Over the past month or so, I've had various requests from people for a bodyweight workout. That is, completely cardio, no weights and high intensity. Basically, if you're too self conscious to join the gym, or don't like the atmospheres of gyms, or for most people its just that they don't have time to go to the gym with busy lifestyles. I decided to take some former knowledge and structures and use them to create a home workout. All you need for this particular routine is anywhere between 10-30 minutes of your time depending on how many times you'd like to repeat the circuit (Personally I'd aim to repeat it 2-3 times) and a decent (but not too large) amount of space. I do a similar, higher intensity workout to this in boxing and from personal experience I can tell you that it shreds fat and rips and cuts your muscles in ways that you wouldn't believe, but you've got to stick at it! With regard to the amount of times to do this workout a week, I'd recommend 3-5 times, maybe do it in the morning before you have to go to work, school, university etc. It would definitely be an amazing way to energise and kick start your day. This workout is suitable for anyone, its an entry level workout and its easily made more intense; and the best part about that is, the limits to which you can go with regard to intensity are endless. This workout will work all of your body, but it is especially good for core. If you've got that annoying body fat around your midsection that just won't seem to shift, this will definitely do the trick! Oh, you'll also need some form of stopwatch (phone, ipod, computer etc.) Anyway, enough introductions and lets get down to the workout.
30 Seconds Running on the spot
20 Seconds High knees
20 Seconds Heel Flicks (Flicking your heels towards your glutes, almost a running motion)
10 Seconds sprinting on the spot
30 seconds high knees
10 seconds running
15 seconds sprinting on spot
10 Tuck Jumps (Jump into the air, tucking your legs up beneath you)
10 Star Jumps
10 Seconds Running on the spot
10 Squat Thrusts (Begin in a press up position, thrust your knees towards your chest before returning to the start position)
10 Press Ups
10 Crunches
20 Seconds High knees
20 seconds heel flicks
10 Squats
10 Dorsal Raises (Lie on your front, place your hands by your head and proceed to raise your chest from the floor before returning to start position)
10 Burpees (Same premise as a squat thrust, but after thrusting your knees forward, change into a standing position, then back to the start position)
20 Seconds Running on the spot
30 seconds high knees
10 seconds sprint
20 seconds high knees
15 seconds sprint
Okay so there's your circuit. Anyone interested in a higher intensity version of that, just get in touch with me (details below) Realistically, one run through of the circuit should take you 10-15 minutes depending on how fast you're willing to go. Obviously its better to perform these exercises fast to keep the intensity high and therefore maximise the calories burned and fat lost. Also, if you own a skipping rope, I'd recommend that you did some skipping to warm up for the circuit. Try doing 2 minute rounds with 30 seconds rest in between. The best idea would be to do around 3-5 rounds of this (Skipping is great for your core, so if you haven't got a skipping rope/don't know how to skip - now is the time to buy one and learn!
Hope this proves useful for people and that some give it a go because it really is a fantastic workout, and its even better when modified to a higher intensity. So if you'd like to give me any feedback on this post, whether its requesting the more intense version of this workout or even just some general comments and suggestions; everything is welcome! You can find me on Twitter - @Wrighty__ Facebook - www.facebook.com/wrightyx or alternatively just leave a comment under this post. I look forward to any feedback that people may have. So until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits,
Alex.
Health, Fitness, Sport; and everything in between.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Friday, 23 November 2012
Building Muscle and Shedding Fat
When looking to make a change in their body, most people opt for either shedding fat, or building muscle. It's definitely possible to do both, but it involves a lot of patience and careful planning. The main thing to remember is to maintain a solid balance between your cardio and weight sessions. In addition to this you have to remember to eat right (this doesn't matter as much if you have a relatively low body fat content. To do something as extreme as this definitely requires a huge lifestyle change, but if you're truly passionate about reaching your goals then you'll be willing to change your approach for the best results. Some may disagree that its impossible to shed fat without losing muscle; while this may be true in some cases, in my own case I've found that its possible to maintain your muscle and gain some whilst shedding your fat. I've decided that instead of outlining vague principles for people to interpret themselves - I'm just going to outline the plan that I'm sticking to at the moment with some nutritional advice and hopefully some of you may trust me enough to give it a try, especially if you're looking for goals similar to mine. The whole idea behind this plan is to gain lean muscle rather than just bulk and then have to go through the 'cutting' stage and also if you've got a higher fat content - it cuts fat off like no other plan that I've tried.
The whole premise for my muscle gain plan came from a workout split that I found from Terry Crews' Expendables workout; however only the split itself has been lifted from there. The exercises themselves have been chosen by myself. I also use what he refers to as 'The 24s' to warm up rather than cardio. This is purely because I now separate my cardio and weight training completely, allowing my body to focus on one goal at a time. With regards to my cardio, mine usually comes in the form of high intensity cardio through boxing on two evenings a week, and two hours of hockey - therefore I make sure to get my weight training done early in the day, and perform my cardio in the evenings. Anyway, enough of the introductions - lets get down to the plan itself!
24's Warmup - Perform this warm up before every session. Treat these exercises as a circuit, perform 6 reps on each exercise before moving on to the next. Maximum of one minute between circuits - perform all with a straight bar (begin with a low weight if you have to, make sure you're getting the correct form. You can find this warm up on Youtube in Terry Crews' Expendables workout.
