Hi,
Since I finished my bulk I have been strength training and I have to admit it has been very successful. I can't believe in around 8 weeks I have improved my strength on my chest, arms, legs and back. Strangely I have found shoulders the most difficult to gain strength on, but I will let it go as I have been so progressive on everything else.
On Saturday (9th May 2015), I am starting my Cut for summer and I am really looking forward to it. After gaining size and strength over the last few months it will be great to get lean for summer.
So with my strength training this is my updated personal bests:
- Bicep curl: 20kg
- Hammer curl: 16kg
- Squat: 105kg
- Bench press dumbbell: 40kg
- Incline Bench press: 82.2kg
- Barbell bench press: 92.2kg
- Triceps rope pull down: 30kg
This is a new high for me being able to lift heavy, before I started the strength training I was benching around 70kg and bicep curling 14kg so it's a massive improvement.
Moving forward to my cut I am starting a youtube channel to give a idea of what I am doing during my cut and the type of stuff I am eating doing to get my weight down. It will follow my life as I cut down and the the sort of things that work for me. I am doing it with my mate as I think it will spur me on more to succeed.
For now I will leave you with some videos of my personal bests and I look forward to updating soon..
https://instagram.com/p/2Ojj2JxWvy/?taken-by=alexblakemore1 - Incline bench 92.2kg
https://instagram.com/p/1OlJZTxWut/?taken-by=alexblakemore1 - Squat 110kg
https://instagram.com/p/1nmfK1xWn6/?taken-by=alexblakemore1 - T bar row.
Cheers
Alex
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Blog 17! On the search for pre-workout!
Hi guys,
A really quick one today, just been looking to change up my pre-workout as I have been on Musclepharm Assault for around 15 weeks now and although I love it and it's been great during my strength training, I feel like the affects are getting less and less as my body gets used to it.
During my search for something new I came across a new product from myprotein.com . It's called MyPre and its got some really good reviews. Each serving provides a number of ingredients which give you the energy you need to push through a workout. Firstly it has 4g of Creatine which improves physical performance. It also has caffeine, Amino Acids, Vitamins and minerals, Beta Alanine, L-Citrulline Malate, L-Arginine, D Aspartic Acid and Betaine. If you don't understand any of this, basically it gives you a massive buzz to lift heavy and push yourself for longer.
If this wasn't enough to tempt me towards a purchase I came across this review.
Who doesn't want to feel like a pigeon on red bull?
Fair to say I would recommend giving this a try and I will be purchasing some myself when I decide to have a break from Musclepharm assault, which I also highly recommend.
Cheers guys,
Alex
A really quick one today, just been looking to change up my pre-workout as I have been on Musclepharm Assault for around 15 weeks now and although I love it and it's been great during my strength training, I feel like the affects are getting less and less as my body gets used to it.
During my search for something new I came across a new product from myprotein.com . It's called MyPre and its got some really good reviews. Each serving provides a number of ingredients which give you the energy you need to push through a workout. Firstly it has 4g of Creatine which improves physical performance. It also has caffeine, Amino Acids, Vitamins and minerals, Beta Alanine, L-Citrulline Malate, L-Arginine, D Aspartic Acid and Betaine. If you don't understand any of this, basically it gives you a massive buzz to lift heavy and push yourself for longer.
If this wasn't enough to tempt me towards a purchase I came across this review.
Who doesn't want to feel like a pigeon on red bull?
Fair to say I would recommend giving this a try and I will be purchasing some myself when I decide to have a break from Musclepharm assault, which I also highly recommend.
Cheers guys,
Alex
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Blog 16! Four week arm workout plan DONE! Results?
Hi guys,
My four week arm workout plan is complete, and I have to say it's not all positive. If you remember from my previous post I was embarking on a four week quest to add two inches to my arms, now this was 2 inches overall around my arm, so I was never expecting another two inches to the peak of my bicep. The plan worked on a 7-3-3-7 basis where you trained arms twice a week and did 7 sets of an exercise, then 3 sets of heavy, 3 sets of heavy and then 7 sets to finish. This is my result and review of the workout.
Firstly if you are going to commit to this workout you really need to commit, this doesn't just mean in the gym, i'm talking diet. Cut out all alcohol, chocolate, crisps.... basically say bye to everything that tastes amazing. My main diet consisted of carbs such as brown rice and lots of meat and eggs. For me this wasn't much of a change from my usual diet as I am strict with what I eat anyway. The hard work for me was in the gym.
Compared to my usual arm workouts the plan seemed short and at the start of the 4 weeks I did question whether there was enough in each workout to fully work your arms. The 7 set exercises hurt, and I mean they HURT. You just have to keep pushing yourself and drop the weight slightly to make sure you reach 10-12 reps for every set. The 30 second rest period between sets seems short but it was very effective, without a doubt I got a good pump after my workouts early on.
