Youtuber and Myprotein ambassador Stan Browney is known for his remarkable fitness challenges. He’s attempted crazy transformations, world records and many other daring feats. He once tried to become a pro gymnast in just 24 hours.
But for this challenge he’s turned the camera onto his own cameraman, betting 23-year-old Lennard to take on a 90-day body transformation. Lennard has no experience of working out, often forgets to eat, and has no idea what “body fat percentage” means.
Lennard sparked this whole journey after leaving a comment on one of Browney’s YouTube videos: “haha you should transform your cameraman. He looks weak as s**t.” While Lennard says he was half joking, Browney decided to take him seriously.
Oh, and there’s a BIG incentive for Lennard to succeed. If he meets all his goals, he'll receive the ad revenue from the video tracking his progress after 30 days. Let's see how Lennard got on.
First, Browney and his team took Lennard’s measurements, including weight and body fat percentage.
Day 1 measurements:
- Weight: 153lb/69.5kg
- Shoulders: 112cm
- Chest: 93cm
- Waist: 80cm
- Thighs: R:54cm L:53cm
- Upper Arm: R:28cm L:28cm
- 11.9% body fat
- 49% muscle mass
Browney also had Lennard complete a series of fitness challenges that he’ll do again at 30, 60 and 90 days. On day one, Lennard was able to complete:
- 5 pull-ups
- 95cm box jump
- 15 push-ups
- 28 seconds to burn 20 calories on the exercise bike (Browney wants to get this down to 20 seconds by day 90)
Browney was hopeful that Lennard was going to smash this challenge and build some serious muscle. But to win the prize, he’d have to reach every goal they set out.
Lennard’s goals:
- Gain 7kg/15lb of muscle
- Double his strength
- Gain confidence
With the measurements taken, goals put in place, and plenty of Myprotein goodies to fuel his journey, Lennard was ready to start.
After setting up a home gym, getting to grips with his workout plan, and eating more than he’s ever eaten, Lennard completed his first workout. Everything was looking great until … he realised he actually lost weight on day two. But it was early days and Lennard pushed through, even doing workouts in a tiny hotel room while on holiday in France.
Before he knew it, it was time for the day-30 check-in.
Day 30 check-in
Day 30 brought some reflection for Lennard too, explaining “the comment was a joke obviously but there was some truth in it. When I looked in the mirror, I felt weak.”
Measurements:
- Weight: 163.1lb/74.5kg
- Shoulders: 120cm
- Chest: 98cm
- Waist: 82cm
- Thighs: R:57cm L:56cm
- Upper arm: R:30cm L:30cm
Fitness:
- 8 pull-ups
- 26 push-ups
- 23 seconds to burn 20 calories on the exercise bike
Lennard was feeling confident and motivated after absolutely smashing the first 30 days.
“After day 30 I realise that it’s actually working, eating healthily and working out consistently.”
Days 31 to 60 saw an increase in the intensity of the workouts, adding in more explosive movements to keep everything challenging. Lennard pushed through it all, and made it to day 60, stronger than ever.
Day 60 check-in
Measurements:
- Shoulders: 121cm
- Chest: 100cm
- Waist: 83cm
- Thighs: R:59cm L:58cm
- Upper arm: R:32cm L:32cm
Fitness:
- Almost 10 pull-ups
- 28 push-ups
- 21 seconds to burn 20 calories on the exercise bike
- 108cm box jump
- Balls test: 31 secs
Until this point it had been smooth sailing for Lennard. But progress was slowing down, and the final 30 days were really tough.
First off, disaster struck … Lennard's Myprotein stash ran out. Protein Pancake Mix for his breakfast, Impact Whey for his daily shakes and all his other snacks. Thankfully, Browney restocked them and the panic was over.
But more setbacks were on the way.
“Things aren’t going as planned”
On day 65 Lennard injured himself frolicking on the beach. Yep, not even in a workout. He fell awkwardly and ended up hurting his ankle, meaning he had to skip the leg work for a while.
Then, on day 72, Lennard got sick and had to skip a few workouts.
Then (yep, there’s more) Lennard sprained his ankle while warming up for a workout. That’s when the stress and doubt really started to mount.
“I’m worried. The past weeks have been very stressful. There's been a lot going on with work and I've got this big art project that I’m working on, and things aren’t really going as planned.
“And what usually happens when I'm stressed is I just completely lose my appetite and I stop eating, so that’s basically what’s happening now. And it’s super difficult to make myself eat when I’m not hungry, so I'm losing weight, which makes it even more stressful, so I eat even less.
“I need to reach my goals, and it’s not even about the money. The day 30 video did so well and I got so many great comments and people really seem to care about my progress and I don’t want to let you guys down.”
But this is normal on any fitness journey, and Lennard wasn’t giving up with just 10 days to go. He pulled himself back up and went for the final push.
In the final week Browney gave Lennard the news that they were going to change his diet for the lead up to the photoshoot. It was brutal (and in no way recommended). It meant cutting carbs and loading up on water.
“If you’re eating less and less carbs, and then the last day before the shoot you’re pumping it through with carbs, you will look full and massive on the shoot day.
“And we want to dehydrate you on the last day, just for the photoshoot. This is not a recommended diet in any way.”
So after what was probably the most intense week of the 90 days yet, Lennard was at the finish line. It was time for the final check-in.
Day 90 final check-in and photoshoot
Measurements:
- Weight: 168.7lb/76.5kg
- Shoulders: 123cm
- Chest: 103cm
- Upper arm: R:32cm L:32cm
- Waist: 83cm
- Thighs: R:61cm L:59cm
Fitness:
- 11 pull-ups
- 35 push-ups
- Balls test: 12 seconds
- 18 seconds to burn 20 calories on the exercise bike
Lennard absolutely smashed the challenge, more than doubling his strength, gaining 7kg overall and building his confidence in and out of the gym.
After the photoshoot, it was time to find out what Lennard’s prize was. Browney checked his analytics and worked out Lennard would get a whopping $10,071. That’s one hell of a bonus. And what does Lennard plan to spend it on? A camera. Obviously.
Take home message
Lennard made a huge transformation in just 90 days. What an impressive achievement. The prize incentive may have helped, but Lennard says the support of the viewers went a long way to pushing him and providing the extra motivation when he was struggling to get over the line.
And of course, we like to think we played our part as well, fuelling Lennard with plenty of shakes and protein pancakes throughout the course of his challenge.
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