Back to business

Sorry guys that I haven't been making any posts, been so busy with college and it was also my birthday yesterday so have not been around that much. But don't worry I am back.

Just ordered some more GymShark clothing. In my opinion the best gym clothing out there I would really recommend it they do all kinds of stuff, stringers, tanks, t shirts, tracksuits, shorts even their own underwear and phone cases. If you haven't purchased anything I think you should. They are even getting female gym clothing in the near future. So a big shoutout to them.

So now back to the training side of things. Iv missed two of my sessions this weekend due to it being my birthday and not being around but will be coming in strong tomorrow with a heavy leg session.

I'm going to be putting on a variety of different posts over the next couple months all linked with fitness. But where I am still studying I am learning a great deal of things, plus I will be getting two clients to train in the near future to finish off my personal trainer course, so all my session I put up will be showing their progress as well as mine.

On my bulking transformation it is going really well, still hitting them gains, no plateau as of yet and hopefully not at all.
Anyways guys that's it from me, more posts soon. Thanks. 

Subscribe to me on YouTube

So I'm starting to get into the YouTube business and I'm looking to post videos on there aswell as blog on here. I have 2 videos up already which I will leave the link to. Subscribe to my channel and over this weekend I will make some more videos for you to enjoy.
Leave a comment let me know what you want me to post a video about (fitness related)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_4KR_uxYMw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18xiI6lz7vg

Check them out these are my current videos one on my supplement stack the other on the pre workout I am currently using.

Day 18 of transformation

So we are past the half way mark into my first month of my bulking transformation. Starting to notice some slight gains in my legs and a major increase in strength. Some point over the weekend I will put my training programme down and will also include some nutrition meals so stay tuned for that.

Push day tomorrow the best day, will be hitting that chest hard as I'm really looking to develop it much further.

Also again just a quick shoutout for my man Oakley who is competing in a physique of the week competition for bodypower and can use all the support. Follow this link and click like on Oakleys picture he is number 10 out of all these pictures. Remember he is only 17 and has a great physique for his age which can only get better. Make every vote count to ensure he wins. Link is below
http://physiqueoftheweek.com/fitness-competition/

shoutout for Oakley

So my friend Oakley has entered a competition for bodypower and would love for all your support. Everybody go on this link and vote for Oakley http://physiqueoftheweek.com/fitness-competition
He is only 17 approaching 18 in February and already has developed a great physique.

Day 2/3 of transformation

Sorry guys I forgot day 2 of my transformation but today I will post yesterdays and today's progress.

So yesterday was my first training session of this transformation and it was a leg day, not the best day to start the transformation but I went through with it and really had a good session. My routine went like this:

• 10 minute warm up on the bike - followed by some stretches
• 5 sets of 10 reps  - squats
• 5 sets of 21 reps - seated leg press - 7 reps with feet in different position - hit different areas
• 5 sets of 8-10 reps - leg extension
• 4 sets of 10 reps - straight leg deadlift
• 4 sets of 8 reps - lunges - 8 reps each leg
• 3 sets of 8 reps - leg curl
• 5 sets of 12 reps - calf raises

Nutrition wise for this day I was just off my calorie intake by 200 but managed to get my protein in and was 80 grams off my carb intake.

For today, day 3, was a push day now this is my favourite as I love working my chest and going heavy this session went like this.

• 5 sets of 10 reps - incline bench press - including some dropsets
• 5 sets of 10 reps - flat bench press
• 4 sets of 10 reps - incline dumbbell flies
• 6 sets of 10 reps - cable crossovers
• 4 sets of 10 reps - dumbbell shoulder press
• 6 sets of 10 reps - lateral raises - including some drop sets
• 5 sets of 10 reps - front raises
• 4 sets of 10 reps - tricep pushdown
• 4 sets of 10 reps - tricep dips
• 4 sets of 10 reps - skullcrushers

Give these sessions a try and let me know what you think. Don't forget to make it intense and if you have any questions don't be shy ask me them.

At the end of the week I will put a detailed plan of my nutrition for this week. 

Day 4 tomorrow and its a pull day so looking forward to that.

Day 1 transformation

So here it is day one of my mass gain transformation. I'm looking to gain around 5-10 kg and then cut down. Follow me on this journey as I will be posting my nutrition plan for day by day and my training programme. I will be sticking to the legs/push/pull split but will be changing things each week such as the rep tempo to really work them muscles and increase size very quickly. I will be taking pictures every 10 days but may only put pictures up each month depending on how quickly results start to come in.
Leg day tomorrow so I will be posting my session and tomorrow I will also post my nutrition plan for the day so stay tuned and remember if you are following me on this journey take pics and comment with the link to show me your progress.

Back to business

So I hope you al had a good weekend, but it's Monday again and for me it's time to bump up the intensity and hit those legs. Legs are not my favourite muscle to work and to have to work them on a Monday is a killer but we got to do what we got to do. 

