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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Remnant: From the Ashes Review - Soulslike Gunslinging Takes Root

Remnant: From the Ashes brings guns and friends to the Soulslike table, and playthroughs remain engaging despite its several flaws and bad tendencies.

Darksiders 3 developer Gunfire Games' Remnant: From the Ashes is the newest Soulslike, introducing high-intensity gunplay and online co-op to the well-trodden genre while still aping a sufficient amount of Dark Souls series elements to fit the trendy criteria. This surefire formula means that combat and exploration are decently rewarding, but the game inherits its antecedents' worst annoyances in the process. Its post-apocalyptic story settles itself somewhere between the dark fantasy of the Souls games and the gritty sci-fi setting of The Surge without borrowing much from either, but its efforts to craft the caliber of universe, lore, and characters that defines the genre cumulatively miss the mark. Luckily, Remnant: From the Ashes's core gameplay loop is engaging and difficult enough to carry both solo and co-op players through to the end of a semi-randomized campaign, but it's a far cry from the infinitely replayable adventure that Gunfire touts.

Setting the stage on an alternate history Earth ravaged by an alien force known as the Root, a hive mind of tree-like lifeforms hellbent on the complete entropic destruction of life across all worlds. Minus the tree thing - which, at the very least, makes for some interesting enemy and world design on Root-infested Earth - Remnant: From the Ashes's story isn't exactly groundbreaking, retreading a tired premise that's been explored to far greater effect by the likes of the original Halo and Mass Effect trilogies. Of course, the Soulslikes' main quests are rarely particularly imaginative or well fleshed-out, so the unoriginal concept deserves a pass here. What moves players from one area to the next is the search for the Founder of Ward 13, the only one who knows how to stop the Root at its source on Earth.

Related: Vicious Circle Review - Messy Multiplayer With Potential

There are many attempts by Gunfire to contrive the mandatory lore that Soulslike fans crave and a few heavy-handed text logs that spell stuff out, but its the search for the Founder - the only one who knows how to stop the Root at its source - that sends players on a circuitous journey across multiple worlds to kill almost everything they meet. Most of the game is a blur of near-constant monster slaughter, and interspersed among protracted combat sections are a few moments where Remnant: From the Ashes's creativity is allowed to shine through. However, none of these moments really pertain to or enhance the main storyline. It's expected that the drama should take a backseat to gameplay, but even the most seasoned and cynical players will likely be surprised at how anticlimactically and abruptly the central plot thread slams the door shut on playthroughs after hyping up the ending over a lengthy course of playtime.

The barebones story's lackluster payoff does sour the final hours of a Remnant: From the Ashes playthrough, but the focal point of the game is obviously combat, which does a more than serviceable job of delivering players from start to finish without descending into monotony. Its emphasized gunplay is punchy and satisfying, and it feels consistently great to stagger rushing enemies with shotgun blasts and devastate harassers at range with precise headshots. Though weapon variety is fairly limited during a significant portion of most initial playthroughs, the six starting guns can be outfitted with a diverse assortment of mods that temporarily alter weapon behavior or grant player abilities after filling a damage meter. Melee combat is also an option, but it's far more situational than in other Soulslikes due to its lack of power and zero stamina usage, relegating it to crowd control and a risky method of ammo conservation.

Although it misses the chance to flip the script on Bloodborne's brilliant fusion of ranged and melee combat, Remnant: From the Ashes isn't shy at all about lifting most of its mechanics and ideas straight out of FromSoftware's other titles. Though most lack the nuance of their inspirations, there are tough-as-nails boss battles (blocked off by fog gates, even), an obligatory stand-in for Estus Flasks, a stamina meter, and a Bonfire-like system of World Crystals and checkpoints that enable fast travel at the cost of global enemy respawns. The prescribed approach is slightly subverted by exchanging risk-reward Souls for permanent experience and Traits, though it's hardly an imaginative change. Its biggest additions are gunplay and online co-op, the latter of which makes the game innately more fun despite seriously killing atmospheric tension and tipping gameplay balance severely in the favor of bosses.

