Bikini Guide Version 3

So a year ago in January, I blogged about having bought the LDN Muscle Bikini guide version 2. I'd hit a nasty plateau (both mentally and physically) and needed some new motivation.

I completed the guide but due to my lack of consistency and hectic work schedule my results weren't so great. My strength definitely improved and is still improving but my diet still needs some serious work and my hatred for cardio means I'm not burning much fat. My butt has lifted and my shoulders have a good definition but the troublesome bits in between have made very little change.

Still being an active member of the LDNMLadies and LDNMFamily on Twitter, the next natural step was to move onto the Bikini Guide V3.

I'm three weeks into the Bikini Guide. It's an 18 week plan. It's got a 4 week rotational training programme that keeps things really mixed up and targets all the right types of movements in a contact cycle and, so far, it's not been even a little bit dull. The great thing is that there's a huge emphasis on weightlifting, which I absolutely love. The amount of cardio you do is recommended in the guide but dictated by you. Naturally, your results show which you pick. If you're not looking to cut fat but just to add muscle tone, then you can scale the cardio down, and vice versa.

I've done plenty more research on body types and discovered that of the somatotypes, my body is definitely an endomorph. This means I gain muscle easily but I also retain fat. Endomorphs tend to have long torsos (check), short limbs (check) and gain fat easily (check). Lots of reading (and stressing) has helped me to discover that carbs are not my friend.

I realised that I need to work a lot more on my diet and I need to learn a lot more about macronutrients and what to eat and when. I've reached out to a couple of absolute gems that I've met on Twitter and they're helping me slowly figure this macro business out. My nearest and dearest will all tell you that it's ridiculous how bad I am at maths for a supposed intelligent person; this food maths is going to take me some time to crack but I'm sure it's a big piece in this puzzle so I must be determined and get through.


My learnings over the last few months, mixed with this guide, mixed with common sense has lead me to conclude that I definitely need to incorporate more cardio into my training regimen. Luckily, the guide gives you a ton of options so it doesn't only have to come in the form of an hour bashing away on a treadmill, thankfully!

So, I have my 6 week, 12 week and 18 week alarms set to take progress pictures. I don't expect a huge amount of difference at the 6 week mark due to my diet but I'm hoping to make up for it by week 12.

Wish me luck!

One year on....

The last time I posted a blog was one year and two weeks ago. I cannot believe that for two reasons. Firstly, I can't comprehend how quickly the last year has gone and how much has changed. Secondly, I can't believe I haven't found time to write; I really love writing.

I've made a promise to myself to post at least once a week. Not only is it a good way to keep track of what's happened in my life, it will do me good to take time out to organise my mind and release a little.

This new phase of the blog will most likely just be focussed on fitness and the gym but it's me writing so I'm sure it'll go off on very many random tangents.

My last post was a bit of a round up of my week so I'll follow on with that. I mentioned before that I went spinning before work successfully. Sadly this no longer is an option. I have to be at work for 830am and my gym doesn't offer classes early enough for me to spin, shower, dress and commute to work. Occasionally I get up early enough to go for a little jog before work and I treat it like the rebirth of Christ; it's a miracle and I harp on about it on twitter for at least 4 days after. Soz.

A year on and I'm definitely still a gym addict, with a strong focus on weightlifting still. My problem is that there's not much difference in how I look. I have more muscle for sure but I haven't really changed in terms of inches or pounds lost. The last year was about finding my feet in my new career (I'm an estate agent, please don't hate me). Learning to coordinate my new life and schedule with the gym, I was just keeping my head above water. Time and finances were a big restraint for me so I couldn't afford in either time or money to workout like a lunatic and eat endless amounts of chicken and superfoods.

This year, I'm organised, budgeting better with both my time and pennies and I'm ready to make some real progress with my body. I don't want a dramatic 90 day change. I know it would be far harder than it's worth for me and I would be sad along the way. I just want to be consistent with my diet and training while still allowing time for guilt-free indulgences that life may bring along the way.

I've actually had a whole new bout of motivation in the last fortnight and am fully back on the gym rat life. I work damn hard during the day. I love what I do but between 8 am and 730pm, my job demands every single second of my focus commanded upon it. The second I leave that job, I want to put it behind me and go and focus on earning the body I deserve and improving my health and future self. I want to see the difference month on month and feel myself getting stronger, leaner and healthier. I'm certain I will fall off the bandwagon again but what I do know is that as time goes on, each relapse is shorter and I find it easier to regain control.

