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/

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.

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

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.

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.

Green tea for great results.

If your looking for a cheap product to help lose weight then green tea is the one for you. Not just weight loss as the end result, but there are plenty of other benefits and is why I recommend this product to anyone.

So lets start on the weight loss benefits. Green tea increases your metabolism which promotes fat loss. Now how this does that is by making the fat oxidation work harder which also means calories are going to burn quicker and this is how fat loss is increased.

Other benefits with drinking green tea include:

• Skincare - It has been mentioned that green tea can help with wrinkles and ageing.
• Depression - Green tea contains an amino acid which provides a relaxing effect.
• Diabetes - Green tea keeps the glucose levels nice and slow. This means that the sugar levels stay low after eating.

So there is just a few of the benefits with green tea and there are a whole lot more in which can promote a much healthier lifestyle. 

How much should I drink a day?

Studies have not shown a guaranteed amount to drink in order to see results, but you should try to have about 2-5 cups a day. You can pick up a box of 20 or so tea bags in your local supermarket very cheap and is a great way to look after yourself.

 

Nutrition

A key thing to fitness and keeping healthy is having good nutrition. Getting the right amount of calories, protein, carbs and fats are key to living the healthy lifestyle. Vitamins and minerals are also another big factor as they help with keeping your body functioning properly.

But the thing is, is everybody following or know what good nutrition is? There are a lot of diets out there which has been researched to help lose weight or even just living the healthy lifestyle. But the big problems to a lot of these diets is the cost. Here in the UK eating healthy is not the cheap option and people go for the more unhealthy option and that's why obesity is a problem.

But is it really that expensive? In my opinion I find that yes the prices for eating healthy are on the expensive side but these prices you pay are not just for one meal. For example buying a pack of whole grain rice or a pack of chicken breast or even your fruit and vegetables; there not there for one meal, they come in packs with a fairly high price because they are there to last longer than one meal.

Keep posted as I will be publishing on quick and easy healthy meals and will be going through my day to day fitness that will suit those who want to pack on mass or even keep lean. And stay in touch as I will be posting videos on my YouTube channel.

Feel free to comment and ask me any questions.