The Journey so far!!

If  I had to sum up the last 2 weeks in one word........HARD!

But I'm totally OK with that :)

It's only once you get out of your comfort zone and keep pushing through that you know you are developing yourself, not only in the the physical side of things, but definitely mentally as well. With huge changes in my diet being the first major hurdle. 4 weeks out from comp my trainer sent me my diet plan and even with its 9 meals and 3 shakes a day, most days are border line on 2000 calories, and being at around 84.5kg those numbers were low to maintain the lean muscle I have. Now 2 weeks on I am sitting at 82.2kg and approx 5-6% bodyfat. And with no change in sight for my diet I just have to keep pressing on as hard as I can at the gym everyday to stay lean and keep as much mass as possible.

Next struggle was the actual training, trying to maintain certain weights on various exercises for 4 sets and varying reps is becoming more of a struggle every session, and fatigue soon sets in. This is where the strongest part of you kicks in, your mind!! It's easy to say i'm struggling I'll call it a day and leave. But to stay and push through knowing that it's the right thing to do is what will make all the difference when it comes to getting up on stage, and being able to tell yourself that no matter where you place that you gave it your best and you walk off there without a doubt in your mind you gave it your all!

The next thing that has taken a bit of a toll on me without much initial consideration is the weather, going from being conditioned to sunny, humid Townsville then arriving in Victoria where everyday is at and above 40 degrees has really made everything a lot harder to do, from training and even sleeping at night when it is still around 30 degrees and all I have is a 12" pedestal fan to attempt to cool myself.

And lastly the mental strain of being on a mentally demanding course. I have not yet found it to difficult yet mixed with the low calories and intense training, but i'm sure as the final days draw closer I will start to have trouble concentrating and hopefully won't get to far off track. But so far so good, i'm keeping it all together and the finish line is in sight and I can't wait to stuff my face once it is all done! :P

If you set yourself a goal stick to it, nothing compares to the personal reward of knowing you challenged yourself and won, to often we hear peoples stories of 'I nearly did this' and stories full of if's and but's! Don't be that person!! Do it for yourself!

Progress update pic - Rear Back shot of Back double bicep! Slowly but surely getting there :)

Time to step up!!

So this last week has been quite busy with training, meal prep, rest and getting ready to go back to work, and I head off for 2 months to commence a work related course. It's still over a week away before I go but I have found myself already starting to pack and see how I can arrange my suitcase so I can fit most of my supplements, food and gym/training related items rather then things I should be worrying about taking :)

Not to mention now I am part of Team FlexR6 and am going to be stepping on stage to compete in my first novice comp in only 5 weeks time. So there are so many added stresses right now and starting next week a huge change to my training and nutrition program once my great trainer sends me the final product on Friday!

This has been a huge ambition for me and to see it all start taking place is a huge realization that you can do anything you put your mind to, at this stage I am only going to be competing in fitness and physique categories as there is not enough time to prep for the actual body building division, and with the added pressure of me on my military psychology course it would be to much to take on all at once.

I never thought I would see the day I would be on stage wanting to show my body off. I'll take a few steps back and talk about when I was younger, all my teenage years I was a big kid, the heaviest I tipped the scales at was 120+kg, but now to be able to comfortably sit at 84kg for me was an amazing achievement.

It all comes down to you and the dedication you put in to achieve the goals you have, I couldn't be happier that I took this lifestyle on all those years ago, nothing now feels like a chore, it's all just second nature. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see yourself succeed and better yourself not only physically but mentally! There is nothing tougher then pushing through some of those unbearable gym sessions, or sprinting up hills to get that burn and feel your heart trying to burst out your chest. But every time you finish something you set out to achieve or do something you NEVER thought you could do, you leave a little it prouder and stronger and from there you can only keep going up!

I'll keep you all posted with how my comp preparation is going and chuck in some photos along the way, remember to push yourself a little further each time and never give up, because one day you may find yourself doing something you never thought you would do in a million years!!

It's all about the pump!!! :) 

Get it done!!