I could ramble on here for hours but I must go to bed as I have an early meeting. How riveting my life is nowadays. I promise with all my heart that my future posts will be much more entertaining with many more pictures and links and less waffling. Until next time...I'll leave you with this image that I posted on Twitter a while ago that has made a big difference to my mentality.

Workout Wednesday... Where did February go?

Time is disappearing before me lately. It feels like no time has passed since Christmas. On Tuesday next week, I start my new job; quickest months' notice ever! So here's a little update on what I've been up to.

Firstly, I went spinning! At 7am. On a Monday morning. Three times. I'm so proud of myself. I never thought I would even go spinning three times in my life, let alone before work! Somehow, it gets me super pumped and awake and ready to face my working week.

I'm finding that this whole fitness business is spreading across my life. Like on Sunday, the beautiful sunshine came out to play. Instead of going to the river & sitting by a pub consuming endless calories, I decided to take to Richmond Park with a friend and stomp around for a couple of hours. We saw stampeding deer, pretty flowers and generally skipped about while loving life. I always feel so refreshed after a nice afternoon burning off some energy in the park!

 

I also realised in the last week that I am most definitely a gym addict. Not a bad thing to realise. Positively brilliant, actually. I may not quite have the body yet but it's definitely in progress. I no longer have any hesitance in heading into the weights area. I know what I'm doing, what I need and go at it like there's no tomorrow. I claim my space, shred my muscles, tidy up and go. I feel safe and strong there and I love that.

 

One of my happiest moments in my journey so far is this picture below. Yes, lots of filters are added on but that's to emphasise the shadowing; I took the pictures in awful changing room lights. I have never had muscle definition anywhere except my calves before. I've always been really weak in my upper body and never loved my arms. But now they're shredding fat, growing muscle and looking swole. Obviously they don't look like that all the time but the shoulder / arm workout I did that day gave me a super pump. I was so impressed that I just had to document it.

 

If any of you have progress pictures, I'd love to see them. I spot a few on twitter and it gives me another bout of determination to keep up my hard work and watch my own progress develop!

Workout Wednesday...Gloves and gasps!

Last week I realised that I have NEVER washed my weightlifting gloves. I've been using them for at least 6 months now, several times a week. When I think of how unhygienic that is, I shiver.

So I decided to wash them. The label claimed they can be machine washed but my washing machine is a little crazy so I decided to hand wash them, to be safe. I only used a touch of fabric condition and lots of warm water. After lots of gentle massaging and rinsing lots of black water out (hopefully dye from the leather!), I laid them to dry on my airer.

The next day, I was in a rush to get to the gym after work. I grabbed the gloves, threw them in my bag and trotted off to the gym. After my warm up, I got out my gloves, ready for some super heavy deadlifts. I put on my gloves and disaster struck. They had dried into this strange crunchy texture. When I put them on, the seams split on 4 different fingers! I tried to lift my bar but had no grip and feared it would slip. I had to sigh and move on with my workout and get blisters on my hands.

This was how impressed I was with my latest disaster.

To some, breaking a pair of gloves might not seem like a big deal. They were relatively cheap (less than £20) and I've definitely had more than my money's worth out of them. However, these were the first item I bought when I decided to get serious about my training. They were the starting point of my love of weights. I based all of my subsequent fitness attire around them (black and shade of dark pink). They're a solid part of my gym 'uniform'. When I put them on, I feel ready to face the rack.

It's safe to say I've grown attached to them! But I decided to pick myself up and move on. Nothing lasts forever. I'm taking this as a symbolic gesture from the universe that it's time to start my new training phase; heavier, harder, and happier than before.

At the end of January, I posted this post of all the lovely gloves I'd like to buy and how I'd like to expand my glove collection. Unfortunately, at the moment, I'm not in a financial position to spend tons of money of various pairs of fancy gloves.  I needed to be practical and frugal.

So the following day on my lunch break, I made my friend come to Sports Direct with me in the hunt for new gloves. By some magical miracle from the Gym Gods, we found what we needed almost immediately and at half price!

I got these beauties. Somehow, I paid £5.99 for them in shop and they're only £4 online but I'm trying not to dwell on that!

I really like these gloves; They're a good fit, have added wrist support and fit into my colour scheme. They do have an annoying downside - the inner seams which hold together the leather and velcro are SUPER itchy on my wrists! I'm going to have to either man up or hunt through the interweb for a magical solution.

Either way, I'm happy my problem is solved and can carry on with my lifting mission!

