Brody Mecham, a senior lifter, at Blackfoot High School, has been in love with the gym since he started high school. Today I’m here to share with you his journey, how it started, and how it’s going.
How it started: Brody started off with crossfit back in middle school for a few months, it didn’t quite spark his interest but it was enjoyable for him. The real starting point occurred in the summer between the 8th and 9th grade at summer football workouts. He learned that he was good at picking up big circles and he started to lift outside of school.
Sports: Brody is currently the starting varsity center for the Blackfoot Broncos, and a thrower and shot putter for track. He did wrestling with the school for about two weeks, but enjoys not doing wrestling because “it isn’t that enjoyable ” and it gives him an off season. He has been bulking for the majority of his time in high school, because “being bigger in football is kinda important” as he puts it. However at the end of the season, he plans to go on a massive cut. He is around 240 Ibs(110 kilos), and wants to cut to around 200 Ibs depending on how he feels. “A solid 30-40 Ib cut, I’m aiming for like 4-5 months.” Right now Brody would say his current physique is 6/10, because he’s bulked but everyone wants definition and abs. He referred to himself looking like a “middle-aged garbage man.” Out of everything, he feels he has to work on his legs a bit more, he does a lot more core than people would think.
Off-season: For when he is in-season, he trains in the weight room with Coach Roberts, he follows a simple regimen in order to not exhaust his muscles or injure himself. When he is out of season, he still uses the weight room but also goes to Rise fitness. He enjoys that there is a wide variety of machines, but he hates that their hours are weird. He thinks that Anytime’s free weights section is lacking and Hard Bodies equipment is just way older. During the off-season, he usually aims for 1½-2 hours a day in the gym, 4 to 5 days a week. He trains “whatever isn’t sore” and aims to train legs at least once a week.
Supplements and diet: During the football season, Brody just about eats anything, it helps to keep him big during football. He loves ramen, Little Caesars, and leftovers. When he cuts, his main way to lose weight is to not eat, and just in general stay in a calorie deficit. The main things he stays away from is fast food and soda. A strange meal he does is canned tuna with mayonnaise, which is high in protein but tastes disgusting. He will also consume a protein shake in the morning, cycle Creatine 3 months on and 1 month off. He isn’t on steroids despite what most people think.
Why: Overall lifting has helped him feel better about himself by getting complimented but also he sees that he inspires people to lift. He looks up to many celebrity figures such as Eddie Hall, C-Bum, and more surprisingly, Steven Sanders. Seeing Steven put up big weight in person inspired Brody. Brody wants to become that someone who inspires other people to lift and feel better about themselves. With Brody’s high school football career coming to his last year and him not getting a scholarship, football isn’t much of a reason to lift anymore. He keeps lifting “to be better.” “There is no way of winning, you can always goes higher when you’re lifting.” He sets small goals for himself, right now he wants a 315 Ibs bench, 495 Ibs squat, and 600 Ibs deadlift. He thinks that lifting will help you feel better about yourself and overall just be healthier. He loves being part of the gym community. He stated “There is a lot of stigma behind gym culture, and that if you aren’t ripped can bench 300 pounds then you’re not in it, but that’s not true. Anyone who goes to the gym understands that we are all here to better ourselves.”