In picking what Souls elements to incorporate, Remnant: From the Ashes chose to take after its forebears' worst habit: padding out boss fights with droves of cheap fodder. Confoundingly, this mistake was entirely avoidable. It was most present in Dark Souls 2 before being addressed in its sequel, meaning Gunfire had five years' worth of hindsight and still actively chose the worse alternative. It's a shame, too, because Remnant: From the Ashes has great boss designs and a few with some truly formidable move sets. Rather than give players a genuine sense of accomplishment after mastering more intimate battles against hulking opponents dangerous in their own right, the game instead over-relies on overwhelming players with frustrating quantities of common enemies. Remnant: From the Ashes's best bosses are those that deploy only a small number of additional elite minions at a time, but these gratifying encounters are too few and far between.

This approach of throwing large waves of enemies at players works a lot better in Remnant: From the Ashes's regular environments, and the difficulty here also scales much better based on player squad size. Mowing down scores of grisly adversaries is the name of the game here, and it's obvious that Gunfire went to great lengths to ensure that the core combat remains engaging dozens of hours in. The act of clearing areas of common enemies in normal ARPG fashion is regularly punctuated by the appearance of elite enemy types that require advanced tactics and greater firepower. These stronger combatants keep players on their toes and contribute to a consistently frenetic experience, and it never fails to spike one's pulse slightly when hearing the distinct warning sound and seeing the sudden Left 4 Dead-like rush of lesser foes that herald their arrival.

That said, this core gameplay loop quickly grows predictable, but that gripe can be attributed more to overly simplistic level layouts than to enemy patterns. Whereas most Soulslikes pride themselves on cleverly funneling players around complex, interconnected areas that build a sense of real place within their worlds, Remnant: From the Ashes instead settles almost exclusively for series of corridors of varying dimension. Coupled with the relative small size of disparate areas within each world, it becomes apparent that the game is so densely populated with hostiles in order to artificially lengthen the amount of time and resources needed to reach the next checkpoint. The feeling of being a monster exterminator is further reinforced by the inclusion of a mini-map that reveals paths as they're navigated. This concession was likely made to cater to the game's online nature, but it considerably dulls the thrill of exploring the unknown.

While its environments are shallow, enemy design in Remnant: From the Ashes is the full package. Non-boss enemies leave little to be desired in terms of their disconcerting visages and solid variety, and they're an effective vehicle for effective environmental storytelling. Each world sports unique collections of foes, and no faction outshines the Iskal on the primordial swamp planet Corsus. Brainwashed and enslaved by the manipulative Fairy Queen, the once peaceful Corsans have been made hosts to an incredibly aggressive species of parasite. When first exploring this world, shambling humanoids with amputatable legs at first seem like generic aliens. That is until later on while encountering eerily familiar Corsans that have yet to fully turn, culminating in the introduction of their more heavily affected peers that degenerate into their fully devolved form mid-battle. Gameplay-driven discoveries like are far stronger plot devices than anything found in the main story or flavor texts, and the game would be stronger overall if it had shifted its focus more toward this direction.

Even though it won't set the Soulslike genre alight with its well-implemented but ultimately minor additions and tweaks to the formula, Remnant: From the Ashes is an intensely compelling gameplay experience, doubly (or triply) so when played with friends. Even when it sabotages itself with its abortive narrative, cheap boss tactics, and undervalued enemy design, it still emerges from the ordeal as a solid shooter with a high amount of polish and decent replayability. Though it remains to be seen if Gunfire can fix the present issues and expand the game into the infinite time sink that the studio promised, Remnant: From the Ashes will no doubt inspire genre fans to hang up their swords and shields for some time in order to dive into a chaotic universe, guns blazing.