Upright Row
Clean and Press
Romanian Deadlift
Jump Squats
Monday - Shoulders
Alternating Dumbbell Front and Lateral Raises - 3 sets, 12 reps (Where 1 rep is considered the combination of both the Lateral and front raise)
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3 sets, rep to failure
Dumbbell Shrugs - 3 sets, 15-20 reps
Bent Over Low-Pulley Side Lateral - 3 Sets, Failure
Rear Delt Flyes - 3 Sets, Failure
Barbell Upright Row (EZ Curl Bar) - 3 Sets, Failure
Evening Cardio - Boxing
Tuesday - Back and Arms
Barbell Row - 4 Sets, Failure
Lat Pulldown - 4 Sets, Failure
Hammer Strength Row - 3 sets, 12 reps
Wide Grip Pull Ups - 3 Sets, 10 Reps
Incline Prone Row on Bench (Dumbbells) - 3 Sets, 12 reps
Bicep Curls - 3 Drop sets, Failure
Tricep Pushdowns - 3 Drop Sets, Failure
Hammer Curls - 2 Sets, 12 Reps
Evening Cardio - Hockey
Wednesday - Strictly Cardio Day (Boxing)
Thursday - Chest and Arms
Bench Press (Normal Grip) - 3 Sets, Failure
Wide Grip Bench Press - 1 Set, Failure
Incline Bench Press - 1 Set, Failure
Decline Bench Press - 1 Set, Failure
Chest Flyes Machine - 3 Sets, 12 reps
Press Ups - 2 Sets - 20 reps
Close Hand Press Ups - 2 sets, 15 reps
Tricep Extensions (Machine) - 3 Sets, 12 reps
Bicep Curls - 3 Drop sets, failure
Tricep Pushdowns - 3 Drop sets, failure
Friday - Legs
Squats with Barbell - 4 sets to failure, increasing weight with each set
Bent Legged Deadlifts - 4 Sets to failure
Calf Raise Machine - 3 sets to failure
Leg Press - 3 Sets, failure
Leg extension machine - 2 sets, failure
Leg curl machine - 2 sets, failure
Hack Squat (Machine) - 2 sets to failure, increase weight each set
Okay, so that's the breakdown of my workout split so far. I get almost all of my core training from the 24's warmup, big compound exercises and mostly boxing. I also like to throw in some core work at the end of a workout, possibly through a Plank, incline situps, roll outs etc. Feel free to add those in at your own discretion. With regard to nutrition; I still intermittently fast once a week, whilst keeping my calories low on another day. The other days of the week I basically try to keep my calories well within 1750 and try to keep my fat levels as low as possible. I now mostly eat a lot of veg (broccoli, carrots, onion etc.), Different types of fruit, Cous Cous as my main carbohydrate, chicken as my main source of protein, eggs, and of course a protein shake after every heavy session. I try not to live by a strict eating plan, I just try to monitor the things that I eat, and so far it has seemed to pay off. Basically the best advice that I can give anyone is just to get smart about the foods that you're eating, work out what the healthier foods are; and eat the things that you prefer from that list. Also, make sure that you're keeping your water intake high every day.
Well I hope that this information has been useful to someone and I welcome any feedback whatsoever that people have to give. It would also help if people do decide to try this plan if they let me know and compare notes with myself as its a plan that I'll be sticking to for a few more weeks. If you want to get in touch with me you can either leave a comment under this post, find me on Twitter - @Wrighty__ or even find me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/Wrightyx. Please don't hesitate to get back to me with any feedback, even if its about another post or just the blog in general, I love hearing from people about this blog! Until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits
Alex.
Friday, 16 November 2012
False Advertising and 'Wonder' Products
I'm going to kick this post off by again apologising for the lack of activity in the blog; the reason for this is that I've been training so much lately that between that and my uni work, I haven't really had time to get any material out. However now I'm more used to my schedule I'll try and keep the posts coming regularly and hopefully continue to be of some use to people. Anyway lets get on with this post, I've seen a lot of things flying around the internet lately about diet and weight loss secrets; wonder products and the list goes on.
An advert that I see way too much is some bullshit transformation secrets with before and after pictures. They promise to share their secrets with you if you pay them - what good Samaritans they are. Personally I find it an insult to people like myself that work damn hard to meet their targets and achieve their goals that some website can just appear and promise some instant results with just a few little secrets which are most probably either unrealistic, ineffective, or the same information that you can get anywhere else for free. If you were to come to me and ask me directly about the secrets to transforming your body I'd tell you the same motto that I've stuck to since starting to train myself seriously. The only 'secrets' to getting your body into the shape that you want are blood, sweat and tears, in other words - hard work.
Take a look at all of the top athletes, and even just the people that you may see in your gym - they all got to where they are because they worked hard to learn the ins and outs of fitness and exercise, and worked even harder to put that information into practice. Anyone that puts everything they've got into achieving their goals is a person that you should respect. Don't mess around with the scams and the cons. The harsh reality is that if you're willing to pay a source that you know nothing about in return for weight loss just shows that you're lazy. You haven't got the right mentality and mindset to really achieve the goals that you want. Now although you may lack that mentality, its not impossible to achieve. The moment that you commit yourself fully to your dreams, is the moment that your success is guaranteed. Once you've got that down then its only a matter of time until you're hitting targets and edging closer to your final goal.
If you think about it, the only base secret to achieving the body you want is that you're the only one standing in your way. I'm by no means saying that you have to hit the gym constantly to achieve these goals; a lot of people that I know hate going to the gym; they get their exercise in ways that they enjoy. Find something that you enjoy doing and you'll stick to it - whether its competitive sport, training in the gym with a friend, or even just going running from time to time; every bit of effort that you put in brings you a step closer to your goals. So please, don't fall for the ads - they just want your money and they're not going to tell you anything that you don't already know; all the information that you want to find will be available for free somewhere. I myself am more than happy to help anyone out as long as they're serious about what they want to achieve. Sources such as Fitness Made Ez (Links to his pages can be found at the bottom of this post) and The Hodgetwins/TwinMuscleWorkout provide some amazing free information, and there's countless other places to find good, trustworthy info. However, if you're going to start anywhere; I'd strongly suggest starting with those guys.
The other thing that I wanted to talk about are the 'wonder' products that are being spewed onto the internet left, right and centre. Supposed diet pills and products designed to help you gain ridiculous amounts of muscle in a short space of time. There's not much to say on the muscle building side of things, apart from the fact that to gain an unbelievable amount of muscle in just a few weeks; you'd have to take steroids. I understand that professional bodybuilders take steroids for competition's sake - anyone else is going to sign their own death warrant through steroid abuse; because believe it or not they will kill you eventually, and sadly it will be slow and painful. The real problem that I have however, are with the diet and weight loss pills. The answer to losing weight healthily and keeping it off is being dedicated to your exercise regime and really being smart about what you eat. A popular scam these days is that of the Acai berry tablets - there is no way in hell that a berry can make you lose weight automatically with no effort (unless its poisonous and makes you lose weight through illness). Relying on a product to do the hard work that you should be doing yourself is pointless because you'll be disappointed when no results are shown. Things like 'Adios' and SlimFast are widely advertised and sold; yet people are under many illusions as to their purpose and how to use them. For example, Adios themselves stated that the pills ' Combined with a calorie-controlled diet and exercise' will show results. To me this just begs the question - what the hell is the point in taking these tablets if you have to change your lifestyle completely anyway? Chances are that your lifestyle change will show the results and the supplement will take all the credit for it. That's how you generate the ill informed positive feedback and results.
