WEEK 1- AND HE'S OFF!

F*ck me that was painful

Days 1- 7

Wow, what a week. I’m not going to lie, that was fecking tough and at times I questioned my ability to sustain the volume of training, whilst also questioning why in Hulk Hogan's jockstrap was I doing this at all. Well the first week is always the hardest and believe me I have been reminding myself of this all week, especially two days after leg day when I was walking like I’d spent the night in Alcatraz.

How frightening it is that fitness can be lost so quickly, the mantra ‘it’s easier to keep going than stop and start again’ feels very real this week. Everything hurts, my body, my empty stomach and my ego. I’m lifting less weight than ever before, I’m red faced, unfit, fat and disgusted at how I look, especially when stood next some of the dedicated mid twenties lot flexing in my gym, fuck those guys. To make matters worse, I feel fat whilst doing my PT sessions, I can feel people looking at me and I know what they are thinking, because I’d be thinking the same....he doesn’t look like a PT and they’re right. Don’t get me wrong I’m not obese but I am in the worst shape of my life and hating it.

On a positive note, I’m loving the morning run as it really sets me up for the day, my first PT client starts at 6am so usually I’m jaded but not since running the cobwebs away. Food prep seems overwhelming at the moment but I know planning is key, after visiting various different shops to keep the cost as low as possible, I have found a good balance of cost and quality, all of which is listed in the first Blog post.

Above: 5 of my meals, we have 3 chicken and broccoli and 2 dory and broccoli with 5 portions of oats.

Missing here is my 10 egg white and oat omlette and my steak and kale evening meal which I cooked when I got home.

I’ve been adding herbs and spices to my rice to make it palatable and mashed sweet potato is a tasty carb addition. Because I’m not drinking milk due to its sugary lactose content and the fact that it inhibits the absorption of other nutrients I’m having my oats with water...yes it’s the fashion equivalent of magnolia coloured corduroy trousers or beige comfy old people shoes but with a sprinkling of my chocolate protein powder it’s miraculously transformed into Rihanna's bra equivalent, well not quite that good but you get the point. ​

Nineteen sessions down and I’ve already lost 5kg in body weight, don't ask me how but a lot of this will be water and other crap. My energy levels are great due to the constant flow of protein, carbs and veggies that I’m eating, so far so good!

I’m not used to body building training and am still struggling to get my head around it. Don’t get me wrong I have done it before with success (but not for 10 years) and coming from the ‘functional’ camp I kind of feel that sculpting muscles with unnatural movements like lateral raises or leg extensions for aesthetic purposes is a strange concept because I would much rather train for function or performance. Maybe I’m not vain enough or can’t see how a hamstring curl will help my 10k or mountain biking but each to their own and I am in this program specifically for a body transformation, so know I am on the right track. There are many ways to train for success but I've chosen the weights option to show my gym going PT clients the benefits of this kind of training. Could I get from a to b quicker with transform classes? I believe so, but the results would be slightly different. I'm sticking with the weights route this time.