Alex Dankel

He gave up the drinking, smoking and video game lifestyle for the fitness one.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated May 21, 2019

Written by Alex Dankel

Growing up, I was never known as an athletic guy. I spent most of my adult life playing video games and drinking Mountain Dew like it was water.

Fitness was never part of the equation, and when I did try, it was never something I had interest in. I was average at best and that was perfectly fine with me!

Fast forward to 2016. I was at a new job, had a girlfriend whose daughter I loved, and just started lifting — life was perfect! But later in the year, my relationship ended and my entire world came crashing down.

I would come home every single night after work and drink myself to sleep. I had absolutely no hope with life. One day, I decided that enough was enough and I was going to take every emotion I had and funnel it into fitness!

My journey began on October 24, 2016. I weighed 155 pounds. I spent the majority of 2017 doing my own split workouts and doing a lot of running. My diet consisted of the usual gallon of water, chicken and eggs — but with fast-food whenever I felt like it.

I was never really serious about my nutrition until I started the Ripped in 6 Challenge at the end of 2017. The weekend before I joined, I spent hours reading Jim's Dieting 101 article and decided that counting my macros while carb cycling was my best option. I ended the challenge weighing 170 pounds and in the greatest shape of my life!

After Ripped in 6, I went straight into the #TrainWithJim series where my main focus has been gaining more muscle while getting stronger. I'm currently weighing in at 178 pounds and well on track to meet my goals!

This is my new life and I couldn't be happier with how everything has turned out so far! I'm more than a year cigarette-free and no longer rely on alcohol. I can't go anywhere without someone mentioning my muscles, so it really is a great feeling to know that hard work really does pay off.

If anyone is starting their journey, my best advice would be to fall in love with the process and most importantly: Believe in yourself!

I'd like to give a huge "thank you" to the JYM Army and every single person behind the JYM brand. Without any of you, I wouldn't be where I am today. You have no idea how much you mean to me!

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