Don't assume that there aren't products that can help you out there. I myself currently take Warrior Blaze; and with a decent diet and routine, it definitely helps. I know this because I've tried training with and without it - although I saw results when not taking it, the best results came when I coupled it with my training and used it as it was really supposed to be used. Take it from me - Warrior are a trustworthy, cost effective and generally pleasant company to do business with and I'd highly recommend them. Other products that work are products such as Grenades, but I found that they had way too many side effects, including nausea and sickness. If you want to buy supplements from Warrior, you can tweet them for more information at @WarriorSupps . Or just search Warrior Supplements in Google, they're sold at every decent supplement site including my personal favourite - www.bodybuildingwarehouse.com.
Well I hope that you've found this information useful, if you've got any feedback then you can tweet me @Wrighty__ or find me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/wrightyx or just leave a comment on here. Also, as promised, you can find Fitness Made EZ on Twitter - @FitnessMadeEZ , Facebook - www.facebook.com/FitnessMadeEZ , www.flexdem.com, and even on Youtube - www.youtube.co.uk/glyphmedia. My best advice to you at this point is don't be pulled in by scams and cons, do your research, find what works for you, and put it into action. Until next time,
Keep Testing the Limits
Alex.
An advert that I see way too much is some bullshit transformation secrets with before and after pictures. They promise to share their secrets with you if you pay them - what good Samaritans they are. Personally I find it an insult to people like myself that work damn hard to meet their targets and achieve their goals that some website can just appear and promise some instant results with just a few little secrets which are most probably either unrealistic, ineffective, or the same information that you can get anywhere else for free. If you were to come to me and ask me directly about the secrets to transforming your body I'd tell you the same motto that I've stuck to since starting to train myself seriously. The only 'secrets' to getting your body into the shape that you want are blood, sweat and tears, in other words - hard work.
Take a look at all of the top athletes, and even just the people that you may see in your gym - they all got to where they are because they worked hard to learn the ins and outs of fitness and exercise, and worked even harder to put that information into practice. Anyone that puts everything they've got into achieving their goals is a person that you should respect. Don't mess around with the scams and the cons. The harsh reality is that if you're willing to pay a source that you know nothing about in return for weight loss just shows that you're lazy. You haven't got the right mentality and mindset to really achieve the goals that you want. Now although you may lack that mentality, its not impossible to achieve. The moment that you commit yourself fully to your dreams, is the moment that your success is guaranteed. Once you've got that down then its only a matter of time until you're hitting targets and edging closer to your final goal.
If you think about it, the only base secret to achieving the body you want is that you're the only one standing in your way. I'm by no means saying that you have to hit the gym constantly to achieve these goals; a lot of people that I know hate going to the gym; they get their exercise in ways that they enjoy. Find something that you enjoy doing and you'll stick to it - whether its competitive sport, training in the gym with a friend, or even just going running from time to time; every bit of effort that you put in brings you a step closer to your goals. So please, don't fall for the ads - they just want your money and they're not going to tell you anything that you don't already know; all the information that you want to find will be available for free somewhere. I myself am more than happy to help anyone out as long as they're serious about what they want to achieve. Sources such as Fitness Made Ez (Links to his pages can be found at the bottom of this post) and The Hodgetwins/TwinMuscleWorkout provide some amazing free information, and there's countless other places to find good, trustworthy info. However, if you're going to start anywhere; I'd strongly suggest starting with those guys.
The other thing that I wanted to talk about are the 'wonder' products that are being spewed onto the internet left, right and centre. Supposed diet pills and products designed to help you gain ridiculous amounts of muscle in a short space of time. There's not much to say on the muscle building side of things, apart from the fact that to gain an unbelievable amount of muscle in just a few weeks; you'd have to take steroids. I understand that professional bodybuilders take steroids for competition's sake - anyone else is going to sign their own death warrant through steroid abuse; because believe it or not they will kill you eventually, and sadly it will be slow and painful. The real problem that I have however, are with the diet and weight loss pills. The answer to losing weight healthily and keeping it off is being dedicated to your exercise regime and really being smart about what you eat. A popular scam these days is that of the Acai berry tablets - there is no way in hell that a berry can make you lose weight automatically with no effort (unless its poisonous and makes you lose weight through illness). Relying on a product to do the hard work that you should be doing yourself is pointless because you'll be disappointed when no results are shown. Things like 'Adios' and SlimFast are widely advertised and sold; yet people are under many illusions as to their purpose and how to use them. For example, Adios themselves stated that the pills ' Combined with a calorie-controlled diet and exercise' will show results. To me this just begs the question - what the hell is the point in taking these tablets if you have to change your lifestyle completely anyway? Chances are that your lifestyle change will show the results and the supplement will take all the credit for it. That's how you generate the ill informed positive feedback and results.
Don't assume that there aren't products that can help you out there. I myself currently take Warrior Blaze; and with a decent diet and routine, it definitely helps. I know this because I've tried training with and without it - although I saw results when not taking it, the best results came when I coupled it with my training and used it as it was really supposed to be used. Take it from me - Warrior are a trustworthy, cost effective and generally pleasant company to do business with and I'd highly recommend them. Other products that work are products such as Grenades, but I found that they had way too many side effects, including nausea and sickness. If you want to buy supplements from Warrior, you can tweet them for more information at @WarriorSupps . Or just search Warrior Supplements in Google, they're sold at every decent supplement site including my personal favourite - www.bodybuildingwarehouse.com.
Well I hope that you've found this information useful, if you've got any feedback then you can tweet me @Wrighty__ or find me on Facebook - www.facebook.com/wrightyx or just leave a comment on here. Also, as promised, you can find Fitness Made EZ on Twitter - @FitnessMadeEZ , Facebook - www.facebook.com/FitnessMadeEZ , www.flexdem.com, and even on Youtube - www.youtube.co.uk/glyphmedia. My best advice to you at this point is don't be pulled in by scams and cons, do your research, find what works for you, and put it into action. Until next time,
Keep Testing the Limits
Alex.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
New Training Schedule
I realise that there's been a serious lack of activity from this blog lately, so sorry for that. The reason for the radio silence is that I've been trying out a completely different angle to my training and its taken me a week or two to get used to the routine. One thing I'll say about the my new training is that its definitely paying off with regards to muscle gain and fat loss; however its a lot more intense than any other regime that I've done before. I've also intensified my approach to my nutrition along with this. In previous posts I mentioned that I was reducing my calorie intake to 500/600 on two days of the week, since starting my new routine I've opted to change those days into full fasting days. Needless to say, this routine has been completely different to me - so I thought that I'd share it with all of you.