Next: Telling Lies Review - A Thoroughly Immersive, Interactive Story

Remnant: From the Ashes is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Screen Rant was provided a PC code for this review.

source https://screenrant.com/remnant-from-the-ashes-review/

#screenrant

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tokupedia · 7 years

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Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: OOO

2011:

Kamen Rider turns 40 and reaches its 1,000th episode!

Hiroshi Fujioka, Takeshi Sasaki and Hiroshi Miyauchi return to voice Kamen Riders 1, 2 and V3 in Let’s Go Kamen Riders, a 40th anniversary film.

Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle sees the Goseigers try to take back their powers from the Gokaigers and later try to defeat a revived old foe of the Super Sentai: the Black Cross King from Gorenger! We also get a bit more on the events of the Legend War at the start of the film.

Tensou Sentai Goseiger vs. Shinkenger: Epic on Ginmaku has the Goseigers team up with the Shinkengers and the Gokaigers get in on the fun in one showy scene. (Which is made canon to the Gokaiger TV show later in a brilliant way.)

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max puts Koichi Sakamoto back in the director’s chair for a Kamen Rider movie.

All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation starts the All Kamen Rider series of handheld Nintendo arcade beat em’up games.

See Fourze for the rest.

Kamen Rider OOO! Three Events happened in the tenure of the show!

First: Naomi Takabe became head producer and Yasuko Kobayashi became head writer for the season!

Second: Preparations were being made for the 40th anniversary of Kamen Rider.

Third: Bandai made record-breaking toy sales on Kamen Rider this year!

youtube

(I just noticed this...this commercial is the only time they got the whole Black/Black RX thing right as Black isn’t there and RX is.)

youtube

(April 3, 2017: Kamen Rider is now 46 years old!)

OOO was the proud first representative of a celebration of the legacy of a group of superheroes who had endured for 40 years.

OOO first appeared on the scene in Double’s Summer Movie: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate.

Double was trying to get to Kamen Rider Eternal to stop his plans, but the Luna Dopant interfered. While on a rooftop, a clumsy man wearing a belt had dropped an odd looking red coin and went chasing it onto the battlefield. Double gives it back to him and tells him to run, but the young man refuses and offers to help.

He then puts the red coin in the belt and slides two more coins into it and uses a scanner to activate the belt and coins. Much to Double’s surprise, the man he just helped was a Kamen Rider!

He introduces himself as Kamen Rider OOO and tells Double he will handle the Luna Dopant and more or less to go stop Eternal. Double thanks him as he leaves, but OOO says no thanks are needed as Riders should help each other out. He then destroys the Luna Dopant with his sword.

Kamen Rider OOO is another Fan Favorite, as it has many elements that gel together well. Great characters, a good theme in how desires can motivate us as a species for good or ill and great music as Avex chose to mix ska with a variety of music styles such as big brass horn instrumentals, rock and the vocals of a tokusatsu anison legend.....

AH! Kussy-San! Akira Kushida of Super Sentai and Metal Heroes fame, who previously sang the opening theme to ZX; Dragon Road. He also voiced the belt and weapons! TAKA! TORA! BATTA! TaToBa! TaToBa ~TaToBa!

This series is where the belts started to vocally sing their activation. Which was a divisive decision at the time among fans, some thought it removed dramatic tension while others started making files to make those earworm tunes their ringtones or put them on their music players.

Since Toei was a client of digital and telecommunications company Softbank, they insisted they plug thier phones and showcase their latest partnership: Softbank had teamed up with Apple to sell iPhones and iPads in Japan as a carrier. Thus Ankh or someone in the supporting cast is sometimes seen carrying or using an Apple product. (ex. Miss Satonaka relaying video communications from her boss on not-Skype via an iPad.)

The Rider himself utilizes form changing to a whole new level of insane as OOO has over 129 possible forms he can attain in terms of medal combinations! This plus the two forms of the second Rider in the series make the series the record holder for most form changes, a record previously held by Kuuga!

