Looking Better Naked

Bo Giffin      

Age:22         Current Weight: 186

What made you start this fitness journey?

I've been in love with the gym ever since I graduated high school and wanted something to replace the sports I played to keep me in shape. I didn't know much at all about weightlifting at first, except for what I learned during football and wrestling conditioning. I knew even less about good nutrition and supplements, but I loved the idea of going the the gym, pushing myself, and seeing what my body was capable of doing. That craving to be better eventually morphed into trying to take my body and build the most aesthetic physique that I could. More importantly, I wanted to build a body that I was proud of and felt comfortable and confident in.

Besides fitness what other interests do you have?

If I'm not in the gym, there's nothing more fun than getting my friends together to play some kind of sport. My addiction at the moment is sand volleyball. I've fallen in love with it lately and try to get on the court whenever I get a chance. Im also very into music. All kinds of music. I love discovering new artists and songs to show people because there's not better feeling than getting the AUX cord and showing off some cool new songs. I also play guitar and sing so I'm always doing acoustic covers of songs with my friends and putting my own spin on them.

Did you have any drawbacks during the process?

I work in the OR at OSU, and it seems like most of my time is spent at work or being on call. I work second shift and by the time that I'm off work, my gym is closed. So the biggest drawback was changing my routine to early morning workouts during the week. I've definitely had my fair share of struggles with the snooze button and getting out of bed, but it's always a nice feeling to go into the day knowing that you already got your workout in.

How have you stayed motivated? 

The biggest motivation for me is the mirror. When I go to the gym, the only reason I have for going is to feel better about myself and work towards being the best version of myself I can possibly be. Of course I follow my fair share of fitness accounts for workout and physique motivation, but I'm not beating myself up every day to be Steve Cook. Don't get me wrong, that would be awesome, but only Steve can be Steve. I know my strengths and weaknesses and my biggest motivation is the fact that I know I'm never gonna be satisfied with how I look in the mirror. The best part is that I'm consistently seeing progress and I'm waking up better than the guy I was yesterday. Usually sore, but better.

What do you love most about the “Look Better Naked” stack?

My favorite part about the Look Better Naked stack, besides the perfect name that it has, is how simple and effective it is. You have three supplements, and every one is helping you shred off fat while still powering me through my workouts and helping me recover after. I know as long as I'm getting in the gym and watching my nutrition, the supplements are doing their thing.

When do you usually take each of these supplements?

I do my workouts in the morning, so a typical day is taking 1 Epiq Shred pill with breakfast, C4 ripped before I drive to the gym (which makes for some fun car rides when it kicks in) and I bring a shaker bottle with one scoop of Isoburn with me so once I'm at the gym and kill my workout, I can take my protein shake right there before I drive back home. I take my second Shred pill with lunch.. And it's as easy as that.

What do your workouts look like?

My workout split has been pretty taxing lately. I'm doing 6 days a week. Rotating each week what body part I hit twice. For example Week 1: Chest, Arms, Back, Legs, Shoulders, Chest, Rest. And then following that rotation.. Week 2: Arms, Back, Legs, Shoulders, Chest, Arms, Rest. The workouts themselves are throwing in supersets and short rest periods to always keep my body guessing. I love to mix up my rep ranges to hit both strength and hypertrophy zones, so my workouts are always changing. Just work till it hurts and then work some more.

Favorite body part to train? 

My favorite body part to train now is back and that's only because it has always been my weakest. For the longest time, I was going to the gym and doing everything wrong, not targeting any of the right muscles and using horrible form. I was extremely upset with the lack of results in my back compared to the rest of my body. It just looked weird and people made comments. I did my research, watched as many videos as I could find and got advice from as many people in my gym as I could. I'm still bringing up a lot of lagging areas back there.. and pull-ups still suck, But I love the challenge.

What does your diet consist of?

I eat three big meals a day, breakfast lunch and dinner, and I try to have some kind of small snack like a protein bar, fruit, nuts, or a protein shake in between each big meal to make for 6 meals a day. I try to eat pretty clean and healthy, just because I love clean and healthy foods. Egg whites with vegetables in an omelette for breakfast, chicken, vegetables and rice for lunch and a big salad with salmon or chicken for dinner. I'll mix up my vegetables and meats quite often to get some variety in based off of what I'm craving, but for the most part it's pretty basic. I'm not just eating for taste, I wanna fuel my body so I know I'm recovering and fueling for my next workout. That's a cool thought and keeps me going.

Favorite cheat meal?

My favorite cheat meal lately is a Gyro. Whenever I see one, I lose all self control for some reason. I'm pretty good about watching my nutrition but if you throw lamb in pita bread in front of me.. I become a whole different kind of monster.

What advice would you give someone looking to make a transformation?

Do whatever it takes to make working out fun. If you're uncomfortable in your own body like I am at times, it can be way too easy to feel sorry for yourself and give up. You've gotta actually enjoy what you're doing and understand that it's not a one day fix. Do your research, find a program that's gonna work for you, get yourself excited for something and be consistent with it. You have to have a goal worth fighting for and find some joy in the consistency or you're going to drive yourself crazy and straight to failure. That's just fact.

What do you hope for in the future?

I've got nothing but big goals for the future. I want to become a sports medicine physical therapist and help people get back in the game like those who helped me with my knee and neck injuries during high school sports that I thought were going to keep me out of fitness forever. In terms of fitness, I want to grow my social media (follow me @bogiffin) and use that growth to find companies to support my journey. I would love to be a rep for supplements companies, clothing lines and fitness organizations. That's when you know you've made it, when people want to become associated with your name and image. I also want to continue to learn all that I can to help both myself and people who want to jump on this journey with me. My hope for the future is to keep succeeding until I reach my goals and have to come up with even crazier new ones.

By Brooke Goldstein