The hardest week out of the four was definitely the second week. My arms were still getting used to the new regime and I had a week off my pre-workout (bad move), but the further into the 4 weeks I got the easier I found the workouts and slowly the pump went away. By the end of the third week I was feeling extremely demotivated. My other workouts (e.g. chest, back legs) were all excelling, but my arms which I was concentrating most on didn't seem to be changing, albeit I felt significant stronger all round my body including my arms. I decided something needed to be done so I kept to the 7-3-3-7 regime but instead of just the 4 exercises in the workout I would do 7 sets at the start of my workout, then 3 sets of five or six different exercises and then do my 7 sets at the end of my workout. I found this much more effective and by the end of the workout I couldn't lift my arms.
I finished on Friday and I have to say I found the workout enjoyable and although the results may not have been as effective as I would have hoped, I think my new idea of the 7 sets at the start and end of an arm workout along with 3 sets of heavier weights for around 6/7 different exercises for each arm muscle makes for an extremely effective arm workout. I also found the Friday - 7 set high cable curls extremely effective so check those out on my previous blog!
Now i've finished my bulk I am going to move onto strength training as I want to hit 38/40 on dumbbell bench press and lift as heavy as I can for a while on all my body parts, before I tone or cut for summer. I plan on strength training for around 6-8 weeks whilst keeping a healthy diet.
I will update you on how that is going and maybe one of my workouts in a few weeks.
For now I will leave you with a before and after from my enjoyable and educating 4 weeks of arm muscle building.
Thanks guys
Alex :)
p.s. Check out a mate of mines personal training page, he is called Alex Gooch and he has just qualified as a personal trainer. He is deffo worth a look! He will be uploading Youtube videos full of workouts and tips. Follow the link here: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAGFitness?fref=ts and his youtube is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3cGLaEXyvx_H_MjmVqbmQ
My four week arm workout plan is complete, and I have to say it's not all positive. If you remember from my previous post I was embarking on a four week quest to add two inches to my arms, now this was 2 inches overall around my arm, so I was never expecting another two inches to the peak of my bicep. The plan worked on a 7-3-3-7 basis where you trained arms twice a week and did 7 sets of an exercise, then 3 sets of heavy, 3 sets of heavy and then 7 sets to finish. This is my result and review of the workout.
Firstly if you are going to commit to this workout you really need to commit, this doesn't just mean in the gym, i'm talking diet. Cut out all alcohol, chocolate, crisps.... basically say bye to everything that tastes amazing. My main diet consisted of carbs such as brown rice and lots of meat and eggs. For me this wasn't much of a change from my usual diet as I am strict with what I eat anyway. The hard work for me was in the gym.
Compared to my usual arm workouts the plan seemed short and at the start of the 4 weeks I did question whether there was enough in each workout to fully work your arms. The 7 set exercises hurt, and I mean they HURT. You just have to keep pushing yourself and drop the weight slightly to make sure you reach 10-12 reps for every set. The 30 second rest period between sets seems short but it was very effective, without a doubt I got a good pump after my workouts early on.
The hardest week out of the four was definitely the second week. My arms were still getting used to the new regime and I had a week off my pre-workout (bad move), but the further into the 4 weeks I got the easier I found the workouts and slowly the pump went away. By the end of the third week I was feeling extremely demotivated. My other workouts (e.g. chest, back legs) were all excelling, but my arms which I was concentrating most on didn't seem to be changing, albeit I felt significant stronger all round my body including my arms. I decided something needed to be done so I kept to the 7-3-3-7 regime but instead of just the 4 exercises in the workout I would do 7 sets at the start of my workout, then 3 sets of five or six different exercises and then do my 7 sets at the end of my workout. I found this much more effective and by the end of the workout I couldn't lift my arms.
I finished on Friday and I have to say I found the workout enjoyable and although the results may not have been as effective as I would have hoped, I think my new idea of the 7 sets at the start and end of an arm workout along with 3 sets of heavier weights for around 6/7 different exercises for each arm muscle makes for an extremely effective arm workout. I also found the Friday - 7 set high cable curls extremely effective so check those out on my previous blog!
Now i've finished my bulk I am going to move onto strength training as I want to hit 38/40 on dumbbell bench press and lift as heavy as I can for a while on all my body parts, before I tone or cut for summer. I plan on strength training for around 6-8 weeks whilst keeping a healthy diet.
I will update you on how that is going and maybe one of my workouts in a few weeks.
For now I will leave you with a before and after from my enjoyable and educating 4 weeks of arm muscle building.