The concept of OOO was the chimera fusing of animal powers (real or fictitious) into a mix of three powers or a certain set would be all one color and have extra powers to go with the matching set. This is where the “Belt number gimmick” would be recognized as fans noticed Decade had one card, Double had two slots for Memories and OOO had three slots for medals.

This was intentional for a bit by Toei, but they dropped the gimmick after Fourze and went back to a Rider who used one trinket device at a time, but could multitask by having the belt, gadgets or weapons quickly read the other trinkets for combination attacks. Mostly because Fourze went a bit overkill and having a belt with 5 toy insertion slots would be absurd and extremely bulky. There, the number gimmick existed but does not anymore, PLEASE STOP WITH THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

Bandai wanted to go all out with the medal gimmick by showcasing as many animals as possible, but sadly they had a budget to keep (which was reminiscent of Gaoranger as it shared the same problem of great ambition but lack of a big enough budget to make all the animal toy concepts they designed real to fulfill it). Among the medals not used were:

An arctic set with a walrus, a penguin and a polar bear

A bovine set with a bull, deer and a gazelle

A bee medal (My God!)

A centipede Medal

A hermit crab Medal

But this hasn’t stopped fans from utilizing almost the entire animal kingdom in fanart to create new forms! There were also medals only seen in the Expanded Universe based on the evil organizations of the Showa Era, as the SIC story was sequel of sorts to Let’s Go Kamen Rider.

There was also an in canon novel that explains the origins of the show’s monsters, Date getting bored and writing a silly short story and last how Eiji is doing after Mega Max and how he became the tragic but loveable traveling rainbow underwear hobo we all know. In an epilogue, he uses his powers as OOO to help Africa.

In Kamen Rider Decade: World of OOO, Tsukasa meets an alternate Eiji Hino who can utilize the powers of Kamen Riders Habataki, Tiger and 1 with his Legend Core Medals.

The 45th Anniversary may be over, but let’s meet our tomorrows with a fresh pair of underpants and one last file!

Let’s count the medals one, two and three! Life goes on! Anything Goes! Comin’ up OOO!

The first OOO

A painting of the King.

In 1211 A.D., there was a corrupt and powerful king in Germany who desired to rule the world by becoming a god. He commissioned his Alchemists to create powerful mystic medallions called Core Medals that imbued the natural and mystical abilities of animals of the world into a human. His alchemists created the OOO Driver, a belt that could utilize any of the three medals to make their King an invincible warrior who had a power that was Over Infinity, also known as OOO (a lemniscate with a third loop on it).

This experiment resulted in the Greeed, beings born from a desire to be completed as their sets of medals were taken away for the King to use. To ensure his own desires would go unchallenged, the King killed his Alchemists. He went on a reign of terror around Europe using OOO’s various powers and conquered most of the land. To ensure the Greeed would not defy him after they rebelled to try and stop him, he tried to absorb their power in an effort to attain godhood. But it backfired as the power overwhelmed him, turning his body into a stone coffin and his Driver into a seal for the Greeed and the medals.

Despite being dead, his soul tried one more time to gain god-like power by sealing and absorbing the power of multiple OOOs from parallel times and universes..only to be bested and destroyed by the Prime OOO from the main universe and the 7 OOOs of the alternate realities.

(Mr. Hino circa 2012)

The Second OOO

Real Name: Eiji Hino

Eiji Hino was the son of a politician who traveled around the world with him along with his grandfather. During his time in Africa on the political trail, he befriended a young girl and tries to use his family’s money to help her village and she taught him about her home and a little about world culture. However, during a bloody civil war conflict that erupted, the little girl died in an explosion and Eiji could do nothing to save her. He was taken captive by the hostiles until his family paid ransom. This combined with the little girl’s violent death right in front of him left Eiji broken and suffering from PTSD. His father on the other hand saw it as a means to get more votes, caring little about what went on.

