Supplements I Use and Why

100% Whey Protein- NRG Fuel

 Ingredients
Protein blend (whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate), thickener (guar gum), vanilla flavour, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine, sweetener (sucralose). Based on vanilla flavour.

Nutritional Info

Energy (kcal) per 100g - 394.3 // per 30g serving 118.3
Energy (kj) per 100g - 1649.3 // per 30g serving 494.8
Protein per 100g - 80g // per 30g - 24g
Carbohydrates per 100g - 5.1g // per 30g - 1.53g
Fibre N/A
Sodium per 100g - 0.163g // per 30g - 0.049g

(Taken from http://www.nrgfuel.org/products-page/boxing-mma/nrgfuel-100-whey-protein)

This is the protein powder I am currently using. Protein is essential if you want to build muscle and get in shape. The majority of your body is constructed from proteins. When you lift weights, you cause damage to the muscle. To repair this damage, your body needs to have the resources to construct new material from readily available. If all the protein needed to repair the muscle is in your body, your body can being to repair and grow at its maximum rate.

After a training session I will usually have 2 scoops of the powder in water, which equates to 48g of protein.  I have another 2 before going to sleep as well, which brings the total protein I have through supplementation to 96g, or the equivalent of three chicken breasts.

Another advantage of whey protein is that it is a good source of BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids). These are what are responsible for the muscle growth and repair. The amount of the 80g protein per 100g powder that is made up of BCAAs is 18.07g.

N.O. Xplode 2.0-BSN

http://www.bsnonline.net/details/noxplode.html

The ingredients in N.O. Xplode are a fair bit more complex than in the protein.  Vitamin B6 is one of the main ingredients. This helps with the conversion of glycogen to glucose.

The supplement also contains nitric oxide. This causes something called vasodilation. This is the relaxing of the lining of blood vessels, allowing greater blood flow. This increases supply of nutrients and energy to muscles, allowing for greater levels of exertion for longer periods of time. Your maximum output isn’t increased, but your recover time drops and the length of time you can train for improves. The creatine in the supplement allows for the muscle to re-synthesise ATP faster, reducing your recovery time.

Large amounts of caffeine and taurine are present, although specific amounts are not given on the BSN website. These increase your heart rate, helping increase your muscles energy supply in conjunction with the nitric oxide.

I usually take between 2 and 3 scoops before training. As there is a large amount of caffeine and taurine I don’t take the supplement after 12 noon as it causes me to sleep badly.

WARNING- Taking this substance alongside alcohol or other relaxants will put massive strain on your heart and can cause serious heart attacks.

Change in Goal

I'm now going on holiday at the beginning of June, need to be in the best shape possible for then. Means keeping on the heavy weights and adding the cardio. I've gotta drop my body fat % a fair bit to get the hard work of the last few weeks showing.

28th March

Leg session today

Finished the session with a 15 minute run.

I did the whole 15 mins at 7kmph but varied the incline
3 mins warm up at 5 degrees
20 seconds at 10 degrees
40 seconds at 5 degrees
(continue this till 10 mins)
20 seconds at 15 degrees
40 seconds at 5 degrees
(continue till 13 mins)
2 mins steady to finish at 1 degree

This wrecked my legs after the leg session, but got my heart rate up loads and shows my cardio has improved already, as 10 mins running was tiring me out last week.

27th March

A shoulders and triceps session today, same as I've listed previously. I'm gonna say a bit more about the cardio  training I'm doing now though.

Cardio (done at the end of the session)

10 mins on rowing machine
3 min warm up
10 seconds fast
50 seconds
repeat till 8 mins
2 minute steady to finish

This kind of training is know as high intensity cardio training. The idea of it is to elevate your heart rate loads during the sprint part of the workout, then let it drop again before the next sprint. As your pushing your body so much, you elevate your metabolism for the rest of the day as your body tries to compensate for the exercise you do. The time the training is done for is much shorter than normal cardio as your intensity is much higher. I'm only going for 10 mins at the moment as I've just started again, but I will be aiming to keep going for 20 mins in the next few weeks.

