What happened next?

I was thoroughly impressed with the results of the Six Day Shred, the next question was 'how long does it last'?

Well the simple answer is that within 24 hours I looked the same as I did on day 3. That is slightly leaner that the start, but nowhere near as defined as I was at the peak.
The 'pump' had gone from my muscles by the morning of day 7.

Say goodbye to your gains

So I went through 6 days testing my willpower and almost killing myself with water for less than 24 hours of improved physique.

Was it worth it: totally!

Would I do it again: no way!

As an experiment I've learned a lot and have kept some aspects of the diet in my regular life (reduced sugar intake, staying appropriately hydrated and cutting carbs slightly).

From a vanity point of view it's not worth putting yourself through all that for a day at the beach and pretty pointless for a holiday as it only lasts a day.

However, if you're a competitive bodybuilder, this method may be the difference between first place and tenth place. Alternatively if you're a fitness model, this method could land you that Calvin Klein underwear job. 

It really depends on how important 24 hours of improved physique is to you.

The dangers and difficulty of this method put me off trying it again unless I had a very good reason to.

6 Day Shred: Results

I've come to the end of my Six Day Shred.
So, did it work?

Here's the answer:

Images all taken on my phone to avoid question of editing or falsifying results - images unedited

What's changed? (not my trousers, that's for sure!)

- Lost a noticeable amount of body fat / retained water. You can really see the improved definition.
- Muscles appear more 'pumped'
- I've lost 8lbs of bodyweight, now weigh in at 12st (from 80kg down to 76kg)
- I don't feel low on energy or 'dehydrated'
- I cut my hair and shaved...


What did I learn?
- Don't drink 15 litres of water per day without additional salts & electrolytes
- I had a serious sugar addiction
- I can lose weight and look bigger
- Low carb food can be tasty
- Thinking in advance and planning meals = better nutrition!
- Don't grab snacks or bread just because it's easy


What have I taken from the whole experience?
- Firstly, I don't ever intend to be as hooked on sugar as I was, I certainly won't be snacking on biscuits and chocolate in the evening. I know that "just a little bit of chocolate" every night is habit and compulsion rather than just wanting the taste.
- I'm now much more aware of the effect fluids and hydration levels can have on my body and how I feel.
- It's fortunate that I had the knowledge to fix myself on day 3, I would not recommend just anyone tries this method without support and guidance from a fitness / nutrition professional. Unless I had a client who was a fitness model I wouldn't use this particular method on a client.
- I found myself reading the nutrition labels on EVERYTHING and making informed decisions on what I would and wouldn't put into my body (amazed how much crap goes into pre-cooked chicken breast!)
- Overall I'm really happy with the result. Other than almost dying on day 3, it's been a pleasant experience, plus I'm going on holiday lean and clean!


It hasn't been easy but I've enjoyed the challenge. Aside from the chocolate cravings, the hardest part was fitting the amount of water and correct nutrition around my normal life and work.
I now know that even in a busy week I can prepare and eat good food.

In future I'll be thinking and planning what goes into my body every day instead of eating whatever is closest or easiest.
I'll be drinking plenty of water (not 15 litres per day) and I'll be cutting down on my intake of simple carbs and refined sugars.

Now to see how long this definition lasts on a 7 night all inclusive holiday with 5 course dinner every night!

Carbs, glorious carbs!

Day 5 of the 6 Day Cutting Plan and today is the day I'm finally allowed some carbs! 5-6 meals, each containing 50-75g of carbs - YUMMY!

Here's the plan for today:
"In the first one or two meals, have fruits as your main carbohydrate source. Starting the carb-up with fruit replenishes liver glycogen very fast. We believe that the faster liver glycogen is filled, the more effective the rest of the carb-up will be. 

Continue drinking up to 10 litres of water today, don't gradually stop water intake. When you cut water intake later on, it should be a shock to the system.

For meals three and four, move to starchier, faster-absorbing carbs (potatoes, pasta or rice if it's tolerated well). Meal number 4 should be at around 4:00pm.

Now the "fun" begins. Water intake should be cut completely at 4:00 or 5:00pm. One or two more meals should be consumed after you cut water. Have only one if you're already looking "full." Have two if not. These meals should contains carbs derived from simple sugars: pancakes and syrup, pie filling, waffles, chocolate, etc. (see, it's not all bad!)

Also on Friday, take a herbal diuretic or black coffee (if it's not going to stop you sleeping)"

So, that's the plan. Here's how my day actually went:

We have a big corporate performance tomorrow, it was confirmed yesterday, so I now need to source Victorian costumes for the guys, sort out our driver and make sure everyone knows where to be and when.

I also need to get my new CRB check done to start working in more schools around the area, apparently this NEEDS to be done this morning.

So I had breakfast at 8:30am.

Breakfast was 1 banana, 1 apple and a Super Protein Shake.

I then went to the City Council offices to sort out my police check. At 10:00am I was out of there and ready for meal number 2.

Meal 2 was 2 apples and 250g of chicken breast.

While in the City centre I picked up some essentials and sourced the remaining costumes.

It was now 11:00am and I was due to teach at 1:15pm.

