Zach Zeiler, who conquered life

Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor, once said.

“The truth is, cancer was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I don’t know why I got the disease, but it did miracles for me, and I wouldn’t want to erase it from my memory.”

And indeed. Experience shows that once someone has faced death, they no longer perceive life's challenges as challenges, but merely as conquerable trivialities. Zach Zeiler beat cancer at 15, and four years later, it looks like he's conquering life too. The original interview can be found on Simplyshredded.com.

– Your story is extraordinary. Please tell me about the beginning.

– At 15, I was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma. This meant I had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy for this type of cancer. The treatments were physically and mentally devastating; those few months were the hardest period of my life. During the treatments, I missed most of my sophomore year of high school, lost many friends due to the illness, couldn't play sports, and even had to spend my 16th birthday in a hospital bed. My life at that time was pretty hopeless. I felt like a victim; the helplessness angered me the most, but no matter how bad I felt, one thing I was sure of was that I would never give up the fight.

No matter how sick or depressed I was, I told myself I would survive. That one day, when I look back on this period, I would be a stronger and more disciplined person, no longer afraid of anything, because if you can conquer death, what is there to fear in life?

And that's exactly what I did. I never gave up. And you know what? It might sound strange, but I'm grateful to fate for having cancer, because if it weren't for this disease, I might never have seen life as clearly as I do now. I will never need motivation or to draw strength from others again, because I already know how short life is, and that I cannot waste my time doing nothing or not wanting to fight for myself every single day, to be better, to achieve more.

After the treatments ended, I weighed almost 48 kg. For my 183 cm height… Before chemotherapy, I had an athletic build. After the treatments, I didn't dare look in the mirror because I couldn't stand the sight of myself. I didn't want to see myself, I didn't want to see how I looked when I was dying.

I was thin, mentally exhausted from what I had been through, and the fact that getting out of bed was a serious challenge for me was terribly upsetting. For months, the only stable points in my life were the IV drip and an orange bucket that was constantly next to me because I had to vomit almost all day. Then, slowly but surely, I started to recover. When the chemotherapy treatments ended, I was completely weakened. I knew I needed some form of exercise to regain my strength, and I needed something to vent my frustration, the immense fear and tension that had built up inside me.

I took small steps. My first goal was to walk 100 steps, then 200, and when movement was no longer difficult, I discovered weightlifting. I started simply, with some basic dumbbell exercises in our basement, and when I felt strong enough, I bought my first gym membership.

I progressed gradually, observing personal trainers to learn. I wanted to know everything about bodybuilding because I felt it was the sport where I could not only relieve tension but also regain the appearance of my old self. I quickly learned that results come through sacrifices, and that the more I invest in exercise, if I don't feed my body junk, the more I get back from it. Spending endless hours in the gym led to spectacular changes, and my body was reborn. There was no trace of me ever being sick, and it was there, in the gym, that I first felt I had conquered death. Not when the doctors told me the treatment was successful and I was cured, no. But there in the gym, among the weights, half a year after the end of the treatments.

I don't know exactly where I'm going, but I'm sure I'm on the right track. Because every single day is an opportunity to realize yourself, which ultimately leads to success. At the end of the road is life, and at the beginning of the road is death, so I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. You know, it's all like an escalator. If I stopped, the path would take me back to where I started, and I never want to go back there, because that would mean I died. Life is an escalator, and if you want to live life, you always have to keep going, you must never stop.

– Where do you get your motivation?

 

– From life. From life and my achievements. Building a body is one of the few things where performance, commitment, sacrifice, self-sacrifice, and development are clearly visible. You get back as much as you put in. There are no bluffs here, and that's exactly what I like.

 

– What training plan has worked best for you?

 

– I don't follow any specific training system. I learned the basics, but I went in the direction I thought would be good for my body, and that worked for me. I personally believe in individual training styles, and everyone has to master this for themselves. You need a strong knowledge base, and from there you just have to listen to your body. You have to confuse your body; you can never give it the same load, with the same exercises, for months on end.

Sets, reps, exercises, weight, intensity, rest. These need to be constantly changed. One week I work with lighter weights and more sets, while the next week I use fewer sets and continuously increase the weights, training to failure. By mixing different styles in my workouts, the body doesn't have a chance to adapt, so by varying the load, you can constantly shock the body and our muscles.

 

ZACH'S WORKOUT PLAN

Monday: Chest/Triceps

• Dumbbell Pullover: 3×12,10,6
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 4×12,10,8,6
• Flat Dumbbell Press: 4×12,10,8,6
• Decline Isolateral Machine Press: 3×10
• Dumbbell Fly’s: 3×10-15
• Cable Crossovers: 3×10-15
• Overhead Dumbbell Extension: 4×12,10,8,6
• Overhead Single Arm Triceps Extension: 3×10
• Dumbbell Triceps Skull Crushers: 4×10
• Single Arm Cable Triceps Pushdown: 3×10

 

Tuesday: Legs

• Squats: 5 working sets 14,12,10,8,6 (last set a dropset)
• Hack squat: 4×12,10,8,6
• Leg Press: 4×10-14
• Leg Extensions: 4×10-20
• Laying Leg Curl: 4×8-12
• Stiff Leg Dumbbell Deadlift: 4×12,10,8,6
• Standing Leg Curl: 4×10

 