Workout Wednesdays... Progress, Recipes & Fitspo

So last week I was moaning about having hit a plateau (sorry).
 
This week I'm feeling much more positive. Despite being at my mum's for the weekend (which means missing workouts & not eating clean), I've had a good week. I've managed to compensate for missed workouts by combining two into one on a couple of occasions. I've been really good with food prep & only had one little slip up - an emotional day + a bag of mini eggs = a binge. But I've forgiven myself for it and moved on. I am only human, after all.
 
I don't want to boast but I'm proud of myself today. Last night, I did my first set of measurements since Christmas. So...
 
Left bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Right bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Chest - 1 inch loss
Waist - 2 inch loss
Hips - 1 inch loss
 
I'm seriously impressed with this! My thighs have each gained half an inch but, judging by the feel and the slight definition in my quads, this is muscle and not fat so I'm happy with that!
 
Most weeks, I feel like there's no change on the scales and my jeans aren't getting any looser so monthly progress checks like this are really good for me. I shall be taking another set of progress pictures soon too but these are for my personal gallery; I'm nowhere near confident enough to reveal them to the world just yet!
 
Part of why I feel successful this week has been down to being prepared. I'm finding it easier and less time consuming each week, now that I know what I'm doing and how much to prep of what for when. Being a lot more confident in all of this has led me to deviate from my original basic diet and experiment & research new recipes.

Yesterday I found this recipe for Omelette Cupcakes from a lovely lady that I follow on twitter (https://twitter.com/HHH_Dannii).

Mine didn't come out quite as perfectly as hers but that's natural for a first bake! They came out huge & fluffy and subsequently sank quite a bit. Shallowness aside, they were super yummy! I made 10 to have for breakfasts over a few days and chopped up some mushrooms and peppers into the mix to give it a bit of a boost. Very impressed with these, especially as they don't taste too egg-like!

 

For the final part of this blog post, I wanted to give you a list of some of the accounts that I follow on Twitter that keep me motivated. Whether it be by posting their workouts, recipes, pictures, or just telling me to get in the gym when I'm feeling lazy, these people really make a difference. This list is neither definitive nor exhaustive but they are people who have inspired me in the last week or so!

 

https://twitter.com/RightHealth

https://twitter.com/wceagles929406

https://twitter.com/hanaxfitness

https://twitter.com/LolaFitHD

 

and, of course, my favourite FitLads of all time...

https://twitter.com/LDN_Muscle

Get following and get inspired!

Workout Wednesdays.... Plateau Pity and Tabata Training!

I like to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive but I am a human and not always happy. This last ten days I have been really struggling with my lack of progress. I've hit a serious plateau; I'm not losing weight, not gaining muscle and not getting stronger. I know I'm not an actual machine. The human body is unpredictable and life doesn't always go as we want it to. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be a little annoyed when everything isn't happening as I planned.

I decided that my body needs a shock to give it a jumpstart and get going again. So I bought the LDN Muscle Bikini Guide V2.

I feel a little as thought I'm starting from scratch again. It's a little scary but it is fun and interesting to learn even more.

This guide is a definite improvement on the original. There's 2 full weeks of training programmes, aimed at not letting your body get used to your routine (which I think has been my problem). There's a new diet guide with comprehensive information on nutrition, supplements and body types. Everything you could want from a training guide is there, bar the voice in your ear telling you to push for one more rep!

Two days in and I've failed slightly on the diet side but I couldn't resist a trip to Yo Sushi! with my friends! I'm so excited to get in the gym today and do my new arms and back workout!

 

I spend a lot of time online researching form and technique and just reading about fitness types. I have discovered I am definitely an endomorph - easy to gain muscle but hard to lose fat! As brilliant as my LDN plan is, I think I would really benefit from incorporating some short fat-burning sessions into my regular sessions.

 

I don't want to be a slave to cardio and I don't want to overtrain so I had a good look around and discovered Tabata Training. Tabata is a type of HIIT created in Japan by Izumi Tabata. Essentially, the premise is a 20 second powerful burst of movement followed by a 10 second rest period, repeated. Some people choose to do this for up to 20 minutes but I think that's a little excessive on top of a mammoth weights session so I've found one that adds up to four minutes!

 

Hopefully this will get my heart going and fat burning quickly without exhausting myself and detracting from my weights training. Below is my little workout that I'm going to throw in halfway through my session today! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

20 seconds High Knees

10 seconds standing rest

20 seconds Jumping Jacks

10 seconds standing rest
20 seconds light Dumbbell Punches
10 seconds standing rest
20 seconds Squat Kicks
10 seconds standing rest
Repeat, done!

