Current Routine

For the last couple of weeks I have been experimenting with an Upper/Lower split and I think I have found a pretty good balance. I have looked at several types of splits including push/pull, body part specific and upper/lower. For me I think the Upper and lower strikes a good balance between a split and a FB. Most of the excercises are based around compounds as in a FB and the upper/lower split allows me to hit all the major muscle groups at least 2 times each per week. Current programme looks like this:

Upper A

DB Bench Press
Incline Bench
Pull Up
BOR
Shoulder Press
DB Lat Raise

Lower (inc Arms)

Squat
Deadlift
Leg Curl
Leg Press
Bicep Curl
Dips

Upper B

Flat Bench
DB Fly
Cable Pull Down
Seated Cable Row
MP
Front Raise

I mix up the set and rep ranges quite frequently. So I may do 3x10 or 4x8 or 5x5. I also drop in back off sets now and again to exhaust the muscle. I tend to do this at least 4 days per week and then also do at least 1-2 cardio based session each week which normally involves a 7km run. I start every session with 10mins HIIT on some form of cardio machine such as treadmill or x-trainer etc.

I feel this provides me with a pretty good balance. It gives me a pretty good pump and allows sufficient rest between upper and lower sessions to give the major muscles time to recover and repair.

Will keep you posted on progress.

Happy New Year!

Well, the new year is upon us and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2009!

For me, I hope that 2009 will bring me much of the same as 2008! Last New Year I made a list of key objectives for 2008! Not resolutions but objectives! In all I came up with a list of about 10. Then I looked at each of them and asked myself which ones would have the biggest impact on my life and I then focused on the top 3.

The top 3 I picked was:

1. Lose Weight
2. Set up my own company
3. Sort out my finances

I'm happy to say that for the most part I was successful in achieving most of the above.

1. Lose Weight - I lost 45lbs in 2008 and went from 26% bf to just 12% bf. But more than that I have completely transformed my body. Anyone who may have seen my before and after pics will see what I mean! I am the fittest I have ever been and it has completely changed the way I live.
2. Set up my own company - Throughout 08 I worked hard on pulling together a solid business plan and trying to raise the necessary investment to launch my own business. In October I succeeded in raising the necessary funds which means I am now in a position to launch my own business. At the same time I got a new job with a significant pay rise. So at the moment I am balancing my new job with trying to set up my own company in my own time!
3. Sort out finances - Still some way to go but I think 09 will take me a significant step forward to becoming debt free! So I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

So all in all a pretty good year! For 2009 my key objectives are as follows:

1. Get down to below 10% bf and develop a more muscular physique.
2. Get my business up and running
3. Work hard in my new job to be a success

That's it! Nice and simple! So come the end of 2009 let's see how I got on!

Happy New Year everyone!

Latest Progress Pics!

Can you see the difference?

Update

Quick update as I have been busy lately and not had a chance to post anything.

I have just got back from a 10 day holiday in Dubai. So lots of eating, drinking and generally treating my body like crap! I was a little worried as it was the first time in 6 months I have really let myself go. I was convinced that I had put on at least 7lbs.

However, got back and weighed myself and I had only accumalated a 3lb weight gain. So not that bad! Give me a week and that will be gone again!

First week back in the gym and I have decided to go back to FB for the time being. So I am doing a kind of Chad Waterbury TBT programme but using my own rep ranges. I am also incorporating back-off sets. This is where you reduce the weight by about 40% for the last set and do as many reps as you can until failure. It gives you a good pump and can really help promote muscle growth.

However, I am thinking of trying the Daniel Craig workout which is available on Mens Health:

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/Fitness-&-muscle/built-like-bond-daniel-craig-workout/v3

It seems pretty basic and straight forward and well... it worked for him!

So might give that a bash starting next week.

Am going to work hard over the next 5-6 weeks to drop as much body fat as I can before the christmas binge! Will post progress pics soon.

Christian Thibaubeau Workout

I have recently changed my workout to a Christian Thibaudeau workout based around the concept of Destroying Fat. Here is a link to the original article on T-Nation:


http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1499282


The workout I have put together looks like this:




In addition to the above I also perform 2 HIIT sessions a week and 1 standard cardio session. I usually do the HIIT sessions at the end of the Strenth sessions and the cardio session at the end of the Lactic Sessions. The first stime I did the lactic training session I nearly went sick! I am just finishing my second week and its going well!


Will keep everyone posted on my progress over the next 6 weeks or so.

New Routine

One of the things I have learned is to change your routine on a regular basis to keep your body guessing and to mix things up. From what I gather if you keep doing the same thing day after day then sooner or later your body will get used to it and you will not see as much gains coming through. So it is advisable to change your routine every 6-8 weeks or so. In particular mixing up the rep ranges is very important. So one week you may do 3 x 12 and the next week you should do 3 x 8 etc.

As such, I have just changed my full body routine to the following:

Workout A - (3 sets of each with rep ranges between 8 -12)

• Squats
• Incline Bench Press
• Deadlift
• Military Press
• BOR
• Weighted Dips

Workout B -(3 sets of each with rep ranges between 8-12)

• Lever Hack Squat
• DB Bench Press
• Straight Leg Deadlift
• Shoulder Press
• DB BOR
• Cable Pulldown

I alternate between workout A and B three times a week (Mon, Wed, Fri). So one week I do ABA and the next week I do BAB. In terms of weight I have also started to experiment with various pyramid sets. So for instance for Squats I will start off at 70k for 12 then do 80k for 10 and then 90k for 8 etc.

In addition to the above I also start with a 8min HIIT session on the Running machine to get the blood flowing and to warm up. On Tuesday's I still play football and on Sundays I either go for a 30min run or I do 3x8Min HIIT sessions in the gym on Running Machine, Rower and Bike.

I will stick with this for the next 6 weeks or so and then will mix it up again.

Progress Pics

Its been a while since I uploaded some progress pics so here are a couple of pics to show how I am getting along. As you can see a big difference! I am currently at around 14%-15% bodyfat. When I started back in April I was at 26%.

I weighed 14st 8lbs when I started and now I am down to 11st 12lbs. So I have droped around 40lbs! My goal is to now maintain my current weight and get down to between 8%-9% body fat.