Like most footballers, Menzies ate pretty much as he liked in his playing days, mainly because he could. Images by James Greer and Giles Park.

STEVE MENZIES, 40

- Rugby league champion
-13 Tests, 20 State of Origin matches, 340+ NRL matches for Manly Sea Eagles/Northern Eagles
- Part of the FOX SPORTS Rugby League team working as a side-line commentator and panellist on FOX SPORTS week-long line-up of NRL shows.

Torched 6.6kg of lard by training systematically and steering clear of some favourite foods

Day Zero
The ex footballer best known for his try-scoring feats and excelling in a brutal sport into his late 30s insists on easing back into training lest something snap. He is feeling his age as well as the effects of having left behind regular exercise when he finally hung up the boots last year.

“But now I’m 40 I’m interested to see if I can get back to looking how I did in my younger days,” he says. Fine by him if that includes a six-pack and bigger guns.

Diet looms as a hurdle, with his wife Suyin doubtful he’ll be able to resist ice cream and chocolate. Menzies disagrees: “I’m a pretty determined sort of person. I think once I know what I need to eat or need to avoid, I’ll be prepared.”

At first, Byrnes shows more enthusiasm than his client, but this changes as Menzies starts seeing his body mutate

Pedal power
To transform, Menzies will need a spin bike in his living room, orders his trainer, Cameron Byrnes, who stars in Channel 7’s Bringing Sexy Back. Post-dinner sessions on the bike will be crucial in torching the lard obscuring Menzies’ ample muscle mass. Menzies goes hard for one minute and then coasts for one minute, repeating five times. Then it’s 20 minutes of medium-intensity effort.

GALLERY: Seven old men fitter than you

In the early mornings, Byrnes directs Menzies’ weights sessions at their local Fitness First at Brookvale on Sydney’s northern beaches. At first, Byrnes shows more enthusiasm than his client, but this changes as Menzies starts seeing his body mutate. He goes from joylessly following orders to dialing in.

Two decades’ footy training has served him well. His technique for complex moves like the walking lunge is flawless, allowing Byrnes to keep upping loads. His sessions feature mostly supersets, done in the mid-rep (8-12) range, chasing hypertrophy. He does a lot of benching, chinning and dipping, as well as seated barbell curls, military presses and front raises with a weights plate. He doesn’t work his legs much because they’re in great shape already and time is short.

Around the halfway point, Byrnes adds a half-hour metabolic circuit that Menzies performs at home once a day on strength days and twice daily on “rest” days.
THE CIRCUIT
25 push-ups
5 min bike
25 bodyweight squats
5 min bike
25 crunches
5 min bike
25 split lunges
5 min bike
Constant Craving
Like most footballers, Menzies ate pretty much as he liked in his playing days, mainly because he could. Just about any indulgence would be burnt off in training and a little padding was protective, anyway. “I didn’t eat badly, but I never said I can’t have this bacon-and-egg roll or this piece of bread,” he recalls. “Nowadays, if it’s in the house, I’ll eat ice cream every night.”
But ice cream doesn’t get a run in Menzies’ challenge diet . . .

EAT LIKE A BEAVER
Breakfast Half cup of rolled oats; 3 eggs
Pre-workout Protein shake in water
Lunch 200g lean meat, sweet potato, green veg
Dinner As lunch
Post-bike session Protein shake in water

Hunger begins to erode Menzies’ morale so Byrnes loosens the shackles in a way that allows Menzies to gently indulge his sweet tooth. On nights when he’s hungry he’s allowed dessert. We’re not talking coconut cream pie here – more like chopped banana sprinkled with cinnamon and crowned with a scoop of Greek yoghurt. “He needed an outlet,” says Byrnes. “Steve would put maple syrup on everything if he could.”
BIG ROOSTER BOOSTERS
On Byrnes’ advice, Menzies used a selection of supps from his local Mass Nutrition store to help deliver the physique of a lifetime
Beast 2Shredded (Taken pre-workout or first thing in the morning to aid fat burning)
Ultimate Nutrition L-Carnitine (Taken first thing or pre-workout to mobilise fat stores for energy)
Body Science BCAAHMB capsules (Swallowed pre-workout or during fasted-state cardio to limit muscle-tissue breakdown and aid protein synthesis)
Body Science STRONGBODY WPI (Pure, naturally sweetened, lactose-free whey protein isolate powder to promote muscle repair)
OmegaLOGIC fish oil capsules

Judgment Day
“Aerobically, I’m not as fit as I was when I was playing. But I’m leaner than I’ve been since I was a teenager and I think I look better, too,” says Menzies.

“This has been a great experience for me. It’s shown me what’s possible and I’ve learnt so much about food and how your body reacts to it. The thing is, I don’t feel I’ve trained overly hard. Yeah, we work out pretty hard in the gym and I do my spin bike at home when I can, but for rugby league you train harder.

“I reckon the spin bike I got from Workout World was the single most important piece of equipment I used. I usually did my bike sessions while watching the matches I needed to watch for Fox Sports on TV. It was easy and convenient but I was burning up fuel like crazy.

“The thing is, I don’t feel I’ve trained overly hard.”

“That said, looking this way is mostly about controlling what you eat. It’s about what you eat and in what quantities, and if you get these things right then your training doesn’t have to be ridiculous. Eat a bit smarter, control what you take in and train when you can. I never would have thought I could get this lean – and it’s only been six weeks!

“Eating well means getting yourself organised – and I’m not the most organised person at times. You’ll want to be preparing meals for the next day.

MORE: Meet the 2013 MH Man winner

“Looking forward, I’m not going to change 100 per cent but I’ll definitely keep eating better than I was. I’ll still have a few beers now and then, and some Chinese food and chocolate and ice cream – but in moderation. I’ll try to train three or four times a week, but if one of those sessions is a walk, that’s fine.”