Unfortunately I'd felt like I may have looked silly carrying a gallon of water into the Council offices, so I'd gone 2 hours without any water.

Back on it at 1:00, made up for lost time: glug glug glug....

Home by 11:30 and time to cook lunch.

Lunch was 175g sliced, grilled white potato with garlic and sea salt, 2 sausages and a little gem lettuce.

Water consumption continues.

From 1:15 - 3:30 I was teaching in a primary school, limited water consumption as my gallon bottle prompted so many questions from the 10yr olds.

3:30 I head to the shops on my way home to pick up pancakes and syrup for my first sweet treat! Simple carbs, how I've missed you!

Interesting that I'm now over my sugar cravings and although I was 'allowed' simple carbs, I had no desire to pick up a chocolate bar at the checkout...

At 4:15pm I was eating my 4th meal.

Meal 4 was 100g golden syrup pancakes with butter and maple syrup - yummy!

I can't even tell you what it tasted like as it was devoured in seconds.

As of 4:30pm my I've cut water consumption completely - only 8 litres consumed today, let's hope it was enough!

Carb, glorious carbs!

Now I'm rushing because I'm meeting Becki's parents at a restaurant at 5:30pm and have tickets to the theatre for 7:30pm tonight.

Meal number 5 at 6:00pm. We went for an Italian meal before the theatre.

Meal 5 was a thin base pizza with roughly 100g chicken breast, half a red onion, 75g of bacon and 2 spring onions on top of the pizza sauce and cheese (estimates). Followed by a sticky toffee pudding and ice cream (gotta get those simple carbs!)

I accompanied dinner with 1 small glass of full sugar Coke.

I wasn't sure what to do about fluid consumption this evening. I know my aim is to 'dry' out by body, I had no access to diuretics or vegetable glycerine, so I opted for a filter coffee followed by a 330ml bottle of beer. Hopefully that should be enough to continue flushing my system - I needed to pee twice at the theatre, so all seems good.

By 11:00pm I was gasping for a drink and needed to pee. I certainly feel 'dry'.

By midnight my pee had some colour to it and smelled like urine - it's been clear and odourless for a few days now.
Let's see what happens overnight. This is where the magic should happen!

Back on track

Day 4 of the 6 Day Cutting Plan has been a good one. I've regulated my electrolytes by taking a sachet of Dioralyte for every 5 litres of water consumed.

I'm also trying not to drink more than 1 litre per hour as that's about the limit that my kidneys can process.

After yesterday I'm being as sensible as possible while sticking to the plan.

Breakfast at 8:30am was a banana and a Super Protein Shake.

Then I headed to mi-gym to meet Sam and train at 9:00am. Today was a tough one for the upper body:

- 3 sets of 5 bench press @ 70kg
- 3 sets of 5 Kettlebell flyes @ 16kg per arm
- 3 sets of 5 reverse flyes @ 8kg per arm
- Superset 3 sets of 5 pull up & ring dips
- 3 sets of 8 ring push ups
- 3 sets of 10 IYT with 2.5kg per hand
- 3 sets of 10 fat grip barbell curls @ 20kg - with 10 second isometric hold on the last rep

Straight after training I had another Super Protein Shake.

As I only teach in the evening on Thursdays, today was a mainly admin day at home, so should be fairly easy to regulate food and water.

Mid-morning snack at 11:00 was 4 pork sausages, a little gem lettuce and 2 boiled beetroot (15g carbs total, not crap sausages)

Lunch at 14:30 was 2 scrambled egg and another 2 sausages.

More water consumption in the afternoon before going out at 4:30pm to teach our weekly Parkour & Free Running class.
Home at 7:30pm and chilled while drinking more water.

15 Litres finished by 9:00pm - BOOM!

(thanks to Joe for sending this picture over)

Feeling good, not craving chocolate and looking forward to eating properly tomorrow (drinking 10 litres before 4:00pm will be tough, but I get pancakes!)

BRING IT ON!

Small victories

What a roller coaster today has been!

Day 3 of the 6 day cutting plan was off to an ok start.
I had to get up to pee twice in the night and once again at 7:00am. But I had steak for breakfast, so it's not all bad.

The most positive thing I've felt today is that the sugar / chocolate cravings are subsiding. Cravings haven't gone yet, but it's much more bearable.

Breakfast at 9:00am was 150g steak, 2 mushrooms and a Super Protein Shake.
Water consumption started just before 9:00am - I want to get the full amount in me without filling my bladder at 11:00pm again.

I'm teaching today so before going out I'll do a workout at home:
- 3 sets of 10 pull ups
- 3 sets of 10 push ups
- 3 sets of 6, bicep curl @ 17kg per arm
- 3 sets of 10 bent over row @ 17kg per arm

Lunch was 3 egg omelette with 75g ham and 5 lettuce leaves.

At 1:30 I went out to teach, around this time I started to develop a pounding headache (which made teaching 14yr olds a lot of fun!). At 3:30pm I headed home from teaching, the headache was still there and I had now developed mild heartburn.
I felt pretty rough at this point so decided to take some additional salts on board (I must be fairly diluted at this point).
At 4:00pm I took 5g of sodium hydrogen carbonate (Andrews salts) and 5g of Magnesium Hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia).

