Constantine Giannakis

Written by Constantine Giannakis

My name is Constantine Giannakis, but I go by "Dean Geo" for short. I am 27 and living in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

After getting out of the military, going to college, and ultimately going to paramedic school, I gained an incredible amount of weight. To make matters worse, I got sucked into the workaholic subculture of EMS (Emergency Medical Services). It wasn't uncommon to work up to 60-hour shifts at a time, living on gas-station food, and sleeping wherever and whenever the opportunity presented itself.

At my worst, I was about 190 pounds with a body-fat percentage somewhere in the 30s. I drew a line in the sand and told myself it was now or never.

I stopped working so much overtime and made my health a priority. I quit smoking and started countless hours of reading and researching on Jim Stoppani's studies and tips. I came out swinging with intermittent fasting, and I'd break my fast with Pre JYM, Shred JYM, and Alpha JYM. On the way to the gym, I'd have one scoop of Pro JYM with an apple.

My workouts consisted of supersets, extended sets, and going to failure with cardioacceleration between each set. For cardioacceleration, I'd either do burpees, step-ups or jog in place. Post-workout, I'd immediately take a scoop of Post JYM, two scoops of Pro JYM, as well as Post JYM fast-acting carbs.

I base my diet on 1.5 to 2 grams of protein/per pound of body weight; fats at 0.5 grams/per pound; and I'm fairly low carb except on my weekly refeed day. Jim's Shortcut to Size and Shortcut to Shred macro blueprints did an awesome job explaining all of this.

After a year, I went from 190 pounds with a body-fat percentage in the 30s to 131 pounds at 10.6 percent body fat.

When I posted my side-by-side comparison to the JYM Army Facebook page, I got an outpouring of support and over 700 likes, and hundreds of comments, and made a few new friends in the JYM Army who were also getting extraordinary results. This fired me up to keep going and crank up the intensity.

As a paramedic, I'm a bit of a physiology nerd, which is what drew me to Jim. Jim inspired me to take an intelligent approach toward fitness and seek additional education. I'm currently finishing up massage therapy school and am planning on becoming a trainer. I'm working to create a massage therapy and body work-based protocol to enhance recovery and engage the parasympathetic response.

My first piece of advice for anybody seeking to start a transformation or just pack on some muscle is: Don't talk about it — be about it. It's also important to address three major areas of fitness:

Training: Listen to Jim's training philosophies and follow his programs. Focus on the mind-muscle connection, keep your heart rate up, and don't worry about the knucklehead next to you.

Nutrition: Do yourself a favor — look up Jim's Shortcut to Shred and Shortcut to Size videos. The way Jim explains it and gives examples is second to none. As far as Jim's supplements, I suggest Pre JYM, Pro JYM, Post JYM (both active matrix and fast-acting carbs/dextrose). The synergistic effect is incredible. With supplements, don't forget that proper timing is critical! The JYM Supplement Users Guide spells it all out for you.

Recovery: Don't underestimate the importance of recovery. I love sitting in my Jacuzzi with Epsom salts after every workout. Plenty of water, adequate sleep, and treat yourself to some deep-tissue work once in a while.

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