The workout that helped this man lose 60 pounds and sculpt six-pack abs

Before 2005, Alexander was a massage therapist by day and a partier by night.

"I partied too much, and partying led to more eating, and eating led to more partying. There were no consequences to my actions," he says. "I didn’t have a girlfriend, there was just nothing for me to take into consideration. I just did things."

And while he hit the gym a few days a week, his overeating was hindering all the progress he could have been making.

"If somebody was eating one bacon, egg, and cheese [sandwich], I’d eat two of those. If someone were ordering pizza, I wasn’t eating two slices, I was eating four or five slices," Alexander says.

His constant late-night snacking didn't help, either. "It could be cookies or chips, but it would be seven cookies, or a whole bag of chips," he says. "It was always excessive."

So after Alexander's dad commented on his weight, he knew his diet was the first thing he needed to address. He already had a gym membership and was lifting weights regularly, so tackling his food choices became a priority. He started controlling his portions and cut out two of his staple foods: bagels and soda. These changes, along with meals full of protein and good carbs, helped him drop 20 pounds within the first month.

Now, he starts his morning with a peanut butter berry protein shake or eggs and avocado on whole grain toast. (Want to upgrade your shakes? Check out this organic whey protein from the Men's Health store.) Lunch is usually a kale and chicken salad and dinner is always either chicken, fish, or steak with vegetables.

His diet wasn't the only part of his routine that saw dramatic changes. In 2008, three years into his weight loss journey, Alexander found—and quickly fell in love with—indoor cycling classes, ditching the gym in favor of an activity he says "spoke to him more."

"In my entire life—outside of human connection and relationships—I never fell in love with something like I fell in love with indoor cycling," he says. "It completely changed my perspective on fitness, on people, on energy, and on letting go of negativity. I had never felt that way before."

So why are cycling classes such an effective form of fitness? They can function as a form of high intensity interval training, meaning you'll burn a ton of calories, boost your endurance, and ignite your metabolism.

Alexander's first class at SoulCycle wasn't without its challenges, though. In fact, he struggled so much that he was asked to leave the front row. "I was a disaster when I first started riding. I couldn’t ride the beat, I wasn’t coordinated, I couldn’t stay in third position for more than a couple of seconds," he says.

Regardless, Alexander became so addicted to the energy of the class that he used this experience as motivation to get better, and about after about six months, he was down 40 pounds. Before he knew it, he wanted to become an instructor so he could make people feel exactly like he did.

Now, at 42 years old, Alexander is a Senior Master Instructor at CycleBar in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He teaches multiple interval-based classes a day that last one hour each, and they all focus on riding to the beat of a booming bass. When he isn't teaching, Alexander still makes it to other cycling classes almost every day.

"I find it incredibly demotivating to work out by myself with just headphones on. I need to be in group fitness classes—they keep me centered," he says.

Currently, Alexander weighs in at 167 pounds and has lost 61 pounds (pictured on the right in the composite above). He's seen changes in every part of his body, especially his abs, due to years of healthy eating, shedding fat from his gut, and utilizing his core muscles more than ever before.

"I have abs now, and I’m over 40, so I’m very proud of that fact," he says. "They're so much more defined now than they were in my 20s, and diet goes such a long way in that. People think overtraining will change their bodies, but if you make smart choices in your diet, that’s when things really fall into place."

While he no longer binges on sugary foods and avoids processed and refined carbs around 70 percent of the time, Alexander still tries to makes room for the occasional slice of pizza with his kids. "If I’m with them and they want pizza, I’m not going to not have a slice of pizza, because I don’t think that sends a good message," he says.

He does admit there have been some hiccups, especially when it comes to late-night snacking.

"I have to be really careful, because I'm always up late—I’m just kind of nocturnal. And so if I’m up after teaching a night class, my energy level is so high, and I get this ravenous appetite that I have to keep in check," he says. "I’m not saying I don’t eat, but I just have to be careful with what I do eat."

But Alexander is aware that weight loss journeys aren't just about diet and exercise, and says that anyone looking to start their own should make mental goals as well.

"If you make it all about the physical, it’s going to get overwhelming and frustrating, you’re going to lose patience, and you’re going to fall back into bad habits," he says. "But if you tie in things that help you make changes in your lifestyle, the physical stuff kind of falls into place."

If you only prioritize exercise, the other things in your life—like friendships or relationships—might not get the attention they need, he says. In other words, find a fitness routine that you love and can stick to, but you always need that something else.