I'm just about to head over to the gym now so I'm just going to give you a quick plan of what I am doing.

30 reps 4 sets of seated leg press

12 reps 4 sets leg extensions

12 reps 4 sets leg curl

10 reps 4 sets dumbbell squat

15 reps 4 sets of calf raises

Then I am going to finish off with a quick and blast for about 10-15 minutes where I will really try and work that core.

So if your at the gym today comment and let me know what your workout plan for today is, whether it's doing cardio or weights.

Quote of the day

Force yourself out the door, once your out, that's the hardest part of the workout over and done with.

It's the weekend

So it is the weekend again but I hope you are all keeping fit still, but  if its your rest day then relax, put your feet up you've worked hard throughout the week so treat yourself. But don't forget to count your macros, have a chest meal if you must but remember, next week is only round the corner so you'll have to work it off. 

For those who aren't resting this weekend let me know your plans, what your routine is for this weekend, leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you.

YouTube for inspiration and motivation

How do you find your inspiration and motivation? Do you find it in a magazine, through a film, a person in your life? Or are you like me and find it through YouTube?

YouTube is probably for me personally the best way to stay motivated, it has tons and tons of videos that you can watch to help push you further in the gym. See for me I like watching Matt Ogus, Steve Cook, Nick Wright and Jeff Seid. Any familiar faces there?

I love watching them before a workout, especially on days that I'm not feeling like going to the gym. It just makes me want to be at the gym straight away. For me, their lifestyle is how I want mine to be, have the time and money to be able to go to the gym, then chill and get your macros in. But hey not all of us have that kind of time but we have to make do and enjoy what we have got.

Leave a comment and let me know what keeps you motivated, what's your YouTube inspiration.

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

Time to focus

So it's almost time to go back to college for my final year in hope to become a certified personal trainer and sports injury specialist. This just means only one thing, time to focus and kick start what I'm hoping to be my career. Not only am I going to really focus on my college work but also focus on training, nutrition and also my blog. So be prepared to see more posts of training and meal plans and maybe even some videos on preparing meals. If you have any questions then don't be afraid to ask them and I will reply straight away.

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.

Weight loss tip

I can't give you an instant cure for losing weight, I mean if their was so many businesses would of shut down by now. But instead I can give you a guide that you can follow to promote weight loss. If you follow these steps on a day by day basis I can guarantee results.

• Drink water and cut fizzy drinks - Water is by far one of the most important things in promoting weight loss and by far a lot of the population do not consume enough water. A lot of the time when you are or may think you are hungry, you're in fact not hungry but thirsty, but people seem to think food fills the hole. Get 8-12 cups a day people. Cut the fizzy drinks and try to minimize drinking squash as these are all filled with sugar and seem to leave you with that sticky mouth, this makes you drink more of these sugar products so you are getting a lot of calories in there.
• Enjoy the gym - You got to love going to the gym or committing yourself to some sort of exercise if you want to lose weight. You can't just change your diet to see major results, yes you may lose some weight but you can't just eat all this food, live the healthy lifestyle without being active. Get to the gym, workout at home or go for a run, burn the calories see some results, even if it is for half hour a day. You keep that up and within a couple months you will see amazing results.
• Set targets - A lot of people say they want to look like this, lose this much weight but they have no clue on how to get there. Set yourself weekly,monthly and yearly goals. Without goals, how do you know how you are going to reach these goals. Also setting goals/targets you are giving yourself the discipline you need in order to be successful.
• Remove the junk food - Eliminating junk food from your diet is key. Replacing a bar of chocolate for a greek yoghurt as such for a snack is not only a healthy option, but you are cutting out so many calories and sugars. Yes eating healthy is not the cheap option but it is by far the better option. People eat junk food as a comfort thing, but if you get into the habit of snacking on healthy foods, you will enjoy looking at the person in the mirror and seeing them numbers on the scales.

These things are guidelines but they are results proven guidelines. You can enhance them yourselves or comment ask me any questions on weight loss and I will make sure I answer them for you.

Thanks.

Boulder Shoulders

Shoulders. Shoulders. Shoulders, one of the key muscles to be worked for that V shaped body. In this topic I am going to talk about some exercises that are really going to help build your shoulders up to look like bowling balls.

So what's the key. Well for a start you've actually got to work them. A lot of people neglect shoulders, I know I was one of them, or they don't push themselves on the intensity scale, I know I was one of them. But I have been training properly for a year now and I have learnt a great deal on the way.

So what exercises shall I do? Well in all honesty you don't have to do many exercises to get big shoulders, just perform five to six sets on each exercise making sure you make it's intense.