Mid-Afternoon snack at 4:30 Super Protein Shake & an avocado.
I'm still not quite up to 10litres at this point. Need to drink more quickly!

I went on to feel incredibly tired and the headache remained. Worried at this point about potential damage I could be doing to myself.

Dinner at 5:30pm was 2 haddock fillets, 75g boiled beetroot & 4 lettuce leaves.

After dinner I took another 5g of sodium hydrogen carbonate and ground some sea salt into the water bottle I was drinking from.

At 7:00pm I had a PT client at mi-gym but fortunately was starting to feel better.
At the gym I bought a bottle of Vita-Coco and drank it straight away (more potassium).

By the start of my 8:30pm class I didn't just feel back to normal I felt full of energy.
Clearly I'd diluted myself to the point where my body was in dire need of salts and electrolytes - lesson learned!

Salts and electrolytes are a MUST!

I've stocked up on Andrews and Dioralyte (rehydration sachets) to get through tomorrow.

Finally, here's the progress so far.
It seems as though cutting the carbs and water loading has had an effect on retained water, let's see what happens after 'drying out'

Slight increase in definition in just 3 days!

Once Thursday is out of the way I can start eating carbs again. BRING IT ON!

Stay close to the toilet

I'm now 2 days into my cutting process and I'm not ashamed to say that it's proving to be really REALLY difficult!
I'm also glad that I've been reasonably close to a toilet at every stage of the day. All this water is going straight through me!

Today was a relatively quiet day from a work perspective, so I was able to plan meals more effectively and train hard.

Started the day with a nice early breakfast of a banana and a Super Protein shake.

I met up with Sam at 9:00am at mi-gym.com to train. Today was mainly legs with some work on the guns for good measure (holiday next week!)
- 3 sets of 5 back squat @ 110kg
- 3 sets of 5 deadlift @ 120kg
- 3 sets of 5 Zercher Good Morning @ 60kg
- 3 sets of 5 neutral grip pull ups
- 3 sets of 10 bent over row @ 16kg per arm
- Superset 3 sets of 8 barbell curl @ 40kg with 10 press ups

 Straight after training I had another Super Protein.

I then spent an hour filming Will Wayland training some of his pro athletes for a piece we'll be putting out later this month.

After filming the athletes I went to a meeting at a coffee shop about a forthcoming Halloween event we're running the performance side of: http://www.thecursed.co.uk/
Meeting in a coffee shop was a mistake! So much cake, so many biscuits, so many sweet beverages!
I looked at the nutrition information on a pack of 2 biscuits; 30g carbs per biscuit. I put the biscuit down and ordered a black coffee.

After the meeting it was back to mi-gym to eat my lunch before filming an eccentric tutorial with Will.

Lunch was 150g steak with cracked black pepper, 100g chicken breast, lettuce, an avocado and 2 large mushrooms. Very tasty, very satisfying.

During filming I had to demonstrate a 6 second eccentric squat, so my legs took a further pounding.
Further depleting the glycogen can only be good.

Home at 3:30pm for another 100g of steak with cracked black pepper, garlic and red chilli, a red bell pepper and more lettuce.

By 5:00pm I had only consumed 7 litres of water, it's going to be along night!

Over the course of the day I have had to pee roughly every 30mins with no more than an hour between toilet stops. At least I know my body is in flushing mode now!

There was a scary moment on my way to teach this evening, I hit traffic in what is usually a 20 minute drive. I was preparing myself for the possibility of having to refill one of the water bottles.
Fortunately the traffic cleared quickly and I got to the centre before disaster struck.

All day!

Teaching my circuits class at 7:00pm kept me moving (and made me very aware of my legs). More water consumed there too.

Dinner was 300g of lamb chops with beetroot, lettuce and mushrooms, followed by another Super Protein shake.

Sadly the mint sauce I had in the cupboard contains more sugar than I dared to look at, so I made do with a drop of white wine vinegar to taste.

Bring on day 3, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight!

Sugar Addiction

Day 1 of my SHREDDED FOR HOLIDAY programme. It's been an odd day and now I want chocolate.

Trying to get through 15 litres of water around normal life is tough enough, but eating less than 50grams of carbohydrate per day is a massive challenge.
I've also discovered that I'm seriously addicted to sugar, right now I'm pretty much going cold turkey.

Sugar Addiction Cycle

Monday was the first day on this. At first it was quite a novelty carrying big bottles of water around and going shopping for my meals. I bought a selection of meats, salad items and herbs & spices to make the high protein meals less dull. I also made sure I had enough Super Protein to last me the week. With very little added to it, Super Protein is a good source of protein for this experiment (it also uses Stevia as a sweetener).
Monday was a busy day for work. Between clients, teaching in schools and evening classes I didn't train.