Workout Wednesday... Gloves galore!

I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to try new things more often. Not just in fitness but in every day life too. I'm very aware of my comfort zone and nowadays am not too keen on breaking out of it. I've been spending time rebuilding my self-esteem these last few months and I think trying new classes at my gym is a good way to start branching out.

 
The only class I really do at my gym is yoga, two or three times a week. The classes are with three different teachers but I still don't think that counts as variety! So I made a promise to try a new class whenever the gym's schedule and mine combine to create an opportunity.
 
This week, a wonderful opportunity arose - kickboxing! Turns out I had no idea what I was letting myself in for but I really enjoyed it in the end! Most of the other people in the class were hardcore veterans and really good at it but luckily there was another newbie girl and we were paired together so it wasn't too embarrassing!
 
The class involved almost no basic cardio which is great news for me as I hate it. The cardiovascular workout came from resisting the other person; little did I know how much it would entail! We took it in turns to have the gloves or the pads evenly and the class did not get boring or repetitive at any point.
 
I know it's not everyone's idea of a good time, to be kicked and punched at for 30 minutes but I found it good for my mind; focusing on not getting hurt & blocking punches meant my mind was clear of all other thoughts. Then when it was my turn to wear the gloves, any frustrations and anxieties I had were released into the mitts of my opponent.
 
The DOMs weren't as intense as I thought they'd be in the following days but I think I was holding back a little as my opponent was smaller in stature than me and I was a little scared of breaking her!

Apparently Sunday wasn't enough and I'm going again tonight! Which leads me to the second part of this post... Gloves!
 
Wearing stale sweaty boxing gloves that have been worn by a hundred sweaty people before me sets my OCD off a treat. It's revolting. I don't care if I'm being a princess about it, it's unsanitary and makes my skin crawl.
 
So this week my Lust List is comprised of two sets of gloves; boxing gloves and weight lifting gloves. I lift weights to look pretty, not to have horrid scabby hands. I have one pair of gloves and I love them but I like to change my outfits up so am going to start building my glove collection too now!
 
So I have discovered these little beauties and need them immediately! They match most of my other workout gear and aren't boring and black. Though I doubt all the hardcore MMA people in my class will appreciate them!
 

I have discovered an absolute plethora of girly weightlifting gloves online but unfortunately most of the cool customising companies are US based and I can't afford that level of shipping costs. I have, however, found this jazzy pair that will be ordered as soon as I get paid on Friday!

Workout Wednesday... When did this happen?

 

Yesterday I had the biggest grump on. I was in a foul mood all day. I even clocked myself pouting with my arms crossed.

This time last year, if I had been in the same mood, I would have gone home, binged and cried a lot. The bad mood would have hung over me like a dark cloud for days and the last thing on my mind would have been the gym.

I don't know when it happened but I have already made my biggest transformation - my mental one. I have no idea what clicked or when but something has changed and I am in a much better place. In my funk yesterday, I knew it would dissipate once I got myself to the gym and got some endorphins running through me. I didn't come out smiling and bouncing but I did no longer feel like the entire world was against me as I had during the day. I even managed to ring my mum and laugh at my sorry state, something which seemed impossible a year ago.

Earlier in the week, I remember tweeting about joining "the fitfam", the community of fitness enthusiasts on twitter and other blogospheres. I'm not sure at which point I entered the Fit Fam but I'm so happy I did. I'm part of a community of peers from around the world. We're not defined by our gender, our class, race, ethnicity, hair colour. There's no negativity and insulting each other. There's nothing but love and support for each other's journeys.

Searching #fitfam on twitter brings up a multitude of entertainment. It can be motivational quotes and pictures, new exercises, recipes, tips, seminars or a simple progress pic. If you need some fitspiration to get you to the gym, want to check a technique or ask for advice, you need only add the hashtag to your tweet and a strong stream of useful, knowledgeable people will reply in an instant.

Sometimes, battling your inner demons can feel like a long, lonely task. Some days, mustering the energy to even walk to the gym can seem like a painful endeavour in itself, let alone managing to workout once there. You can feel that people you know well aren't noticing your progress or that people around you who don't understand your diet or training regime do nothing but criticise you because it's different to what they know. One quick tweet can release all those negatives and bring light a positivity into your virtual world, giving you the determination to make another success of your day, no matter how small.