I know everyone operates in their own ways, have their own ideas and systems in place to get stuff done.
Some need more time then others to get motivated to get out of bed, some enjoy pressing the snooze button 3 times before they get up, some are up before the alarm, we all have our own process and I respect this.

But excuses will never be a sufficient reason to justify not doing something you either said you would, or something you keep putting off! And by excuses I don't mean legit reasons, as bizarre as some may sound.

So this is going to be a little rant about motivation. Some require a lot whether it be from friends and family, or simply having a picture of the physique they wish to aspire to hanging up on the wall. Whatever you need put these means in place so you don't flunk out at the first hurdle! No one ever said achieving goals is easy, it is anything but a walk in the park. So if you spend all your time flicking through instagram pictures and fitness sites and motivational pictures wishing for what they have then you are never going to get there. Remember those people were once in your shoes wanting to achieve goals and they succeeded and now they are the ones sending out the positive motivation for others to get it done. Whether you see them as attention seeking, or all the selfies and gym pictures aren't necessary then you are approaching the whole thing with the wrong attitude!

Without rambling on to much about it I'll make it simple, the only reason you will fail will come down to YOU, not anyone else no matter how convincingly you can tell people the story of how you were going to do this and how you wanted to do that, end of the day the only reason you didn't will be YOU! So get on the right page, make a list, put up pictures, midnight phone calls to friends for reassurance -  do whatever you have to do to get on track and have a system in place so that if you do hit a hurdle it won't mean the end to your success.

Get it done and reap the rewards of your hard work!! :)

HIIT it Hard!! Benefits of Interval training!

This is just to give a bit of insight into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) regime and how it may benefit you!

HIIT is for everyone, someone doing a cutting phase for a comp, during a bulking phase to minimize gaining to much body fat and people looking to gain aerobic and anaerobic endurance.

Firstly you might what to know what HIIT actually is. HIIT is a training program in which moderate levels of intensity and alternated with high intensity intervals. It can be applied across a broad range of areas from running exercises through to weight and body weight related exercises. It is considered to be more effective then steady state cardio as the higher intensity intervals increase both the aerobic and anaerobic systems in turn burning more fat the usual!

During a structured HIIT period you will notice two thing, accelerated fat loss and increased aerobic endurance, HIIT will deliver noticeable results in a shorter period of time, hence why is has gained huge popularity in the fitness and bodybuilding community since it was introduced. Just like with any exercise and nutrition program you can't guarantee results as it comes down to the individual, but after only an 8 week HIIT cycle those around you will notice a significant change in you if you stick to your guns. And you will be performing to a higher standard to those around you.

When you do a cardio session at the same pace the whole time your body operates in what we call a steady state, all this means is your body adjusts itself to the speed or workload you are operating at and tries to conserve as much energy (calories) as possible. You avoid this by doing interval training as the body can then not adapt and conserve any energy.

This is what an effective HIIT 8-week program would consist of, and incorporates a weight training program as well. This level of intensity would decrease levels of body fat significantly which a structured nutrition plan.

General Warm-up/Flexibility Routine

• Touch Toes - 15 Reps (Touch toes quickly, come right back up and repeat)
• Lunges - 10 reps/leg
• Side Lunges - 10 reps each direction
• Butt Kicks - 25 yards
• High Knees - 25 yards
• Arm Circles - 20 reps
• Trunk Twists - 20 reps
• Side Bends - 20 reps

WEEKS 1-2

• Monday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Tuesday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Brisk Walk, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 7 More Times (8 Minutes Total)
• Wednesday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Thursday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Brisk Walk, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 7 More Times (8 Minutes Total)
• Friday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Saturday and Sunday - Rest

WEEKS 3-4

• Monday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Tuesday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Brisk Walk, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 9 More Times (10 Minutes Total)
• Wednesday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Thursday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Brisk Walk, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 9 More Times (10 Minutes Total)
• Friday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Saturday and Sunday - Rest

WEEKS 5-6

• Monday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Tuesday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Jog, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 11 More Times (12 Minutes Total)
• Wednesday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Thursday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Jog, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 11 More Times (12 Minutes Total)
• Friday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Saturday and Sunday - Rest

