Zak: 8kg of muscle, then a 3:30 marathon and a 63km ultra
Zak built from 80kg to 88kg, then leaned out for running: his marathon time dropped from 4:00 to 3:30, he ran 63km in a backyard ultra two months later, and he has a 19:53 5K and a 1:31 half marathon.
The middle phase: 88kg at the end of the muscle build, before slimming down for running.
Assess — the starting point
Zak started at 80kg and wanted to build muscle. Once he had, the goal changed: he wanted to run, and to run well, from the marathon up to ultra distance.
Build — what we did
Phase one was the build, taking Zak from 80kg to 88kg. Then he slimmed down for running.
Off-season, his week was two upper-body sessions, two lower-body sessions and two runs. Conditioning sat inside the gym days: one cardio session on an upper day and one on a leg day.
The cardio was one of two things. Short and horrible: Norwegian 4x4 intervals on the assault bike or air bike. Or long and easy: runs of 40 to 90 minutes held at 120 to 140bpm.
As each race got closer, the running distance went up and the gym work came down, shifting towards prehab and power-based movement.
Perform — the result
Zak ran his first marathon in 4 hours, after a knee injury in training meant no running for the final six weeks; his only conditioning was on the bike. His second marathon came down to 3 hours 30.
Two months later, with minimal training, he ran 63km in a backyard ultra.
Along the way: a 19:53 5K, set while training for a Hyrox that he and Nathan finished in 57:58, and a 1:31 half marathon.
Next: a sub-1:25 half marathon and 100km, both in 2027.
100% natural.
This result came from training, nutrition and recovery — nothing else.