For those of you who are fitness enthusiasts, I strongly urge you to use twitter as another training tool. There are a lot of accounts that are "anonymous" and dedicated just to fitness. I decided to not start a separate 'fittie' account and use my main account. After all, the gym and the new love of health and fitness is just another extension of me. Why should I put it in a separate box?! You can follow my waffle on all things in my head at https://twitter.com/23HRH23

I love the Fit Fam!

Workout Wednesdays... New Year, New Me?

Happy New Year to you all!

This is a brutally honest post. I'm slightly ashamed but I'm only human and can't succeed all the time. I know I'll be judged but some of the harsher "fitties" out there but I hope the fit gods will forgive me and appreciate my new abundance of enthusiasm.

Christmas entirely sabotaged everything in my health and fitness journey. I only exercised once a week, only stuck to about 10% of my diet and ate total junk a lot. Apparently I'm not yet strong-willed enough or well-enough equipped to cope with being out of my routine. I did gain weight but not as much as The Metro says the average Brit does so all is not entirely lost.

My attitude is that this journey of mine is not a diet, but changing lifestyles for a permanent, healthy future. I don't believe I'll ever bee 100% 'clean' all of the time but life is too short to deprive yourself of the fun things in life like cocktails.

I'm not weighing myself again until the end of January. I think it'll make me too sad and demotivate me!

On a brighter note, I am back into my clean eating and routine and loving my new gym! Plus, my yoga teacher has moved to my new gym with me so I can still have my hour of heavenly sanity every week!

My proudest moment so far happened yesterday... I flexed my biceps and actually saw something appear! I couldn't be prouder.

This week my challenge is to incorporate a new exercise / move into each of my workouts.

My most recent fit purchase is this little beauty - a Beurer heart rate monitor watch. I'm still learning all about heart rate and different zones and things but this is a great motivation tool, right on my wrist. At the end of a session, it also tells me how many calories I've burnt which is such a satisfying little nugget to end a workout on!

Workout Wednesday... Want Want Want!

So this week's post is going to be mostly things that I want for my gym life. It's that time of year where I've spent all my money spoiling other people so don't have any left to splurge on myself. So I'm going to share with the universe the things I desire in the hopes the universe sends them to me!

But first, a little progress update on my LDNMuscle Bikini Guide life. I missed a workout. Maybe two. Fail. And I had one VERY boozy night and nasty hangover day (company Christmas party). BUT.... I still lost 1 pound this week!

How, I do not know. But seeing that difference on the scale spurred me to go back into it all with full effect again this week. Very smug Holly has surfaced.

This week is the last week at my gym and I'm actually quite sad about it. I do, however, get to upgrade as of Friday so I think I'll survive. It's just a strange end of an era.

The new gym (still Virgin Active) is swankier and I feel my gym wardrobe needs a little updating too. Mostly, I am dying to own this [ridiculously expensive] sports bra from Nike.

£50 for a sports bra is a ludicrous amount of money but it's so pretty! I definitely need some new ones though and am struggling to find ones with a good fit. Any suggestions would be welcome!

Another thing I'd like to update is my yoga mat. When I first got into yoga, I bought my own one but it's quite cheap and gets slippery sometimes. I've found this one from Adidas and it perfectly compliments my current colour scheme!

The last thing on this week's Lust List are these leggings from Sweaty Betty. I love the fun pattern on them and they look like a good fit for my body shape.

 

Workout Wednesday... Week one success!

I'm 10 days into my LDN Muscle Bikini Guide plan and with brilliant success!

In a week I've lost 1.5lbs and 0.9% body fat!

I also found better form in some of the exercises I've been doing for months and discovered new exercises and muscles I didn't know I had, let alone how to push them!

I've followed the diet plan almost to the letter and even enjoyed my heavenly advent calendar choc each lunchtime! I even skipped one workout due to generally feeling naff and pathetic but I made up for it with an extra yoga session.

I am insanely proud of myself. Although I've been training for some months now and seen some improvement, I think having a set regimen and diet has really kicked me up a gear. Now that I'm understand more about nutrition and exercise, I'm wanting to learn more and delve deeper into the health world. I find myself browsing Amazon for supplements or workout clothes instead of the usual trashy books and shiny things. I'll never give up shiny things though, don't worry.

I'm also learning how to cook healthily! How to plan and structure my meals according to my macro needs and how to make yummy healthy things. For example, I've adapted a protein flapjack recipe to my tastes (and cupboard contents) with wonderful results!