WEEKS 7-8

• Monday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Tuesday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Jog, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 14 More Times (15 Minutes Total)
• Wednesday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Thursday - PM HIIT Workout
  30 Seconds Jog, 30 Seconds Sprint, Repeat 14 More Times (15 Minutes Total)
• Friday - AM Full Body Weight Training
• Saturday and Sunday - Rest
• Notes: Brisk walk and jog are at 65-75% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
  Sprint is at 90-95% of your MHR

Hope you take something away from this and know that cardio doesn't have to be the boring chore that a lot of people see it as, if you can think of fun ways to mix it up then you will want to keep doing it and get the results you are after!!! Enjoy!!

And remember.............It's all about the PUMP!!!

Workout by - TUnit @bodyspace

Lifting till the grave!

Today my day started at 5:30 am, I got up and had my usual 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of egg whites and a whole egg. Scrambled it all up and shoved it down my throat, washing it down with a strong black coffee.

I prepacked my car the night before with all the signage, the 'lift it' singlets and shirts, a big bowl of snacks and a lot of water, in anticipation of a very hot day. Only 2 days before the markets were on I was informed I had been booked in and a spot allocated for me, which is good news but with stock levels low and being given short notice to get everything ready all I could do was give it a go!

I was set up and ready to go, people were everywhere even though a lot of stall holders were still away due to the holiday period, and the demographic at these certain markets were older people hitting up the local fruit vendors and trying to barter a bargain at bric'a'brac stalls. My stall had no shade and to my luck once it hit 8 am the sun was over the only spot in the car park where the shade sails didn't cover and it beaming down right on me! Lets just say lucky I was wearing a black shirt otherwise I would be frightening people walking past by the copious amounts of sweat coming out of me. All in all I had a good time, a few friends came by and I sold a bit of stock, but the highlight of my morning there occurred around 9:30 am.

While I was texting on my phone trying to convince someone to bring me a coffee an elderly gentleman walked up to the tables, using his walking stick as a pointer he placed it on a shirt directly on the logo and said "what does 'Lift it' mean" I initially thought to myself that this wasn't going to go well as he won't know what i'm going on about....so I went on to tell him that 'Lift it' refers to lifting weights, and the gym culture that is present these days is quite large and it's a lifestyle etc etc... and halfway through he appeared somewhat distracted and was looking back and forth and partially listening. So I paused and just sort of smiled at him with a stupid grin on my face. "I'll tell you about lifting" he said. Once he engaged eye contact with me after about 10 seconds of silence, he went on to tell me about a trip up to the Gulf where his 4wd got stuck in the mud and he couldn't use a jack as it would just sink into the mud, so he told his wife he was going to lift the back end out and to drive on and keeping giving it some till she was out, all this happened while she was yelling at him telling him he is to old for that now......but he said in the end he got it out, was covered in mud and it shut his wife up. I'm not sure how long ago this took place but I thought good on him! I told him that's pretty impressive but he immediately cut me off, paused, looked around again then resumed speaking telling me he was lifting all his life and was a national weight lifter, power lifter and how important it was for him and he emphasized how he lifted with correct technique for all those years and never blew out his back and why he is still able to walk around and be physically active these days considering how old he was. I was just nodding and smiling the whole time knowing I wouldn't get a word in and just to let him keep going, he wrapped it up by saying "I can't lift anymore, but when I could, boy could I lift." Again he looked around paced a few steps to the left, turned back around, gave me a smile and he was gone.

All this went down while he was wearing jeans, a long sleeve black shirt and a thick black vest while being in direct sunlight in 35 degree Celsius weather and merrily swinging and pointing his walking stick throughout the conversation.

At the time I didn't think to much of it, but after a while of just sitting there thinking, I realized this guy spent a large part of his life doing something he enjoyed, and now even though unable to do it he was still imparting his joy and knowledge and still wanting to express how it impacted his life, to think that there would have nearly been a 50 year age difference we were still able to relate to something on the same level which is pretty amazing to me.

 So just remember if you're doing something you enjoy keep doing it, don't let others tell you otherwise and you never know what impact it might have on someone down the track. :)

Pecs that POP!!