As I said that I had planned to in previous posts, I've recently taken up boxing. For those of you are into the sport but haven't tried actually training - I'd highly recommend it, its the best workout that I've ever had. Its especially good for your core as that's where a lot of the movement/power comes from in boxing. Also as of today I've restarted playing hockey; I'm hoping that coupling this with boxing will allow me to partake in a huge amount of cardio and core activities which will allow me to focus more on building, toning and maintaining muscle whilst in the gym. I've decided to follow the Hodge Twins' training split with regard to muscle building and do one day that consists of Chest, arms and shoulders, one that consists of Back and arms, and one that consists of legs and compound movements. By compound movements I'm referring to exercises such as clean and press, pull ups etc. I threw compound movements into my leg day because I personally think that it increases your power output when it comes to other exercises. So bearing all of that in mind, this is how my week is set out.
Monday - Chest, Triceps and Arms. Boxing.
Tuesday - (Fasting Day) Hockey Training
Wednesday - Back and Arms. Boxing.
Thursday - Rest Day (Fasting Day)
Friday - Legs & Compound Movements.
Saturday & Sunday - Rest Days
As you can see from that breakdown, its a pretty intense week of training. I am considering moving a muscle building day into Thursday to reduce the workload on another day. However, the set up that I have now seems to be working, so why fix something that isn't broken? Also, here's a breakdown of my various routines for each gym session.
Chest, arms and shoulders -
Flat Bench Press - 4 sets, failure
Incline Bench Press - 2 sets, 10 reps
Tricep Dips - 3 sets, failure.
Chest Flyes (Machine) 4 Sets, Failure
Shoulder press (Dumbbells or machine) - 3 sets, failure
Bicep Curls - 3 sets, failure
Tricep Pulldowns - 4 Drop sets to failure
Back and Arms -
Wide Grip Pull Ups - 4 sets, failure.
Hammer Strength Row - 4 sets, failure
Prone Row - 3 sets, failure
Lat Pulldown - 3 sets, failure
Bicep Curls (EZ curl bar) - 3 sets, failure
Tricep Pulldowns - 3 sets, failure
Legs & Compound -
Barbell Squats - 4 sets, failure.
Clean and Press - 2 sets, failure
Bent Legged Deadlifts - 3 sets, failure
Calf Raises - 3 sets, failure
Pull ups - 3 sets, failure
From that you can all gather that my training in the gym now is focused on heavier lifts to gain muscle, and I've saved the cardio, core, stability and flexibility work for outside the gym with boxing and hockey. With regard to the supplements I'm taking, I'm still taking Warrior Blaze and its still doing an amazing job, I'm also now on a course of Syntha6 protein. Thanks to these two supplements and my training working together, I've seen a huge difference and decided that this regime is worth sticking to until it proves otherwise. I also said in an earlier post that I'd report back on syntha6 and its effectiveness - I have found it to be the most effective protein shake yet. Its helped me gain lean muscle pretty fast and its also reduced the amount that my muscles ache after intense workout days. Also, its pretty damn tasty. Basically its definitely worth a buy if you have 30-40 pounds to splash out with. I've also taken pictures to mark the start of my new training regime, I'll post them with what I'm hoping will be huge transformation pictures when the time comes.
If anyone's got any feedback on this post - any questions or comments etc. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx Twitter - @Wrighty__ or alternatively just post a comment under this thread. Don't hesitate to come to me with any feedback, I love hearing from people that read this blog. I'll try and get another post up as soon as possible but until then,
Keep Testing The Limits.
Alex.
As I said that I had planned to in previous posts, I've recently taken up boxing. For those of you are into the sport but haven't tried actually training - I'd highly recommend it, its the best workout that I've ever had. Its especially good for your core as that's where a lot of the movement/power comes from in boxing. Also as of today I've restarted playing hockey; I'm hoping that coupling this with boxing will allow me to partake in a huge amount of cardio and core activities which will allow me to focus more on building, toning and maintaining muscle whilst in the gym. I've decided to follow the Hodge Twins' training split with regard to muscle building and do one day that consists of Chest, arms and shoulders, one that consists of Back and arms, and one that consists of legs and compound movements. By compound movements I'm referring to exercises such as clean and press, pull ups etc. I threw compound movements into my leg day because I personally think that it increases your power output when it comes to other exercises. So bearing all of that in mind, this is how my week is set out.
Monday - Chest, Triceps and Arms. Boxing.
Tuesday - (Fasting Day) Hockey Training
Wednesday - Back and Arms. Boxing.
Thursday - Rest Day (Fasting Day)
Friday - Legs & Compound Movements.
Saturday & Sunday - Rest Days
As you can see from that breakdown, its a pretty intense week of training. I am considering moving a muscle building day into Thursday to reduce the workload on another day. However, the set up that I have now seems to be working, so why fix something that isn't broken? Also, here's a breakdown of my various routines for each gym session.
Chest, arms and shoulders -
Flat Bench Press - 4 sets, failure
Incline Bench Press - 2 sets, 10 reps
Tricep Dips - 3 sets, failure.
Chest Flyes (Machine) 4 Sets, Failure
Shoulder press (Dumbbells or machine) - 3 sets, failure
Bicep Curls - 3 sets, failure
Tricep Pulldowns - 4 Drop sets to failure
Back and Arms -
Wide Grip Pull Ups - 4 sets, failure.
Hammer Strength Row - 4 sets, failure
Prone Row - 3 sets, failure
Lat Pulldown - 3 sets, failure
Bicep Curls (EZ curl bar) - 3 sets, failure
Tricep Pulldowns - 3 sets, failure
Legs & Compound -
Barbell Squats - 4 sets, failure.
Clean and Press - 2 sets, failure
Bent Legged Deadlifts - 3 sets, failure
Calf Raises - 3 sets, failure
Pull ups - 3 sets, failure
From that you can all gather that my training in the gym now is focused on heavier lifts to gain muscle, and I've saved the cardio, core, stability and flexibility work for outside the gym with boxing and hockey. With regard to the supplements I'm taking, I'm still taking Warrior Blaze and its still doing an amazing job, I'm also now on a course of Syntha6 protein. Thanks to these two supplements and my training working together, I've seen a huge difference and decided that this regime is worth sticking to until it proves otherwise. I also said in an earlier post that I'd report back on syntha6 and its effectiveness - I have found it to be the most effective protein shake yet. Its helped me gain lean muscle pretty fast and its also reduced the amount that my muscles ache after intense workout days. Also, its pretty damn tasty. Basically its definitely worth a buy if you have 30-40 pounds to splash out with. I've also taken pictures to mark the start of my new training regime, I'll post them with what I'm hoping will be huge transformation pictures when the time comes.
If anyone's got any feedback on this post - any questions or comments etc. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx Twitter - @Wrighty__ or alternatively just post a comment under this thread. Don't hesitate to come to me with any feedback, I love hearing from people that read this blog. I'll try and get another post up as soon as possible but until then,
Keep Testing The Limits.