Eiji left his family and their ties to him and traveled the world, taking odd jobs and raising enough money to move onto the next town or country. All the while, Eiji selflessly tries to help others in need as he had lost all impulse for selfish desires.

During a return home to Japan to seemingly fund more of his travels, he took a job as an art museum security guard for the Kougami Foundation. Eiji is drugged by robbers posing as guards and they find the coffin of the King. A mass of coins near the coffin forms into a hand and undoes the seal, waking up the Greeed and they wreck the museum and go on a rampage. (A nice anniversary hat tip to Kuuga minus the bloody mess)

Eiji wakes up and finds a red coin on the floor, thinking its his pay for the day. After a chain of events and Eiji being terrorized by a floating hand, one of the Greeeds then creates a monster to find a Greeed named “Ankh” and the monster attacks and kills a police officer with Eiji witnessing it. Realizing that “the others” are after him, Ankh (the hand that opened the coffin) gives the stone seal to Eiji and it turns into a belt. Ankh then gives him medals and Eiji becomes Kamen Rider OOO!

After the fight ends, Ankh possesses the police officer’s body and after an encounter with the officer’s sister named Hina and a bit of tension, the duo decide to work together, with Ankh the reluctant party, to try to achieve their own goals. While Eiji still has no desire of his own, he uses this opportunity to help others using his new powers at the risk of his own life.

They are later supported by the Kougami Foundation’s eccentric cake loving chairman Kousei Kogami and Eiji and Hina get jobs at the Cous Coussier, a cosplay restaurant run by Chiyoko (It is revealed later to seemingly be located where the Snack Amigo once stood, Kamen Rider 1′s original hangout).

Eiji, Ankh, Hina, the Kougami Foundation and later a second Kamen Rider work to fight the Greeed while protecting the desires of humans from becoming twisted by the evil minions of the Greeed!

Powers:

Being a world traveler, Eiji has picked up a lot of things during his journey such as understanding various languages and culture as well as various skills such as how to spot a pick pocket. Later after the series, he seems to have had training in various styles of combat as his ability to fight gets a serious upgrade.

As OOO:

Super Strength of varying degrees, agility, speed and senses. Flight, energy blast projectiles, Rocket Punch (Gorilla), Elemental powers, healing Factor (BurKaWani only), time stopping (Super TaToBa), cloning (GataKiriBa)....way too many to list! (See O Medals and Eiji’s wiki profile)

OOO main power though can be summed up in a phrase: a one man army and an army of one.

OOO is capable of using his various animal powers in different combinations to maximize his near limitless combat potential . OOO also has GataKiriBa’s Cloning ability which allows him to use all his Medals at once in different combos as an army of Kamen Rider OOO to destroy anything in his path. The medals, when placed in a set of three of the same color, give OOO extra powers and in some cases new weapons.

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/OOO_Driver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Medals - O Medals are divided into two classes: Cell which are expendable in use and Core, which give OOO his powers.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Scanner

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Ridevendor - Unlike other Rider Machines, the Ridevendor is a mass production vehicle, so if OOO trashes one, he can get a replacement somewhere in Tokyo disguised as a vending machine.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Medajalibur

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Candroids

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Medal_Holder

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Taja_Spinner - Time Judged ALL!

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Medagabryu - POWER TO TEARER!

Weaknesses:

Eiji at the start was not the best fighter, often relying on his powers and weapons to do the work for him. But he steadily improved, so this isn't a big deal.

The Medals give different parts to OOO’s armor, each section of the body seems to operate on some kind of “hit points” system. Taking too much damage to one section will cause that part of the armor’s color to “flicker” indicating weakening power fluctuations caused by heavy damage. Any further damage to that area will result in the medal ejecting and the risk of either losing that medal or having it stolen for keeps by enemies. (In other fandom words...Function ceased! The winner is... the Greeed! ) Heavy damage on all sides will knock Eiji out of transformation.