Alternative Training

Yesterday I was at work all day. Usually that means sitting in a chair watching people swimming all day. But yesterday we had to move a bouncy castle into the middle of a field. The trolley wouldn't roll on the grass, so we had to drag it. We're talking about a 200-300kg bouncy castle. Anyway, pulling that thing ended up being a  full body work out. We were holding onto the plastic edges, working our arm and forearms, training our backs and core by having to transfer the power from our legs to the pulling motion. On a whole it was a pretty good bit of training, I've woken up today with sore legs and lower back. Shame I wont be able to do it again any time soon.

24th March

Chest session again, same as previously done.

I'm gonna try and start to add a different type of information to the blog now. I have recorded a fair few sessions on here now, but they're beginning to seem very repetitive.


Following the session plans I've listed already will begin to change your shape and should help you towards your goal, whatever it may be. Hopefully one thing you can take from the blog so far is that training and achieving your goals isn't a quick process. You don't just do one workout and then have your perfect figure. You need to commit to your goals and work at them over a period of time to achieve. It does get hard at times.Everyone has days where they don't want to go to the gym, or training, or even to work. But the people who do go and still manage to push themselves through the hard spots are the ones' that rise above the rest.  When you finally get to your goal, you will be that much more proud of yourself because you know that you put the effort in and you are the one who created something of yourself.

Watch this video below.This guy motivates me to do so much more and try so much harder. Listen to what he says, it'll make you think about the way you look at things.

22nd March

Wasn't able to train today, aggravated an old injury that was causing quite a bit of discomfort  in my shoulder. Didn't want to cause any more trouble by doing a heavy chest session.

Here's another video, this one's an absolute gem, I'll put so much into perspective for you.

21st March

Shoulder/Triceps Session


5 mins on cross trainer

Shoulder Press
1 set of 12 @ 17.5kg
1 set of 6 @ 27.5kg
1 set of 8 @ 22.5kg

Reverse Flys
1 set of 12 @ 7.5 kg
1 set of 10 @ 10kg

Front Raises
2 sets of 10 @ 10kg

Side Raises
2 sets of 10 @ 10kg

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
1 set of 12 @ 20kg
1 set of 10 @ 50kg

Hammer Strength Flys
2 sets @ 10kg

Cable Side Raises
2 sets of 8

Skull Crushers
1 set of 12 @ 10kg
1 set of 8 @ 17.5kg

Tricep Pulldowns
1 set of 12
1 set of 6

Decline Situps
2 sets of 10

Knee Raises
2 sets of 10




8 mins on rowing machine (10 seconds sprint, 50 seconds steady)
10 mins on running machine (10 degree incline steady pace)

20th March

Leg Session


10 min warm up on cross trainer

Squats
1 set of 12 @ 40kg
1 set of 6 @ 70kg
1 set of 5 @ 110kg

Leg Press
1 set of 12 @ 50kg
1 set of 8 @ 100kg
1 set of 6 @ 120kg

Hamstring Curls
1 set of 12 @ 50kg
1 set of 8 @ 70kg

Leg Extensions
1 set of 12 @ 50kg
1 set of 8 @ 100kg
1 set of 8 @ 120kg

Calf Raises
2 sets of 10

Cable Woodchopper
2 sets of 15

Knee Raises
3 sets of 10

Decline crunches
2 sets of 10

Supplements
2 scoops of NO-xplode


Here's a video on Squats by Rob Riches, its a good instructional video

19th March

No time to go training again today. Getting loaded up with work. Should be going tomorrow though, will be doing another leg session

Training on 17th March

Back Session


Dumbbell Pullovers
1 set of 12 @ 25kg
1 set of 8 @ 40kg

Single Arm Rows
1 set of 12 @ 25kg
1 set of 10 @ 40kg
1 set of 5 @ 45kg

Deadlifts
1 set of 10 @ 70kg
1 set of 6 @ 120kg
1 set of 2 @ 150kg

Hammer strength Lat Pulldowns
1 set of 10 @ 40kg
1 set of 6 @ 100kg

Cable Woodchopper
3 sets of 15

Knee Raises
3 sets of 10

Decline Crunches
3 sets of 10

Crunches
2 sets of 10

Supplements
2 scoops of NO-xplode
2 scoops of NRG Whey

Goals

Ok, I think I need to review my goals. My original plan was to try and bulk to around 110kg, but since the beginning of the month i have only put on 2kg. This is probably due to a number of reasons. My body has adapted to the training, as I have been following the same plan for a few months now. The other, and more probable cause is that my muscle mass has increased, but my body fat % has decreased. I have definitely grown and I am getting more definition.