Alex.
Friday, 5 October 2012
Knowing Your Training
What I'm about to share with you is something that I wish someone would've shared with me when I'd first started training. I'd spend countless hours in the gym, pushing myself so far, working every single muscle in my body until I literally couldn't take any more. Unsurprisingly I saw absolutely no gains and felt run down and generally shitty. I had no idea about overtraining or the process that your body undergoes when you over train. It became so simple and so straightforward when I had it first explained to me; yet for some reason I couldn't reach that conclusion on my own. The definition of overtraining is simple, its a state where you push your body further than you should and the result is detrimental towards your goals. It doesn't just stunt your progress towards your goals however, it also weakens your body and makes you more susceptible to illness and that's going to affect you in other places rather than just the gym.
In more detail, overtraining is a simple science. When you overwork your muscles, it creates a negative nitrogen balance within them, and your muscles enter what is known as a catabolic state. A catabolic state is caused by a higher than normal production of cortisol within the body. Cortisol is a biological chemical which breaks down protein into amino acid form and transfers them to your liver to produce glucose. Cortisol is usually produced as a result of a high intensity training session, obviously the purpose of cortisol is to produce more glucose for energy. However this glucose is being produced from protein in your body, and after the unused protein in your body has been used, the cortisol will then begin to work on the protein within your muscles, therefore decreasing your stored protein levels and sometimes even decreasing muscle mass. Basically, the longer that you train at a high intensity for (You should always be training at a high intensity) the more cortisol you produce, and the more you run the risk of breaking whatever muscle you have down. You need to make sure that the cortisol you produce is only breaking down the protein that hasn't yet been fed into your muscles, the only way to do this is by cutting down the amount of time that you spend in the gym. It may not seem like a lot, but 45-60 minutes in the gym is really all that you need. I would never recommend doing more than 60 minutes worth of high intensity training because after that you really run the risk of over training.
Over training is dangerous in the long run due to the taxing effect that it has on your body, you don't want to run the risk of damaging yourself just because you haven't been well informed. To make sure that you don't run the risk of over training, try and ensure that you increase your protein intake pre and post workout, and also increase your carbohydrate intake before a really intense session, give your body enough nutrients to turn into energy, don't force it to take the protein from your muscles. Its important to plan your workouts specifically, aim to only work two major muscle groups maximum when executing a weightlifting session. Make sure you get enough sleep every night to utilize your body's natural hormone balance. Also, I know its a cliché - but listen to your body! Make sure that you allow yourself enough time to recuperate between sessions; I'm not saying don't try to power through minor pain; but if your body is in major pain, and you feel run down - Don't force yourself into the gym! Be logical with your decisions, after all, only you know what's best for your body. I'd also recommend taking a week off from training every 12 weeks or so, to give your body some real recuperation time - more often than not you'll see some muscle gain during the recovery period if you've been training right.
Well I hope that this post has helped and opened some people's eyes to the dangers of over training and the benefits of getting smart about your sessions. It really helped me to understand this with regard to my training, I began to saw so many more gains after heeding this advice and I can guarantee that you all will too. At the end of the day its just logical and I'm just trying to point out the logic. Regardless of what I've said, its your body and you're free to use it however you see fit, but you might find some of the things that I've said useful. I'll try and get another post up soon. As always you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx or you can tweet me - @Wrighty__ or just leave a comment in the space below this post. So until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits!
Alex.
In more detail, overtraining is a simple science. When you overwork your muscles, it creates a negative nitrogen balance within them, and your muscles enter what is known as a catabolic state. A catabolic state is caused by a higher than normal production of cortisol within the body. Cortisol is a biological chemical which breaks down protein into amino acid form and transfers them to your liver to produce glucose. Cortisol is usually produced as a result of a high intensity training session, obviously the purpose of cortisol is to produce more glucose for energy. However this glucose is being produced from protein in your body, and after the unused protein in your body has been used, the cortisol will then begin to work on the protein within your muscles, therefore decreasing your stored protein levels and sometimes even decreasing muscle mass. Basically, the longer that you train at a high intensity for (You should always be training at a high intensity) the more cortisol you produce, and the more you run the risk of breaking whatever muscle you have down. You need to make sure that the cortisol you produce is only breaking down the protein that hasn't yet been fed into your muscles, the only way to do this is by cutting down the amount of time that you spend in the gym. It may not seem like a lot, but 45-60 minutes in the gym is really all that you need. I would never recommend doing more than 60 minutes worth of high intensity training because after that you really run the risk of over training.
Over training is dangerous in the long run due to the taxing effect that it has on your body, you don't want to run the risk of damaging yourself just because you haven't been well informed. To make sure that you don't run the risk of over training, try and ensure that you increase your protein intake pre and post workout, and also increase your carbohydrate intake before a really intense session, give your body enough nutrients to turn into energy, don't force it to take the protein from your muscles. Its important to plan your workouts specifically, aim to only work two major muscle groups maximum when executing a weightlifting session. Make sure you get enough sleep every night to utilize your body's natural hormone balance. Also, I know its a cliché - but listen to your body! Make sure that you allow yourself enough time to recuperate between sessions; I'm not saying don't try to power through minor pain; but if your body is in major pain, and you feel run down - Don't force yourself into the gym! Be logical with your decisions, after all, only you know what's best for your body. I'd also recommend taking a week off from training every 12 weeks or so, to give your body some real recuperation time - more often than not you'll see some muscle gain during the recovery period if you've been training right.
Well I hope that this post has helped and opened some people's eyes to the dangers of over training and the benefits of getting smart about your sessions. It really helped me to understand this with regard to my training, I began to saw so many more gains after heeding this advice and I can guarantee that you all will too. At the end of the day its just logical and I'm just trying to point out the logic. Regardless of what I've said, its your body and you're free to use it however you see fit, but you might find some of the things that I've said useful. I'll try and get another post up soon. As always you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx or you can tweet me - @Wrighty__ or just leave a comment in the space below this post. So until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits!
Alex.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things
Okay, I'd like to kick this post off with an apology for the lack of posts lately. I've recently moved back to University and of course had to give time to the compulsory 'freshers' week; which generally involved a week of cheating on my diet and routine. However, despite my lapse - I'm now back in training and ready to give it everything that I've got. Due to the location of my training being altered, I've also altered the set up of the training that I'll be undertaking. I suppose I'll start explaining the things that haven't undergone drastic changes.