Eiji is vulnerable to mind altering effects, as seen when a woman’s desire to become beautiful comes true thanks to the Greeed. That makes Eiji fall madly in love and briefly talk about a “Love Combo”. He was also brainwashed by Shocker in an alternate timeline, but we don’t talk about that, it is a safe place here.

Combos, the forms that utilize a matching color and animal set, cause tremendous strain to Eiji’s body. In some cases, using them leaves him exhausted and in the case of GataKiriBa, it was hard for the split hive consciousness among his clones to will themselves back into a single Eiji. However, Eiji is improving as he is able to handle the strain of using multiple combos in rapid succession.

The PuToTyra combo was a danger unto itself, as it fed on Eiji’s lack of desires to slowly turn him into a Greeed (though he managed to be cured of it at the end). The purple Combo also regressed his mind to a savage state when first used, as he attacked his friends and foes. Considering he had to deal not only with the strain of using the combo but also trying to keep his mental state stable, this combo was more trouble than it was worth.

However, a new set of Purple Cores were seemingly made post-series that have no visible negative side effects.

Eiji’s PTSD and impulsiveness to help others is also somewhat of a weakness, as he will put himself in harm’s way just to help someone and does not seem to care for his life and hurts himself constantly. His trauma is something he still had a bit of difficulty getting over until he found purpose in his life by gaining a desire of his own: protect the world and bring back a friend he had lost along the way. However, he seems to be a little better by Movie War Ultimatum, maybe time will heal the wounds.

Enemies:

The Greeed and Yummies

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Category%3AGreeed

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Yummy

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/White_Yummy

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Waste_Yummies

The Greeed (no that’s not a typo) are a race of coin homunculi who are a chimera mishmash of specific species or type of animals. They were sealed 800 years ago and now wish to continue their plan to “complete” themselves by gaining back all of their lost medals (aside from the 10th of each set which were destroyed) and want to feel the desires of humans that so many take for granted.

Their methods of doing so however are harmful to humans. Each Greeed can spawn a Yummy based off of the type of species they are based on (Ex. Uva makes insect Yummies). Each Greeed’s Yummy is spawned from a human in different ways:

Uva’s emerge from the host and then “molt” into stronger forms

Kazari’s parasitically feed on the desires of the host until that desire literally consumes them into the Yummy

Mezool’s indirectly influence the human and grow from Roe-like eggs until they hatch.

Gamel’s are born from himself.

When Yummies die, they rain cell medal coins down that were part of their bodies (ala Scott Pilgrim). When a Greeed dies for good, their medal bodies break apart and are scattered about and the core that hold the consciousness shatters.

Dr. Maki

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kiyoto_Maki

Dr. Maki was the creator of the Birth System, a Kamen Rider who acted as a support unit. But he is also a man who sees only the value of “Endings” to determine the worth of something. As such, Dr. Maki sought to end the world and joined with the Greeed, even becoming one himself.

He meets his end in a way I won’t spoil, but he does come back in Ghost to briefly fight Kamen Rider Specter and dies again.

SEIYA!

Well, that was fun wasn’t it? 45 years of Riders showcased!

Sure there were some stumbles and hiccups by me writing this along the way, but now you have been fully aquatinted with this franchise with this last file of the preceding anniversary show. And to think, there is still more to talk about in the future, like in Kamen Rider’s 50th anniversary on April 3, 2021! (If humans haven’t blown the world up by then.)

But now let’s combine the two anniversary seasons in a farewell mashup!

GASHAT! Kimewaza! Megane Musical Finish!

youtube

#kamen rider #45th anniversary #kamen rider ooo #superhero #eiji hino #core medals #ankh #happy birthday #subarashii #candroids #akira kushida #anything goes #count the medals #desire #2011 #40th anniversary

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massthetics-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on MASSthetics

New Post has been published on http://massthetics.net/eating-less-food/

How Charles Lost 25 Pounds In 13 Weeks Without Eating Less Food

Working with Charles over the past 13 weeks has served as a standout lesson in, and as a strong reminder of the fact that much more goes into building muscle, burning fat, and improving your health than simply eating less food (or more), and hitting the gym.

