Too much flesh!!!!

Thought I'd do the post on here that I didn't get round to doing yesterday.

My weigh in results (see the transformation blog) showed no change yesterday so I did a bit of guilty cardio in the form of the body attack class at 9:30am. I wasn't the only bloke in there. I wasn't quite with it yesterday morning due to feeling guilty for not losing any fat, but went about the routine as hard as usual.

The only thing was one of the women who was standing in front of me had a backless fitness bra top and one of her mates, well, she looked like she was cold despite the fact that the air conditioning in the studio broke down ages ago and is still to be repaired!!!!! Please...I know us blokes get accused of posing in front of the mirrors and being all "LOOK AT ME!!!" when we're doing our weights. But do us a favour, and wear sensible but comfy clothing in the place. No wonder us blokes get accused of being pervs for even being in the same studio as you ladies!!! Just too much flesh for that time of morning, save it for bedtime for your husband please!!!

On a more exercise focused topic, I did the superset workout (as per my blog from the 9th) again first thing this morning. I got to use the big barbell for my deadlifts AT LAST! Again I did the routine as a tri-set and a quad-set. I think the barbell is half olympic weight which I understand to be 14kg and I added plates totalling 47.5kg. I used the snatch grip to change things up a little. I really enjoyed doing the deadlifts and was pleased to up the intensity at last. I am sure I can increase the weight, but I will do this gradually so I can assess where my failure point is. The burpees set and the end of the second circuit is a killer and makes you gasp for air after you've done it.

I was due for a massage today at 5:30pm so before that I went for a swim. I've been toying with the idea of using swimming for some interval training following a tip in the free-ebook report "Training And Nutrition Insider Secrets For A Lean Body" (click here to get a FREE copy) from Mike Geary, author of "The Truth About Six Pack Abs" and a blog posting from Joel Marion, author "Cheat Your Way Thin". So thats what I did. Our gym pool length is 20m so heres the workout.

10 lengths medium paced freestyle (200m) immediately followed by 6 sets of
2 lengths freestyle sprint with 3 lengths slow breastroke recovery (6X100m)

I did enjoy this workout, and given that I haven't done an intense swim for a long while (I used to be able to swim 1km in about 17 minutes at my best and that isnt that long ago!!!) I was quite pleased with the intensity of my sprints. Lets hope that it burns some fat.

Anyway feel free to download the FREE PDF "Training And Nutrition Insider Secrets For A Lean Body" by Mike Geary, by clicking this link. You could even consider buying his "Truth About Six Pack Abs" program by following the links in the PDF!

Enjoy your training and keep your food sensible. Back To Turbulence Training again tomorrow!

Neil

Making progress

Just a quick post on here as I have done a post on the transformation blog.

I'm really pleased as I burnt off 2lb fat this week, so it just shows that following the turbulence training program and doing 2 24 hour fasts per week will help you burn off your belly. I'm now really excited about the remaining 11 weeks, and doing my best not to be distracted by wine and beer.

For me the Eat Stop Eat book has made a difference to my eating pattern. I would never have considered fasting as legit a way to control calories, but it does go to show that it does make a difference.

For anyone considering fasting as a method of calorie control, I would certainly recommend that you do your research and get a copy of Eat Stop Eat before you take the plunge, as the author, Brad Pilon, addresses the principle concerns of most people, such as "Will I lose muscle?", "Won't I go into starvation mode?", etc, etc.

For me, it does seem to be a complementary part of my fat loss program, and is helping me control calories that I may have consumed without even realising.

Anyway I will close up this little blog and post more later this week.

Keep working hard and smart

Neil

What I've been up to this week.

Well we all know I've entered the 5th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest (TTTC). I've been working on that and the comments about that are on my other blog www.neilsturbulencetrainingtransformation.com (tinyurl.com/ngtttc). Please bookmark it, follow it and give me your support as it really will be very much appreciated.

I've not been bad but I've not been brilliant with the booze this week, as I had a couple of bottles of wine over the week, and a beer and bottle of wine tonight. About what I can handle I would say. I didnt find yesterday's TT very intense because it contained exercises I havent done so I had to work them fairly conservatively. That said, I am not doing my TT interval training on the eliptical now (they will be on the treadmill from now on). That will be a challenge because I am a really heavy-footed runner, and whenever I run, for some reason my rhomboids just ache for ages.

So as for my drink tonight which is my treat, I feel I have thoroughly deserved it.

I have done 2 24 hour fasts this week following the "Eat Stop Eat" principles. I've managed not to overeat as well. I'm hoping for some progress this week.

Leaving my TT workouts aside, on my TT rest days I did a cardio/abs from skinny vinny's site, rested on Thursday and was in for the body attack class starting at 5pm. Usually I do circuit training (starting at 4) but it is losing its appeal as now that my fitness has improved I find it is no longer intense enough.

I had been thinking about designing my own workout. I've seen a few of skinny vinny's vids on you tube and he is another documented trainer worthy of trust. I therefore felt that I could design my own workout based on some of his own advice so this is what I did to day:

UPPER BODY

HORIZONTAL PLANE

A BB Chest Press 3X8 @ 40kg
B BB RDL/Bent Over Row Combo 3X8 @ 40kg

VERITCAL PLANE

A BB Shoulder press 3X8 @30kg
B Pull ups 3Xmax (assisted bw - 19kg)

LEGS

A BB Deadlift 3X8 @40kg
B BB Squats 3X8 @40kg
C Burpees 3X12

CLEAN & PRESS

A BB C&P 3X6 @40kg

I then did an abs circuit of

A Plank On Ball 3X90s
B Hanging Knee raises 3X15
C Cable woodchop 3X12 (13.75kg)
D Cable crunch on ball 3X15 (11.25kg)

and then interval training on the cross trainer (Easy = level 13/2 Hard=level 17/25). 3min warm up, 5X 30s hard/30s easy, then 30s hard/90s cool down.

