Results of the John Hansen Fitness Challenge

The results are in for the first ever John Hansen Fitness Challenge! This transformation competition took place over a 12 week period from January 20, 2020 to April 13, 2020. Everyone who signed up for the John Hansen Fitness Challenge received a Personalized Training and Nutrition Program designed specifically for them to help they achieve their Fitness Goal over this full 12 week process.

In addition to the initial workout and diet program, each person who signed up for the John Hansen Fitness Challenge also received personal coaching from me each week. I followed up with each person every week and answered any questions they had so they could continue to make progress during the full transformation challenge.

All of our John Hansen Fitness Challenge competitors faced an unexpected challenge with the COVAD 19 virus pandemic that reached our country in mid March, approximately 7 weeks into the Fitness Challenge. As part of the protocol surrounding the pandemic, all gyms and fitness centers across the country were forced to close at this time. This obviously presented a real hardship to anyone who was trying to change their physique because they were not allowed to do their normal workouts.

Many of the John Hansen Fitness Challenge competitors tried to adapt their workouts by doing home workouts while others were lucky to already have makeshift gyms in their homes and were able to workout without any interruption in their training. This unfortunate turn of events prevented many from completing the Fitness Challenge which personally upset me because I really wanted to see everyone who entered the Challenge finish it and make great progress. However, this whole situation was an unfortunate turn of events that no one could see coming.

So, without further ado, I want to announce the top three winners of the first ever John Hansen Fitness Challenge. I congratulate everyone who was brave enough to take on this challenge in order to change the look of their physiques. I hope many of you will enter the next John Hansen Fitness Challenge this summer and I also hope others will be inspired by the great transformations that the winners of the first John Hansen Fitness Challenge have achieved.

1st Place – Paul Aliotta

First Place in the John Hansen Fitness Challenge went to Paul Aliotta. Paul is 33 years old, married and a father of two from Haverhill, Massachusetts. Paul was motivated to compete in the John Hansen Fitness Challenge because of his father who also competed in a Physique Transformation contest himself back in the early 1990’s. Paul used to watch his dad workout when he was a kid and he really admired his physique.
Last year, Paul engaged on a bulking up program in order to increase his strength. However, by the end of the year, Paul didn’t like the way his body was looking. His stomach would hang out over his pants when he sat down and he could see that he was putting on too much body fat.
When the John Hansen Fitness Challenge was announced in January of 2020, Paul decided to enter as it was perfect timing for getting back into shape. To get Paul started on the path to getting ripped, I calculated Paul’s caloric intake along with his ideal ratio of protein, carbs and fats for his daily diet. I had Paul workout four days a week and designed his routine so it would be progressive each week (increasing either the weight or the reps) to place more stress on the muscles. This would allow him to maintain his strength and muscle mass while losing the extra body fat.
Paul was determined to win the contest so he put 100% into both his workout and diet plan. Because he had two young children at home, Paul would often split up his workouts doing half in the morning before work at the gym and the rest of his routine at night in his home gym after his children were put to bed.
At the half way point of the Fitness Challenge, Paul was really looking good. He had lost significant amounts of fat and he looked like a whole different person. But Paul still had more work to do and the greatest challenge was still ahead of him.
When the COVID 19 virus hit in mid-March, Paul moved all of his workouts to his home gym. He had slowly been adding more equipment to his basement so it was perfect timing for when the gyms closed. Because of this, Paul was able to continue his training with little alterations for the rest of the Fitness Challenge.
His diet became even harder as I adjusted Paul’s nutrition plan so he could continue losing the remaining body fat he wanted to lose. I also made his workout program progressive so he was really pushing himself harder and harder as the Fitness Challenge came to an end.
At the conclusion of the Fitness Challenge, Paul had completely transformed his physique. Here are the beginning and final measurements that Paul took from when the Fitness Challenge started until it concluded. You can also see the weekly progression of Paul’s weight and waist measurement as he continued the workout and diet plan.

Date Weight Waist
01/20/20 152.4 33”
01/31/20 147.7 32”
02/13/20 140.5 31”
02/24/20 142 29 1/4”
03/01/20 142.2 29”
03/08/20 141.8 28 1/2”
03/23/20 139.6 28”
03/30/20 139.4 28”
04/13/20 137.4 27 1/2”

01/20/20 04/13/20
Weight – 152.4 Weight – 137.4
Chest – 41 3/4” Chest – 39 3/4”
Waist – 33” Waist – 27 1/2”
Arms – 14 3/4” Arms – 15 1/4”
Thighs – 21” Thighs – 21”
Calves – 13 3/4” Calves – 13 3/4”

So congratulations to Paul Aliotta for winning the first John Hansen Fitness Challenge. In taking first place, Paul won $200.00 in supplements from Old School Labs as well as copies of all my books – Bodybuilding Heroes and Legends, Vol. One, The MP6 Workout and Diary of a Natural Bodybuilder. Paul also received my two DVD’s – Real Muscle and Bodybuilding Seminar and Competitions.

