Time for belly off

My high school football coaches told me I needed to bulk up—they just didn't tell me how. So I hit every fast-food joint in town, and it worked. I gained 70 pounds before my sophomore year and kept piling them on through high school. Then Concordia University recruited me to play football, and I knew I would have to be even bigger. But the larger I grew, the less endurance I had. As I pushed my body toward 300 pounds, my energy level plummeted and I feared for my health.

After a fast-food binge at five different restaurants, my belt literally snapped off my body. Even that embarrassment wasn't enough. During one game I took a nasty tackle that ripped up my knee so badly I couldn't play. Now my weight wasn't even useful anymore.

I wanted to ease into healthy choices, so I started replacing my favorites, like fast-food burgers, with homemade versions. I made the patties with extra-lean ground beef or turkey, used whole-grain buns, and loaded the burgers with vegetables. I bought some healthy cookbooks for inspiration and found new favorites, like spinach-and-tomato scrambled eggs. Eventually I phased out burgers and pizza, but I still eat those foods for a weekend treat.

Losing weight was never an option during my foot­ball days, so the strategies were new to me. I kept up with the plyometrics and intense interval train­ing, and I started going out on longer runs. I ran in the evening, when my fast-food cravings usually struck, to help keep my mind off food. Gradually I built up my endurance to revisit basic weight-training exercises, like hang cleans and bench presses. I also took up jujitsu, which would have nearly killed me when I was pushing 300.

I used to be winded after walking up a flight of stairs. Now I run a set of 500 stairs at least three times a week. After losing the weight and kicking my butt back into shape, I even tried out for a Can­adian Football League team. Although I didn't make it, I had the energy to give tryouts my all.

It's a great no-gym workout to improve your speed, power, and overall fitness, says Martin Rooney, M.H.S.C.S.C.S. Plus, stairs offerthese additional benefits.A. Stairs make yourquads and glutes workharder. More work frombigger muscles meansmore calorie burn.B. Stairs demand effortfrom your upper body,furtherjackingupyourheart rate.