- Breakfast was a Super Protein shake and a banana (half my carbohydrate for the day)
- Mid morning I had a chicken breast and 100g of sliced beef.
- Lunch was pork chops with red chilli, lettuce and an avocado (the other half of my carbs for the day)
- Mid afternoon I had another Super Protein shake.
- Evening meal was a small portion of homemade Bolognese meat sauce (carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms almost certainly put me over my carb allowance for the day)

What concerned me most was that for the whole afternoon and evening I was literally craving chocolate. I've never known anything like it; I didn't just fancy a chocolate bar, I NEEDED one.
It's a very uncomfortable feeling and took a lot of willpower not to give in.

Everywhere you go there's sugar and high carbohydrate foods, waiting to pay for my shopping there was chocolate and sweets everywhere. I stopped for petrol and there's sugary snacks, crisps, pastries and biscuits staring me in the face. No wonder so many people fail at diets, you can't go anywhere without being stared down by a Curly Wurly!

Chocolate cravings aside, I was pleasantly surprised at how satisfied my appetite was by such high protein / low carb meals. Drinking 3 gallons of water was a bit of a grind though. Just had to keep drinking and keep peeing.

15 litres of water is a LOT of water (2 litre bottle on left for reference)

I am now looking forward to loading up on carbs at the end of the week. This sugar craving is driving me mad!

Getting shredded in 6 days

Everyone wants to be shredded sometimes!

At the beginning of October I'll be going on a (long overdue) week long holiday, we're going on a cruise around the Eastern Mediterranean.
It's pretty hot over there, even at this time of year, so I may end up taking my shirt off or spending some time sunbathing by the on board pool.

With this in mind, I decided to try out a cutting technique known as 'drying out'. This is pretty common practice for competing sports models and physique competitors.
I'm looking at a 6 day process of loading myself with water while taking on a high protein low carbohydrate diet to make my body 'flush', then tactically carbing up at the end of the week as I completely drop my fluid intake. I'll also be training pretty hard in an attempt to become glycogen depleted.

I'm fully aware that the definition produced by this process will last 2 days at most, but it's a good excuse to experiment on myself.

Just for the record: These techniques will not make you look "ripped" if you are in fat! While most people can drop a significant amount of fat along with the water in these six days, this is not primarily a "diet." It's designed to help already lean people get super lean. It's also worth mentioning that this technique IS NOT a sustainable weight management program, it's purely a short sharp fix for an athlete / model to get in shape for a competition / photoshoot.

It's also worth mentioning that energy levels will be down by the end of this process and that a 'dry' or dehydrated body will not be performing at maximum efficiency.

Ryan Reynolds looking 'ripped'

These techniques are often used by actors to quickly get into shape for a topless scene. It's entirely possible that Ryan Reynolds used this type of fluid manipulation to increase his definition for this infamous scene in Blade: Trinity

(not necessary for this article, I just quite like Ryan Reynolds)

<EDIT> - If you intend to try this yourself, please be aware of the dangers of too much water. Please read about the effects I experienced and how I rectified them before even considering something like this - Day 3 pitfalls of too much water

Here's the programme I'll be sticking to this week:

(This schedule assumes a Saturday bodybuilding competition, photo shoot, or day at the beach)

Monday: 10 to 15 Litres of water, 50g or less total carbs

Tip: Buy three 5 litre bottles of water with a handle. This will let you see exactly how much water you have left to go. And the handle makes it easy to carry around with you everywhere — which you'll pretty much have to do to get in three gallons! 

Pro Tip: Don't ever be too far from a toilet / ditch / bush.

Tuesday: Same as above

Wednesday: Same as above

Thursday: Same as above

Friday: Begin a gradual carb-up. Today eat five or six meals, each containing 50-75g of carbs.

In the first one or two meals, have fruits as your main carbohydrate source. Starting the carb-up with fruit replenishes liver glycogen very fast. We believe that the faster liver glycogen is filled, the more effective the rest of the carb-up will be.

For meals three and four, move to starchier, faster-absorbing carbs (potatoes, pasta or rice if it's tolerated well). Meal number 4 should be at around 4:00pm.

Now the "fun" begins. Water intake should be cut completely at 4:00 or 5:00pm. One or two more meals should be consumed after you cut water. Have only one if you're already looking "full." Have two if not. These meals should contains carbs derived from simple sugars: pancakes and syrup, pie filling, waffles, chocolate, etc. (see, it's not all bad!)

Along with this simple sugar meal, have two tablespoons of vegetable glycerine (found in most health food stores). Also on Friday, take a herbal diuretic or black coffee (if it's not going to stop you sleeping). Although the proper thing to do is go by the label directions with these type of products, best results are usually achieved by taking three servings on Friday: one about an hour or two before you cut water intake, one when you cut intake, and one before bed.

Another trick is to take an Epsom salt bath (400g of Epsom salt in very hot water) for 20-30 minutes before bed. This is what bodybuilders did to help shed water before diuretics became popular. (The salt and mega hot bath drastically increase perspiration.)

Saturday (photo or beach day): Breakfast depends on how you look.

• Looking flat? Have another simple sugar meal.

• Looking good? Small portion of fruit and protein.

• Holding water? Protein only (shake with very little water).

Forty-five minutes before pumping up for your shoot, take in two tablespoons of glycerol in one can of full-sugar soda. 

