Body Transformation: Jeff Cavaliere (MY STORY)

Start your own athletic body transformation today
Body transformations can be sparked by a lot of things like embarrassment, frustration, or even the threat of medical conditions. That said, I believe they can only be sustained with one key ingredient and that is knowledge. In this video, I share the story of my frustration with being skinny and the need to build muscle in order to be a better athlete (that has now carried over into my adult life to feel fit, healthy and strong and be an inspiration to others).
When I was young, I actually hated working out. My father bought me a weight set and a nautilus bench press / lat pulldown machine to try and give me everything I needed to start getting stronger for football. Sadly, he wasted his money. I wasn’t interested and I just let it sit unused. I hated the feeling of discomfort from training. Now, I find that admission sort of embarrassing since I now thrive on that same feeling, but I realize where it came from. It was a fear of change. Not making the change, but what it would take to make the change.
But little by little I convinced myself that it was the only way to get to where I wanted to be…I had to start working out. Unfortunately, like pretty much every other person growing up in the 80’s and 90’s the only place I had to turn for information on how to workout and create a body transformation was the muscle magazines. Now nothing against Ironman, Muscle and Fitness, Muscular Development or Muscle Media 2000 magazines, they had some good writers and at least gave me an outlet to turn to for any information on how I was going to make that change.
The problem was, the guys in those magazines weren’t playing with the same hand I was. Honestly never even knew as a teenager that every guy in those articles was juiced up. I thought it was perfectly normal and something I should be able to do, perform 30 to 40 plus sets per workout following a body part split. I did what I was told, and I got nowhere.
I always put in good effort however. I’m not the type to go half assed if I put my mind to something. The problem wasn’t my effort but the information I was following while I was at the gym. It just didn’t work for me. Until I got inspired to try something different. They say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Well, I knew I wasn’t going insane so I decided it couldn’t hurt to mix things up.
I began reading and studying the human body. It became an obsession of mine. I wanted to know how muscles grew, how the body transforms, how each muscle functions, etc. The more I read the more I understood just how wrong I really was about my training all along and the gains started coming. By putting science behind my training, I was able to put strength and size into my physique for the first time ever.
The passion grew and turned into more than just a hobby, it turned into a career. I became a physical therapist and received my masters degree in PT as well as an undergrad degree in physioneurobiology and pre-med at University of Connecticut at Storrs. I loved sports and followed my passion to the professional level, working as the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets in Major League Baseball.
Rather than be pigeon holed in one sport however, since I loved training the nuances of all sports, I left to open up a private practice working with athletes from all major sports including the NFL, NBA, UFC, WWE, NHL and more. I found my path and haven’t diverted from it since. Taking all the information I’ve learned over the years as well as the training methods I not only know work the best but have seen it work first hand with some of the most elite and talented athletes in the world…I started uploading videos for everyone to benefit here on youtube.
This channel was born and now, as we approach 2 million subscribers I feel confident that I am helping many others not only find their passion but start putting it to work for them to make their own transformation. If you are looking for my step by step workouts and diet plans that serve as the cornerstone of all of the ATHLEAN-X Transformations, then head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System.
For more workouts and videos on how to build muscle while losing fat during your body transformation be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at