From Serious Setback to Serious Success

Geoff Glussi—Our Meta-CEL Project Mass Round II Winner—Recovers from Painful Injuries with the Help of a Strong Mindset and a Powerful Exercise, Nutrition, and Supplementation Program

By Sue Mosebar | Executive Editor

Who: Geoff Glussi
Age: 31
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Law Enforcement Officer
Goals: Recover from a serious injury and gain serious muscle size, strength, fitness, and performance

Three years ago, in New York City, a young officer was making an arrest. He had thought it would be just a "normal day"—much like any other. Never would he have expected one single arrest—one mere moment in the life of his career as a New York State Police Officer—could change his life so drastically...

Instead of everything going as planned (or at least as planned as you can hope for as an officer), Geoff Glussi busted up not one but both of his knees. His progress in everything... his career, his weight training, even his life... was brought to a screeching (and helpless) halt.

"I actually have extensive damage to both of my knees as the result of my involvement in the arrest," Geoff explains. "Both my knees have torn ACL's, but the left one is the one I've had operated on—I've had a total ACL reconstruction, but I still have problems. Both bones impact each other. So I've had it scoped, and I'm now having injections done too."

A serious setback, to say the least.

A Time to Give Up?

At this point, many people would just give up on their workouts. Or at least kick back and relax for a while, giving their bodies ample time to recover. But not Geoff. Although it was months before he was even able to simply walk as a result of the scar tissue after the initial ACL reconstruction, Geoff couldn't just wait it out: "I had worked out my whole life, so just two days after my surgery, I was trying to do pushups," Geoff laughs. "My doctor told me I was out of my mind. My body was trying to focus on healing, but I'm just not used to being an inactive person."

But that doesn't mean Geoff was having an easy time with his new challenge: "After the first surgery, I was the most depressed I've been. Then, just as I started gaining momentum again, I needed the second surgery."

After Setback After Setback, Finally... Inspiration

Geoff had always worked out, but he had lost a lot of muscle size and strength after his injuries, and he wondered if he would ever regain the body he had worked so hard for so long to build. He realized what he needed was a little shot in the arm. Some extra motivation to get his body back into peak condition.

Fortunately, just when he needed it most, the opportunity he was looking for appeared. It all began when he read a copy of the book ABSolution while recovering from his surgery. That led him to a fat-burning supplement called Lean System 7 and a high-quality muscle-building product called Meta-CEL. After receiving abundant guidance from the knowledgeable staff at iSatori and using these iSatori supplements for a couple of months, Geoff had built up a good rapport with his new friends. He would talk with them about once a week about training and supplementation, and they'd exchange ideas and ways to help him accelerate his physical improvements.

One day, Geoff mentioned his desire to really get his body back in tip-top shape (and gain back all of the muscle he had lost), and that's when the person at the other end of the phone said, "Why don't you enter our Project MAS Contest and follow the Maximum Growth 4-week plan? Then send in your pictures for a chance to win some prizes and trip to the Mr. Olympia Contest in Las Vegas."

Geoff thought, "This is exactly what I've been looking for." He had considered competing in a bodybuilding show, but that honestly never really appealed to him. "Most bodybuilders I know set a bodybuilding show as the target date for their peaking, but that wasn't for me." This contest, on the other hand, would give him the deadline he needed to focus completely on his physique.

Geoff explains, "I had never thought of sending in my photos for a 'transformation' contest because I always thought these contests were for people who are really out of shape, who need a total body transformation. And I was always in good shape. I always trained with weights. Athletics and weights were the loves of my life. But getting back to where I was, basically before the surgery, was big for me. I had never just focused completely on obtaining that objective—peaking my physique. Doing this contest put me on that path for four weeks straight of doing whatever I needed to do. Outside distractions just dropped. I was just set on that four-week goal. It gave me that ability to just see how far I could take my body," says Geoff.

Geoff also looked to some athletes he admired to help him stay on track. That is, pro athletes who were able to come back after suffering from severe injuries as well—some who even reached the peak level of performance they enjoyed prior to their injuries. Like the New York Ranger's Mike Richter, who also suffered from two torn ALC's. "Guys who can rebound like that and get back on that playing field after being knocked off are truly inspiring," shares Geoff.