So tomorrow is Monday.......or as I call it 'International Chest Day' so for that exact reason, I train chest on Sundays or in fact any other day that isn't Monday!!

In doing this I get to watch a large number of people go nuts and blast chest on every piece of equipment in the gym every Monday, and I use this time to observe. There are a few common mistakes most people make, and I am in no way saying this in a way to make it sound like people don't know what they are doing, but more so to indicate some easily avoidable issues which will lead to a more productive chest workout and avoiding injury.

Firstly one that gets everyone is excessive shoulder rotation. As easy as a chest press may seem to preform if done incorrectly it will take emphasis away from putting the correct muscle under tension and stress, and end up smashing your shoulder girdle as you push up rolling your shoulders over to re-rack the weight. So when getting on the bench, bench press, incline, decline machine one of the first things you should be doing when getting into position is retracting you shoulder blades and nearly trying to pinch them together as you settle your back onto the bench, and keeping them in this position throughout the entire movement of the press.

Next, upper chest.....yes, in case you didn't know your pectorals are broken into 2 sections! And when you see someone with great overall chest development (or catch me flexing in the mirror) you can see the separation in between the 2 with a nice deep crevice dividing the muscle. So with this said do not exclude exercises such as incline bench press, incline dumbbell press and incline flyes from your workout, they all have their place.

The best upper chest in the business!

The next common problem is partial reps.....I don't know what people think when doing partial reps, you don't do the full range of motion then you are obviously not going to engage the muscle you are trying to train. So to keep it simple lower the weight to your chest then all the way up and once at lockout give you elbows a little squeeze together to really flex and pump the chest full.

Also another handy tip is to incorporate pyramid sets and drop sets during your chest workout, we are not all power lifters so there is no need to load up the bar to try and get one rep out that has the potential to crush your throat when your spotter can't even help you when the bar is loaded to the brim! So, drop the weight after your final set, and throw in a double or a triple drop set to challenge yourself, and at the end when you are struggling to lift the 10kg dumbbells above your head just remember you will be getting more blood and nutrients delivered to that muscle group then the guy rubbing his shoulder after is attempt at 'the world record' bench press! :)

Lastly I just want to reiterate the fact to not neglect a thorough warm up and stretching routine. You are only going to cheat yourself if you walk into the gym and start on the 40kg dumbbells, all you are doing is open the door wide open for a nice pec tear or shoulder injury. It will help your training, keep your muscles warm throughout and reduce the risk of injury. I could write 100 different stretches and make you waste your time reading it all but instead do a quick search on line as they all tell you the same thing and find something that works for you!

And remember, it's all about the pump!! :)

Do you even Breakfast!?.............Meal of Champions!

To get start started I just have to say how much I love breakfast! Every night I finish my last meal of the day just before going to bed, and before my head even hits the pillow I'm looking forward to the next morning already so I can have Breakfast! :)

regardless if you follow a weight training regieme or are cardio/circuit orientatied with goals of weight loss then breakfast in both cases is a meal you should NEVER skip. People will say they are to busy or have some excuse..........I just don't buy it, Oats take 90 seconds to cook in the microwave, and eggs/egg whites take about 3 minutes to scramble. So if you have an excuse, I don't want to hear it.

Breakfast should always be more dense in calories then most of your meals throughout the day, it will give you sustained energy during the day, and you wont be going to work hungry which then just leads to binge eating or snacking of junk food throughout the day!

I'll go over my breakfast this morning:

So here it is, 1 cup of Oats, 1 Large egg, 1 Cup Egg whites and 1 Kangaroo Pattie (110g)

Let's go over the macro nutrients for this meal.
1 Large egg - 100 calories - 7g fat, 7g Protein
1 Cup egg whites - 125 calories - 28g Protein
1 Kangaroo Pattie - 90 calories - 20g Protein
1 Cup Oats - 300+ calories - 65g Carbs

Total Calories - 615~ Calories - 53g Protein, 65g Carbs, 10g Fat

Oats are a great source of slow release energy, they are absorbed by the body slowly not giving you spikes in your insulin leading to energy slumps and crashing out early in the day.
Egg whites are a 'light' protein and rapidly absorbed by the body, hence why I have a heavier source of protein to sustain my body for longer. Overall the ingredients in this breakfast are ideal for any person with any goals in mind, you just have to change the portioning.