Voila; hardly any subcutaneous water and muscles full of water.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, may also put up some before and after images.

Full article on this method from T-Nation can be found here: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_diet_mass/shredded_in_6_days

Photoshoot with William Wayland

William Wayland.

A selection of photos of William Wayland of www.powering-through.com taken at mi-gym.com in Chelmsford.

All images were taken on Canon EOS 7D with Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.4

These images were taken with a single off-camera flashgun.

6 Week Project: End of Project

Well I have to say it's been an absolute pleasure working with my project for the past couple of months.

Here's a brief look at the changes made and the results:

Changes in nutrition:
We wanted to avoid making immediate, HUGE, drastic changes or creating a strict 'diet' to stick to. Instead we made subtle changes over time and taught her how to look after her own dietary requirements (instead of being reliant on an external source like Weight Watchers, Lighter Life, Slim Fast or a diet book).

Here's the changes we made over the course of our programme-
- Cutting portion sizes and not eating until uncomfortably full.
- Cutting processed sugars from her diet. Replacing sweets with fruit to tackle the sweet craving initially. Then removing snacks altogether over time.
Drinking more water. As we know, a hydrated body won't cling to water. By hydrating her effectively we were able to shed some water weight.
- Eating 3 meals per day and avoiding snacking (gradually replacing snacks with water)
- Cutting caffeine intake, again hoping to created a hydrated, efficient body.
- Reducing intake of starchy foods (pasta, bread, potato) We replaced potato with sweet potato, bread with pita or corn-based tortilla wraps and replaced pasta with rice. I also introduced simple recipe ideas like mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato.
- Stopped her being scared of 'fat'. The body needs fats. So I looked to educate her and show that sugars were the problem with the current diet, not fats.
- Reducing intake of artificial nasties. This one was a tough one that requires some willpower. I asked that if she bought any item of food that was processed, prepared or packaged (ie, not a fresh, raw ingredient) to look at the list of ingredients, if there were more ingredients that she didn't recognise than she did recognise, then it was best to put it back on the shelf and find an alternative. Again looking ot educate and get her to understand what she's putting in her body.
- INcreade in fibre (from vegetables) and protein (from food, not supplements) and general reduction in carbohydrates (trying to source carbs from fruit and vegetables primarily)
- Planning meals and preparing in advance to avoid rushing for Gregs or Subway as a last resort.

The fitness side of the program was quite straightforward. We followed this basic plan with varied exercises and weights:
- Warmup and mobility
- Heavy compound lifts (Variations on squats and deadlifts as the main exercises)
- Accessory compound lifting (overhead press, rowing, pull ups etc.)
- Complex patterns with load (series of lifts at moderate weight with no rest between exercises)
- Specific strength work to assist with pole dancing strength goals (grip, shoulder strength etc.)
- Cardio (Usually High Intensity Interval incorporating bodyweight exercises.)


So, what were the results?

Firstly, and most importantly in this case, she FEELS better. She's happier and more confident. That's not something that can be measured, but it makes all the difference in the world to a client.

She doubled the load that we put on her back squat and deadlift. We created more muscle, therefore increasing her base metabolic rate - more calories burned per day before any exercise has been done.
This also had the added bonus of increasing core stability and completely removing lower back discomfort that she had blamed on her office chair at work.

There was a significant and noticeable drop in body fat and an increase in firmness and muscle tone.

Total weight lost in 6 weeks was 12lbs. But we have to take into account that she gained a significant amount of muscle during that time.

All things considered, the whole experiment has been a success. Now she can carry on living a healthy, happy life on her own.

Personal Progression

It's great that my project is making such superb progress, I'm so happy for her that she's making great gains every week.
With all of her improvement, gains and huge leaps this week I decided to test myself, see how far I can push my body and see what effect my training is having on my strength.
At present I weigh 83kg.

Well, it's been an amazing few days for personal bests!

In February 2013 I was squatting 100kg for 3 reps and I could deadlift 100kg (but it wasn't pretty)

On the 8th of April I set a new barbell squat personal best of 135kg.
Last week (19th April 2013) I achieved a new personal best deadlift of 185kg

19th April 2013 - 185kg deadlift

Yesterday (22nd of April 2013) I decided to have another crack at the deadlift. I lifted 195kg - that's just short of 2.5 times my bodyweight.

22nd April 2013 - 195kg deadlift

Today I was due to train legs as part of Phase 2 of my Jumping Power programme. I also wanted to have another try at maxing out my barbell squat. After my training I felt a little less than confident and decided not to go for a new personal best today. I started on some accessory training and decided that I would have a try after all, I didn't want any negativity in my training. The only thing holding me back was me.
I was especially fortunate that Will Wayland was in and training today.
After I'd worked my way up to 140kg Will offered to spot me if I needed him.
As I loaded up the bar with 145kg I felt nervous. I wasn't totally sure that I could lift this load.
I got under the bar and told myself that I could do it, I wouldn't let myself down.
I did it, lifted 145kg with no physical assistance.
So today I got a new personal best of 145kg on my barbell squat.

At this point I mentally slapped myself and decided I could do it.