Thanks guys
Alex :)
p.s. Check out a mate of mines personal training page, he is called Alex Gooch and he has just qualified as a personal trainer. He is deffo worth a look! He will be uploading Youtube videos full of workouts and tips. Follow the link here: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAGFitness?fref=ts and his youtube is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe3cGLaEXyvx_H_MjmVqbmQ
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| before |
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| After and high cable curls! |
Friday, 16 January 2015
Blog 15! Add two inches to your arms!
Hi guys,
We are half way through January and through many hours of searching the web I have finally found my next routine in order to achieve a goal I have been looking to reach for a while now.
With January being a slow month for me progress wise I feel like my body has got used to the workouts I am doing and although I have been trying to mix them up a bit in order to get that killer pump, I have found I haven't really been pushing myself to the limit since the new year.
The other night I came across what I've been looking for during a spontaneous web search session during a break from revision. A workout plan which aims to add 2 inches to your arms within 4 weeks. Yes my first thought was 4 weeks seems awfully short to add a whole 2 inches to my arms. But after seeing the workout plan it does seem reasonable as long as I eat the right food, stock up on protein and work my arse off in the gym. I am more determined than ever to do this workout plan as gaining size on my arms has always been something I have struggled with since I started lifting 4 years ago. I am realistic though and on a student budget I am unlikely to give myself enough fuel to get this done in 4 weeks. So I have decided that if after 4 weeks I haven't reached the desired size then I will extend the workout to 6 weeks.
I have stocked up on protein and purchased some BCAA 3:1:2 which is produced by MusclePharm the same company who produce my pre-workout which has always been great for me. The aim of my BCAA's is to support my muscle grown and increase protein synthesis, along with reducing muscle breakdown on my cardio days. In terms of supplements, I will be taking two protein shakes a day and a serving (8 tablets) of BCAA after my workout. As a student that is all I can afford, but I am going to keep my eating clean and very protein orientated whilst incorporating clean carbs into my diet. Another massive thing for me to do during this workout is to drink plenty of water which has always been a difficult thing for me. I am buying a protein shaker for my room that I can just keep filling up with water in order to keep a constant intake throughout the day.
Enough about the nutrition now to the workout. The aim of the plan is to hit arms twice a week and kill them off both times. Each set is to failure but you wan't to choose a weight that is around 10-12 reps till failure. For me this is around 16 kg for bicep curls and 20kg for cable pull downs for triceps. The workout per week is as follows:
Monday - Biceps/Shoulders/Abs
Tuesday - Triceps/Back/Abs
Wednesday - Chest/Abs
Thursday - Legs/Abs
Friday - Biceps/Triceps/Abs
Saturday - Off (Cardio optional)
Sunday - Chest (Cardio)/Abs
The exercises per workout for each day are as follows:
As for my other body parts I am going to try incorporate some new exercises into my routine but this plan mostly focuses on my arms, so my focus will be on that whilst using my other workouts to maintain and tone up.
I am starting on Monday and although it is a short time frame, I think it's going to be very tough and push me to my limits.
Cheers guys,
I will update you when I am two weeks in to let you know it goes.
Alex :)
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Blog 14! New year, busy Gym!
Hi guys,
Hope you all had a great christmas and new year. Finally the time of year has passed when you feel guilty eating your christmas dinner and chocolates as you see all your hard work from the past few months slowly slip away.
I did fairly well myself, sticking to my diet and gym sessions for most of christmas with the exception of about two days. I did debate having a moan during the christmas period on this blog about how gym's are shut during the christmas period a fair bit getting in the way of routine, however, I soon realised that it was a bit sad that I actually debated going to the gym on Christmas day until I realised it was closed.
So to a new year and for many of us some new years resolutions. Of course the gym is heaving with people on a new year health kick which is causing my workouts to be longer as I wait for machines which is annoying for myself and regular gym goers alike. Word of advice: Stick with it because by Feb 90% of people who joined a gym in January will have left.
This new year I have decided to give a new years resolution a miss and keep going how I am at the gym and look for some new routines in order to push myself to the limit. I think the main thing is to keep focus during the difficult January period of busy gyms, grim weather and the urge for comfort food. Once January is over you can push on and reach new goals. I am looking forward to the build up to summer where I can cut and get ready to hit the beach.
I am interested to know what your new year goals are at the gym and what you make of the January exercise rush. Let me know at @alexblakemore1 on twitter and get involved.
For now keep pushing yourself and have fun.
Cheers Alex
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Blog 13! 8 MINUTE AB BLAST!
Hi guys,
Just a quick one to give you a heads up on an Ab workout I have been doing recently at the end of my weight sessions.
If you're like me and you like to get your ab sessions out of the way quickly but still get a great burn then this Ab blast is for you.