And there it is, less then 10minutes to prepare and cook! Add some blueberries to the oats and you can also add cacao powder for flavour. I also use Smokey Tabasco sauce on my omelet for a bit of bite :) then wash it all down with a large glass of water and a black coffee (sweetened with Stevia) and my Multi-Vitamin, 3000mg of Fish oil and a Super Kelp tablet (packed with natural Iodine for thyroid function and health)

Well I hope you enjoyed this and gave you insight into what a healthy and tasty breakfast is! Feel free to hit me up for any advice when it comes to nutrition or training!! Off to gym shortly for a killer back workout. Stay tuned!!

To Cheat or not to Cheat - Cheat meals!

This is always a topic of discussion amongst many in the fitness industry, everyone has their personal beliefs about the pro's and con's on having a cheat day/meal and have read all the articles out there on the internet so instantly they are pro's about the topic without understand any of the physiological responses the body goes through!

All I’m going to do is discuss some of the theoretical benefits and chuck in my 2 cents worth as well.

Increases thyroid hormone production - So when someone is calorie deficient they produce less hormones that regulate the thyroid (T3 and T4) so a strategic cheat meal or overfeed is beneficial to increase these hormones and regulate the thyroid to keep it functional and productive.

Increased energy output (24hr) - The surplus calories from a cheat causes the body to up regulate basal metabolic rate (BMR).And there are studies out there to show an increase of 9% above baseline, all in all giving you more energy the next day foe heavier lifting and giving you an upbeat mood for the day :)

Psychological benefit - This is plain and simple, You follow your diet for the week knowing that after all that hard training and clean eating you get a reward......for some people that is enough to keep them going week to week, but then it comes down to the individual to know how far to take their cheat meal/day, this is something you cant calculate and you learn from experience about your own personal limits. It's totally worth it!

So with that being said it sounds like having a cheat meal or re-feed day will work for anyone wanting to gain some lean mass and for a fat loss diet........well it's not always the case! Many trainers condone the idea of cheat meals while others support it knowing it works from personal experience. And I’m one to promote the idea from it not hampering my results over time!

But we also have to understand the human body, and I’ll break it down quickly! 

You have to remember we are talking about the human body, our bodies will adapt to anything we throw at it over time, so when you first start restricting calories and have your results you will then notice that you will hit a plateau, whether it be diet, weight training or cardio, it happens to everyone. So this for me is a good sign that we need to break the cycle and another reason why a cheat meal is beneficial :)

This being said to certain degree, a high calorie meal will help off set your metabolism but the benefit from the cheat meal comes from the higher calorie intake on that day, not the usual junk food that most people consume. Having no moderation or control on cheat days carries far more risk than benefits to your physical and mental health, it can lead to a fatal outcome from extreme acute gastric dilation after an eating binge.

A good little tip is buy enough for a couple of cheat meals and no more! If you have a 2 packs of Tim-tams in the fridge and 2L of ice cream in the freezer then we all know what is going to happen right......Epic FAIL. So keep that in mind and just get what you need for that cheat meal :)

So to sum up, YES by all means have a cheat meal.......but don't binge on unhealthy junk food, and there is no need for a whole cheat day.

Back to Basics - Food shopping made easy!

I often get asked the best foods to buy and how much of each should be eaten, and honestly the answer varies from person to person, depending on their weight, how active they already are, and the goals they want to achieve.

And when you start telling someone to eat more often if they want to lose some unwanted weight, they automatically look at you like you have no idea what you are talking about........"you're telling me to eat more often then I already do..... yeah righto buddy" but it's when you get into the nuts and bolts of what and when you should be eating is when you start to see how it all works!

The most simple way to put it about shedding some weight is - energy in vs energy out!! If you eat more calories then you burn per day with or without exercise, then you will gain weight. If you are calorie deficient then you will begin to lose weight, simple as that.

