Finally, after three failed previous attempts I completed the 12 week 'Body
For Life Challenge. The journey I went on over that three month period was
fantastic and has positively improved my life in many ways.
Firstly, my
training was at new levels in terms of dedication, intensity, enthusiasm and
continuous improvements. This last time my workouts were going so well was
leading up to my last bodybuilding competition back in 1996, six years ago!
My aim in writing this article is to relate back to the previous article I
wrote titled 'How I Plan on Winning the BFL Challenge' and seeing how well
my plan went that I set at the start of the 12 weeks, including any ups and
downs.
Also, I would like to give people who are thinking about doing the
BFL Challenge a summary of what I did in order to improve my physique, so
that they may adapt it to their own personal situation and successfully
change their bodies as well.
The Original Plan
My original plan was to lose at least 20 pounds of body fat. I ended up
losing 19 pounds, which was pretty damn close! I went from 207 pounds to
188 pounds. I wanted to lose the weight slowly, as I remember when I
competed previously I lost the weight too quickly and subsequently lost too
much muscle and strength.
By monitoring my daily nutrition intake, I was
successful in losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week, which allowed me
to actually increase my strength levels in the gym as my body wasn't being
'crash' dieted as some people mistakenly do. I lost over 4 inches off my
waist and although my leg size decreased as the fat came off, I was very
happy the way my arms stayed nearly the same as I got lighter.
I learned a lot during the 12 weeks about my body and how it responds to
different diet and training strategies. The great thing about having a time
driven plan is that you are more motivated to find new information that will
help you improve further.
That's why many competitive bodybuilders improve
more over a course of a year than non-competitive. Having a date for when
you have to look your best gives you more drive and motivation to succeed,
than compared to when you can slack off for periods of time with the thought
that "you'll get back on track later!"
I am now going to discuss the different areas that made up my BFL Challenge:
My BFL Training Plan
When I previously competed I followed a plan of decreasing my weights and
increasing the reps. For my 12 week transformation I just didn't want to get
leaner, I also wanted to improve in all areas. These being increasing my
strength levels, use heavier weights than ever before and also increase
muscle size along the way.
That's not too much to ask is it! This was one
of my major goals set at the start and I achieved this by keeping my
training journal up to date each day. I would write my mental state, (which
was usually always positive), my food intake for the day and the timing, and
also how my training went. Each weights session had strength goals set for
it, even a couple of reps more was enough to satisfy me, as long as each
session I was moving into new strength territories then I knew things were
going in the right direction.
I would concentrate on the compound exercises
for the major exercises, re-introducing Military Presses, Stiff Leg
Deadlifts and the Flat Bench Press, which I hadn't done for years due to an
old shoulder injury.
I hadn't trained more than three times a week with weights since 1998 and
with my motivation being high I decided to follow a four way training split
to see how my body responded to that. Below is my routine:
DAY 1: Chest, Calves, Triceps, Abs
DAY 2: Back, Rear Delts, Traps, Biceps
DAY 3: Off Weights, Aerobics And Abs
DAY 4: Delts, Triceps, Biceps
DAY 5: Legs, Deadlifts, Calves
DAY 6: No Training
DAY 7: Aerobics And Abs
As you can see I designed my workouts to incorporate more arm work. The
reason for this is that my arms have always been a weak point for me. I
have been very conscious in the past to not over-train them, and always
followed a low volume, high intensity, and just once a week arm work
routine. But my arms never really improved.
I noticed that my arms
recovered very fast after hard workouts, and when I train chest and back I'm
good at feeling just those muscles and not really incorporating too much
biceps and triceps as a lot of people do. Even when I do weighted chins or
heavy rows I feel my back more than my biceps, which is the way it's
supposed to be.
So, I wondered if I was actually 'under-training' my arms.
I found this method very productive as I maintained my arms size through the
weight loss, and now they actually look more muscular. In addition to this
my strength increased consistently.
My aerobic work consisted mainly of cycling to work and to the gym. This
took me 30 minutes each time and was up and down hills, so I got a bit of
interval training along the way. I don't really enjoy doing aerobic work in
the gym and find it boring, so this was perfect as I had a destination to
get to and couldn't stop half way due to boredom or tiredness like you can
do in the gym.
My BFL Diet Plan
Before I did the challenge I thought I knew a lot about bodybuilding
nutrition. I am now amazed at how much I didn't know. I read many articles
on bodybuilding.com about pre and post workout nutrition, cycling your carbs
daily intake and the importance of eating healthy fats. Previously, when I
dieted I ate the same foods and same quantities all the time.
Cycling Carbohydrates
This time I changed things up, I would have 2 days of lower carbs (approx.
150 grams), followed by 2 days of higher carbs (250-300 grams) and then take
in more medium amounts for 2 days (approx. 200 grams). I would also change
the type of carbs I was taking in, having more fibrous carbs on low/medium
days and more complex carbs on higher carb days.
