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Before:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 294lbs
BF: over 30%
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After:
Weight: 198lbs
BF: 12-14%
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Why You Got Started?
I have always been overweight even as a young child. Food was very important to me and I liked sweets and fast food. I never did much exercise, as my family was not really inclined that way and I grew up believing that I was naturally a big person and I could never change that.
My weight really shot up when I got into a steady relationship about 6 years ago. Because I had found my perfect partner I thought I could be even lazier! I ran a pub for about a year which didn't help as my diet consisted mostly of beer and crisps. I got a new job working in an office and one of the perks was a discounted gym membership.
12 Months Ago With My Girlfriend & A Friend.
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I joined my local gym (Reps, Worthing) who were very helpful and offered advice and encouragement. I was fed up with looking in the mirror and seeing someone unattractive in it. I had been kidding myself. I didn't want to be fat I wanted to be muscular and fit.
How You Did It?
I didn't know much about training so a friend of mine who had trained on and off for years showed me the basics.
I started off with cardio on the x trainer every day and circuit training 5 times a week. I began to get strong quite quickly and I enjoyed the weights so after a couple of weeks I split my routine into body parts so I could concentrate on developing muscle groups individually.
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Circuit Training!
'Circuit training' is an excellent way to simultaneously build strength and stamina. Full workout circuit included!
[ Click here to learn more. ] |
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I increased the cardio to 45 mins per day and walked and ran during the day whenever possible. My diet was low carb which worked very well for the first 2 months but then my body became used to it and I stopped losing weight.
I researched diet more and began a weigh lifters bulking diet which worked wonders for me. I was increasing muscle and losing fat! Diet has remained the same ever since. I allow one cheat day per week but I am very strict with my diet and training.
Sometimes I don't feel like eating the right things or going to the gym but I force myself knowing that I will feel great afterwards. I train on my own so I am not relying on anyone else to motivate me. The goal I have set myself is to look good and get stronger.
Sometimes I Just Don't Like
Eating The Right Things.
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What Supplements Did You Take?
I have done a couple of courses with creatine. I did this in an on for two weeks off for 2 weeks pattern. The first week I loaded with 20 grams a day and then 5 grams for the second week. I take multivitamins every day and 2000mg of vitamin C. I take a B complex vitamin to keep energy levels up and evening primrose to help with mood and energy too.
I use whey protein from Reflex and Garnell nutrition. For a post workout drink I mix the whey with Now Foods Dextrose (2g of dextrose for every gram of protein in the shake) this prevents breakdown of muscle after workout.
At night I use anabolic muscle milk which contains slow digesting proteins to keep my body anabolic while I am sleeping. I drink a lot of green tea which I believe aided my fat loss.
Give Us A Sample Week Of Your Diet.
- Meal 1
- 45 mins after cardio 6 egg whites one yolk scrambled with low carb ketchup. 1/2 bowl of oats with 1 scoop of whey protein.
- Meal 2
- protein and veg (protein is tuna steak, lean beef, chicken breast or turkey). I avoid anything with high sugar (peas and tomatoes for example).
- Meal 3
- as meal 2
- Meal 4
- as meal 2
Workout
- Meal 5
- PWO shake with whey and dextrose
- Meal 6
- Protein and carbs (normally half cup of brown rice)
- Meal 7
- as meal 2
- Meal 8
- shake before bed of whey and micellar casein to aid anabolic function throughout the night.
Sample Week Of Training
All exercises done in 4 sets of 6-8 reps with increasing weight to failure. First exercise includes warm-up set of 20 reps at light weight.
Mon - Chest & Tris.
Tues - Legs.
Weds - Back & Biceps.
Thursday - Calves
Friday - Shoulders
Sat/Sun - Off apart from cardio.
Cardio is done every day for 30 minutes in the morning on an empty stomach. I do 200 crunches every evening for abs.
Every couple of weeks I go for max bench and max squat. Max bench is 160 kilos. and max squat is 220 kilos.
Note: 1 KILO = 2.2 POUNDS.
Suggestions For Others
Do as much research as possible. Nothing worked for me until my diet was worked out properly. I found out how many calories I needed per day and gradually altered my diet until I was losing fat and packing on muscle.
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It's no good thinking you have a good diet you must put the time in to work it out. Same goes for training. If you want to see results be strict and set yourself a new goal every week!