I feel that because of the way my training is currently going it will be best to keep my program the same, but add some aspect of cardiovascular work. In a meeting with a friend recently I was told about how cardio training increases your muscle size by increasing the size of the capillaries in the muscle. I will see if this actually works. If it doesn't, at least the cardio will drop my fat percentage.

Oh, and as the motivational videos seemed popular, here's another.

How bad do you want to succeed

15th March

Chest/Bicep Session

10 mins on a cross trainer at 120-130 bpm heart rate

Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 30kg
1 set of 6 reps @ 45kg

Incline Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 20kg
1 set of 6 reps @ 30kg

Chest Flys
1 set of 10 reps @ 20kg

Single arm preacher curls
1 set of 10 reps @ 12kg
1 set of 5 @ 20kg

Barbell Curls
1 set of 8 reps @ 30kg

Hammer strength chest press
2 sets of 10 reps @ 40kg

Hammer strength preacher curls
2 sets of 8 @ 25kg

Supplements


NO-xplode during 10 minute warm up
NRG Whey Protein straight after session
NRG Whey Protein before going to sleep in the evening

Great Motivational Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STp1UtMrKR4&feature=g-vrec&context=G29663caRVAAAAAAAAAQ

12th March

No training for the past 2 days, haven't had the time. Still been drinking my protein shakes. Need to weigh myself again soon to see what the progress is like

10th March

No training again today. Gonna have a few days off to let my body recover and grow a bit. Still having the protein, absolutely necessary when bulking up.  

9th March

Very busy day today, so no time to get to the gym. I've still had a protein shake though. When you have a day off, your body takes the opportunity to repair and grow. You have an excess of energy as you haven't trained, so you need to make sure that you have the tools to grow, which is the protein.

8th March

Shoulder Session


Shoulder press


1 set of 10 @ 15kg 
1 set of 8 @ 27.5kg


Lateral and Front Raises


1 set of 10 @ 7.5kg 
1 set of 8 @ 12.5kg 


Reverse Flys 


1 set of 10 @ 7.5kg 
1 set of 8 @ 12.5kg 

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press 


1 set of 10 @ 40kg 
1 set of 5 @ 80kg 


Hammer Strength Flys 


1 set of 10 @ 7.5kg 
1 set of 8 @ 15kg 


Cable Front and Lateral Raises 
2 sets of 6


Skullcrushers


1 set of 10 @ 12kg 
1 set of 6 @ 22.5kg 


Triceps Press

1 set of 10
1 set of 8 


Cable Crunch 


2 sets of 10


Cable Twist Crunch


2 sets of 10 


Woodchopper

2 sets of 10




Supplements

NO-xplode before session

Whey protein after session and before sleeping

Why I don’t take NO-xplode all the time

Some of you may have noticed that I don’t take my pre-workout drink before every session. This is because a lot of my sessions are in the afternoons. The energy drink contains a lot of stimulants that keep your body awake for long periods of time, like red bull. But unlike red bull, they keep me up for up to 12 hours after taking it. If I have the drink at 2 in the afternoon, chances are I’ll have an awful night sleep, so it’s not worth it.

7th March

Legs

10 min warm up on cross trainer @ 120bpm

10 min stretching legs

Squats

1 set of 10 reps @ 50kg

1 set of 6 reps @ 100kg

Leg press

1 set of 10 reps @ 100kg

1 set of 8 reps @ 120kg

Hammer strength hamstring curls

1 set of 10 reps @ 30kg

1 set of 6 reps @ 70kg

Hammer strength leg extensions

1 set of 10 reps @ 50kg

1 set of 6 reps @ 150kg

Supplements

Whey protein after training and before sleep

Not a very long session today, wasn't in the mood to go crazy but needed to do something.

quite happy with my squat though, slowly progressing.

