"Well, he doesn't look remotely even close to the same," Personal Trainer Zach Kann said.
Aaron Dickens started co-hosting sports talk shows on Double T 104.3 four years ago. Now the station frequency has changed, and so has the frequency of his trips to the gym.
"I train a ton of people and I've never seen results like this," Kann said. He's been training Dickens for nine months.
"When we started, he couldn't even do a push up," Kann said. For Dickens, health and fitness has been an ongoing battle.
"You know, I've always been bigger. I've struggled with weight my entire life," Dickens said. His personal trial is familiar to many.
"I would lie awake at night, every night almost, and vow that tomorrow I'm going to change my habits. Without fail the next morning I'd eat four waffles for breakfast and have three sodas before lunch. It would be the same cycle," Dickens said. However, in June of 2015 something shifted.
"You know I weighed myself, I was 370 pounds. I realized if I didn't do something about this, that I was dangerously close to getting into the 400's and beyond that," Dickens said. He resolved to change.
"I think the biggest thing that I've learned is that it's mostly diet. I mean you can exercise your butt off every day but if you don't get your diet under control, it's really all for not," Dickens said. He committed to healthy eating and lost 30 pounds on his own. Working out took his results to a new level.
"He has been extremely dedicated, and I am extremely proud of him for that," Kann said. They train together a few days a week, focusing on lifting weights and high intensity cardio.
"Now, he can do 30, 40 push-ups like nothing," Kann said. In less than a year, Dickens lost 170 pounds.
"I went from wearing a 56 to a 36/34," Dickens said. His success was a gradual journey.
"I didn't go straight from eating pizza, soda and ice cream to kale salads and chicken breasts. I mean, it was a process," Dickens said. Having a routine helps keep him on track.
"When you're out of town, go home for the holidays, have a lunch meeting with your boss, it's much more difficult to be consistent there," Dickens said.
Nevertheless, his progress remains persistent. While he says listeners may never notice his transformation, it's definitely having an impact on his life behind the mic.
"Certainly I just feel better day-to-day than I ever have before," Dickens said. That makes him think of what he would tell his younger self.
"If you're looking for the perfect time to start, there is no perfect time. So, just start now," Dickens said. His goals moving forward: continue seeing results with training, and drop another 10 to 15 pounds.