Setting Goals

Because Geoff had always been a "hard gainer," his goals were focused on muscle gain. He wanted to see if he could put on muscle size without "smoothing out" to the point where people might think he was "big" but wonder if he actually worked out. Geoff explains, "I didn't want to lose my abs; I didn't want to lose the cuts. I didn't want to sacrifice one goal to obtain another."

"That's the thing I really love about the Meta-CEL. I had tried a bunch of creatine products. But I would also get smooth as I got bigger. I think it was because of all the sugars and calories in those products. But with Meta-CEL, I was getting the pluses of creatine without what I always viewed as the one negative. "

Geoff shares that he also enjoyed another unexpected benefit from using Meta-CEL. "To me, creatine definitely makes your muscles feel fuller, but it also feels like it buffers your joints. When I'm benching heavy, especially when I'm lean or have just finished working out another body part, I tend to get pains in my joints because I'm long limbed. My shoulders and elbows would hurt, and especially now, my knees... When I supplement with Meta-CEL, it feels like there's a little bit of a buffer."

Surprisingly, Geoff didn't experience what he would call dramatic weight gains on Meta-CEL—though he still gained four solid pounds of rock-hard muscular bodyweight. What he discovered instead is that he looked a lot harder and fuller. He much preferred that over the larger weight gain yet smoother appearance he had experienced in the past with sugar-loaded creatines and traditional weight-gainer products.

Finding Control in a Chaotic World

Geoff is no stranger to stress due to his demanding profession, yet he still finds time and energy to train and eat properly. For Geoff, the key is laying out the variables of the day ahead of time so he can have some control in his corner. (That control certainly can't be found in his job.) Instead, Geoff relied on the structure and format of the Maximum Growth Program and made sure to follow the "10 Secret Laws" contained in the Program. For instance, he ensures he gets at least seven to eight hours of good sleep. And even more importantly, he regulates his eating. "The guys at work are always joking that they can set their watches by my eating," says Geoff. "I try to have a meal every three hours. And my locker is always stocked with meal replacements or protein bars. I don't rely on those as my foremost nutrition but just have them there for the sake of flexibility."

After all, Geoff never knows when he might be pulled into an unexpected two- or three-hour meeting. Or if there will be a scuffle or an arrest or anything he's not anticipating that throws his day off. It's a lot easier for Geoff to just go to the locker and have a shake or grab a bar.

In addition, Geoff always has a bottle of water with him, and every time he passes a big jug of water, he refills the one he carries. He understands the importance of consuming plenty of water to stay well hydrated and to fully volumize his muscles.

As part of Geoff's goal to try to keep control of the stuff he can keep control of, once a month, he goes to Costco and stocks up and cooks some diverse meals a couple of days in advance. He explains, "I hate getting in the position where I'm hungry now, and there's nothing in my locker, so I have to go get a slice of pizza. I mean, there's a burger joint or a pizza place every other block in New York, so there's a lot of temptation. If you're not prepared ahead of a time, you can easily justify, 'One slice of pizza won't kill me,' but it won't help you reach your goals either."

Keeping in Balance

Controlling what he can is very important to Geoff. But so is staying in balance. Geoff doesn't believe that the obsession he sees in some of his fellow bodybuilders is the healthiest or best way to obtain their goals.

"I know some people who are really obsessed. A couple of guys from my gym won't even put soy sauce on their food. They don't add anything for flavor—I refer to them as the 'tuna out of the can guys.'

"I can't do that. Yes, I eat a lot of grilled chicken, but I've learned to really flavor my meals. Like for dinner, I just had whole-wheat pasta with shrimp and scallops with broccoli in an olive oil and parmesan cheese sauce. It's a really healthy meal that's low in fat, but it tastes really good too.

"I can't even run because of my knees, so I'm in the shape I'm in without cardio. That's how tight I am with my eating. Still, I think moderation is the key. So, I don't restrict carbs, I don't go overboard and follow Atkins or something like that. And I don't think anyone's really had long-term success with those types of diets. People just come off and go on a binge. But if you do everything in moderation—a little bit of carbs, a little bit of protein, a little bit of fat—a couple of 'regular meals' a week, I think it's a lot easier to keep the necessary consistency.