 

I've started carrying one of these little beauties in my bag for an on-the-go snack to avoid me picking up bad treats in shops or as a substitute for the carbs in my breakfast if I don't make it out of bed in time in the morning!

 

 

Also, my Internet reading has changed. I've discovered http://www.womenshealthmag.co.uk/ which is packed full of articles on everything from beauty and workouts to sex and diet advice! The things that's really caught my eye is the wonderful little #WHUKFitmasChallenge Advent Calendar!

 

Every day on their pinterest account, they're posting an exercise to burn off the amount of calories in the average advent calendar chocolate! Then, they recommend, you add up the week's daily exercise to form an epic weekend workout. What a fun idea! I'm definitely going to start incorporating these into my workouts too.

 

Are any of you taking on any challenges to combat the Festive Fattening?



Workout Wednesday... So far, so good!

This week I started following my new bible - the LDN Muscle bikini guide. Honestly, I thought it was going to be expensive, boring and a struggle. Eating prescribed foods at pre-determined times, 7 times a day? Yawn.

I'd eat my hat if I had one. I don't feel like I'm being dictated to and I'm not bored. I'm eating more than usual but I don't feel gross and full and stodgy. I feel satisfied, have very rare cravings and have a continuous flow of energy. My workouts have more pump and I'm sleeping better.

Technically, I'm not supposed to eat gluten (IBS etc) but often give in and eat it and feel awful. Eating this healthy, natural diet leaves my digestive system feeling happy. Too much info? Sorry.

Having the guide and living by it religiously is a little boring, yes. But it's also making me be creative and research ways to spice up the food, healthy recipes, perfect techniques for the workouts, all sorts!

At first, the food preparation and organising is a little time consuming but as I get into a routine and get more knowledgeable, it'll become easier and more natural, just another part of every day life.

On the 1st December, I took photos of my body as it is now, in my underwear. I'd strongly suggest anyone looking to transform to do this.  Seeing yourself in your least favourable light is inspiration to work hard. Also, it'll be great motivation to continue with the dedication when you start to see results. Or so I hope.

I also recorded my measurements (arms, legs, hips, waist, chest) and will do so again on the 1st of each month and, hopefully, track my progress.

I will weigh myself fortnightly, on the same machine and also track this. I'm not so fussed about pounds or kilos, more about dropping my body fat percentage and how I look.

My aim isn't to be "skinny" or look like a certain celebrity. My aim is to become the healthiest version of me. Whatever body shape is hiding under here, I'll embrace. I'm excited to see my development and become stronger, both physically and emotionally.

Wish me luck!

Workout Wednesdays... A new beginning

 

I have discovered during my fitness journey that I'm really bad at the diet side of things. I'm also bad at remembering what I'm supposed to be doing on each day. I've hit a real plateau in my progression and decided it's time to Eat Clean, Train Dirty and Get Lean.
 
There is so much information on weight training / diet / fat loss / health on the Internet. I've found that's a problem. There's too much information. Too many conflicting opinions. Too many contradicting articles. Trying to learn everything from the Internet with no real guide or structure can be just as bad as not knowing anything, I think.
 
I follow various health and fitness accounts on the different social media platforms and the one that is consistently praised and recommended by the social media fitness sphere is LDN Muscle. Created and run by four (beautiful) young lads, LDN Muscle has it all. Blogs, diet, exercises, apparel, the works.
 
Before you read my rave review of LDNM, please bear in mind, I have not been asked or paid to write this post. The guys don't even know I'm doing it. I've chosen to write about this as part of my Workout Wednesday theme and narration of my life.
 
They also produce and sell a multitude of digital training guides called Premium Programmes. Specifically for men, there are a wide variety, ranging from the Natural Bulking Bible to the Leg Torture Pack. Lads, whatever your aims, they have a pack for you. If you're unsure of which would be best for you, tweet them or facebook them or email them. They're wonderful at replying and full of really helpful information and advice.
 
The thoughtful lads at LDN Muscle have realised that it's not just men who want to train insane. They've collaborated with each other and some of their female guest bloggers to create a pack especially for women wanting to lose fat and gain lean muscle. All herald the Bikini Fit Guide!

 

With 34 pages of intense advice and direction, I think this guide is going to drastically change my training and, hopefully, my body! It has information on: diet, including a sample week menu plan; exercise, with different training types and picture descriptions of all exercises; supplements, including what / when / where / why / how to take!
 
