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#Personal trainer’s quarantine challenge leads to amazing transformations

#Personal trainer’s quarantine challenge leads to amazing transformations

Personal trainer Tarrant Anderson was tired of seeing his Instagram followers complain about gaining the “Quarantine 15” during the coronavirus lockdown.

The combination of shuttered gyms, boredom, stress and endless trips to the refrigerator while stuck at home has, for many, led to unwelcome weight gain.

“It’s been a challenging time for a lot of folks,” says Anderson. “It’s much easier to give in to temptation when you’ve been stuck within four walls. It’s very common to let your diet and fitness regimen fall apart.”

So the 32-year-old firefighter — who owns a gym, the Fit Factory, in Englewood, NJ, and has 11,400 followers on Instagram — came up with a 28-day quarantine challenge, all done remotely over the internet. As much about weight loss as it is a “mindset makeover,” Anderson inspires clients to get healthier while self-isolating, emailing them custom workouts and diet advice.

“I’ve always trained people in-person, so this was completely new to me,” says Anderson. “But there was so much demand for virtual training, I knew I had to step up.”

He selected a dozen hopefuls who applied via his social media, each paying $280 (the equivalent of $10 a day) to take part in the challenge, which launched May 1.

One of the participants, Patrick O’Connor, lost 25 pounds — the most of anyone in the group.

“I feel so much better,” O’Connor, 51, tells The Post. “I’ve got a lot more energy, and my stomach is much flatter.”

Anderson’s plan centers around 45 minutes to an hour of exercise six days a week, starting with 15 minutes of cardiovascular activities — such as jogging, running or jumping rope — followed by resistance training.

It’s a pain to tote gym equipment to your local park, and “it’s hard to buy stuff like dumbbells and kettlebells because they’re all sold out on places like Amazon,” Anderson says, “so you have to be inventive.”

He recommends classic body weight exercises — such as squats, mountain climbers and, yes, much-dreaded burpees — proven fat busters that quickly tone the abs, quads and butt.

Anderson also incorporates stand-up abdominal routines including alternate knee to elbow walks, twists and extended leg kicks.

“A lot of people think the only way to give your stomach a workout is to lie on your back, which can be off-putting and impractical,” he says. “You can actually burn more calories and better target the lower abs when you’re standing up as an alternative to crunches.”

Although the workouts are grueling, Anderson says what ultimately helped his clients’ success was accountability. He required members of the group to send him daily videos of their workouts, progress photos and even pictures of their Apple watches showing calories burned per session.

He also set up a private Facebook group so participants could share support and advice. “If someone is having a bad day, they get motivation from the others,” Anderson says.

Diet check-ins were part of the plan, too.

“I’d get people to send me photos of their meals three times a day,” says Anderson. “It was a case of monitoring everything they ate, telling them to increase their protein or vegetables.”

The menu plan he recommends is loosely based on the Whole 30 system — limiting carbs, favoring lean meats and skipping dairy and nearly all processed foods. For dinner, that might mean a piece of grilled salmon and a side of steamed green beans, accompanied by a “healthy” carbohydrate, such as a sweet potato.

There were ups and downs — especially craving for comfort food and alcohol — for everyone during the 28 days, but the whole team stayed the course and, at the end of the month, boasted leaner abs, toned muscles and stronger arms and legs.

“I’m very proud of what they’ve achieved,” says Anderson, who is now seeing clients in person and teaching group classes while maintaining social distance. “They had a brain change and became healthy during quarantine. There’s a lot to be said for that.”

Tarrant Anderson
Tarrant AndersonNew York Post

Anderson’s top quarantine weight loss tips:

Stop buying new treats now

-The stress of self-isolating is causing people to pig out on packaged comfort foods they might not normally buy. The only way to not eat junk food when you’re staying at home is to not have any in your kitchen. Stop buying new treats now and get rid of what you’ve already got. “If you keep a supply of pastries or chips in your cabinet, you’re going to have so much time on your hands, you’re going to raid that cabinet,” says Anderson.

Set a goal

Set a goal of working out for a total of three to four hours a week, broken up into multiple shorter workouts. Start off with cardio for around 10 minutes  — “that could be jump rope, a bike ride or a run,” he says — to get your heart rate up for the rest of the session. Then, move on to 35 minutes of circuit exercises of your choice, such as squats and lunges.

You don’t need equipment

-You don’t need any fancy workout gear, but looped resistance bands ($20 at Dick’s Sporting Goods) are the one cheap tool Anderson recommends and won’t take up space in your apartment. He places them above the knees to amplify squats and add extra burn to leg moves.

Drink water

-Hitting the water cooler to refill your bottle might have been second nature in an office, but not so much when you’re at home. Fill several bottles of water in the morning or set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself to top up. “Aim to drink around a gallon of water every day to flush out the toxins in your body,” says the trainer.

Anderson’s quarantine weight loss success stories:

Patrick O’Connor
Patrick O’ConnorCourtesy;Tamara Beckwith/NY Post

Patrick O’Connor, Paramus, NJ

Lost: 25 pounds

The 51-year-old piled on sympathy pounds while his fiancée, Violeta, was expecting the couple’s first child, Kennedy. His son was born in February, and, soon after, the quarantine started. “It didn’t help being cooped up inside,” says O’Connor, who is 6 feet tall and weighed 274 pounds before starting Anderson’s quarantine challenge.

Determined to get a grip, O’Connor followed the plan to the letter. “Instead of going for the cookies, I went for grapes, blueberries and fruit parfaits,” he says. The retired police officer also started working out outside six days a week, often taking turns with Violeta: one would exercise while the other watched the baby.

He now weighs 249 pounds. “I feel fantastic,” says O’Connell. “And I’m determined to keep up the good work.”

Brittany Thomas
Brittany ThomasCourtesy; Stefano Giovannini

Brittany Thomas, Lodi, NJ

Lost: 17 pounds

Mom of two Thomas says the 28-day quarantine challenge was part of a long-term weight loss journey. Over the past couple of years, she’d lost 40 pounds — after reaching a peak of 252 pounds —  and was concerned the needle on the scale was going up again due to lockdown boredom and lack of motivation.

“Tarrant changed all that because he pushes you every step of the way,” explains the 32-year-old human resources manager, who is 5-foot-7 and now weighs 179 pounds. “He holds you accountable and, I must admit, I cursed him out in my head during workouts a few times!”

A combination of intense cardio, body calisthenics and a high-protein diet worked wonders for Thomas’ figure. “I began to see results real quick,” she says. “Everything has just kind of shrunk and got leaner. I’m not perfect but I have a flatter stomach and can actually see my collarbone now.”

Daniela Pastor
Daniela PastorCourtesy; Helayne Seidman

Daniela Pastor, Garfield, NJ

Lost: 8 pounds

Pastor, who is 5-foot-7, was unhappy with her weight of 160 pounds at the beginning of May.

“Being at home with my family, I was eating a lot of takeout — hot dogs, hamburgers, that sort of thing — so I was feeling sluggish. It came to the point where I didn’t want to leave my bed some days except to grab food,” says the human resources coordinator.

She signed up with Anderson with the goal to drop weight before her 26th birthday this coming Saturday.

“I actually feel 10 years younger than I did before. I have gone down a dress size and am stronger and healthier,” Pastor says. “When I looked at my before and after photographs, I was in complete shock.”

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