Wednesday: Back/Biceps

• Lat Pulldown: 4×8-12
• Isolateral Lat Pulldown: 4×8-12
• Pull-ups: 2× failure
• T-Bar Row: 4×10
• One Arm Dumbbell Row: 4×12,10,8,6
• Isolateral Row: 3×10
• Cable Row: 4×10-15
• Barbell Curl: 4×20-30
• Dumbbell Alternating Curl: 3-4×20-30
• One Arm Preacher Curl: 4×15-20

Thursday: Shoulders

• Reverse Pec Dec (Rear Delts): 3×15
• Rear Delts Cable Fly: 4×10
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 5×14,12,10,8,6
• Side Lateral Raise: 4×8-12
• Upright Row: 3×10
• Single Arm Side Lateral Raise: 3×10
• Dumbbell Front Raise: 3×8-12
• Isolateral Shoulder Press: 4×10
• Barbell Shrugs: 6×20,16,12,10,8,6 (last set a dropset)
• Dumbbell Shrugs: 5×10

 

Friday: Chest/Triceps

• Dumbbell Pullover: 3×10
• Barbell Bench Press: 4×12,10,8,6 (last set a dropset)
• Incline Isolateral Bench: 4×12,10,8,6
• Cable Crossover: 4×10
• Pec Dec Fly: 4×10
• Weighted Dips: 4×12,10,8,6
• Barbell Skull Crushers: 4×12,10,8,6
• Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 3×10
• Rope Triceps Pushdown: 3×20

 

Saturday: Legs

• Leg Extensions: 4×10
• Squats: 5×5
• Hack Squat/Lunges Superset: 4×10
• Sissy Squats: 4×15
• Single Leg Hamstring Curls: 4×10
• Reverse Hack Squats: 4×10
• Barbell SL Deadlifts: 3×12,10,8
• Laying Leg Curls: 3x failure

 

Sunday: Back/Biceps

• Deadlifts: 6×20,14,12,10,8,6
• Barbell Row: 4×12,10,8,6
• Wide Grip Cable Row: 3×10
• One Arm Dumbbell Row: 3×10
• Unilateral Row: 3×10
• Weighted Pullups: 3×10
• Dumbbell Pullovers: 3×8
• Close Grip Lat Pulldown: 3×10
• Dumbbell Hammer Curl (One Arm): 4×20-30
• Concentration Curl: 4×20
• Preacher Curl: 3×20
• Cable Curl: 2×30

 

Calves/Abs

I alternate abs and calf workouts every day. For example, on Mondays I work on abs, Tuesdays on calves, Wednesdays on abs, Thursdays on calves, etc. During each workout, I do small, about 15-minute circuits.

Calf workout:

• Seated calf raises: 5×10
• Standing calf raises: 5×15

 

Ab workout:

• Hanging leg raises: 4×15
• Crunches: 4 sets to failure

– What are your 3 favorite exercises and why?

– Free weight bench press. This is one of my favorite exercises. Developing my chest muscles was difficult for me from the beginning, and for a very long time, bench press was my primary exercise, but it was never effective enough for me, especially in the beginning, because I always trained alone. (I was the kind of skinny guy who was too afraid to ask someone, with my 61 kilos, to help me.) With free weights, I can not only fully utilize the capacity of my weight training but also find it much more effective in isolating the chest.

Squats. My biggest regret in the world is not starting squats sooner. I was never the type of person to skip leg day just because it kills you, but in the initial phase of my training, I didn't properly learn how to squat. Until, after three years of training, I forced myself to learn the correct squatting technique. Squats are the king of exercises and one of the most effective exercises on earth.

Weightlifting. The other exercise I wish I had started doing sooner is weightlifting. Just like squats, I started this after three years of training. It's not that I was afraid to lift weights, I simply didn't know how to do it, I didn't know the proper technique. The best advice I can give a beginner is to learn, observe, practice. The weight will come on its own anyway.

– What is your diet like?

– Most of my diet is pretty relaxed. Of course, I do everything I can to eat clean, but I've always believed that if your diet isn't enjoyable, you won't stick to it. If I were ever to prepare for a competition, I would naturally be very strict about myself and my nutrition. I totally exclude sugar, but apart from that, if the opportunity arises, I don't make a big deal out of eating a pizza or a hamburger. In practice, this means I eat clean 90-10% of the week.

Diet:

• 1st meal: protein shake, oatmeal
• 2nd meal: eggs, porridge, apple
• 3rd meal: chicken breast fillet, pasta, vegetables
• 4th meal: protein shake, banana
• 5th meal: hamburger, fries, milk
• 6th meal: protein shake, cottage cheese, protein bar, peanuts

– When you want to reduce body fat, do you use HIIT or regular cardio?

– I use both, depending on my mood. Sometimes it's useful to just run for 30 minutes instead of interval training, but if I see in the mirror that my body demands harder workouts, then of course I don't even think about it, I push myself very hard and do the toughest HIIT workouts.

– What supplements do you use?

– Protein, pre-workout energizers, amino acids, and creatine. In my opinion, adequate intake of these should be enough. The rest depends on diet and workout intensity. I believe that what works for one person may not work for another, and just like with workouts, you have to experiment to find what works for you and what helps you progress. Of course, everything else also supports you, but these four supplements are the basics.

– Your favorite quote?

– "Pain is nothing. It's absolutely nothing compared to what you feel when you achieve victory, after the pain has passed." – Zachary Zeiler