. The tyre flip

Image may contain: Wheel, Machine, Human, Person, Fitness, Exercise, Sport, Sports, Working Out, and Gym

An EOM favourite that combines power and explosive strength to work the whole body, building fantastic functional strength.

3. The sledgehammer

Image may contain: Human, Person, Footwear, Clothing, Apparel, Shoe, Tire, Exercise, Sport, Sports, Working Out, and Fitness

Most top fighters use this tool, as it promotes power and strength. It builds powerful shoulders, forearms and core - a great stress reliever, too.

Figures and facts

Image may contain: Human, Person, and Man

Week 1-3

Weight: 87.6kg

Body fat: 21.7%

Waist: 96cm

The first three weeks are about getting the body back into exercise and making sure the nutrition is on point. I trained three times a week, working the whole body in each session with lifts, squats, pushing and pulling, and postural correction exercises. Diet was just meat, fish, chicken and vegetables, with some good fats on the side. By the end of week two, I was sleeping uninterrupted all night, which in itself was worth all the hard work.

Image may contain: Human, Person, and Man

Week 3-6

Weight: 84.7kg

Body fat: 17.5%

Waist: 91cm

Fat lost: 4.1kg

Muscle gained: 1.2kg

With improving postural awareness and technical skill I ramped up the intensity in the gym and started adding complex carbs, such as rice and sweet potato, to my diet. I used German body composition (GBC) training at least twice a week alongside strongman training. GBC consists of full-body sessions that hit each muscle group while keeping the heart rate high enough to drop fat as muscle packs on.

Image may contain: Human, Person, and Man

Week 6-9

Weight: 84.4kg

Body fat: 15.6%

Waist: 88cm

Fat lost: 1.7kg

Muscle gained: 1.4kg

I was now benching my body weight and deadlifting double my starting weight so I used heavier weights with more repetitions to concentrate on building muscle. I started using a carbohydrate cycling method in my diet to make sure the fat loss continued as muscle increased. My face was much slimmer now and although I had a few incredibly tough days, I kept my focus and felt much stronger overall.

Image may contain: Human, Person, and Man

Week 9-11

Weight: 83.9kg

Body fat: 13.7%

Waist: 85cm

Fat lost: 1.7kg

Muscle gained: 1.2kg

Still very much focusing on fat loss and muscle building, I began to include more metabolic conditioning exercises - such as the prowler, sledgehammer and tyre - as finishers to make sure fitness levels matched the muscle gains made. I also targeted areas that I felt needed to look better, such as shoulders and arms to get that classic V-shaped look.

Image may contain: Human, Person, Man, and Cosmin Contra

Final week

Weight: 83kg

Body fat: 11.9%

Waist: 85cm

Fat lost: 1.6kg

Muscle gained: 0.7kg

This week was spent as if I was about to step onto the stage for a bodybuilding competition. During each of the first three days, I drank 6-8 litres of water, ate small fat- and carbohydrate-free meals and did high-rep exercises to squeeze each muscle I was targeting. Later, I added carbohydrates and stopped exercising to let muscle soak up glycogen before the photo shoot.

Total fat lost: 9.1kg

Total muscle gained: 4.5kg

The dos and don'ts

Image may contain: Food, Lunch, Meal, and Plant

Do: Keep ingredients simple and prepare meals in batches so you can assemble them easily each evening. Keep to organic or free-range if possible.

Do: Alternate proteins throughout the day: red meat, fish, chicken etc.

Don't: Replace food with protein shakes. They will never give you the results you get from eating good, healthy meals.

Do: Weigh carbs before cooking and protein after (protein shrinks when cooked so allow for this when weighing your portions).

Do: Make friends with your local butcher and fishmonger. Let them know you'll expect mates rates - you will be visiting them often.

Do: Eat at the same time every day. Consistency is key. I ate breakfast at 7.30am and 10.30am, had lunch at 1pm, ate again at 4pm and 7pm, and had dinner at 9.30pm.

Do: Drink water. Lots of water. At least four litres a day.

Don't: Stress. It produces a hormone called cortisol. This reduces testosterone levels, which makes it harder to gain muscle and can even reverse the gains you have made.

Do: Sleep at least seven hours a night. This is the second most important thing - after diet - to make gains. Sleep is when your body produces human growth hormone and you will be much bigger after a work-out if it's followed by a good night's sleep.

Do: Buy yourself some good digital scales and lots of food containers. Mine were 750ml and were the perfect size.

Don't: Beat yourself up if you miss a meal or a session. Just refocus and move on.

Do: Remember lots of small changes to your lifestyle will result in one huge one. Only you will know what they should be. For me, it included walking a different way home to avoid the pub and no morning coffee to stop me having that first cigarette.

Don't: Give up. It's only three months of your life.

Paul's lean, mean turkey burgers (makes eight, ideal for freezing)

The recipe:

Image may contain: Plant, Food, Produce, Vegetable, Bean, and Lentil

Try to buy free-range or organic ingredients2 large red onions, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed Organic coconut oil 500g white turkey mince 500g dark turkey mince Ground black pepper 1 tbsp dried sage herbs Organic flour 2 large organic egg yolks Burger separators Method

Slow fry the onion and crushed garlic with the coconut oil in a small pan. Keep the lid on to hold in moisture and avoid burning. When soft, leave to cool (the meat will start to cook if you add the onions when they're still hot). Into a large bowl add the white and dark turkey meat. The dark meat keeps the burger from drying out and it's also much tastier. Season with pepper - avoid salt if you can. Add the cooled onions, dried sage and egg yolks, then mix by hand. Place in the fridge to cool for 5-10 mins. Weigh out the mix into 150g balls. Coat with a little flour to help it bind. Place each ball in a burger press or form with your hands and store or freeze with separators between. Thoroughly defrost before frying in a little oil for 5 mins on each side.