To quote their website:

"The price of your comprehensive ticket to bikini bod glory? Just £29.99. To put that in context, these days that could would buy you;

- A 30-45 minute session with a PT. Once.

- Half a bottle of perfume.

- A top you’ll wear twice."

 

So I figured I had to at least try it. It's payday today and I'm feeling good so I went ahead and bought it. I've glanced through briefly at work but will devour it in full at home.

 

I've set a date to begin my new regime - Monday 2nd December. I'm going to fully embrace every aspect. I'll be sticking to the diet as tightly as I can and training exactly how they say. I'm going to record a before and after of weight / measurements (and maybe even pictures) from Sunday and then after 6 weeks and see what results I get!

 

I'm nervous and excited. I'm always scared of failure, as we all are, but I'm excited to discover what fabulous body I've been hiding for so many years!

 

And yes, I know it's ridiculous to start a new plan before Christmas but if I don't start now, I never will. I'll always find some excuse to prolong it and avoid success!

 

 

 

Workout Wednesday... Back on the grind

Last Wednesday, I came home from work to a letter from my gym saying they are going to close permanently as of the 20th December! There's two VA gyms in my area, "not financially viable", "we regret", blah blah blah.
 
I was devastated. I love my little gym. It's not huge and it's not over-subscribed. It's full of friendly staff and members and there's almost always something that you want free. The yoga classes have become a staple in my life and part of what keeps me sane. The facilities are well-kept and the luxury of having a jacuzzi etc is a lovely bonus in a somewhat dreary world.
 
I struggle to adjust to changes that I don't initiate so I was worried that the loss of my life line was going to make my world fall apart. I am also a drama queen, occasionally.
 
Luckily, the lovely bods at Virgin Active realised that this would ruin several people's lives and have created a special transfer membership for us to the other, swankier, bigger VA gym in Kingston. For only a slight increase in price, I get access to almost twice as much as before; two jaccuzzis, double the size of gym, double the size of the pool, twice as many classes and more.
 
So I don't think my world is going to fall apart. I think it's going to be a challenge getting myself into a new routine with the classes etc but there's more classes that will help me to achieve my cardio goals as I really fail at it on my own! Plus a friend of mine trains there so he's gonna be my buddy from time to time and help me when I've lost motivation! I'm almost at the point of being excited about starting at the new gym too and I'm hoping the change will create fresh motivation in me!
 
Back to the current routine...
 
I was still poorly with a chest infection last week so I decided to give myself a good rest to recover and not hit hardcore cardio or weights. I went to a lovely Dynamic Yoga class as a tester at the new gym and for a really gentle swim after but that's literally all I did all week!
 
Sunday afternoon came; I was fully recovered and itching to get my hands on some heavy metal so I took the opportunity and went so hard my arms still ache today! 

 
I definitely noticed the setback that the sickness and time off caused. I'm weaker than I was two weeks ago and quite annoyed about it but it's made me more determined to get back to where I was and progress from there.
 
Sunday was biceps / chest day and I definitely felt the burn! Monday was legs day and I squatted hard and, magically, at a deeper angle than I have before! Tuesday was yoga and a good chance to stretch out the burn and clear my head.
 
I've set myself a challenge for the next week: attempt a spin class! I'm a little scared but I definitely need to up the cardio and the fat burn!
 
What challenges do you set yourselves? I'd love to try more challenges and shake things up sometimes!

Workout Wednesdays... Woe is me

My poorliness from last week is still lingering, now in the form of a chest infection. Thus, I'm giving myself a break from my regime and not exerting my body in the hopes of getting better.

I did, however, manage a lovely revitalising yoga session on Saturday which left me feeling quite uplifted. Note - coughing in Downward Dog causes you to fall on your face.

Seeing as I have no update on my new workout plan whatsoever, I think I'd quite like to waffle on about how much I love yoga.

I never thought I would get into yoga as much as I have. I'm not a particularly spiritual person, nor am I very good at letting go of my mind and being 'in the moment'. I've tried yoga classes on and off over the years and never really got into it.

I don't know at what point I realised I love yoga. I started going again earlier in the year after joining my new gym (Virgin Active Kingston, thoroughly recommend it) and something magical clicked. I go for an hour on Tuesday evenings and again on Saturday afternoons and find myself really looking forward to it.

The classes are mixed up every time so I'm constantly challenging myself but definitely noticing improvements. My strength in my arms is improving slowly which means I've got a better foundation for some of the poses and I can really feel a difference in my tight hips which is pleasant.

