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Overview and Diary 

Injuries and Issues

I have a disc in my neck and back which makes a lot of push exercises problematic, ie. I can’t chest press

I use fixed bars overhead or pulling down for my neck issues

My high arches make running and impact more difficult

A scaphoid hand injury leads to elbow and hand pain from press ups pull ups etc

Left knee degeneration issue needs managed

My age in general leads to longer and lower recovery

This is not unusual or uncommon to have a long list of past injuries and ongoing issues which make training consistently a challenge, but I want to show you that managed correctly, these issues do not have to prevent you reaching your goals.

As a rule, I used

20s-30s 5 min warm up/cool down

30s-40s 10

40s-50s 15

My pre session warm up is 15 minutes

15 minutes stretch and cool down

I would never do a proper session without warming up and activating stabilisers and doing general mobility, this keeps me training consistently.

 

Recovery

I use the sauna daily 15-20 mins post training

I will have 2 rest days per week when I will maybe do a hour walk and have a sauna

I try to get 7 hours sleep but will have a 30 minute nap at 1pm on occasions as I feel this helps regulate energy levels better

 

Pre workout

I have 2 scoops of Bcaa Gold standard strawberry and kiwi 30 mins before session and a black coffee 5- 10 mins before warming up

 

Pre/Post workout

0.5-1 litres of water during workout

I drink a bottle of Wow Water close to the end of my session

 

Training

I have been following a strength and performance style routine until now

I am mixing my training to go more hypertrophy super sets

Legs Chest ABs

Back Triceps Obliques

Shoulders Biceps

Conditioning day, 5km run, EMOMS

Every time I do a cut, I use Adrian James Abs app on my phone

AJ abs keeps me accountable and ensures I get enough abs in without impacting my general training, you are awarded points for your exercises and must hit 100 per week.

 

Nutrition

 I have followed 8/16 intermittent fasting for the last 10 years

Eat 8 hours/fast 16

I usually eat at 11 and finish at 7pm

Skipping breakfast may seem like the easiest way to implement the 16:8 plan, but you need to make sure you tailor your fasting window to your workout time, ie. if your training in the morning try and have breakfast soon after and then have an early dinner, likewise if your training late in the day skip breakfast and have a bigger lunch instead.

On rest days… just do whatever suits you. That’s the beauty of the 16:8 plan, unlike other fasts it does not require unwavering adherence and rigid structure, you can be flexible in maintaining a successful 16:8 plan!

While flexibility is enabled by the fast, I recommend as a basis for beginning if you are unsure, eating at 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 7pm, then fasting from 7pm to 11am the next day. You should still aim for a good macro split with fairly high protein if your training relatively intensely, ie. 3 times+ per week, your calorie intake will vary depending on your activity level and your goals.

If I’m eating dinner late or on a night out I will start my first meal later in the day so still keeping to a window for taking in my calories

After I started tracking my nutrition 2 weeks ago it wasn’t as good as I had assumed but I probably train enough to maintain

However, as I look to progress I each week I will reduce calories by 100 per day

I will reduce my carbs and increase my protein

By making small changes weekly it will never feel too difficult

I copy the previous weeks entries to the new week and shave off things I can live without

It might be 1/2 a pitta instead of a full one

3 segments Terrys chocolate orange instead of 5

Cut honey out of my yoghurt

If I’m feeling tired or energy is impacting training performance I will have a high carb day when I basically refeed, the mental and physical boost of this is amazing

When tracking my top tip is fill the days ahead in advance, I copy a week and tweak if needed

This means you eat what you have listed/intended and means your less likely to deviate due to poor planning or lack of awareness

It also becomes a shopping list essentially as you can see what you need/have before the time comes meaning your less likely to grab junk on the go

 

Hydration

I always start my day with a pint of hot water lemon juice, cider vinegar and pinch Himalayan salt

I will follow my 5pm evening meal with a cup of hot water and lemon juice

I drink 4-5 litres a day of water including teas

Supplements

5htp 100mg 1 tablet and hour before food

Mutivit with breakfast at 11

Glucosamine and chondroitin with 1pm food

Vitamin c around 3-4pm

Last meal will be a 7pm casein shake loaded with whatever I need to complete days macros

45 minutes before bed I have amino acid tablets, magnesium tablets and Nitro oxide

 

 

STEVE’S 6 WEEK TRANSFORMATION

UPDATE 1

 

I am keeping a brief diary of my training and nutrition throughout the week to show you how a typical week under transformation looks like for me.

 

Sunday 27th

Rest day

Light cycle to gym was very easy on electric bike (6 miles)

Walk back took 1 hour 40 minutes

More for sunshine and lack of care than need for cardio

 

Monday 28th

6am

Deadlifts then back and triceps supersets

15 minute sauna

Pm

1 hour walk

Average nutrition day 3483 calories

 

Tuesday 29th

5.30 Am

Conditioning EMOM and core

Includes Assault bike, Row ,Vertical climber

14 AJ ab points (the app I mentioned on first post)

20 minute sauna

 

Evening

 

Shoulders biceps 40 min session

Higher calorie higher carbs

3600 calories

 

Notes:

Felt weak and lacking power on EMOMs

Beat PB but felt much harder than anticipated

 

Weight dropped to 81.8Kg

The volume of walking and intensity of sessions since committing to 6 weeks means I’m probably a couple hundred calories a day below maintenance weight

 

Feel really lean and think I look better visually in mirror but dropping weight and strength to quick to really maximise the full 6 weeks – RE-FEED day today!