22nd April 2013 - 145kg barbell squat

Thanks again to mi-gym for giving me a great place to train; somewhere full of positive and enthusiastic people and full of awesome equipment (thanks to Jordan Fitness)


Here's another little personal story:
Quite some time ago I worked for a major health club chain, we decided to have a 'Deadlift Challenge' on the gym floor to get more members involved in lifting weights and stepping away from the cardio machines (this mission of mine has been going on quite some time).
At this time my training was predominantly bodyweight so I had no idea what I could lift.
Over the course of the day all the 'big' guys came over to show off, they were generally starting to struggle at about 100kg. A few went over 100kg and got towards 150kg.
I'm not afraid to admit that at the time I felt intimidated by these 'big' guys and I didn't even attempt a lift of over 90kg for fear of appearing weak if I failed. After all, I only weighed a little over 80kg.
Funny thing is, I weigh the same today as I did back then.
You don't need to be huge to be strong, and a little confidence goes a long way.

The past few weeks have drummed home again and again that training is as much mental as it is physical. First believe that you can achieve your goals, then go out and smash them!

6 Week Project: End of Week 2

This week we trained twice as I'll be away for our usual Friday session. We met as usual on Friday, then again on Monday to touch base and train.

Once again we aimed to complete the same workout with the addition of a complex:

Pulling exercises for pole dancing strength:
3 x 3reps pull ups (unable to pull up, so jumped up and performed a slow descent)
3 x 5reps 12kg ball slams
3 x 3reps Band lat pull
3 x 5reps Assisted high pull up

At the start of the pulling section she proudly told me that her pole dancing manoeuvres are feeling easier and she's definitely increased her useful strength with regard to pole dancing. This was great to hear as I knew it'd boost her confidence and give her more faith in the programme.

Complex pattern:

Entire sequence performed with a barbell as one complex movement pattern without letting go of the bar

Bent over row, deadlift, hang clean, overhead press, front squat, put bar down and repeat x5.At this stage we used a 20kg bar with 2x 5kg plates on (30kg total weight)

She found the complex quite challenging, more challenging than she expected. Her technique is quite good and her form stayed good to the last rep.

This exercise will help increase her metabolism and therefore aid fat burning. 

Heavy Lifts:
3 x 5reps Barbell squat @ 45kg
3 x 5reps Deadlift @ 55kg
3 x 5reps Kettlebell bent over row @ 24kg (2x 12kg)
3 x 5reps Lateral raise @ 5kg
3 x 5 reps Front raise, straight arms @ 10kg (2x 5kg plates)

Once again, massive gains in this department. Further proof that she's still finding her groove, learning the exercises and getting confident. After the first set of squats it was clear that 45kg was too light to be challenging, so we added another 5kg. Barbell squat is now 50kg. That's a HUGE 10kg jump from 2 weeks ago. I think she's still got a little more in the tank too.

Deadlift we kept at 55kg for now.

She also mentioned that even though the lateral raise and front raise are still difficult, they are significantly easier than when she started.

Circuit to finish off
3 rounds of:
10 low bar pull ups (feet on floor in front)
10 press ups
10 Medicine ball squat & throw @ 6kg (Crossfit 'Wall Ball')
10 Kettlebell swings @ 16kg

Once again, amazing effort in the circuit this week! She completed the circuit in 3:38 (week 1 was 4:44) that's over 1 minute improvement!

At the end of this session she confided in me that she'd been having doubts as to her progress. Friends that have done 'crash diets' have seen rapid weight loss. 

Fortunately the progressive and productive session tonight restored her faith in the programme.

We're looking at healthy, sustainable results to produce a healthy, happy client at the end.

Up to 50kg squats now. Great work!

Our second session this week was only 3 days after the usual session, so for this additional session simply did the following:

Complex pattern:

Entire sequence performed with a barbell as one complex movement pattern without letting go of the bar

Bent over row, deadlift, hang clean, overhead press, front squat, put bar down and repeat x5.At this stage we used a 20kg bar with 2x 5kg plates on (30kg total weight)

This time after the complex had been completed, she rested for 60 seconds and repeated the complex once more.

She finished the second complex visibly out of breath and sweating. 

Even at this stage it was a surprise to her that short bursts of intense exercise can result in shortness of breath and perspiration.

Heavy Lifts:
3 x 5reps Barbell squat @ 45kg
3 x 5reps Deadlift @ 55kg
3 x 5reps Kettlebell bent over row @ 24kg (2x 12kg)
More gains! Clear evidence that a person become neurologically 'strong' before their muscles adapt. Simply learning the exercise and gaining confidence will help you work more efficiently.

We kept the squats at 50kg as this was still tough after increasing load on Friday. 

The 55kg deadlift looked a little easy tonight, so after the first set we added another 5kg to the bar. In 2 weeks her deadlift has gone from 50kg to 60kg. I'm so impressed and proud of her results.

As we won't see each other for another 10 days I've set some 'homework'. Not only will she be practicing our little circuit on her own, she'll also be using the Tabata Interval Protocol in her own time up to 5 times this week. I've told her that she can choose any bodyweight exercise she likes for this interval training.

