Matt Concannon

A 40-year-old father of two (and grandfather of one) found the JYM Army community and his fitness took a 180-degree turn from there.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Matt Concannon

I'm a 40-year-old divorced father of two girls, and a grandfather of an active one-year-old. About two and a half years ago, I finally admitted to myself that I was way out of shape. I just didn’t like the person I saw looking back at me in the mirror.

I wasn’t setting a good example for my kids. I wanted to not only make my kids proud, but to also not shy away from every mirror I saw. I knew I had to do something, so I started doing the same old routines I had always done and tried to cut out all the junk food I ate.

At this point, I had no idea what a good diet consisted of or what a good workout routine was. My starting measurements were about 220 to 225 pounds body weight and about 26- to 28-percent body fat.

Using my old technique, I lost some weight. It took about a year, but I wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. My main goals were to be lean and to look good in a bathing suit! Then one day, while scrolling through Facebook, I saw a video of this jacked-up guy full of tattoos doing a cable crossover. It piqued my interest since it was a little different than the way I had always done them. I tried his version that day and was pretty sore after and wanted more.

I did some research, found the JYM Army Facebook page and joined it. From there, I found JimStoppani.com and signed up for that. I read up on everything I could — from supplements to all Jim's workout routines and exercises and dieting, all of which I had no real clue about.

I first tried the Chocolate Cookie Crunch Pro JYM and was blown away with how good it was! I then started incorporating all of the JYM supplements and was on my way!

I jumped on the Super-Man Challenge. It was so different than anything I had ever done; I was so far out of my comfort zone. I wanted to quit the first day, but I was determined. I had a goal and I knew this Jim Stoppani guy knew what he was doing and I had to just trust in the process, so I did it 100 percent.

This program kicked my butt, but it also taught me so much about myself and what an actual workout routine is like. And man, cardioacceleration! Holy ****!

Since then, I have done Daily Grind twice, Down and Up Mass, Super Shredded 8, Back and Fourth, Jim’s Daily Train with Jim series, and now I’m in the Ripped in 6 Challenge, which I have a love/hate relationship with.

I am now at around 170 pounds with about 14 percent body fat. My strength and energy levels are up, I feel great, and I don’t hide from mirrors as much.

I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m getting closer to my goals every day. I never miss a day of taking my full #jymstack and I am following Jim’s Dieting 101.

Most days are hard to make it to the gym, especially with my crazy work schedule. But those days I want to just skip the gym, I just either look at an old picture of myself, or go on the JYM Army Facebook page; I know there is going to be someone on there who will inspire me to get my butt up and hit the gym!

Consistency and determination to reach my goals keeps me focused most days, and of course, my new best bud — my grandson.

If I could give any advice to anyone who is on the fence looking to jump on the #jymtrain and to better themselves, it would be to step out of your comfort zone.

Trust in Jim and the process. It took me a while to finally take that first step, but I have never looked back, and I am so glad that I did. This is only the beginning of my fitness journey, as I plan on continuing on with Jim’s full-body workouts and supplements.

Stay #JYMARMYSTRONG

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