Preperation is key

A field where a lot of people go wrong when it comes to gym training is preparation. This could be from anything between planning their workouts or even what meals they are.

So for me planning my workouts really depends on when I go, If I go first thing in the morning then I will plan or have a brief plan of what I'm going to do the night before, possibly watch some videos on YouTube to help motivate me for that session. But If I am at work and go to the gym after, then I will plan throughout the day.

Meals are another thing you could consider. Maybe before you do your weekly food shop, write down a meal plan for the week so you know what to buy and that way it will save you buying stuff you don't need.

Tomorrows leg session:

• Squats - 7 sets of 10 reps - including some drop sets
• Seated leg press 5 sets of 21 reps - 7 reps on different angles hitting each quad muscle
• Leg extension - 6 sets of 10 reps - including drop sets
• Dumbbell squat - 5 sets of 10 reps
• Dumbbell sumo squat - 5 sets of 10 reps
• Straight leg deadlift- 5 sets of 10 reps
• Lunges - 5 sets of 10 reps
• Leg curls - 5 sets of 10 reps
• Calf raises - 6 sets of 10 reps

Fitness Tips

Here are a few fitness tips to help with your training and push you closer towards your goals.

• Progressive overload - Gradually build yourself up and improve slightly each time to see results. To build strength you are going to want to gradually increase the weight slightly each time. To build size you want to increase the amount of sets you do as well as the weight. You can also build your endurance and to do so you could increase the reps, lower the weight and decrease your rest time.
• Plan ahead - Plan ahead, set yourself fitness goals, daily, weekly and monthly goals that are reachable. Also plan what you are going to do at the gym that day, don't go there and struggle to think of exercises.
• Workout partner - Struggle for motivation? well get yourself a workout partner and then they can help push you to success. The same goes for them when they are not motivated, you push them. Having a partner helps you push past your limits and it encourages quicker results.
• Sauna for results - If you have a sauna at your gym then get in there after your workout. The dry heat helps flush out toxins such as lactic acid that built up during exercise. But not only that, it helps relax the muscles after a good hard session.

Let me know some of your fitness tips, what you do to stay in shape and I'll be sure to get back to you

Switching routine ... AGAIN!!

So I'm finding myself slacking in the gym a little, not hitting my goals, lacking motivation. I find that the best way for this is to go back to my Legs/Push/Pull split routine as I found that with this routine I was more motivated then ever and was seeing results fast.

This time round I am going to be going harder then before making sure I hit my goals each month. The way I am going to do this is change the routine each time but then go back to it and repeat this for a month and then change that workout the following month. For example for my leg day, one day will be squats and the other will be deadlifts and just repeat this for a month and then change it. Supersets and drop sets will be included and on a de-load day (lighter weights higher reps) I will include circuits onto my workout to really hit those muscles and keep them guessing.

I will be posting up more workouts and my nutrition plan so keep posted, more coming your way.

Deskercise ... Part 1

So my sister has been nagging me for days now about exercises that can be done at your work desk. Well here you go sister. I have come up with a few exercises that can be performed at work, so for those who say they struggle for time because of work.... Give this a go.

Exercise	Explanation	Picture
Seated calf raise	While sat down at your desk perform calf raises. Pretend that you are going onto your tip toes. Hold the tip toe motion for 3-5 seconds and then relax. Repeat this for 15 repetitions.
Wall Sit	Go up to the wall and place your back against it and go into a seated position as shown in the picture. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds and then repeat another 2 times.
Chair tricep dips	Place your hands on your chair and have your legs bent in front of you as shown in the picture.    Now sink your butt down until your tricep (top of the arm) is at a 90 degree angle. Then bring yourself back up. Repeat this for 10 repetitions.
Shrugs	While sat down in your chair perform shrugs. It’s a nice simple exercise and all you have to do is shrug your shoulders. Now the best way to do this is to this exercise is to try and make your shoulders touch your ears. Now do not worry if you can’t do that just go as far as you can go. Perform this till you reach 15 repetitions.
Jog on the spot	Now to finish this off how about a nice jog. Well not literally just leave the office for a jog, just a quick jog on the spot. Just hop out of your chair and jog on the spot for 30 seconds .

Once you have completed these exercise once, go through it twice more if you have time and try to perform this routine at least 2-3 times a week. It can make work much more fun and even more fun if you and your colleagues perform it altogether. To help with the exercise make sure you are drinking plenty of water. On a standard 8 hour day at work, try to have a minimum of 5 glasses and maximum of 10.

Stay posted as part 2 to deskercise will be posted, which will include more exercises, stretches and also nutrition.

Changing up my routine

So today I thought I'd give myself a rest from the gym and not go back until Monday and when I do go back, I come back with a new routine. It's not down to the fact I don't like the routine but I want to change in order to keep those muscles guessing to get the best results.

Iv gone for a simple routine and one that most people follow.

• Monday - Chest and Back
• Tuesday - Legs and abs
• Wednesday - Shoulders and abs
• Thursday - Chest 
• Friday - Arms

Now Iv got chest in my routine twice a week. The reason why chest is in the routine twice a week is because I find that it is one of my weak areas. You should do the same, whatever your weak area is try to hit it twice a week and then once you find that it is not so much of a weak area, choose another body part to work on more. See for me I have a few weak areas so I'm going to concentrate on them for probably about a month each before I change what weak area I am working next.

I will keep you posted from Monday onwards on how I find the routine is going.

Stay tuned for more fitness and nutrition tips.

Push Day

In this post I am going to explain one of my other workouts push day aka chest, shoulders and triceps. It is probably my favourite day out of the legs/push/pull split and it probably is for most of you as well because everybody loves working their chest. And if you’re doing this legs/push/pull split as I do, then you get to work your chest twice a week, can’t complain to that right?

Anyway more on to this subject about talking about this routine. I start the day off with chest, not just because I love working my chest, but because I can work my shoulders and triceps as well. Always start with your weak points when working a muscle group, so for me when working chest my weak point is my upper chest. But also my anterior deltoid (front deltoid) is another weak point so I get to work both of these muscles.  I mix up how many reps I do in each set so I can really hit those muscle fibres.  So for me I will choose a weight I can hit 10 reps with have a 60 second rest and hit the next set but this set will be selecting a heavy weight that I can only get 4-6 reps out of. On my last set I will do a light/medium weight that I can get 15-20 reps out of just to finish off that muscle.

 At the bottom of this post will be a table showing my workout, feel free to give it a try and edit it so that it suits you because we all know that one workout doesn't suit all people.

Feel free to comment with any recommendations on exercises or if you have any questions just leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Incline bench press	5	Set 1 – 10 Set 2 – 4-6 Set 3 – 10 Set 4 – 4-6 Set 5 – 15-20
Flat Bench Press	5	Set 1 – 10 Set 2 – 4-6 Set 3 – 10 Set 4 – 4-6 Set 5 – 15-20
Tricep dips	4	10
Shoulder Press Dumbbell	4	10
Lateral raise	6	10
Front Raise	5	10
Skullcrushers	4	10
Tricep Pushdown	4	10