Brian Liang

Cooking & Looking Good

Brian is the first to admit it: of all the Summer Leaning Challenge participants, Brian was probably the most skeptical.

"First of all, I LOVE food and cooking," he explains. "So I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of limiting that. But I told myself, why not just try it?"

Brian didn't just try going paleo for 6 weeks solid. He kicked butt at it, losing 12 pounds and 2.25 inches in the process. "I was seeing results just from doing CrossFit," he says. "But after I combined better nutrition alongside the WODs, I saw a lot better and faster changes."

Brian's secret to his success: He used his love for cooking to create delicious paleo recipes that had everyone in the gym clamoring for more. (If you're interested, check out his food blog at http://eatcetera.wordpress.com - we highly recommend his recipes for mojo pork, bacon-wrapped pork loin, and his famous Bri-bacoa).

But it's not just his eating habits that have improved. Since his On-Ramp days, Brian has made significant gains in his strength and skills. Proof: his recent 325# deadlift and a string of RX'd WODs. "I'm finally getting all the little nuances of the Olympic lifts," Brian says, "and that's helped me with strength gains." Mojo pork might have something to do with it, too.

Like the Leaning Challenge, Brian didn't have high expectations when he first started On-Ramp. "I never had any type of work-out regimen," he recalls. "I knew paying $30/month to go to 24-Hour Fitness wouldn't motivate me enough to do it on my own, especially since I had no idea what I was doing. I just wanted to see where CrossFit would take me."

Brian instantly knew he'd found something different. "After that first day of On-Ramp, I was like, man, these workouts are pretty intense. And the more I got into it, and saw the results, the more I liked it."

Like many other CrossFit newbies, Brian found it a bit intimidating at first. "But I just kept telling myself to keep at it," he says. "The way I look at it, you don't become out of shape overnight, so you're not going to be busting out muscle ups overnight either." Wise words.

Following his own advice, Brian has kept at it and then some, consistently showing up for classes and patiently working at his weaknesses. So what keeps him coming back, WOD after brutal WOD?

"The people!" he says without pause. "All the coaches and members are so friendly and caring. You can tell they just want the best for you. Heck, I no longer live in Long Beach, and I still come to CFLB!"

Lucky for us. And our taste buds.

"Brian was one of the most nervous about starting the Leaning Challenge," says Coach Gina. "But he not only embraced it, he had incredible body composition changes in just a few weeks. It was really fun to watch him lean out."