Thusday- Legs: Power Workout

Barbell Squat

60kg's x 15 reps
80kg's x 10 reps
100kg's x 8 reps
110kg's x 5 reps
120kg's x 5 reps
130kg's x 5 reps
140kg's x 3 reps

Romanian Deadlift

60kg's x 15 reps
80kg's x 10 reps
100kg's x 6 reps
110kg's x 5 reps
120kg's x 5 reps
130kg's x 5 reps
140kg's x 5 reps

Rotary Seated Calf raise (Knees bent)

30kg’s x 20
40kg’s x 12
50kg’s x 9

Sled Calf Raise

95kg's x 20
95kg's x 18 reps
95kg's x 15 reps

Rest was 3-5 minutes between sets and 45 seconds rest with the calf exercises.

Week 5 Progress Update

Here are updated pictures for week 5

Weight is 72kg's



Here are updated pictures for week 5

My nutrient intake has remained the same; I am still eating 250 grams of Protein, 250 grams of Carbohydrate and 55 grams of Fat per day.

Baking a cake

Shaping the body is like baking a cake

Would you expect to bake a successful cake without measuring how much of each ingredient you use, keeping your fingers crossed that it would work out ok?

This principle applies for your body whether your goal is to build muscle or loose body fat. If you are not measuring your intake of nutrients then how are you supposed to know where you are? How will you know whether you need to make adjustments in order to keep the process working when you hit a plateau?

I’m not talking about counting calories; I’m talking about measuring protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. Each individual is different in this respect and this will vary according to sex, age, bodyweight, body composition and body type. It’s important to find the right level of nutrients required per day that will maintain your current bodyweight. From there nutrients can either be added or subtracted from the diet relative to what you are trying to achieve.

Keeping a record of what you eat and calculating what nutrients they contain- protein, carbohydrate, and fat will also will educate and give you the long term ability to make better food choices. Ignorance is not an excuse. Also through practice the process becomes very easy and quick to do, a search engine can give you a read out in seconds. There is also several nutritional analysis programmes available online that will calculate nutrients for you.

Sure we all know people who can eat pizza and McDonalds every day without putting on an ounce of fat, unfortunately not all of us are as gifted with a fast metabolism and adjustments have to be made according to what works for your body.

There is no such thing as a miracle diet. The key to long term success and improved body composition is educating yourself on the foods you eat and knowing what they contain.

If you would like to learn more on this subject then get please send me a message.

Tuesday- Chest: Power Workout

Chest- Low Incline Dumbbell Press

20kg DB’s x 10 reps
26kg DB’s x 8 reps
30kg DB’s x 6 reps
36kg DB’s x 5 reps
40kg DB’s x 5 reps
42kg DB's x 5 reps
42kg DB’s x 5 reps
44kg DB’s x 4 reps

Shoulders- Standing Overhead Press (Military Press)

25kg’s x 10
30kg’s x 8
40kg’s x 6
50kg’s x 5
57.5kg’s x 5
57.5kg’s x 5
60kg's x 5
67.5kg's x 1 1/2 (Failed on 2nd rep)

Triceps- Overhead Dumbbell Extension

16kg’s x 10
24kg’s x 8
30kg’s x 6
34kg’s x 5
38kg’s x 5
38kg’s x 5
40kg’s x 5
42kg's x 3

Rest was 3-5 minutes between sets.

Monday- Back: Power Workout

Deadlift

60kg’s x 10 reps
80kg’s x 8 reps
100kg’s x 5 reps
120kg’s x 5 reps
140kgs x 5 reps
160kg’s x 2 reps
180kg’s x 2 reps

Underarm Chin-Up’s

Bodyweight x 5 reps
Bodyweight + 10kg’s x 5 reps
Bodyweight + 15kg’s x 5 reps
Bodyweight + 20kg’s x 5 reps
Bodyweight + 25kg’s x 5 reps
Bodyweight + 32.5kg’s x 2 reps

Barbell Curl

20kg’s x 10
30kg’s x 5
35kg’s x 5
40kg’s x 5
45kg’s x 2

Rest was 3-5 minutes between sets.

My current training split

I currently train 4 days per week. I divide my body into 3 workouts and rotate between a power training workout which incorporates low reps (2-5) and longer rest periods with a hypertrophy day incorporating higher reps (6-12) and shorter rest periods. On the hypertrophy day I also incorporate intensity techniques such as supersets, drop sets and partial reps.

Week 1
Monday: Back, Biceps- Power
Tuesday: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps- Power
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Legs- Power
Friday- Back, Biceps- Hypertrophy
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Rest
Week 2
Monday: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps- Hypertrophy
Tuesday: Legs- Hypertrophy
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Back, Biceps- Power
Friday- Chest, Shoulders, Triceps- Power
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Rest

What is natural bodybuilding?

Natural bodybuilding can be defined as bodybuilding to improve the shape and muscularity of a physique without resorting to the use of anabolic steroids, pro-hormones or other anabolic hormones such as growth hormone, IGF or Insulin.

Please refer to this list to further see what is classified as a banned substance- http://www.bnbf.co.uk/banned-list.htm

There are varying degrees of ‘natural bodybuilding’, some federations accept competitors who have previously used hormones but have been clean for a number of years. I myself am a lifetime natural and have never used the above substances.

There are unfortunately competitors who slip through the net and do use compounds they are not supposed to. The judges are aware of this and do look out for obvious signs of substance abuse. Depending on the federation the competitors are further subject to polygraph and sometimes urinalysis to test whether they are honest about their natural status.

The thing the best attitude is to only worry about yourself and what you present on stage. Worrying about what other competitors might be taking is a waste of energy. If you bring the best physique on stage that you possibly can and improve on your previous performance then you should be happy. If you get rewarded for your efforts by the judges then great!

My goal

My goal is to come in with a significantly improved physique from my last competition which was in 2006.

Here is a montage of pictures from a video of that show-

Nutrition Breakdown

Here is a typical day of eating for me



This totals up to 254 grams of Protein, 255 grams of Carbohydrate and 52 grams of fat. This provides me with 2503 kcals which is right on point.

Week 4 Progress Update

Here are the pictures for week four.

Weight is 72.9kg's



I am continuing to eat 2500 kcal per day. This is divided between 250 grams of Protein, 250 grams of Carbohydrate and 55 grams of Fat. So far there has not been the need to lower it.

The first 3 Weeks

I began my pre-contest diet on the 28th of January. I weighed 75.5kg’s (168lbs).

Here are progress pictures for the first 3 weeks.

28/1/2010 - 75.5kg’s




03/2/2010 – 75.0kg’s



10/2/2010 – 73.7kg’s



I am eating 2500 Kcal’s per day, divided into 250grams of Protien, 250 grams of carbohydrate and 55 grams of fat. I eat 6 meals per day, spacing then 3-4 hours apart depending the length of the day.

Contest Season 2010

The purpose of this blog is to chart the progress of my pre-contest preparation

I will be competing in two shows this year.

First the FAME UK 2010 Championships at the SENI show at London's Excel on May 29th & 30th.

I will also be competing in the BNBF Southern Championships on the 20th of June at the Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis.

This will be my 2nd and 3rd show respectively that I will have competed in, having last competed in 2006.