The musical tracks in the link above are mixed by myself to give a 20 second 'work' phase followed by a 10 second 'rest' phase. This is repeated for 8 work phases. The whole workout is only 4 minutes long.

Once again, I can't express how proud I am of the gains and achievements she's made already.

She's a superstar!

mi-gym.com photoshoot

This week a very good friend of mine, Jamie Hammond, brought his studio setup along to mi-gym. We didn't really have a specific photographic agenda, just wanted to experiment with the lighting and the venue to see what we could create.

We shot everything on my Canon 550D and used 3 lights to get these shots.

Huge thanks to mi-gym.com for letting us use the space.
All the equipment featured is from Jordan Fitness
It goes without saying that the shoot was powered by Superlife Nutrition

Rachel from mi-gym

Train hard, play hard

Close up of Brad Wendes

William Wayland of www.powering-through.com

Jordan resistance band

All fun and games at mi-gym

Jamie the photographer trying to lift

Brad Wendes - gymnastic rings

Box fit

Brad Wendes barbell curl

Brad Wendes - Kettlebell goblet squat

Brad Wendes hanstand

Brad Wendes & Kelly Stevens

Loving the Superlife Nutrition Super Protein

Tips for pull ups & muscle ups

I've had a few requests for more exercises and tips on improving your pull up and training for the muscle up.

You can check out my recent article on my own training for Pulling Power as well as my recent post on Isometric Contractions for Strength.

This week I filmed a quick video at mi-gym on the specific exercises for high, strong pull ups as well as making the transition from pull up to muscle up. All of these exercises are relatively simple to perform and require very little equipment.
All the equipment in this video, including resistance bands, is available from Jordan Fitness: http://www.jordanfitness.co.uk/

Hopefully there's something here for people of all abilities, let me know what you think.

As always, let me know what you want help with, what articles you want to read and what videos you'd like to watch. Requests to: brad@bradwendes.com

6 Week Project: End of Week 1

The first thing I noticed this week was that my subject was not very happy when she arrived. I didn't want to pry so we just got on with the programme.
After an hour of intense exercise and some noticeable gains all round, she left with a big smile on her face.
Lesson learned: If training does nothing else, it will help you relieve stress!


Now on with the fitness side of things.

This week was the start of our training after last weeks introduction.
As it was the start of our project I took some measurements:
Waist: 35"
Thigh: 24.5"
Upper Arm: 13.5"

Now that she was more familiar and comfortable with the exercises I was able to push her out of her comfort zone a little more.

We aimed to simply complete the same workout as last week but push things a little harder:

Pulling exercises for pole dancing strength:

3 x 3reps pull ups (unable to pull up, so jumped up and performed a slow descent)

3 x 5reps 12kg ball slams

3 x 3reps Band lat pull

3 x 5reps Assisted high pull up

The pulling exercises are already a struggle for her, so we stayed as before on these. 

At week 3 I'll be asking for any feedback on how our training is reflecting in her pole dancing.

Heavy Lifts:

3 x 5reps Barbell squat @ 40kg

3 x 5reps Deadlift @ 50kg

3 x 5reps Kettlebell bent over row @ 24kg (2x 12kg)

3 x 5reps Lateral raise @ 5kg

3 x 5 reps Front raise, straight arms @ 10kg (2x 5kg plates)

Now here we made some superb gains. Simply by being more comfortable lifting weight, we were able to add 5kg to both the barbell squat (now 45kg) and the deadlift (now 55kg). 

Absolutely superb! But I can see that these exercises still aren't pushing her to overload, so we'll be making more small additions as we go. 

She'll have to be comfortable or she won't believe that she can make it, and at this stage there's a lot of it still in the mind. 

Circuit to finish off

3 rounds of:

10 low bar pull ups (feet on floor in front)

10 press ups

10 Medicine ball squat & throw @ 6kg (Crossfit 'Wall Ball')

10 Kettlebell swings @ 16kg

Superb effort on the circuits this week. Last week she finished in 4:44, this week in 4:18, massive improvement just from having the Eye of the Tiger.

After our main training we looked at the techniques involved in putting together one complex movement pattern that we will start to use next week.

The complex we'll be using is: Deadlift from floor, hang clean, overhead press, front squat, repeat X5 without letting go of the bar.

She easily picked up the hang clean technique and was able to put the movements together. 

Now I need to decide what weight will challenge her but be manageable.

It really goes to show that when you first start out your comfort and confidence in the exercise can hold you back.

Although I don't believe that she is any 'stronger' this week than last, I do think she's more comfortable and 'better' at the exercise and therefore able to push that little bit harder.

Starting out with a deadlift at 50kg

6 Week Transformation Project

The past few posts have generally been about my training and what methods I'm using to reach my own personal goals. This might be useful for those of you out there who have similar goals to me or just want to change up your current training.
But what about all the 'regular' people out there?
I know lots of people with gym memberships that don't make any significant progress over time. Worse still, I see people with gym memberships who have no specific goals (?!) or don't really know what they should be doing at the gym (fortunately this doesn't last long at mi-gym.com)

With that in mind I picked one of the members at mi-gym.com to use for a 6 week project.
This particular member is determined and trains hard but isn't very experienced in the gym, she also seems to lack confidence in the gym environment.
I've got a hard worker, with vague goals in need of some guidance, perfect client!