• Exercise one is a standard dumbbell shoulder press. Now with this exercise I do as a pyramid set. Now for those who don't know what that is, you do a number of sets starting from the lightest weight going up to the heaviest, say 16kg up until 24kg, and then you go back down starting from the heaviest to the lightest. I do six sets going up in weight and six sets going down weight so it is pretty intense stuff.
• The next main focus should be hitting your side deltoid. Now the most effective exercise is dumbbell lateral raises. With this you should perform with a moderate weight that you can get maximum of 10 reps out of and perform six sets of this exercise.
• Shrugs is the third exercise, yes I know that this works the trapezius muscles located on your back but where it sits on top of your shoulders everybody includes shrugs on their shoulder day. Now for this exercise I perform again six sets but on a heavy weight that I can get maximum 12 reps out of and on them last couple reps, make sure you squeeze them traps towards your ears and really focus on that contraction.
• Front raise is the final exercise. Now for this again you want a moderate weight that you can hit ten reps with and that you are controlling the weight rather then swinging. I perform five sets of ten reps and is a great way to really burn them deltoids at the end of your session.

Now I have made it a short session for the beginners but you can add in more exercises if you want, but give this session a go and let me know how you get on with it. Now remember you want to make it as intense as possible, so if you haven't broken a sweat by the end, it wasn't that intense.  

Quote of the day

The first wealth is health.

Workout partner for great results

In this post I am going to be talking about having a workout parter, what makes a good workout parter and the positives and also the negatives. I myself has just recently got a workout partner and you really do notice an enhancement to your workout.

But what really does make a good workout parter? Well you want someone who comes to the gym to get on with the workout, not someone who will constantly talk and put you off what you are doing. When your weight training, someone who not only pushes you and hit them last reps, but someone who knows it's their set and gets on with the workout.

The positives:

• More motivation - be able to push each other when it gets tough which is always key.
• Spotter - You will have someone there to push you through those last reps.
• Enjoy the gym - Having someone to go with may make you enjoy going more.

The negatives:

• Distraction - You may get distracted by your partner and take your focus off working hard.

So just remember a gym partner is not an essential thing, but if you lack motivation or just generally feel alone in the gym, then get yourself a gym partner to enhance your results.

Count your macros not calories

A lot of people when dieting count the calories they are consuming rather than what they are actually putting in their body. It has been proven that you are more likely to lose weight or gain size but counting the macros that are going into your body.

So what are macros? Macros is a short term for macronutrients. You will here a lot of people into their fitness say macros though. Macros is fats, carbs and proteins. 

The reason why counting macros is better is because you get an accurate reading on what you are consuming. Whereas counting calories you could eat rubbish to hit your calorie goal.

I'm going to use an example of the picture I have below to explain a little bit more. Carbs, the total to hit in one day is 481g with 40g being fibre and 70g being sugars. Now all you have to do is hit these totals, this is the same for fats and proteins. Using myfitnesspal is a great resource because you can scan the foods you are eating and the app does the rest for you. You can even go online and use it but type in what you ate, search for it and all the nutritional info comes with it.

What should you do if you go over? Now if you go over by not a lot say 20g of protein, just have a little bit less than required the following day. Going over can be easily done but once you get the hang of counting macros you will find your a lot stricter with your diet and you will start to see results.

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.

Creatine

So there is a lot of questions and studies towards the supplement creatine and in this post I am going to  give you an insight on what creatine is, when should you take it and how much should you take.

So to begin with you are going to want to know what creatine is. There are different types of creatine but for this topic I am going to be talking about creatine mono hydrate as it is the most popular on the market. Creatine is naturally stored within our body and helps to produce/breakdown energy. Now how this does this is through ATP. ATP is energy and what creatine does is help increase the muscles ability to resynthesize ATP to increase energy demands. Taking creatine at the right amount will allow you to get them extra 2-3 reps in the gym to increase muscle mass and size.

How much should you take and when is the best time to take it? 

While taking creatine you want to take about 3-5g a day and take it everyday to see results. A lot of companies say to have a loading phase where you take 3-5g 3-4 times a day, well you don't need to. This is just a way for companies to get you to use up all their product and buy it again rather quickly. Just make sure when you take creatine make sure you drink 8 or so cups of water to make sure it flushes through your body. You can take creatine whenever you want, for me I have it with my post workout shake so it can't get straight to work on repairing. A lot of people will have it with their ore workout, that's fine it's up to you when you take it. 

So I have pretty much just covered the basics on creatine, it is the most used product in the industry and I recommend this for anyone trying to add size as it really helps your muscles go to them last reps. In the picture below is the creatine I'm currently taking. It's a micronised creatine so it is broken down even more so it can get into the system quicker. It's not the cheapest creatine but definitely not the most expensive. I picked this up for £13 and it serves its purpose. I only buy optimum nutrition products because they work for me. You may not agree its all down to what works for you. 

Any questions feel free to comment. 

Thanks.