 

 

Wednesday 30th June

Full day off as early groups and office based afternoon

Lower calorie, low carb day

3089 calories 21% carbs only

 

Thursday 1st July

5.30am

Legs triceps and abs

PB on pistols

Shoulders n back tight to point of locking up so switched from planned back session

Had huge feed 4022 calories

 

Friday 2nd July

Pm light 45 minutes chest session and finished AJ AB points for the week

2869 calories

Low carb day – 17%

 

Saturday 3rd July

Day off

Did a 4 mile walk outdoors

2850

low carb day – 20%

 

Sunday 4th July

My biggest session of the week

Deadlifts and Dips super set session

2786

Low carb day – 18%

 

Finished week feeling stronger

Weight picked back up as week went on

 

I was starting to low in calories (A mistake I hammer lads for!)

I’ve upped from 2900ish to 3239 average calories

 

Macros

23% carbs

41% fat

36% protein

 

My macros aren’t great but I’m getting enough protein in per kilo of bodyweight

 

I find having a really high calorie and carb day followed by lower day works well and staves off boredom

 

I will wait till 2-3 weeks from photoshoot to start calorie deficit and increase cardio

 

So far so good injury and recovery wise

 

Tracking was so much easier as I copied the days from previous week, something I defiantly recommend if you struggle to keep on top of planning and tracking food.

 

Bio reading

Weight is quite low, as above I’ve upped calories

Muscle is a lowest this year

Body fat at 10.3% is higher than historical and 3-4% off last photoshoot

Work to do!

 

 

UPDATE 2

I want to show you it’s possible to stay on track and go out at the same time.

I’m out this weekend but if you prepare well you can stay on track and lot lose any progress or momentum.

Here’s what I do

Before

 

I take Livercare tablets, 2 a day for a couple of days before I’m out – They’re excellent for accelerating recovery and preventing hangovers (not magic though!)

 

Drink electrolyte in water before I go out, you can buy electrolyte water or the electrolyte to add yourself, I use ‘Elite Electrolyte’. This keeps you hydrated and helps reduce the hangover.

 

Nutrition

 

Top tip

 

Fill in your expected drinks before you go out if you use a tracking app (Myfitnesspal)

If I am expecting to have 3-4k calories in alcohol I know I will need to lose 2.5k calories across my Thursday, Friday and Sunday to keep my macros on target

 

I will go very low carb Thursday and Friday to allow for huge sugar from alcohol

 

Filling in my night out in advance lets me see what I need to do to avoid to much damage

 

Sometimes even with all the planning it goes wrong on the night!!

 

At least I will have 2.5k calorie guilt free!

 

Day after

 

Hopefully if I’m up to it I will go for hour walk or light run as soon as I get up

 

I’ll also have an infrared sauna to flush out the toxins

 

Training

I will have a really hard big compound move session on the day

Deadlifts, squats etc to keep calorie burn high for day ahead and mean if Sunday becomes a right off I’ve got my major lifts in!

 

So if you manage it properly you can still go out, even have the day after off in bed, and still be on track to hit your goals!

 

 

UPDATE 3
Not really a transformation as I didn’t start from a bad point, I am aiming to peak for photoshoot though, at 47 I’m happy if I can make minor adjustments to my overall fitness strength over the course of each year, I will never be huge or change drastically.
Found 3 days low carb easy
Found eating my 4200 calorie high carbs day tough
Felt totally stuffed and uncomfortable
Woke up in morning with worst headache and sinus issues
Usually to much sugar triggers bad sinus for me so I may need to ditch carb cycling
Trained well through terrible head
5 days now with probably best training in a few months
Feel leaner and my strength has increased
Weight remained roughly the same so I’m hopeful that’s a body fat drop on Friday
If it it’s I’m not fussed as I can feel the shape difference in T-shirt areas and feel good training wise
As shoot closes in I do have the same anxiety as some of clients
I’m doing almost zero cardio at the moments and worry if I’m getting it right
My actual fat is low enough so you the idea is to add muscle rather than burn fat so I’m dodging cardio in the main and keeping calories higher than previous shoots
Am I eating enough
To much?
Its not an exact science as you have so many external factors you can’t control but so far It’s going ok I think!!
I’ve cut out protein bars and whey
Using collagen or vegan protein powder now
Regardless of how much I warm up or cool down I’m picking up a few niggles as I up the intensity of training
Knee can’t handle two heavy days in a row so having to rest it for a few days as inflammation from doing to many pistols and squats
Like wise elbow and neck are a little over worked so I am adding an extra rest day so I never train same body part hard two days in a row
Doing lots of AJ abs over next 2 weeks too!
Overall though, think I’m on track!
FINAL UPDATE
Body fat remained the same at 8.2%
I have stopped doing any cardio Sunday to Wednesday this week so not to deplete to much
I’m hoping to come in heavier than my last shoot but I’m slightly worried I have messed up a little, I had hoped for further body fat reduction or muscle gain but despite eating 4% carbs for 3 days and another one to come tomorow I’m pretty much as good or bad as I’ll get
My training has been higher volume upper body based stuff – I haven’t had a day off for 10 days now
My nutrition is good for me – I think Highest cals and lowest carbs 3700 cals 18% carbs
I found caveman keto granola and fage yoghurt is good when on low carbs.
I cant wait for shoot to be over so I can get out in town with Milburn and Smith on Saturday
Oh and go to Metrocentre for a massive post shoot nandos!!!
See Below for the photoshoot pictures!
Steve
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