The change in daily diet
also helped prevent the diet from getting too mundane. This worked really
well, as my body couldn't get completely adjusted to the same amounts and
this allowed me to slowly lose weight without hitting any stale patches.
Eating Healthy Fats
Previously I didn't really fully understand the true benefits of eating
healthy fats such as; natural peanut butter, olive oil, canola oil and
flaxseed oil. I now realize that these fats are actually good for you, can
be a great source of energy when your eating low carbs and have numerous
health benefits including lowering your blood pressure.
I have now
incorporated these into my diet all year round. There are some very
informative articles on bodybuilding.com about this that I highly recommend
you read.
Pre & Post Workout Nutrition and Supplement Plan
I've known about the 'window of opportunity' post workout for some years
now. Where the body is in an optimum position to absorb the carbs and
protein ingested following a hard workout. Allowing a higher rate of
recovery and growth.
However, only during the BFL Challenge did I find out
the updated research into this area of Pre & Post Workout Nutrition and
Supplementation. In order to maximize my training performance and recovery
time I would follow the plan below:
30 Minutes Prior to Workout
Immediately after Workout
45 Minutes Later
6oz orange juice mixed with 5 grams of Creatine
15 Minutes later (1 hour after workout)
Food meal: 200 grams of potato and 4 oz chicken
2 Hours later (3 hour after workout)
300 ml Skim Milk mixed with 30 grams EAS Simply Protein
From what I read the body can absorb a lot of the nutrients from these foods
much more efficiently post-workout, so you can take in a good amount of
calories and still lose body fat consistently. Also, by taking in the carbs
and protein before your workout your body has fuel to burn during your
session rather than hitting empty half way through your training.
AST, the
popular Supplement Company, talk in great depth about the pre & post workout
nutrition and supplement plan. They recommend that you actually take in a
third of your daily calorie intake within the time span of 30 minutes before
and up to 3 hours after your workout in order to maximize your gains.
Cheat Days
When it comes to changing your lifestyle habits it is very hard to go from
eating whatever you like one day to eating 100% clean the next. With this
in mind I admitted to myself that in order to stay on my diet in the long
run I would need to allow myself a cheat twice per week at the start.
For the first 6 weeks, I had a cheat meal on a Wednesday and Saturday. This
made the process of following the diet the rest of the week much more
manageable. As I became mentally stronger and adjusted to the healthy
eating I was able to cut back the cheats to just once per week. By the end
of the three months I was really enjoying my healthy food and was amazed how
tasty 'good' food can taste when you eliminate junk food.
I think it's the way you function better when following a healthy eating schedule that makes
a real bodybuilding diet easier to follow. Knowing that each healthy meal
is taking you a step closer to your goals is a great way to keep yourself on
track.
Overcoming Obstacles And Setbacks
Even the most motivated of people get overwhelmed with negative feelings and
feel weaknesses creeping in urging you to break you diet or not train that
day. The difference between people who succeed and those who don't is what
they do when these 'urges' occur.
Whenever I felt a decline in my
motivation or an increased desire to indulge in junk food I would
immediately refer to my goals set at the start, look at how much progress I
had made and then how much more work I had to do. This would give me the
mental boost I needed to stay focused and not give in.
Sure, sometimes I
would have unplanned cheat meals, due to one reason or another. But rather
than beating myself up over it afterwards I would really motivate myself to
make sure that the extra calories I just took in would be put to good use by
training to a new higher level of intensity, both on the weights and aerobic
work.
Vacation in New York during Week 10 of BFL!!!
On week 10 of my BFL journey, I had a previously booked holiday to New York.
Rather than using this as an excuse to accept less of myself during this
week, I planned to make it productive and still be on target with my goals.
I organized myself so that I had plenty of protein bars, protein powder,
creatine and glutamine along with my vitamin tablets. The friends I was
staying with had a YMCA gym nearby so in the morning before heading off to
see the sights I'd train hard and get a good start to the day.
Not to
mention the amount of miles I must have walked around Manhattan! I enjoyed
a nice cheat meal in Times Square, and yet I was still on track with my
training when I returned to home for the final two weeks.
I wasted too many years, of not training consistently and eating far too
much junk food. The Body For Life Challenge has been the perfect catalyst
for me to get back into shape, love training again, and follow a healthy,
bodybuilding diet.
1
I am using my experience over those fantastic 12 weeks
to propel me back into competitive bodybuilding next year. Furthermore, with
this in mind the remainder of the year I am really fired up to make some
huge progress in the off-season to pack on some new muscle while staying
lean.
I hope that my experiences will help others out there to take up the
challenge and make some great progress.
All the best,
ryanmackie@hotmail.com
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