Digestion, Stress, anxiety, sleep habits, lifestyle (job, family, activities, etc).

Training age, dieting history, hydration, recovery.

All of the above are necessary pieces to not only the transformational puzzle, but bricks you need to have in place to create a level of success and sustainability that carries long past the time in which you work alongside a coach.

To support this, and hammer home how much progress you can make without drastic measures, eating less food, or spending hours in the gym, it’s time I encapsulate, and share the story of Charles’ journey thus far.

Without further ah-dew, let’s dig in.

======

When Charles and I began working together 13 weeks ago, he’d already been tracking his food intake, hitting the gym, and putting forth his best efforts to get the extra fat moving. But, it wasn’t happening.

As you can see from his “before” image, Charles had a lot of fat to lose when we began.

Now, this is where things get interesting.

Instead of subscribing to eating less food, and moving more, or whatever the current turn of phrase is for attempting to cram the fat loss experience into a single sentence, I adjusted the numbers for protein, carbs, and fats that he’d laid out by no more than 10 grams, set him up with a program built to lay a foundation and base of strength, improve his work capacity, as well as cardiovascular health.

It’s worth noting that if you’re in a similar position as Charles in the “before” shot, you *need* to place emphasis on improving the health of your cardiovascular system. If you aren’t breathing properly, have poor blood flow, and your body is unable to properly utilize oxygen, you’re setting yourself for a whole host of serious health issues.

Anyway, moving on.

When you’re carrying fat in excess, it takes a serious toll on your body’s internal systems, and creates a ton of systemic inflammation.

Inflammation can be best summed up as; if you’re chronically inflamed, which is what happens with excess body fat (especially the visceral variety), your body will fight back against everything you’re trying to achieve.

This means the “brakes” on fat loss and muscle growth are effectively “slammed.”

Which as you can imagine, leads to immense amounts of frustration, and is often the tipping point of which people say “fuck this,” and throw in the towel.

But, not Charles.

This scenario coming to reality is ultimately what lead Charles to reach out, inquire about, and take the leap into coaching.

For a quick overview of the situation when we started together, Charles:

had plenty of fat to lose

was “doing the right things,” putting in the work, but still seeing no progress

faced chronic, widespread inflammation

Rather than starting slashing calories, and driving up his energy output, which would have had us both beating our heads against in the wall in frustration, we placed our efforts in 3 areas:

1. Eradicating inflammation

To get the ball rolling, I laid out a plan of targeted supplementation, advised a few new lifestyle habits, and helped to improve his food choices.

In my eyes, what follows is the definition of what I refer to as targeted supplementation. Meaning, that we used supplements which there’s no need for *unless* you’re dealing with a unique situation that calls for certain actions to be taken.

To target, and reduce inflammation levels, we used:

Allostatic Stamina

Curcumin

(Yes, that’s all. It doesn’t take much if you use the right “weapons” at the right time).

Honestly, the lifestyle changes Charles made were the simplest, and most impactful:

Morning walks (25-40min) + 25-30 bodyweight squats before and after.

1 serving of fermented foods (Charles opted for pickles, yogurt, and sauerkraut) with each meal.

We hammered on the importance of hydration (3.5-4L per day). It’s no coincidence that the weeks Charles dropped the most weight, had no constipation issues, and felt the best, were the weeks he nailed his hydration.

2-3 servings of veggies with each meal.

I encouraged more mindfulness when eating meals. Which meant not eating in front of the TV or glued to his phone, chewing each bit until liquified, and not running out the door within minutes of finishing a meal.

2. Improving and supporting digestive health

Regardless of a new client’s starting point, digestive health is something I emphasize with everyone I work with, and to anyone who asks why they aren’t getting the results they feel they should be.