I'm also finding that the two one-hour sessions are the only part of my week where my brain isn't running at a billion miles an hour. I constantly have a hundred thousand different thoughts in my head, even when I'm running or lifting weights. For some reason, when I'm doing yoga, I'm so centred on that moment and focused on my breathing and the feelings in my body, that it's all that I think about.

I'd love to join an actual yoga school but I really can't afford it unfortunately so for now the two sessions at my gym will have to suffice but I'm so glad I found a love of yoga.

Workout Wednesday... Weekly update

I thought I'd give you a little update about the events of my week, mostly fitness related but also some fun too!

Last week I started my new workout plan. I missed Thursday's workout due to gorging on food and entertainment at Kingston's night StocktMarkt and then an open mic night at the Rose Theatre.

 

My housemate (Conny) and I went on a little gourmet adventure. To start we devoured a mixed cheese and meat plate from the Social Club van. For mains, we had the world's most beautiful burger from the lovely lads at RareStr'eat and naturally for dessert we simply had to share some churros from these lovely Spaniards.

 

We then went to Mosaic at The Rose Theatre Cafe where we were thoroughly entertained by the brilliant Bits & Box lads and of course the ever beautifully crazy Tankus the Henge gracing us with their eclectic mix of gypsy funk jazz!

 

From the fun to the hard work...

 



As I had the day off on Friday, I went on a mega gym session and did Thursday and Friday's workout back to back. I then discovered that after the two of those, both washing my hair and walking down the stairs were nearly impossible!

I also discovered that I simply cannot do tricep dips due to a wrist injury so I had to modify a lateral pull-down to work my triceps but it went OK. Additionally, watching me attempt to do an incline crunch is about as hilarious as watching a fish try to climb a mountain; I failed miserably. So I got a trainer to show me how to do some ab exercises on the TRX equipment and definitely felt the burn on Saturday!

As I said before, this workout regime is going to be a work in progress and hopefully each week I'll be able to tweak it to make it harder for me and challenge myself.

I'm feeling under the weather this week (read - man flu of death) so may not make it to the gym as much as I'd like but such is life.

And also it's my BIRTHDAY this week so I'll definitely be overindulging in too much food and booze at the end of the week!

Workout Wednesday.... New plan

So having become a little obsessed with the gym, I've decided to stop winging it and actually follow a plan. I think I know what I'm doing in most areas now, I just need to get more organised and split my workouts evenly to distribute my time and muscle exhaustion!

I found a sample female weight-lifting workout plan online and I've tailored it to my abilities and schedule. I never - never ever ever - thought I would find myself in the gym 6 days a week but apparently it's happening. I'm not going to be super strict on myself as I think I'd be setting myself up for failure and disappointment if I didn't manage to stick to an impossible routine.

I'm allowing myself a day off here and there, for socialising or just plain laziness but I'm going to try and keep to it as much as possible. As we all know, dedication and determination equals results!

Below is my new workout plan. I'm going to follow it for the next 4 weeks (in theory) and then spice it up after that so my body doesn't get too used to it all and plateau. I'm aiming to be using higher weights by the end of week 4 than I currently am too, which will be a nice challenge to myself!

I'll be starting each weights session off with a little cardio too (even though I utterly despise it). It'll be simple HIIT on the bike or crosstrainer, for around 15-20 minutes. Hopefully this will get the fat burning started and will get my body nice and warm to lift heavy!

I'm aiming to blog each Wednesday about my week's workouts and how it's all going. This scares the life out of me but I'll also be making a note of whether I'm up or down any kgs / lbs / inches and keeping track of my bodyfat percentage. I'm hoping that having it all written down in a public domain will make me more determined to improve on it all!

Monday – Upper Body A
All 3 X 8-12
Bench Press
Bent over row
Dumbbell shoulder press
Lying tricep extension
Barbell or dumbbell bicep curl

Tuesday – Yoga

Wednesday – Lower Body A

All 3 X 8-12
Squat
Stiff leg dead lift
Leg extension
Leg curl
Standing Calf Raise
Abs – All 3 X 15
Lying leg raise
Swiss ball crunch

Thursday – Upper Body B

All 3 X 8-12
Tricep Dips
Lat pull downs
Dumbbell rotor raises
Tricep cable pressdown
Cable curl

Friday – Lower Body B

All 3 X 8-12
Deadlift
Leg press
Lunges
Seated calf raise machine
Dumbbell shrugs
Abs – All 3 X 15
Incline crunch
Back extension (superman)

Saturday – Yoga

Sunday – Rest!