2nd Place – Matt Craig

I had a chance to meet Matt in person at the 2019 Mr. Olympia Expo in Las Vegas. At that time, Matt was 230 pounds and he had been working out but mostly with light weights. He was also not watching his diet very closely. When he got back from the Olympia, Matt was really motivated to start getting back in shape.
Matt’s 61st birthday was on April 27, 2020 so he wanted to get down to 200 pounds by then. The Fitness Challenge was a perfect way to motivate him to stick to the diet and work hard to get leaner. Matt also had his son Brandon join him on the Fitness Challenge as well.
Matt is employed at the railroad so he has to work some pretty long hours and he also has to travel a lot which made it more difficult to stay on a consistent diet and workout schedule. However, Matt was determined to make this work so he prepared and brought his meals with him, even when he was traveling for several days.
When Matt started the Fitness Challenge on January 20th, his weight was 225 pounds with a 40” waist. At the end of the 12 week transformation period, Matt had reduced his waist down to 36 inches (4 inches in 12 weeks) and his weight was down to 201 pounds. Matt’s goal was to get his weight down to 200 pounds so he missed it by one pound but that obviously doesn’t make a difference when you look at the before and after pictures of Matt and see the great changes he made in his physique.

Date Weight Waist
01/20/20 225 40”
02/02/20 215 37 1/2”
02/09/20 215 37 1/2”
02/17/20 213 38 1/2”
02/24/20 213 37 1/2”
03/02/20 209 36 1/2”
03/23/20 206 36 1/2”
03/30/20 204 36”
04/13/20 201 36”

01/20/20 04/13/20
Weight – 225 Weight – 201
Chest – 45” Chest – 45”
Waist – 40” Waist – 36”
Arms – 17” Arms – 17”
Thighs – 27” Thighs – 26”
Calves – 17 1/2” Calves – 17”

What’s even more impressive about Matt’s physique transformation is that he is 61 years old. So much for the myth that you can’t make changes to your physique when you get older. All it takes is the right diet and workout program combined with the determination and the consistency to make a change.

Congratulations to Matt Craig on such a great transformation! Matt is now motivated more than ever and is going to keep working hard to make more improvements. In taking second place in the John Hansen Fitness Challenge, Matt won $100 in supplements from Old School Labs as well as copies of my books The MP6 Workout and Diary of a Natural Bodybuilder. Matt also received my two DVD’s – Real Muscle and Bodybuilding Seminar and Competitions.

3rd Place – Ronnie Kirby

Ronnie is 51 years old and is a personal trainer from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Ronnie has been in great shape his whole life until a few years ago. He went through three surgeries in a 16 week period and fell into a depression when he couldn’t workout for a while after the surgeries. Ronnie ended up gaining a lot of fat during this forced layoff.
When Ronnie was able to go back to the gym and tried to get back into shape, he was surprised that he had lost his motivation for the first time in his life. He was working 14-16 hour days at that time and he found that it was easy to just skip his workouts. As a result of not training, Ronnie eventually got more depressed. He was stuck in the same routine every day, getting up at 3am and going to bed at 8pm.
When Ronnie saw the ad for the John Hansen Fitness Challenge, he decided to try it as a way to motivate himself. He also wanted to prove to himself that at 51 years of age, it was not too late to get into top shape again.
Check out Ronnie’s progress over the 12 week period of the Fitness Challenge. By following the diet to a T and training hard doing the weight training sessions, Ronnie consistently lost fat while maintaining or even building muscle mass. Check out Ronnie’s measurements for his arms and calves. He was actually putting on muscle while losing fat. A great accomplishment!

Date Weight Waist
1/20/20 212 41
1/26/20 207 40 3/4”
2/2/20 205.4 40 3/4”
2/10/20 204.5 40”
2/16/20 205.2 40”
2/23/20 204 39 1/4”
3/2/20 203.4 39”
3/12/20 202.8 38”
3/29/20 200.3 37 1/2”
4/11/20 200.2 37 1/2”
4/13/20 199 37 1/2”

01/20/20 04/13/20
Weight – 212 Weight – 199
Chest – 46” Chest – 42 1/2”
Waist – 41” Waist – 37 1/2”
Arms – 15 3/4” Arms – 16”
Thighs – 25” Thighs – 25”
Calves – 15” Calves – 15 1/2”

Ronnie said he is still not close to where he wants to be but he realizes that this fitness journey is a marathon and not a sprint. He has big goals yet for himself and this Fitness Challenge that he participated in gave him a great foundation to build upon. Ronnie said, “You cannot look for excuses on why you can’t do something, but instead look for how to get the task at hand done in spite of the obstacles. This contest has put me back on track and put a fire back in me. My goal for next year is to get into contest shape. At the very least, I want to look like a trainer again!”
Congratulations to Ronnie for making such a great transformation and for getting himself out of the depression he found himself in. This can happen to the best of us and it takes courage and hard work to get yourself back up and to start making progress again. In taking third place in the John Hansen Fitness Challenge, Ronnie won $50 in supplements from Old School Labs, my book The MP6 Workout and my workout DVD, Real Muscle.