There was only one other person workin out when I had finished. thats dedication.

It took me about an hour and 20 mins to complete the workout, and I was dripping particularly with the resistance training. It wasnt the greatest amount of weight but the supersets were very intense and I found it hard with my grip which is one thing that is on my key improvement goals.

Since doing the TT workouts I've definitely improved in terms of my strength and i can see how much leaner my muscle tone is. my veins are developing on my biceps despite the fact i never do any isolation exercises from my own program or choice.

A funny thing I can relate to is those people who rest too much and dont work hard enough. Today there was a lad who must be in his late teens/early twenties. he hogged the smith machine and rested pretty much most of the time i was doing my supersets. what a waste. I could have done a quick yoga routine between that guy's sets

I may have not done the weight level I wanted but I still had a great workout, that will be more intense and better the next time I do it. I hope I am not too stiff tomorrow.

Enjoy your weekend.

Neil

4 weeks in and going "Hardcore"

Just been re-reading last Monday's post. It's now 4 weeks since I started on Craig Ballantyne's world reknown Turbulence Training programme. Although I did weigh myself this Monday, I have decided to return back to Wednesday weigh ins as this will remain true and consistent to my previous records.

I'm pleased to say that in 4 weeks I have actually lost 1.8kg (4lb) of body fat (now down to 18kg/40lb of fat) , which represents a 1.3% reduction. My initial goal was to lose 1%. At that time I had not really made any calculations as to how much fat mass I was to lose, and based it on percentages. I made the following video not long after I started the programme.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I've had a big struggle with my alcohol consumption. Whilst I do believe that life is for living, and I have no problem with people responsibly enjoying their tipples of choice, I sometimes feel guilty about my passion for wine, particularly as it is preventing me from achieving what I want in terms of getting a great mid-section! At the moment it really is too hard a task to just eliminate my level of consumption so I have decided to do a much more gradual reduction.

We brew some lovely beer here in the UK and there is one brewery that I am a big fan of, the Badger Brewery based down in Dorset. So my treat is a (as in ONE!) bottle from their range of very fine ales every other night in the week (i.e. Monday, Wednesday and Friday). On Saturday, I will apply the John Berrardi 90% rule and enjoy some wine after going to my back to back classes at the Gym.

Anyway, moving back to the main point of my blog, I have achieved my goal despite enjoying a more than what would we be called normal amount of beer and wine. Whilst I wonder what I could have achived if I had been more disciplined, I will learn from my mistakes, and not get too down on myself as states in the TTFFL manual that advanced exercisers are likely to expect a lb fat loss per week. So I do still feel really pleased and positive that I can get great results. I just have to be more disciplined.

Its not just the fat loss results that are great. I'm really impressed with my improvements in my strength. Before TT I just played with resistance training doing it twice a week at my own pace. Now I am straight in, resting as little as possible between sets and supersets, lifting as heavy weights as possible, bearing in mind that my right shoulder is still compromised from last year and is nowhere near as strong as the left. The results...

I have noticed a dramatic increase in definition of my muscles in my arms, and my main vains are now starting to become noticeable on my arms and...

I am definitely a lot stronger than I was before I started the programme, even in just 4 weeks.

An example of this is the upper body workout track in the body attack class at the gym. There is a lot of core strengthening and a hell of a lot of press-ups both bicep and tricep. I used to manage bicep press-ups with my knees off the floor, but practically all the tricep push-ups were done with my knees down. Today I managed all but 4 knees off the floor. I know I will get to the stage where I no longer have my knees down on either.

Ok so thats the original programme completed my sheet is below.

Its time to move on to the next programme. I have downloaded the Hardcore Fat Loss programme from TTmembers.com. Time to up the ante and the intensity. Monday's workout was a killer, particularly the 30s/30s intervals where I have also started increased the resistance on the cross trainer at the peaks to level 17 of 25. I was knackered.

However, the thing that scared me most was Craig's nutrition plan with 8 meals a day totalling 2,100 kcals. My god!!! I am however taking some steps to move towards Craig's eating plan, and increasing my fruit and (unsalted) nuts intake with whole graprefruits, dried apricots and almonds has made an incredibly surprising impact. Yesterday I worked out til about 9:10am. I had a protein shake, a grapefruit, a banana and then a ricotta and ham fritata with some baby carrots and cherry tomatoes for my lunch at about 12 ish. I didnt actually feel that I needed to eat my evening meal which I took at about 7:15pm, and I had taken another walk up the wrekin as well to burn off my lunch!

It just goes to prove that if you are disciplined you can make those step by step, but critical nutritional changes a part of your lifestyle. If I can so can anyone!

Craig has announced another 12 week transformation contest with entries to be in between 4th and 26th May. Check here to see the links to the last contest winners with their respective stories. I am going to enter, which is the reason why I have not posted any photos after my first 4 weeks. I am not entering to win, although that would really be amazing. My main reason is that it will make me even more accountable to my friends and family whose support I will be needing. Wish me luck!!!

Click here to obtain a FREE 10 minute workout from Turbulence Training. This gives you half a dozen QUICK and SIMPLE fat-melting workouts. It's in PDF format and you can save from there. If you are interested in the full Turbulence Training programme you can follow the links from the PDF or order from Godzilla Marketing Health & Fitness (where you can view other weight and fat reduction programmes as seen below) on the following link by clicking here.

Keep working hard, stay disciplined, get results.

Neil