If your gut is constantly bloated and gassy, you feel lethargic (especially after a meal), seemingly have a sensitivity to every food, your mood is shit, and sleep is poor, you’re going to want to attend to the health of your digestive system. Once that’s in order, everything else will begin to fall into place.

The lifestyle changes and anti-inflammatory supplements mentioned above all contribute to improving gut health, but we also added the following into the mix:

Digestive enzyemes

Glutamine

3. Ingraining consistency into every move, every action

Time and time again, there’s nothing quite so impactful upon a “transformation” as focusing the bulk of your efforts on being relentlessly consistent in the daily actions that you *know* will move you forward.

Which means not skipping out on training sessions because you don’t feel like it, saying no to foods or meals that you know will set you back or distract you from your goal, being a responsible adult and actually getting a decent amount of sleep instead of Netflix-binging until 2AM, and eating your damn veggies.

As is often the case, if you want to get to somewhere that you’re currently not, you’re going to have to do shit you don’t like in order to get there.

Consistency stretches beyond the physical actions you make on a day-to-day basis.

Consistency is a mindset, which is exemplified through your choices, thoughts, and actions.

Rather than carry on spouting rhetoric of the importance of being consistent, I went through 3 months of emails with Charles, and plucked some of my favourite quotes, where his mindset shines through:

“Still have some constipation. Did not meet my 3.5L of daily water. Gotta get better!”

“No gym, and food wasn’t scarce like I thought it would be…lol. It will take a week or so to get back where I was.”

“I’m within plus/minus 10g on all macros, but at or just under total calories.”

“The treadmill is my bitch.”

Every single one of the quotes above brought forth a wellspring of pride, and giddy, meathead joy.

I mean, check out where Charles is sitting now:

Nearly 30 pounds later, Charles looks like a new man.

It’s within these sentences above, the contrast in pictures where you can see the sweat equity Charles has put forth, his drive to improve health and physique, and the raw determination that fuels him, and drives him to improve little-by-little, day-by-day.

Not only that, but it speaks to the power of choosing to place your efforts upon the very act of improving, instead of striving for perfection, and inevitably missing the mark (which has a nasty tendency of derailing even the most dedicated).

As a coach, “no changes” is one of my favourite things to write in the tracker I use to note any changes to plan, and record weight each week. As you can see, we’ve actually began to increase food over the past couple of weeks.

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And so it is, the trials and tribulations (or lack thereof) of how Charles has been able to look like an entirely different person, take control of his health, and create a better, healthier lifestyle that will carry him well into his later years, simply by training like a boss, eating sensibly, and trusting in the process.

You don’t have to develop an obsession with training, or submit yourself to tracking macros for all eternity in order to make progress.

At it’s core, all you truly need is a desire for change, a dose of stubbornness, as well as support and accountability to help keep you on track.

Which is where I step in.

If you happen to still be reading what has turned into a monster of a tale, I can only imagine that:

1. The headline enticed you, and my writing was compelling enough to keep you reading.

2. You have a desire for change, and that desire is scratching the back of your mind, slowly nudging you closer and closer to the ledge where you finally jump off, and commit to acting on your desire for change.

If you’re nodding in agreement to the latter, I can help you. It could only be a quick question which you slide into my DMs, take my answer, and run with it. Maybe you just need some encouragement to get the ball rolling, and building momentum Perhaps you’re ready to do as Charles did, take the leap, and head down the path of working together. Whichever way the chips fall is fine by me.

What I want you to take away from this is three-fold:

1. A desire to change will only take you so far. Until you find the cajones to act on your desire, you’re going to continue on spinning your wheels, digging yourself deeper into the muck.

2. In many cases, you don’t need to blow up your life in order to take control of your health or build a physique that causes you to swell with pride when you take off your shirt and look in the mirror.

3. If you need help; wether it’s a nudge in the right direction, having a long-standing question answered, or you’re interested in working together, I’m but a message away.

’tis in your hands now.

#Bodybuilding

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