Travis Haney

This Army soldier got extremely shredded at age 46 doing the Summer Shred Challenge.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated July 19, 2024

Travis Haney has an impressive professional resume and an even more impressive family resume:

“I am a Chief Warrant Officer Five (aka, a Unicorn) in the U.S. Army, with over 27 years of active-duty service,” he confidently states. “I'm married to my wonderful wife Tisa, am a father of two young men (both of whom have served in the Army), and a grandfather to one granddaughter.”

And now, Travis is officially a “graduate” of the 2024 JimStoppani.com Summer Shred Challenge.

“As most know, the Summer Shred Challenge workout was Xtreme Shredded 8 ,” he says. “I followed every exercise as prescribed, with some modifications to the Tabatas and adjustments to some weight and rep ranges for ongoing injuries (I’m Army old!). I also did 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week, mainly consisting of interval training on the stair climber or treadmill, and a 4-6 mile run on Saturdays.”

At the beginning of the challenge, Travis weighed roughly 185 pounds. After eight weeks, he was down to 160 pounds, and he’s now holding steady at 165-170.

“Turning 46 halfway through this challenge,” he says, “I can say I’m in the best shape of my life.”

Travis’ Fitness Story

As a young soldier, Travis first got into shape through sheer force.

“My fitness journey began at the beginning of my Army career when my Drill Sergeants forced it onto me,” he recounts. “Over time, the ‘forced’ mentality transitioned to a ‘need’ mentality. This change truly happened around 2008-2009, during my second tour in Iraq, when a great friend of mine took the time to show me the gym and proper exercises. Now, my primary goal is overall well-being, both physically and mentally.”

Travis describes his first 20+ years of working out as being “halfway focused,” and his goals for the Summer Shred Challenge were twofold: “(1) To get as lean as possible and get my body back down to a baseline, from which I could begin to rebuild; and (2) to finally commit to a Dr. Stoppani Challenge from beginning to end.”

He accomplished both of these things through a combination of intense training (XS8 workouts) and Dieting 101 nutrition principles.

“For carbs, both my wife and I generally keep a low-carb diet, so we were already at 0.5 grams per pound, so it wasn’t necessary to make any major adjustments until the last two weeks,” he says. “My macros were based on 150 pounds (my assumed lean mass), and my daily average over the weight weeks was 186 grams of protein, 86 grams of carbs, and 61 grams of fat. My average daily caloric intake was about 2,050 with a daily burn of 3,200. My proteins generally consisted of eggs, home-ground bison chuck, chicken breasts, and 99% lean turkey.”

Travis rounded out his diet during the challenge with these JYM supplements: Pre JYM X , Pro JYM , Alpha JYM X , and JYM Protein Bars .

Travis’ Transformation Keys

Here’s what got Travis through the Summer Shred Challenge (in his words):

Spousal Support: “My greatest motivation for this challenge was my wife. She had been wanting to do a challenge for a while, so we decided to commit and do it together. This is what kept me accountable throug the process. There would be no way I would let her down by skipping a workout or making an excuse to do so. If I did it, then she might follow suit. So, I needed to set an example for her to stay committed to her challenge as well.”
Reasonable Lifestyle Changes: “During the challenge, I made minimal lifestyle changes, other than being more focused on my nutrition every day and limiting my intake of alcohol. My wife and I enjoy going out to eat, movies, and other things like that, which haven’t changed. We just made sure to be accountable and more mindful of what we ate and made sure it would fit into our dietary goals. I will also say, I cut out a lot of alcohol. I still enjoy a bourbon from time to time or an occasional beer, just way less than before. And I feel so much better because of it!”
Working Around Travel: “When at work, I’m graciously afforded ample time during the day to work out. The challenge comes with the many work trips. Oftentimes, there are no military facilities around. Doing the gym-focused routines on the road (in limited hotel gyms) is difficult, but I was able to overcome it.”
Nutrition Tracking: “If I could provide one piece of advice from my progress, it would be to track EVERYTHING you eat! All of my homemade food was weighed and logged appropriately. When going out to eat, food would be logged to my best guess. Know what you put into your body. The gym part, while maximum effort, is easy; the nutrition is what’s hard. It takes time, dedication, and effort. But it’s very doable and is what allows you to control your goals.”

Looking Ahead to More Results

Travis’ goal moving forward is to get a little leaner and maintain it through at least the summer.

“Both my wife and I are starting Oxford Drop Sets, then moving on to Shortcut to Size,” he says. “From here on out, I’ll keep looking at myself daily to pay better attention to what my body is doing and keep a continued focus on my diet. My intentions were never to completely revamp the way I live—just to manage it better. I now know that it’s possible to maintain a good work/life/fitness balance!”

Get results like Travis

Related Articles

Foundations