So even people who do not live a very active lifestyle are still very much capable of losing weight by restricting calories and consuming them on a structured timeline and by counting the calories they eat. There are numerous calorie calculators on the internet which give somewhat detailed calorie intakes depending on how accurately you fill in all the details. So this is a good starting block for you to gauge how much you should be taking in each day.

Now you have to know what foods to eat, and for me this is hard to try to explain. As for me over the years I now can look at food at the shops and fresh produce and know it's nutritional value is, the portion size, etc.... and when it comes to take away and fast food, well I don't remember the last time I had a greasy burger from McDonalds so when people always seem to have the same downfalls, all I can say is it comes with time that you will be able to fight the urge to indulge, and depending on how strict you are on yourself this will either come quickly to others, or some might find themselves struggling time after time.

If I tell you whats in my pantry and fridge it may sound bland to some people, but for me I enjoy it and know I need to do this to achieve my goals, and I know not everyone is so into it so I won't go into great depth but rather give a broad outline on foods to head towards and others to avoid!

Let's talk protein! This is the key macro-nutrient for weight loss and muscle gain! Head to the meat section and go nuts. Beef, Chicken, Kangaroo (best source of protein out there) Turkey, Salmon are all good to go! Yeah Pork and Lamb are not the best so avoid those if you can. Next we have eggs and egg whites. If you asked a serious fitness freak or body builder one food they couldn't live without, they would tell you, or maybe even yell at you EGG WHITEESSSSSS!! I have nothing bad to say about eggs or egg whites! Go nuts with egg whites, and not so crazy with egg yolks. And last my favorite for a night time snack is 0% fat Greek Yogurt, I can't fault it (the brand I use is Chobani)  per 180ml serving is 18g protein 0g fat and 5g of Natural sugars, and the yogurt is the only dairy I eat.

Next is fats, and this plays again a huge role in muscle growth and fat loss believe it or not! To keep it simple get your fats from Salmon, Almonds, Peanut butter, almond meal, coconut oil and Chia seeds. Check your labels, you don't want anything with saturated fats or trans fats. Only Unsaturated fats!

Lastly is Carbohydrates, stay away from refined and processed Carbs, so no white bread, white rice, potatoes or heavy starch grains or veg! Basic list of Carbs to eat - Sweet potato, Brown rice, Wholemeal pasta/bread/wraps, Pinto beans, Adzuki beans, Broad-beans and a favorite of mine Buckwheat flour. All these are tasty and can be cooked and prepared in just as many ways as all the other starchy products out there.

So this may sound all good and easy and I could write all day about it, but just remember you can read articles online all day hoping to come across one special sentence that will give you the results you want without doing anything......and we all know that's just not the case. It all comes down to YOU! so do some reading, understand how many calories you need per day, update your fridge with healthier foods and become aggressive and excited about training and eating right, because once you start seeing results it becomes addictive and you only go from strength to strength! So take those first steps and stay on track and surround yourself with support of friends and family and before you know it BAM! you'll start seeing the results you had wanted so badly!!

And remember It's all about the pump!!

Nutrition is key

For lunch today after what was an amazing leg session, I am having one of my favorites.....Salmon :)

I follow a structured nutrition program which I have developed myself over time, and for me it works very well. It keeps me lean all year round and then when I want to gain some lean mass over a few months I just up my carb and fat intake. And occasionaly I will sneak in a cheat meal as it does help i many way, and that is something I can talk about later!

For lunch I chowed down on 1 and a half cups of broccoli, 10oz of sweet potato, and 220grams of Atlantic Salmon. And it was deliciousssss!! So macronutrients for this meal would be roughly as follows: Protein - 60g, Carbohydrates: 45g, Fats: 30g - total - 680calories.

Meal finished :)

First Leg Session of the New Year! :)

So today I am training legs, I spent all day yesterday (my rest day) just thinking about my routine for today! I got in my 6 meals yesterday in preparation to have the energy for what will be a brutal training session today.

