On the latest episode of the Men's Health podcast, we interviewed the winner of the 2014 Men's Health Next Top Trainer contest, Andy Speer. Andy is one of the world’s leading fitness models and training minds. He is also the creator of the Men’s Health Anarchy workout DVD series.
Andy is also freakishly strong and athletic, even though some would consider him a "normal-sized" guy at just 175 pounds. Case in point, he's one of the lightest men ever to complete the Beast Challenge, where you perform a pistol squat, weighted dead hang pullup, and single-arm overhead press with a beastly 48-kilogram or 106-pound kettlebell. Check out the video below to see Andy in action.
"The overhead press was the hardest part of the challenge for me," says Spear. "But I worked this specialized 6-week ladder program from strength and conditioning legend Pavel Tsatsouline and come testing day, I nailed it."
But according to Andy, he wasn't always a physical specimen. "Growing up, I was a skinny kid with big ears that stuck straight out from my head and a face full of acne," he says. "Outside of gymnastics, I didn't have much confidence in myself."
He entered college as a scrawny 140-pound pole vaulter at the University of Miami and put on 45 pounds of rock-hard muscle his first 2 years in college. "I basically just lifted weights and ate everything the cafeteria had to offer," says Spear. This transformation unleashed the beast within him and Andy has never looked back.
Today Andy Speer is one of the most prolific fitness models in the world. And he's inspiring good people like you all over the world to make a change.
Other topics covered in this episode include:
- What it was like winning the grueling Next Top Trainer contest
- Growing up a gymnast
- Pole vaulting at University of Miami
- Serving as Shaun T's protege in several best-selling Beachbody home workout DVDs
- And much more!
P.S. If you liked this episode, be sure to check out the Shaun T podcast.