Grab yourself a mat and get ready for 8 minutes of killer ab burn. This is what do it:
Crunches : 30 seconds
Leg raises: 30 seconds
Plank: 30 seconds
Knee Crunch: 30 seconds (left elbow to right knee and right elbow to left knee)
REPEAT 4 times without any rest.
If you are new to working your abs then I would suggest only repeating this 3 times until you have built up some stamina. After 3/4 weeks of doing this workout as one of your ab sessions once or twice a week you will notice a big difference in your abs.
Have a go, enjoy and let me know how you are getting on with it or if you need any more tips: @alexblakemore1 on Twitter.
Cheers Alex
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Blog 12! Wolf run's 2014!
Hi guys,
I haven't posted anything in a while and I have achieved a decent amount personally. As a result I thought I would write to give you a quick update before posting a few more blogs in the next few weeks.
First off I have managed to gain a decent amount of size over the last 8-9 weeks which I am really happy with. I finally found the time to invest in my workouts and the food I eat. I ordered some Pre-workout (Musclepharm Assault) and I have been having protein shakes post workout and before bed with milk for slow release. This along with my gym routines, which I have been mixing up a lot more and going heavier for less reps has worked a treat. I am starting to find real motivation as I am progressing and I am enjoying trying out new workout's and supplements.
I will be updating this blog with some new workouts I am trying and any fitness related things I find on the web as always. So it's official I am back up and running with this blog.
In other news since I last posted, I have completed not 1 but 2 Wolf Run's. For any of you who do not know what one is, here is a link to the website: http://www.thewolfrun.com .
I completed the summer wolf run in September and the Winter wolf last weekend. The run consists of 10K worth of obstacles including, water, tyres, monkey bars and lots and lots of mud.
For the summer wolf I trained a lot in terms of fitness, but unlike most runs the key to training is sprint training. So HITT's are a great way of getting into shape. The reason for this is because you want to run as fast as you can between obstacles and the obstacles give you time to have a breather from the run and let's your body strength do the talking. It's also important to have good body strength so lean muscle is a must. Over the next month I will post some workouts I did for the training. I recommend to anyone who enjoys working out and towards a goal, to try the Wolf run. If you want to have more of a laugh with it, I recommend the summer wolf as the one during winter is a lot tougher as it's very muddy and cold. Not only is it a great achievement when you cross the finish line you also have a laugh with mates as the whole point of the run is to stick together and finish as a wolf pack.
My plan is to complete Tough Mudder in May which is going to take a lot of training from around February time.
That's all for now and I will be back soon with some workout blogs and tips.
Thanks for reading and I will leave you with some pics from my Wolf Run.
Cheers
Alex :)
I haven't posted anything in a while and I have achieved a decent amount personally. As a result I thought I would write to give you a quick update before posting a few more blogs in the next few weeks.
First off I have managed to gain a decent amount of size over the last 8-9 weeks which I am really happy with. I finally found the time to invest in my workouts and the food I eat. I ordered some Pre-workout (Musclepharm Assault) and I have been having protein shakes post workout and before bed with milk for slow release. This along with my gym routines, which I have been mixing up a lot more and going heavier for less reps has worked a treat. I am starting to find real motivation as I am progressing and I am enjoying trying out new workout's and supplements.
I will be updating this blog with some new workouts I am trying and any fitness related things I find on the web as always. So it's official I am back up and running with this blog.
In other news since I last posted, I have completed not 1 but 2 Wolf Run's. For any of you who do not know what one is, here is a link to the website: http://www.thewolfrun.com .
I completed the summer wolf run in September and the Winter wolf last weekend. The run consists of 10K worth of obstacles including, water, tyres, monkey bars and lots and lots of mud.
For the summer wolf I trained a lot in terms of fitness, but unlike most runs the key to training is sprint training. So HITT's are a great way of getting into shape. The reason for this is because you want to run as fast as you can between obstacles and the obstacles give you time to have a breather from the run and let's your body strength do the talking. It's also important to have good body strength so lean muscle is a must. Over the next month I will post some workouts I did for the training. I recommend to anyone who enjoys working out and towards a goal, to try the Wolf run. If you want to have more of a laugh with it, I recommend the summer wolf as the one during winter is a lot tougher as it's very muddy and cold. Not only is it a great achievement when you cross the finish line you also have a laugh with mates as the whole point of the run is to stick together and finish as a wolf pack.
My plan is to complete Tough Mudder in May which is going to take a lot of training from around February time.
That's all for now and I will be back soon with some workout blogs and tips.
Thanks for reading and I will leave you with some pics from my Wolf Run.
Cheers
Alex :)
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| Summer Wolf |
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| Summer wolf |
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| End of summer wolf |
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| Winter Wolf |
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| Before winter wolf |
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| before and after winter wolf |
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