The first week. This is what I like about firsts… you learn so much!
So after a rocky start to the week, thanks to a bit of man-flu which I’m sure had absolutely nothing to do with the shocking amount of alcohol that I consumed at the weekend prior, I’d decided to stop talking about what I was going to do, and to just get the fuck on with it.
Now, for me the difficulties in getting motivated and moving are many, the first of which is that I am simply not a morning person, I’ve never done well in the mornings and this is simply because I stay up too late, or I go to bed at a reasonable hour, then lay in bed watching Netflix or reading on my iPad… One thing I learned is that if I turn everything off and read a chapter of whatever on my kindle, it’s enough for me to want to get to sleep. – So if you’re anything like me and wondering why you can’t become a morning person, it’s because you’re simply not getting enough sleep.
Sleep is also really important for anyone who takes on a training programme – because it’s when we sleep that our bodies repair themselves. So even if you’re not doing strength training, and just increasing your activity – make sure you get your eight hours. I have a friend who dated a guy – now this is going back a few years, but his boyfriend had an amazing body, his body fat percentage must have been pretty low – anyway, he used to control his sleep, from what I hear, and he’d sleep for between 10 and 12 hours a day, if he could. Now, my friend is prone to exaggerations, but if this is true, it would explain (partly why his boyfriend always looked so youthful) … or it could be complete bullshit.
Anyway, from Wednesday to Friday this week, I followed the first three days of the Bigger Leaner Stronger training plan, (here, in case you missed it) -the first day didn’t go exactly to plan, if I’m honest I am glad I even made it to to the gym for 6.40am, but the problem really came from lack of confidence. I’d looked at my training plan for the day and knew what I to do – chest and abs, I’d done the first 2 chest exercises, but then I couldn’t find the “captains chair” of equivilent to enable me to to the other exercise, I was supposed to do abs too, but then I couldn’t find the cable crunch- I felt and looked like an utter twat. I’m glad I went, but it was a fail of a morning. Some would of given up there and then. Fuck that – bring on day 2.
The second morning was back, which was a better situation, I managed to do all my exercises and I was more confident with the heavy weight, I was able to do a circuit between the first couple of exercises, but the lat machine was being used (this is the only machine I am using – the rest is free weights) and so when was free I did 12 sets of 4.
In the evening, I also did some HIIT (High Intensity interval training) on a treadmill, as I’d heard that cardio and strength training really should be kept apart because by putting them both together, one sort of undoes the other. I can’t for the life of me give the reference atm, but I’ll certainly look it up. So I was sprinting for a minute and then running for 4, I did this until I reach 4km, which was at the point when I started to get flashbacks of the run I did earlier in the year that took me days and days to recover from, I didn’t want to be a total idiot and get back in the situation, so as I reached the edge of “I’m going to be to totally fucked in a second”, I listened to my body and I stopped. I burned about 400 calories in about 22 mins, not bad if you ask me.
Friday was shoulders and I did it perfectly, I was proper knackered and on the last rep of the last set, I knew that I literally couldn’t move any further and as finished – it’s funny how in just a few days I’d built up my confidence, what was surprising is that I was also able to get up.
Each morning, I’d wake, brush my teeth and have 3 x BCAAs, 1 x 200mg caffeine tablet… I’ve been training in a fasted state which is supposed to be good for fat burning and the BCAAs are supposed to help this too. The Caffeine also helps to boost metabolism, which burns calories more. At work, I’ve swapped from my normal coffee to green and peppermint tea, as I don’t want to overload my body with caffeine, also the herbal teas are full of all that good hippy shit that apparently help detoxify the body and again, increase my body’s metabolism. After my workout i’d have a protein shake, which is Total Protein from MyProtein, it’s vanilla flavour, a 60g serving with water has about 200cal and 46g of protein and less than 3g of carbs, which is great for bulking. I’d then wait until I’d got to work and around 10am have my porridge (made with skimmed milk).
I’d also been better with food, making a homemade vegetable soup, having cottage cheese, Tuna with a little mayo (I was having brown pasta at the beginning of the week, but I’m a little afraid of pasta – i’ll explain why in a bit).. and whereas I’d done quite badly earlier in the week, I thought I’d gotten better – but then I got weighed and I’d put on 3lbs. Only I’m not to fussed, I’m happy where I am, what I’m doing and what I’m eating, If in a couple of weeks, I’m not actually making any real gains, of course I’ll change it, but coming of a very low calorie controlled diet take an adjustment, and I know that with this training, it’s really impossible to even keep up something like intermittent fasting, because it’s correct diet and the right foods that will minimise the pain that can come from this kind of training and also ensure that I slowly get get the body I want…
… and then today, went for a fitness test, which turned out to be an hour with a training who was putting together a training plan for me.. and everything went out the window… and confusion, indecisiveness and conflicting information left me thinking… where do I go from here… and I was left with a choice.
It’s now twenty past midnight and I’m off to bed, so I’ll continue this tomorrow..
(my poor attempt at a cliffhanger, but I’ve rambled on for 1100 words and genuinely want some sleep.)
Goodnight – till tomorrow
Anthony John Maxwell 