High Protein Cheesecake

This is a basic cheesecake recipe and is then easily adaptable to suit your individual flavours, toppings and alike you may want to add. This will give you a basic non biscuit base and a fluffy dense moist cheesecake mixture!

What you'll need! 

300g chobani 0% fat greek yoghurt (or similar)
200g low fat cream cheese
100g egg whites (not from a carton)
50g oats
20g buckwheat flour (any type will do)
1/2 tspn vanilla essence
1/2 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn cream of tartar
150ml boiling water

Method

Step 1- Blend oats to a fine powder and combine with flour and baking powder. Add the boiling water and continue to blend in mixer until a thick consistency is achieved. At this stage you can add sweetener, cinnamon or whatever flavours you would like your base to take on.

Step 2- Spread evenly on the base of a lined spring form tin and bake for approx 20min at 180 degrees. (Wrapping the tin in aluminium foil at this stage will ensure it is water tight for baking in a water bath later) While baking separate the egg whites and allow to reach room temperature before beating.

Step 3- Mix greek yogurt, cream cheese and vanilla essence together in a large bowl. At this stage you can add things just as lime zest, lemon juice for a citrus flavor cheesecake,  or a shot of espresso for a mocha style cheesecake, options are endless.

Step 4- Begin to beat your egg whites to form stiff peaks, once they begin to form a froth add the cream of tartar and beat until consistency is achieved. Fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and pour on top on the cooked base.

Step 5- Have a large dish in the bottom of the oven filed with water and place the wrapped cake tin inside (water bath) and bake for 50min at 170 degrees. After 50min turn oven off and allow it to slowly cool for an additional 2 hours inside the oven, transfer to fridge overnight for best result!

Hope this sounds easy enough and you have as much success with the recipe as I regularly do! If you have any questions hit me up on instagram as I'm always happy to help! @love_lifting

Macros for whole cake.
780cals - 71P/67C/14F

ENJOY! 

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!!! :) 

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!! :)

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

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
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