My eating is still very similar to how it used to be, however I'm taking a shot at using my judgement and perceptions rather than sticking to solid numbers. For example, I'll still be using two reduced calorie days in a week, however instead of having a 300 cal meal, I'll try to stick to smaller calorie objects such as fruit, and eat those throughout the day, therein spacing the calories out rather than having them all in one go. I eventually plan to drop the calorie intake and believe that the best way to ensure a smooth transition into less calories is to break them up into portions and slowly cut out those portions. When I'm not on a reduced calorie day, I'm still being very careful with what I eat, and taking into account what I need to eat for the activities that I'll undergo throughout the day. For example, if I'm planning on an intense cardio session in a day, then I'll ensure that I have enough carbohydrates to fuel me through the session. The same would apply to protein when undertaking a heavy lifting session. Whilst doing this, I'm also watching my calorie, fat and sugar intake to ensure that I keep them to a decent level. On the supplement side of things, I'm still taking Warrior Blaze capsules twice a day, and Cod Liver Oil tablets once a day. I plan on buying some BCAAs in pill form to help with my training and also have a tub of Syntha6 protein on the way, which I of course will review after a month or so of use.
The most radical change that I've made is my approach to my training. Over the summer period, I was focusing on full body workouts three times a week, with the cardio side of things being cycling to and from the gym (Around 7km each way). However since coming back to University, I've opted to take up boxing - and after having my first session on Monday, I can safely say that its the best cardio workout that I have ever taken part in. It also easily surpasses the amount and the intensity of the cardio that I was doing over the summer. With regard to my actual gym sessions, I've decided to split them up into isolation days, those isolations days consisting of: Chest, Arms and Shoulders; Back and Arms; and of course everyones favourite - Legs. I'll be incorporating a decent amount of core work into each of the sessions aswell. Oh and I've also decided to keep up my interest in hockey, so again there's more cardio work. I've planned my week to look a little like this -
Monday - Chest, Shoulders and arms, Boxing
Tuesday - Hockey Training (Low Calorie Day)
Wednesday - Back and Biceps, Boxing
Thursday - Legs (Low calorie day)
Friday - Boxing
Saturday and Sunday - Day off
So as you can see, I've got a pretty intense week planned. Obviously if its too much for me then I'll have to shuffle things around and re think what I'm doing. However I'm hoping that I can really push myself throughout the week and use the weekend to recover. After all, its all about testing your limits and striving to better yourself, getting fitter, faster and stronger. Compared to the training that I had over summer, this is a huge jump in intensity and new territory for me, but I guess that the only way to keep achieving the goals that you set is to up the intensity of your training and keep your body guessing.
So you're all now updated on my training and current state. I won't be weighing in for another week or two, just to get myself back on track and adjust to the new state of my training. I'll be keeping you all updated on my progress and I'll post the reviews that I have of any other supplements that I may purchase. I've taken a picture to document the start of my transformation and hopefully will have one to compare it to at the end of the transformation. Also, since I'm stepping into very unfamiliar territory with boxing, anyone with experience thats willing to share some insight would be greatly appreciated. I'll also be posting pictures of me repping the Flexdem gear that I know own thanks to Fitness Made EZ - if you haven't liked him on Facebook or Followed him on Twitter then please feel free to do right about now - @FitnessMadeEZ www.facebook.com/FitnessMadeEZ. Also, get back to me with all of your suggestions, comments, questions, and general feedback please. Help me keep this blog going by showing your support. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx or you can follow me on Twitter - @Wrighty__ or even leave a comment on here. So if anyone reading this wants me to keep writing posts, and maybe even has any input for future topics then I'd love to hear them so get in touch please! I'll try and get a follow up post up fairly soon depending on the responses that I get to this. So until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits
Alex.
My eating is still very similar to how it used to be, however I'm taking a shot at using my judgement and perceptions rather than sticking to solid numbers. For example, I'll still be using two reduced calorie days in a week, however instead of having a 300 cal meal, I'll try to stick to smaller calorie objects such as fruit, and eat those throughout the day, therein spacing the calories out rather than having them all in one go. I eventually plan to drop the calorie intake and believe that the best way to ensure a smooth transition into less calories is to break them up into portions and slowly cut out those portions. When I'm not on a reduced calorie day, I'm still being very careful with what I eat, and taking into account what I need to eat for the activities that I'll undergo throughout the day. For example, if I'm planning on an intense cardio session in a day, then I'll ensure that I have enough carbohydrates to fuel me through the session. The same would apply to protein when undertaking a heavy lifting session. Whilst doing this, I'm also watching my calorie, fat and sugar intake to ensure that I keep them to a decent level. On the supplement side of things, I'm still taking Warrior Blaze capsules twice a day, and Cod Liver Oil tablets once a day. I plan on buying some BCAAs in pill form to help with my training and also have a tub of Syntha6 protein on the way, which I of course will review after a month or so of use.
The most radical change that I've made is my approach to my training. Over the summer period, I was focusing on full body workouts three times a week, with the cardio side of things being cycling to and from the gym (Around 7km each way). However since coming back to University, I've opted to take up boxing - and after having my first session on Monday, I can safely say that its the best cardio workout that I have ever taken part in. It also easily surpasses the amount and the intensity of the cardio that I was doing over the summer. With regard to my actual gym sessions, I've decided to split them up into isolation days, those isolations days consisting of: Chest, Arms and Shoulders; Back and Arms; and of course everyones favourite - Legs. I'll be incorporating a decent amount of core work into each of the sessions aswell. Oh and I've also decided to keep up my interest in hockey, so again there's more cardio work. I've planned my week to look a little like this -
Monday - Chest, Shoulders and arms, Boxing
Tuesday - Hockey Training (Low Calorie Day)
Wednesday - Back and Biceps, Boxing
Thursday - Legs (Low calorie day)
Friday - Boxing
Saturday and Sunday - Day off
So as you can see, I've got a pretty intense week planned. Obviously if its too much for me then I'll have to shuffle things around and re think what I'm doing. However I'm hoping that I can really push myself throughout the week and use the weekend to recover. After all, its all about testing your limits and striving to better yourself, getting fitter, faster and stronger. Compared to the training that I had over summer, this is a huge jump in intensity and new territory for me, but I guess that the only way to keep achieving the goals that you set is to up the intensity of your training and keep your body guessing.