6th March

Chest/Bicep Session




10 mins on a cross trainer at 120-130 bpm heart rate


Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 30kg
1 set of 2 reps @ 45kg
1 set of 5 reps@ 40kg


Incline Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 15kg
1 set of 5 reps @ 25kg


Chest Flys
1 set of 8 reps @ 15kg


Incline Chest Flys
1 set of 8 reps @ 15kg


Single arm preacher curls
1 set of 10 reps @ 7.5kg
1 set of 8 @ 15kg


Barbell Curls
1 set of 8 reps @ 25kg


Hammer strength chest press
1 sets of 10 reps @ 50kg
1 set  of 4 reps @ 80kg


Hammer strength preacher curls
1 set of 8 @ 10kg
1 set of 6 @ 20kg


Weighted Sit Ups
2 sets of 10 @ 10kg



Supplements

Only whey protein before sleeping, forgot to pack the others when I left this morning

Wasn't feeling great in the gym today, everything felt much heavier than normal. That probably due to having done a shoulders session yesterday, which involves the triceps and stabilizing muscles in the same way that a chest session does.

Not much else to say.

Hopefully this is beneficial for those reading it

The Beginning

I started my month of training at the beginning of March. I know its already the 5th, but I've been loaded up with other work.

Picture taken- 1st March 2012

This is a photo of me on the scales at the beginning of the month. I was weighing in at 102.3kg, a bit over what I expected, but hey, not complaining.

As this is my first post I'm gonna document all the training I've done so far in one post. I wont be going into massive detail about diet, just supplements and basics.


1st March 


I did a chest session on the first day, thought I'd start off with a favorite session.

Chest/Bicep Session


10 mins on a cross trainer at 120-130 bpm heart rate

Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 30kg
1 set of 6 reps @ 45kg

Incline Chest press
1 set of 12 reps @ 20kg
1 set of 6 reps @ 30kg

Chest Flys
1 set of 8 reps @ 20kg

Single arm preacher curls
1 set of 10 reps @ 12kg
1 set of 5 @ 20kg

Barbell Curls
1 set of 8 reps @ 30kg

Hammer strength chest press
2 sets of 10 reps @ 40kg

Hammer strength preacher curls
2 sets of 8 @ 25kg

Supplements


NO-xplode during 10 minute warm up
NRG Whey Protein straight after session
NRG Whey Protein before going to sleep in the evening

2nd March


Legs Session


10 mins on a cross trainer at 120-130 bpm heart rate

Barbell Squats
1 set of 12 @ 30kg
1 set of 10 @ 100kg

Leg Press
1 set of 12 @ 100kg
1 set of 8 @ 150kg

Hamstring Curls
1 set of 12 @ 35kg
1 set of 10 @ 70kg

Leg Extensions
1 set of 12 @ 50kg
1set of 6 @ 150kg

Seated Calf Raises
1 set of 12 @ 20kg
1 set of 8 @ 40kg

Cable Woodchopper
1 set of 15
1 set of 8

3rd March


No training today as I was at work, but a protein shake in the evening.

4th March


No training again as working. No protein shake today.

5th March


Fancied a very long session today. A bit counter intuitive as I'm following an HIT program, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem in the long run
Back/Shoulders Session


Dumbbell Pullovers
1 set of 12 @ 20kg
1 set of 8 @ 40kg

Single Arm Rows
1 set of 12 @ 20kg
1 set of 8 @ 40kg
1 set of 5 @ 45kg

Barbell Rows
1 set of 12 @ 15kg
1 set of 8 @ 65kg

Hammer Strength Pullover Machine
1 set of 12 @ 40kg
1 set of 12 @ 80kg

Hammer Strength Lat Pulldowns
1 set of 12 @ 30 kg
1 set of 6 @ 80kg

Dumbbell Shoulder Press
1 set of 12 @ 20kg
1 set of 6 @ 27.5kg

Front, Side and Reverse Flys
1 set of 12 @ 7.5kg
1 set of 6 @ 15kg

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
1 set of 12 @ 30kg
1 set of 6@ 80kg

Cable Side Raises
1 set to failure

Decline Crunches
1 set of 10 bodyweight only
1 set of 8 with 10kg

Knee Raises
2 sets of 8

Supplements

NO-xplode during 10 minute warm up
NRG Whey Protein straight after session
NRG Whey Protein before going to sleep in the evening.