Saturday 6th January 2018

Up early for a PT session then straight after my own training session :) 

I trained Deadlifts today which actually kills me every week. It's the one session I need to warm up for more mentally than physically, as pushing such a hard exercise to its limits is VERY fatiguing.

Exercises from todays session:
(Various rep ranges used, all sets done to close failure)
BB Conventional deadlifts
BB Glute bridges
Sated Leg Curl
BB RDL's
Leg Press (High/wide foot pos.)
Leg extension (single leg)
Chin ups
Hanging leg raises
Ab Crunches
Plank
Cardio

This session fatigues me so heavily that if possible I always try and nap after this session after some food just to try and help me make it through the rest of the day. I'm really proud I haven't given up on this session yet and that I'm improving lifts each week.

Training day food intake which is the same as the last few training days:

7.30am Oats, chia, egg whites & ketchup

9.30am Pre-workout oats, whey, banana & Jam
Intra workout blend, made by moi ;)

1pm Post workout beef mince, new baby potato, asparagus, red pepper and tomato

4.30pm Chicken, rice, broccoli, tomato, coconut oil

Cinema with a friend :) 

8pm Chicken, sweet potato, carrot, spinach, coconut oil

10pm Greek yoghurt 0%, whey, dark chocolate

Overall a great training session and all meals exactly how they should be. 

One more day done, one more step closer to the goal. 

x x x 

Friday 5th January 2018

Today my day started at 4.35am!! This meant by the time i was meant to train at 2pm I was so so tiered. I was super energetic for a lot of the morning but I'm only human and I was so out of it by 2pm I wanted to sack off training. 

I however had a friend at the gym, who i expressed my feeling to, and he simply told me to go do what I do best, so I did! That little word of encouragement meant I had enough internal motivation to push through the tiredness which there was enough of. 

Today was meant to be Deadlifts.... however being sensible I swapped todays and tomorrows training around as I knew I'd do more justice to that session tomorrow. 

Also being up at 4.35am meant I needed to be prepped the night before so I had everything sorted to take with me in the morning. No excuses, I want to get the diet and training done properly. 

Same training day food! Plus my back workout. All in all I'm happy with my efforts even though I was super tiered today. 

It's the decisions you make on the harder days that make more of an overall impact. 


Training day exercises:
Plate loaded machine row
Pull ups weighted
Seated close grip lat pull down 
Flat DB fly
Flat DB press
Standing cable face pull
Hanging leg raises
Ab Crunches
Plank
Cardio on cross trainer

So so proud of myself. Managed to get the job done, even though I really would have rather not. Even the strongest of us do't fancy it sometimes. 

Keep strong, mentally and physically

x x x

Thursday 4th January 2018

Today was a 'rest day' . . . This means a rest from the usual weight training plans, lower calories and as of January extra cardio on rest days so there's always a calorie burn every day.

Rest day food: 

7am Oats, chia, egg whites & ketchup

10am Chicken, sweet potato, carrot, spinach, coconut oil

1pm Chicken, rice, broccoli, tomato, coconut oil

4.30pm Beef mince, new baby potato, asparagus, red pepper and tomato

8pm Greek yoghurt 0%, whey, dark chocolate

Doing spin as my chosen cardio does mean that I can socialise around my training in these days. I did spin with several friends today which was super fun. :) 

The training and nutrition is full on already so having friends to train with helps a lot. 

x x x

Wednesday 3rd January 2018

Shoulders and Chest day which is my fave, body weight is coming down nicely from Xmas over indulgences, body is starting to feel better. (After eating rubbish at Xmas, man did my body feel a lot more lethargic and cramped. You just need to make a u-turn, start the healthy eating, bare with it and your body will feel better as long as you give it time to heal)

Training exercises:
(Various rep ranges used, all worked to failure)

Seated BB Shoulder press (managed 7 reps @50kg!!!!!)
Seated DB lat raise
Lying incl side lying Lat raise
Rear delt flye
Exaggerated Incl DB fly
Flat BB Bench Press (reppimg the 90kgs quite easily this morning!)
Calf Raises on Smith Machine
Hanging leg raises
Ab Crunches
Plank
Cardio on the cross trainer

I always finish a session knackered at the moment. Signs of a great workout :)

Literally the same food intake as yesterday, the great thing about having the same food on training days and only different for rest days is that you know what you're eating and when. You on't have to faff with deciding what different options you could go for and whether it was the best choice or not.