So you're all now updated on my training and current state. I won't be weighing in for another week or two, just to get myself back on track and adjust to the new state of my training. I'll be keeping you all updated on my progress and I'll post the reviews that I have of any other supplements that I may purchase. I've taken a picture to document the start of my transformation and hopefully will have one to compare it to at the end of the transformation. Also, since I'm stepping into very unfamiliar territory with boxing, anyone with experience thats willing to share some insight would be greatly appreciated. I'll also be posting pictures of me repping the Flexdem gear that I know own thanks to Fitness Made EZ - if you haven't liked him on Facebook or Followed him on Twitter then please feel free to do right about now - @FitnessMadeEZ www.facebook.com/FitnessMadeEZ. Also, get back to me with all of your suggestions, comments, questions, and general feedback please. Help me keep this blog going by showing your support. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wrightyx or you can follow me on Twitter - @Wrighty__ or even leave a comment on here. So if anyone reading this wants me to keep writing posts, and maybe even has any input for future topics then I'd love to hear them so get in touch please! I'll try and get a follow up post up fairly soon depending on the responses that I get to this. So until next time,
Keep Testing The Limits
Alex.
Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Get Smart About Your Lifestyle!
For anyone that's looking to succeed in their goals - whether they be muscle growth, fat loss, or generally just to stay healthy; you must really know what you're putting in your body. Healthy nutrition is an uncompromisable foundation for achieving real results. Yes a good fitness plan will help you, however it can only go so far towards your goals alone. Plus if you've got a decent fitness plan, but no idea about nutrition, then you're only slowing yourself down and making yourself lose motivation because you can't see any results. The people that infuriate me (infuriate me even more because I used to be one of them) are the ones that go to the gym, work up one hell of a sweat and really push themselves, to then come home and gorge on chocolate and shitty foods. It's a terrible thing to do but many people are culprits with this sort of thing. It's easy enough to do, my best advice would be to not keep junk food at your house. Now this isn't me saying swear off all of the foods that are bad for you, because that's just madness, everyone needs a treat every once in a while. Something that I, and many others that I know do; is allow themselves a treat day. For example, Ez (Fitness Made EZ) actually attempts to slip into a sugary coma every time he has this treat day - but that's fine, because he does it once a week, and trains fucking hard the rest of the week whilst being very careful with his nutrition. Also, people that think that not eating is the solution to losing weight, you're very very mistaken. Starving your body of essential nutrients is dangerous. If humans weren't meant to eat then they wouldn't be born with a digestive system. In the long run, the longer that you starve yourself for, the longer your systems are going to be eating into whatever muscle that they can find to and the less muscle you'll end up with. So if you're looking to lose weight and maintain muscle, or even just lose weight in general, please do not starve your body, just get smart about what you should be taking in.
It took me a long time to find out the real essential facts about nutrition, but that's because I had no help or guidance whatsoever, and I don't want others to be in the same situation. When you really manage to get your head around it, its really not as difficult as it looks either. Personally, I try to make sure I don't take in too many calories daily, I like to keep it below 2000, there's a lot of ways to get a decent amount of calories and still feel full at the end of the day, you just have to be careful and make sure that you know the nutritional values of the things that you're taking in. Think about investing on something like a calorie counter book, I did, for 4.99 its one of the most useful and worthwhile things that I have ever purchased. Its got nutritional details about every possible base food that you can think of. Once you've got yourself armed with something like that, then you can deal with your nutrition head on. For example, a lot of people will opt for a low carbohydrate, high protein diet when looking to do what bodybuilders call 'Cutting' - that's basically the process of really stripping off every inch of fat from your body to uncover serious definition in your muscles. While this approach is good and also definitely works, its not good for you in the long term. The main focus of weight loss with a low carb, high protein diet is water weight. It will also force your body into starvation mode; this is because your body likes to run on glucose/blood sugar, which is supplied by carbs. When your body doesn't get this, it feeds on the glucose and blood sugar found in muscle, causing a major breakdown in your muscle which simulates weight loss. Also, due to the increased amount of saturated fats in a high protein diet, it can cause heart problems, so basically, use that diet if you're looking to lose water weight, maybe if you're a fighter. However please don't try it for longer than a week or two, you'll see adverse effects.
The best advice that I could give to people, is to keep your diet well balanced and well informed. Watch your calorie intake each day, I'd say keep it 200-500 under your GDA, watch your carbohydrates, you don't have to pack them into your diet unless you're on an intense training program. Your protein should be kept at its GDA if not higher. Other stuff such as fats and fibre - be smart about. Try and make sure that the fats that you take in are essential fats such as the ones found in tuna, cod, broccoli, spinach, hazelnuts, walnuts etc. There are so many ways to get your essential fats. Also as some of you may have realised things like broccoli and spinach also help you to get your fibre intake, two in one! Any fruit or vegetable is a good source of fibre, plus fruits like bananas are packed with natural sugars and pure energy. Each morning I just have a cup of green tea or black coffee, with two bananas, and that alone makes me sail through my workouts with no difficulty whatsoever.
So now I've talked about food, lets talk about drinks. Honestly, the best thing to drink would just be pure, clean water - there's no extra additives, no calories, nothing to drag your diet down. However things like green tea, black coffee, and very weak cordial aren't bad for you. Drinks such as Coke, lemonade, and even fruit juice, are a big no no for me. Simply because they contain way too much sugar that your body doesn't need at all. Though I know that many people love their alcohol, particularly on a weekend, and being a student myself I know how hard it is to resist a good night out. So if you are to go out drinking, and this is still by no means telling you to go out and drink - try to stick to spirits and mixers; they contain a lot less calories than beers and ales etc. However if you're itching for a pint, go for Guinness over lager - this is for the simple reason of because it may seem heavy, it actually contains less calories than any other beer or stout.
Okay that's all on food and drink, obviously any questions that anyone has I'll be happy to answer. Just going to devote a bit of time to the subject of supplements. Obviously people with different goals will go for different supplements. I've said this many times before, but anyone who's looking to lose some fat - I'd recommend giving Warrior Blaze a go; it has definitely worked for me where some supplements have failed me. However you can't just sit back and be lazy whilst taking them, they rely on you as much as you rely on them, get a good diet and an active lifestyle and they'll help to boost your goals. I've also said before for protein shakes to try Promax because it really helps to put on lean definition. I'll also be trying a course of Syntha6 in the near future so look out for reviews on that. If you're going to pick a protein shake, just pick something low in calories and low in carbs and fat, preferably with a fair amount of amino acids and glutamine. Also try and get your hands on some BCAAs. I know for a fact that myprotein.com sell them for a very reasonable price. For those who don't know, the function of a BCAA is increase production of insulin, which mainly focuses on helping circulating blood sugar to be taken up by the muscle cells and used as a source of energy. So not only should they give you a boost whilst training, they should also stimulate increased muscle growth; helping you on your way to gaining some serious muscle. As for normal daily supplements (that is, the ones that aren't produced for the sole reason of helping fitness goals) I'd definitely recommend purchasing some Vitamin B tablets, they mainly help to keep your energy levels higher; Also things like Milk thistle (Helps to clean out your liver and kidneys and keep your systems healthy), Cod Liver Oil capsules (Helps to keep your joints healthy) and even just a Multivitamin supplement are helpful aswell when looking to keep a healthy lifestyle. For example, cod liver oil gives you extra support for your joints as you may put stress on your joints while training. Milk thistle helps to keep toxins out of your body and helps to keep your body working at optimum levels. Vitamin B helps to give you that extra energy kick when you need it and so on and so forth.