Who is the volunteer?
Female, 21yrs old, regular 9-5 office job, her main hobby is pole dancing.
Some gym experience but needs guidance.
Weight loss would be of benefit in pole dancing hobby and also to look and feel better.
Would like to increase upper body strength specific to pole dancing.

Start of the programme

Here's what she had to say about her goals:

"Well, as you know I pole dance and I've been doing it for over a year now. My strength has improved but what holds me back is my weight. I have started moving onto more advanced moves which involve a lot of holding positions. And by shifting the weight and gaining additional strength I will find the moves much easier. 

Dancing is my main goal for all of this. I'd like to get your advice on what would benefit me most for this as you already have an idea on what it involves from your circus and gymnastic experience. 

Exercises I really don't enjoy are running or cycling."

First things first, let's smarten up those goals:
SPECIFIC - Specific goal to work towards
MEASURABLE - Tangible results that we can measure
ACHIEVABLE - The goals should be possible for the individual to reach
REALISTIC - Make sure the goal is not only achievable, but also not too easy to reach.
TIMESCALE - Set a timescale for goals (can also set smaller goals with shorter timescales along the way)

S - Lose a significant and noticeable amount of body fat. Increase relative upper body strength for pole dancing manoeuvres. Increase confidence in the gym environment.
M - We'll measure upper arm, thigh and waist at the start and end of the programme. We'll also keep note of the weights and reps on the specific exercises given. We will also get feedback on performance in pole dancing and how she feels about herself.
A - Looking to lose at least 1" from each of the measured areas and see increased definition. Increase in time she is able to hold her body in a specific position (top of pull up) from 0 seconds currently to 5 seconds at the end of the programme.
R - Given that we will only have one hour per week together, with accessory work done without me present, I feel that these goals are realistic for the time we have.
T - Strictly 6 weeks for this project, 5th of April to the 17th of May 2013

For the record, I am deliberately not going to weigh this client. Weight and BMI are irrelevant here, we're looking for noticeable results in shape and size. Given that we are also training for strength gains, an increase in muscle could outweigh losses in body fat.


Where do we start?
We met on the 5th of April to discuss the programme and try out some exercises. I wanted to see how hard she worked when pushed, I was very impressed.

I put her through her paces with the following workout:

Skipping followed by some mobility drills to warm up.

Pulling exercises for pole dancing strength:
3 x 3reps pull ups (unable to pull up, so jumped up and performed a slow descent)
3 x 5reps 12kg ball slams
3 x 3reps Band lat pull
3 x 5reps Assisted high pull up

Heavy Lifts:
3 x 5reps Barbell squat @ 40kg
3 x 5reps Deadlift @ 50kg
3 x 5reps Kettlebell bent over row @ 24kg (2x 12kg)
3 x 5reps Lateral raise @ 5kg
3 x 5 reps Front raise, straight arms @ 10kg (2x 5kg plates)

Circuit to finish off
3 rounds of:
10 low bar pull ups (feet on floor in front)
10 press ups
10 Medicine ball squat & throw @ 6kg (Crossfit 'Wall Ball')
10 Kettlebell swings @ 16kg


As a starting point I was very happy with her performance.
Not only was she already able to correctly squat, deadlift and bent over row, she trained really hard.

We discussed basic diet changes, trying to make things as realistic and achievable as possible, I felt that drastic diet change would not be sustainable for her life, instead I wrote some rules and suggestions:

"- Above all else, cut down on consumption of processed sugars.

- Increase water intake. 5 litres over the course of the day would be of benefit.

- Don’t count calories.

- Don’t go out of your way to avoid fat.

- Don’t starve yourself.

- Diet should be higher in protein and fibre with fewer carbohydrates.

Where possible, avoid starchy or high sugar foods on non training days 

These foods include pasta, bread, white potatoes, pastry, sweets, chocolate & fizzy drinks

Eat as you like on training days, but try to stick to the suggestions below as best as possible

Alternatives to common starchy foods:

- Green veg, carrots and sweet potato instead of white potatoes.

- Mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato

- Corn tortilla wraps as an alternative to bread

- Rice instead of pasta where possible

Fruit – Fruit is good for you, fruit is also packed full of fructose (natural fruit sugars).

Restrict fruit consumption to before lunch time. Avoid fruit in the evenings.

The feeling of hunger can often actually be thirst. A dehydrated body will cling to water therefore making you appear bloated. A dehydrated body will also no work as effectively and burn fewer calories.

When you feel like snacking, reach for a bottle of water.

If you drink caffeine in any form, increase your water intake to counter the diuretic effects of caffeine."

We may have some willpower obstacles to overcome.

The day after our first meeting, I spotted this on Instagram:

Caught red handed!

Next week we will be starting to train properly and take measurements. We'll also be looking at introducing some heavy complex movement patterns as she can already perform basic lifts adequately.