"Depriving yourself just leads to ridiculous cravings. I think that's why people sometimes go off on binges and eat a whole pizza followed by an entire chocolate cake. If I were to eat like that, I'd get sick. But I don't mind, like on Sunday, watching football at a friend's and eating a couple of slices of pizza because I know my body's going to burn it up because my metabolism is so trained."

Transforming His Training

Geoff used his Project MAS/Maximum Growth experience to refocus on training efficiently again—finding other ways to build muscle rather than the traditional pyramiding up and using really heavy weights.

"I really wanted to be able to put up heavy weight again, and it wasn't happening—I just wasn't sturdy on a lot of the exercises any more. I kind of wanted to go back to that and was being stubborn about it. But then I realized that what I really needed was a quick, intense workout—which is what I found with the 4-Week Maximum Growth Program. Not to sound corny, but with this Program, every facet—stamina, intensity, focus—was covered."

It also made sense with the amount of time Geoff had to train since he was in physical therapy at the time too—sometimes five or even six times a week. Geoff says, "It was just such a great routine for what I needed. The whole routine... it's a sound workout, it takes advantage of your body's physiology, everything works together, you get a great pump, and you never really feel like you're overtraining. And you always feel like you walked out of the gym with a great workout.

"But I actually like the eight-week routine even more than the four-week routine. Well, I love both of them, but to me, the four-week routine is almost like the physical and physiological warm up for the eight-week.

"Now, a couple of guys in my gym... the old school lifters—guys in their 50's... break my chops for the way I work out, but they're the same guys who are like 6-foot, 230 lbs, and they've had the same physiques since I started going to the gym seven years ago. They're unchanged," Geoff says. "They give me a hard time because I used to be able to curl like a plate and a quarter, on a good day, and now I can lift maybe a plate if I'm lucky. Now sometimes they see me doing these drop sets after doing shoulders after having done chest, and I'm doing maybe a quarter on the bar. They're like, 'What are you doing? You have to lift heavy!'

"I ask them, 'Would you go to the library if you didn't know how to read and just sit there? Or just walk around? No? Then why go to the gym if you don't know how to work out?' Would you go to the library for three years straight and not read one word and not know what one word meant? So why would you go to the gym and do the same crappie routine for three years? Especially if you're not getting results with it?!

"Educate yourself—learn how to read—and then going to the library is a lot more fun. Educate yourself and learn how to work out, and going to the gym is a lot more fun. And it's a lot more productive!

"There are so many kids in my gym, and they are really listening because they see my results. A number of the younger guys in my gym are now on this Program. I just wish somebody had helped point me in the right direction when I was 18. That's one thing I'd really like to do now is help guide some of these younger guys, so they get great results sooner rather than later."

A New Body

Since Geoff is 6'2" and a half, most people would guess that his weight is around 215 or 220 lbs. Not so. In fact, Geoff barely tips the scales at 200 lbs. Geoff explains that it's not about the weight: "It's because when I take my shirt off, I have all these cuts. And that's what I tell all the kids at the gym: cuts make you look bigger and better, no matter how much solid muscle mass you have.

Geoff also likes the fact that he looks "normal" in clothes. "I don't have to wear extra large stuff—my suits fit me normal. It's just now when I have no shirt on, I have solid muscle. I'd rather look like this, and I feel a lot healthier too."

Moving Forward

It's not surprising that Geoff has continued moving forward, making even greater gains since the end of the contest.

Geoff emphasizes that it's all about mapping out your progress—not only with working out but with nutrition and even life. "As long as you approach something with a solid plan and some consistency, you'll definitely see results. Yet even if you fall off the tracks a little bit, you hop right back on, and it will play itself out because you know it worked before."

Now that Geoff has obtained his physical goals, he is refocusing on even larger life goals; namely, trying to maintain a positive attitude under any circumstance.

Geoff explains, "There are always other options and you've got to always maintain some level of positivity. Keep your eyes open—if you're looking for something in a positive way, it will reveal itself.

"To be able to come back from a setback, even better than before, just makes staying positive that much easier. My setback definitely wasn't the end of the world. And it made me realize that the whole cliche, 'That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger' really is true."

Editor's Note: If you have any questions for Geoff or just want to comment on his success, please email us at Editors@RealSOLUTIONSmag.com, and we'll forward your comments on to him.

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