Well I hope that everything that I've run through in this post has been of use to people, its just mostly the information that I wish I'd had access to when I started training all in one place. The bottom line is, getting healthy and fit isn't just about dragging yourself to the gym every so often, its about a lifestyle change, to give your body what it needs to be healthy in all areas. As always, I'm open to any questions, suggestions or general feedback that people may have. If you've missed this information before you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Wrightyx and my Twitter username has now changed to @Wrighty__ - so you can either add me/message me on facebook, or follow and tweet me on Twitter. Failing all of that you can just drop a comment under this post and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed the read.
Keep testing the limits!
Alex.
It took me a long time to find out the real essential facts about nutrition, but that's because I had no help or guidance whatsoever, and I don't want others to be in the same situation. When you really manage to get your head around it, its really not as difficult as it looks either. Personally, I try to make sure I don't take in too many calories daily, I like to keep it below 2000, there's a lot of ways to get a decent amount of calories and still feel full at the end of the day, you just have to be careful and make sure that you know the nutritional values of the things that you're taking in. Think about investing on something like a calorie counter book, I did, for 4.99 its one of the most useful and worthwhile things that I have ever purchased. Its got nutritional details about every possible base food that you can think of. Once you've got yourself armed with something like that, then you can deal with your nutrition head on. For example, a lot of people will opt for a low carbohydrate, high protein diet when looking to do what bodybuilders call 'Cutting' - that's basically the process of really stripping off every inch of fat from your body to uncover serious definition in your muscles. While this approach is good and also definitely works, its not good for you in the long term. The main focus of weight loss with a low carb, high protein diet is water weight. It will also force your body into starvation mode; this is because your body likes to run on glucose/blood sugar, which is supplied by carbs. When your body doesn't get this, it feeds on the glucose and blood sugar found in muscle, causing a major breakdown in your muscle which simulates weight loss. Also, due to the increased amount of saturated fats in a high protein diet, it can cause heart problems, so basically, use that diet if you're looking to lose water weight, maybe if you're a fighter. However please don't try it for longer than a week or two, you'll see adverse effects.
The best advice that I could give to people, is to keep your diet well balanced and well informed. Watch your calorie intake each day, I'd say keep it 200-500 under your GDA, watch your carbohydrates, you don't have to pack them into your diet unless you're on an intense training program. Your protein should be kept at its GDA if not higher. Other stuff such as fats and fibre - be smart about. Try and make sure that the fats that you take in are essential fats such as the ones found in tuna, cod, broccoli, spinach, hazelnuts, walnuts etc. There are so many ways to get your essential fats. Also as some of you may have realised things like broccoli and spinach also help you to get your fibre intake, two in one! Any fruit or vegetable is a good source of fibre, plus fruits like bananas are packed with natural sugars and pure energy. Each morning I just have a cup of green tea or black coffee, with two bananas, and that alone makes me sail through my workouts with no difficulty whatsoever.
So now I've talked about food, lets talk about drinks. Honestly, the best thing to drink would just be pure, clean water - there's no extra additives, no calories, nothing to drag your diet down. However things like green tea, black coffee, and very weak cordial aren't bad for you. Drinks such as Coke, lemonade, and even fruit juice, are a big no no for me. Simply because they contain way too much sugar that your body doesn't need at all. Though I know that many people love their alcohol, particularly on a weekend, and being a student myself I know how hard it is to resist a good night out. So if you are to go out drinking, and this is still by no means telling you to go out and drink - try to stick to spirits and mixers; they contain a lot less calories than beers and ales etc. However if you're itching for a pint, go for Guinness over lager - this is for the simple reason of because it may seem heavy, it actually contains less calories than any other beer or stout.
Okay that's all on food and drink, obviously any questions that anyone has I'll be happy to answer. Just going to devote a bit of time to the subject of supplements. Obviously people with different goals will go for different supplements. I've said this many times before, but anyone who's looking to lose some fat - I'd recommend giving Warrior Blaze a go; it has definitely worked for me where some supplements have failed me. However you can't just sit back and be lazy whilst taking them, they rely on you as much as you rely on them, get a good diet and an active lifestyle and they'll help to boost your goals. I've also said before for protein shakes to try Promax because it really helps to put on lean definition. I'll also be trying a course of Syntha6 in the near future so look out for reviews on that. If you're going to pick a protein shake, just pick something low in calories and low in carbs and fat, preferably with a fair amount of amino acids and glutamine. Also try and get your hands on some BCAAs. I know for a fact that myprotein.com sell them for a very reasonable price. For those who don't know, the function of a BCAA is increase production of insulin, which mainly focuses on helping circulating blood sugar to be taken up by the muscle cells and used as a source of energy. So not only should they give you a boost whilst training, they should also stimulate increased muscle growth; helping you on your way to gaining some serious muscle. As for normal daily supplements (that is, the ones that aren't produced for the sole reason of helping fitness goals) I'd definitely recommend purchasing some Vitamin B tablets, they mainly help to keep your energy levels higher; Also things like Milk thistle (Helps to clean out your liver and kidneys and keep your systems healthy), Cod Liver Oil capsules (Helps to keep your joints healthy) and even just a Multivitamin supplement are helpful aswell when looking to keep a healthy lifestyle. For example, cod liver oil gives you extra support for your joints as you may put stress on your joints while training. Milk thistle helps to keep toxins out of your body and helps to keep your body working at optimum levels. Vitamin B helps to give you that extra energy kick when you need it and so on and so forth.
Well I hope that everything that I've run through in this post has been of use to people, its just mostly the information that I wish I'd had access to when I started training all in one place. The bottom line is, getting healthy and fit isn't just about dragging yourself to the gym every so often, its about a lifestyle change, to give your body what it needs to be healthy in all areas. As always, I'm open to any questions, suggestions or general feedback that people may have. If you've missed this information before you can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Wrightyx and my Twitter username has now changed to @Wrighty__ - so you can either add me/message me on facebook, or follow and tweet me on Twitter. Failing all of that you can just drop a comment under this post and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Hope you all enjoyed the read.
Keep testing the limits!
Alex.
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