I'll give a quick run down on what I will do today. I train at the Defence gym we have on base which is well equipped and not as packed as all the other gyms out there. I always start off my leg day with a lot of stretching and foam rolling before I start my squats, my first exercise is Back Squats. I will do my warm up set @ 60kg (132pounds) for about 15 reps to get the range of motion and form all sorted. My next working set is 10-12 reps @ 90kg (200pounds) 3rd set I will knock out 8 reps @ 110kg (240pounds) I will then have another stretch and give my quads and hamstrings a roll out on the foam roller. Next set is 6 reps @ 130kg (286pounds) and then I will aim for 2-3 reps @ 140kg (310pounds) From there I will drop the weight back to 100kg and do another 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps and totally exhaust my quads, as I use this as the main heavy lifting compound movement for my workout.

With that done I move on to Hamstrings, which I do dumbbell stiff leg dead lifts to target my hamstrings, there is no need to go to heavy so I will only go up to about 40kg (90pounds) for 4 sets of 10-12 reps. As I hobble away from that exercise I then will jump on the leg press machine where I will do leg press, super setted with calf raises. I focus on doing this exercise nice and slow to let it really engage all muscles in my leg, and I will also vary my foot position to pre load different heads of my quads with more stress and engage them a lot better!

Next, the Standing Leg curl targeting Hamstrings again and somewhat engaging the glutes. I incorporate many Hamstring exercises as my Hamstrings are what I would call the weak point on my physique, so I always make sure they leave the gym screaming!! I will knock out 4 sets @ 10-12 reps and do body weight sissy squats in between sets to hit the inner thigh/quad.

Next.........everyone's favourite.........Lunges.......... This is where you are already in a state of near total exhaustion from such an intense session, and this will either push you over the edge or if you approach it with a good attitude you know that you will be leaving the gym a broken man, but waking up the next day a happy man for doing it!! I will do 2 laps back and forth of a full size basketball court with a 50kg (110pound) barbell for 4 sets. This is the perfect way to end your leg session.

Once you manage to waddle back and put your weights away having  a good stretch is recommended. Saying that, once I'm done my workout today, I will be getting on the StairMaster for a 30min cardio hit, I will do this only about 3-4 times a week to keep my body fat low so I can still put some lean mass on over the next few months without gaining unwanted body fat!

With all that said, it's T-minus 30min until I hit the gym, so time to get ready and make up my pre and post workout shakes and I'm outta here!

It's all about the pump! (and the delayed muscle soreness I will get in about 2 days) :P

With Peanut Butter on Top: BBQ Chicken Avocado Wrap

With Peanut Butter on Top: BBQ Chicken Avocado Wrap: As much as I (speaking for my tummy & taste buds) have enjoyed these last few weeks visiting family & friends for the holiday...

It's all about new beginnings :)

With that being said, we welcome in 2014 on this hot, humid day in my town of Townsville, Australia.

I will get the introductions over and done with and tell you a bit about myself, and i'm sure over time you will learn more about me and in turn, I hope to get to know my future readers :)
I am 28 years old, Born in Australia and am currently serving in the Australian Army. I am a small business owner where my partner and I operate out of our home creating and selling our own gym apparel as we live and enjoy a very active, healthy lifestyle.

This year is going to be big in many ways, my main focuses are those work and personal based, with my work goals kicking off in February as I start my new career in Psychology in the Army as I want to help the soldiers returning from operations deal with the issues they face when they come back into country and face the problems of being back in a civilized community.

My next goal is to compete in my first natural bodybuilding competition which I plan to do in June pending on the new location I may get posted my with my new job. Along with that, this is what I want my blog to entail, the amazing healthy and fit lifestyle, which so many want to live and achieve but either lack the knowledge, discipline or motivation to get it done. And that is what I want to be, the link between the wanting and give the knowledge and motivation to pursue the goals and become the person you want to be.

I will keep it short and sweet and wrap it up there, and will continue tomorrow after I have my first session (leg day) of the new year, and I also pick up my new supplements tomorrow which I look forward to trying and reviewing as well!

and remember, it's all about the pump :)

Justin
www.liftitgymwear.com
Lift it gym wear