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.

Time to cut some fat

Wanting to lose that stubborn fat? Well in this post I am going to show you  a brief nutrition plan that will cut the fat in no time at all and transform yourself completely.

So to begin with on your fat burning transformation, what you need to do is take a picture of yourself in minimum amount of clothing. The best way to see progress in a picture, why? Because the scales can put many people down.

So here is a brief nutrition plan that will help you burn fat. On another post I will put a fitness programme to help burn fat.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
7AM BREAKFAST	.2 scrambled egg .2 slices lean bacon .1 slice wholemeal toast. .1 apple .Water	.1 bowl of all bran (with semi skimmed milk .1 banana .tea or coffee	.Hot breakfast burrito .Tea or coffee	.Lean bacon sandwich .1 apple .tea or coffee	.1 bowl of all bran with semi skimmed milk .1 banana .2 oat cakes with peanut butter	.Hot breakfast burrito .1 apple .Water .Tea or coffee	.1 bowl of all bran with semi skimmed milk .1 banana .2 oat cakes with peanut butter .tea or coffee
10AM MORNING SNACK	.1 banana .Water	.Celery sticks .Water	.Blueberries .250g low fat yoghurt .Water	.Handfull blueberries .2 dairylea triangles .Water	.30g almonds .1 apple .Water	.Handful of blueberries .250g low fat yoghurt .Water	.1 apple with peanut butter
1PM LUNCH	.Turkey, Roasted red pepper sandwich .Tea or water	.Chicken breast wrap with salad. .Green tea .1 apple	.Leftover chilli .Low fat coleslaw .Water	.Peanut butter, wholemeal sandwich .green tea	.Prawn pasta salad .Green tea	.Bacon,lettuce,tomato sandwich with low fat mayonnaise .Water	.Prawn pasta salad .Green tea
4PM ARFTERNOON SNACK	.Handfull of red grapes .30g almonds .Water	.Handful blueberries .Water	.30g almonds .Green tea	.Raw carrot slices .Hummus dip .Water	.Handful trail mix .Water	Raw baby carrots .Hummus .Water	.Celery sticks .Low fat cream cheese .Water
7PM DINNER	.Spicy sea bass .Asparagus .Red grapes .Green tea	.Easy chilli .Low fat coleslaw .Water	.Spicy sea bass .Carrots and broccoli .Water	.Grilled salmon .broccoli and green beans Green tea	.Greek style stuffed chicken .Garden salad	.Grilled salmon .Garden salad .Green tea	.Greek style stuffed chicken .Broccoli and carrots .Water
9PM NIGHT TIME SNACK	Green tea .1 banana	.Sorbet	.Red grapes	.Handful trail mix .Water	.Green tea .Sorbet	.Handful of grapes .Water	.Handful trail mix

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.

A quick and easy breakfast

Looking for a quick and simple way to make breakfast? Well you have come to the right place because I am going to show you a really easy recipe that I found and use quite a lot now and it is the 'Hot Breakfast Burrito'. I love eating burritos but I'm not the biggest breakfast fan but eating this is a treat. Takes around 5-10 minutes to make and the ingredients you need are:

• 1-2 large wholemeal tortilla
• 2 large eggs
• Small handful of cheddar
• 1 chopped tomato 
• 2 table spoons of salsa 

Now to make this breakfast

• Place the tortilla on the chopping board 
• Scramble the eggs
• Add the scrambled egg to the tortilla and then place the cheese, tomato and salsa and then fold the tortilla as you would for a burrito
• If you want to grill the wrap to make it crispy then do so for around 2 minutes.

And there you have it a nice easy dish and for one serving is 319 calories, 16g protein, 28g carbs, 14g fat (4g saturated) 2g fibre.

Stay tuned for more recipes. 

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.

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.