With these posts I hope it shows that it really is just consistent hard work day in and day out that will get you to where you want to be, there really isn't a magic pill you can take to get you there.

Food for thought:
Time will pass anyway, you might as well start now.

x x x

Tuesday 2nd January 2018

Today I've received plans to lower my calorie intake, most of the foods I'm going to have are the same but just a little less in quantity. Being completely honest, as I always am! - I'm absolutely okay with the lower calorie intake. I've accidentally reversed some progress this Xmas as I think most people do, and I'm wanting to feel back on track as soon as possible! So it's sticking to plans 100% as always and just playing a waiting game to see the pounds drop off. 

Energy levels are 100%

Training today was Lower body with a squat focus, plus chest, abs & cardio. 

Training session exercises:

Leg press
BB Back Squat
Leg Extension
DB RDL's
Seated Leg Curl
Lying ham glute raise
Weighted Dips
-dips are getting harder to load having more kettlebells on my belt!
Skull Crushers
Hanging leg raises
Ab Crunches
Plank
Cardio - Cross trainer

Food:
1,900 approx. total for training days now

7.30am Oats, chia, egg whites & ketchup

10am Pre-workout oats, whey, banana & Jam
Intra workout amino acids (plus intra workout carbs!!)

1pm Post workout beef mince, new baby potato, asparagus, red pepper and tomato

4pm Chicken, rice, broccoli, tomato, coconut oil

7pm Chicken, sweet potato, carrot, spinach, coconut oil

10pm Greek yoghurt 0%, whey, dark chocolate

Lots of natural foods keeping me full!

Keep motivated, New year, new opportunities to be your best self.

x x x

Monday 1st January 2018

New Year, Same me, Just this time a little bit smarter ;) 

So to start the new year I trained this morning at Fitness First Basingstoke as always. I trained Back, however I'm starting to feel injuries coming along so I've booked in with a sports therapist to help me avoid any injury developing. 

My right forearm is fatiguing way too quickly and harshly in my back workouts so I need to look after it a lot more. I'm also feeling the oddest painful lump under the skin on my left ankle :( Which sends sharp pains into my foot so I will make sure I take it easy where I need to.

Diet today was the last time having higher Training day macros, as of tomorrow my calories will be lowered to help cement progress this January. 

Training day diet:

7am Oats, whey, banana & jam <3 
7.30am Coffee
Trained Back & Biceps, plus cardio as always!
11.30am Lean beef mince, baby potatoes, veg, greek yoghurt & fruit
2.30m Soaked oats, chia seeds and strawberries, dark chocolate, egg whites
5.30pm Chicken, sweet potato, veg
8.30pm Chicken, bown rice, butternut squash & veg

Back workout consisted mainly of different row variations, all sets to failure working in different rep ranges. Was a great workout, and as it was first thing on new years day it was pretty empty too! 

Seated Narrow grip row
T-Bar row
Thick Grip Watson bar row over incline bench
Lat Pull down, wide neutral grip
Single Arm Machine row standing
Wide grip stiff arm pull down
-
Calfs on smith machine
-
Cable Bicep curls
-
Hanging leg raises
Ab crunches
Plank
-
Cardio

Much Love x x x

Sunday 31st December 2017

Today I had decided to wake up naturally then head to the gym for a workout. However . . . . This plan completely backfired on me as I had slept in till 10.30am and I already had plans for the rest of the day with family. So I had rest day calories and decided that that was good enough for today. I still can't believe I slept for a solid 10 hours!

I have reversed some of the progress made this month over the Christmas period, so I'll be making sure I only settle for progression this January. 

My days will also be a lot busier as I build up my own Personal Training business again. 

Rest Day Menu:
1,600 calories. 

10.30am oats, chia seeds, strawberries, dark chocolate, egg whites
1.30pm chicken, veg, brown rice, coconut oil
4pm chicken, veg, butternut squash, sweet potato, coconut oil 
7pm lean beef mince, new baby potatoes, veg
9pm greek yoghurt, frozen berries, whey, dark chocolatex x x