I started weight training as a 130lb, 6'2, stick thin seventeen year old who could barely even curl a 5lb dumbbell. After over four and a half years of training, I now stand at a ripped 192lbs with a waist less than 29 inches, a 46-inch chest and 17.8-inch biceps. Through trial and error, lots of patience and dedication, I have achieved a physique that I am very proud of.

There were many times, especially early on, where I felt I would get nowhere, leaving me wanting to give up. However, looking at the photos of how I used to look compared to how I look now really puts things into perspective. I am so glad I kept going and kept dedicated to achieving my goals. Below I will touch on the training, diet and supplementation that have worked for me during my short few years of training. From my muscle gain to fat loss, supplementation, training and diet.

I hope that this information will show that patience and dedication directed towards your fitness goals will provide you with the realistic results you want. You will also find that this patience, persistence and dedication cross over to your personal life and other activities.

Remember, it is a change of lifestyle rather than a quick fix.

As I said, I started out as a very skinny teenager. My first goal was to pack some mass onto my small frame.

For bulking, slow and steady progress is the key to achieving lean mass gains. For example, eating everything in sight will not help you ‘bulk up’ you will simply get fat.

My approach would be to take it slow. A weight gain of 1-2lbs a week gain is my target.

To get a grip on the amount of calories I need to be consuming to gain mass, I take my calorie maintenance level – the amount of calories I would not gain or lose weight on – and up them by 500 calories for the first few weeks of bulking up.

When the weight gain of 1-2lbs a week stops, I’ll up them by another few hundred calories. I monitor the weighing scale once a week and adjust my calories when needed.

As we cannot always stick to a single meal/diet plan, I have added the protein, carbohydrate and fat food sources that I consume on a daily basis:

I eat 1.5-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight (190lbs x 1.5 = 285 grams protein), with 350-400g carbohydrates at a bodyweight of 190lbs. I keep my protein intake the same whether cutting or bulking.

Protein Shake - 2 scoops of whey protein with 1 cup of milk

1 Bowl of oatmeal with Splenda (sweetener)

1-2 piece of wheat/granary toast with tsp of peanut butter

1 multi vitamin

flax seed oil

A large serving of brown Rice

1 can of tuna

1 granola bar or piece of fruit

5g creatine

Whey protein shake - two scoops in water - with 60g Dextrose/glucose powder

5g creatine

2 large turkey sandwiches on wheat/granary bread

1 tsp almond or peanut butter

Chicken breast, steak or salmon

1 large sweet potato with almond butter

1 cup green vegetables

Protein shake – 2 scoops with milk

1 serving of oatmeal with splenda

1 tsp almond butter

1 small tub cottage cheese

1 pot of sugar free/reduced sugar low fat yogurt

Flax seed oil

When I first started dieting, I did it all wrong. I lost weight too quickly, got smaller and weaker. It is important to remember that you can only lose so many pounds of fat per week before muscle is burnt. A weight loss of 1-2lbs a week is what I found acceptable/safe. I would get on the weighing scale once a week – first thing in the morning with an empty bladder.

A mistake many make is to lose weight too quickly. They end up losing both fat and muscle, thus looking smooth and small.

For fat loss, I follow a unique carbohydrate cycling diet. With is just as SixPackNow recommends.

I use a system where I will go four days 'low carbohydrates' and three days 'regular carbohydrate days'. I make sure to keep the low carbohydrate days away from my weight training days, as more carbohydrates are needed for energy when working out.

I will consume around 80-100 grams of carbohydrates on my 'low carbohydrate' days. Most of my carbohydrates for these days come from green vegetables (broccoli, green beans). For regular carbohydrate days, I consume oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes and granary bread. I try to cut back on carbohydrates for my last two meals due to the body being at a resting state and not burning as many calories.

Below shows the way I chose the cycle my carbohydrates:

Monday: Low carb

Tuesday: regular carb

Wednesday: Low carb

thursday: Low carb

Friday: Low carb

Saturday: regular carb

Sunday: regular carb

As I said, I try to keep my regular carbohydrate days with my weight training days. Thursday is the only day where I do weight training.

1.5 scoops of whey protein powder in water

1 small bowl of oatmeal with splenda

1 multi vitamin

1 can of Tuna or Chicken breast

green vegetables

5g creatine

2 scoops of whey protein powder in water

5g creatine

1 can of tuna

1 small serving size of brown rice

Chicken breast

Green vegetables (broccoli or green beans)

1.5 scoops of whey protein powder in water

1 instone protein pudding

1 small tub cottage cheese

1 sugar free yogurt

flax seed oil

1.5 scoops of whey protein powder in water

1 bowl of oatmeal with splenda

1 slice of wheat bread with 1 tsp peanut butter or almond butter

1 multi vitamin

1 can of tuna or chicken breast

1 serving of brown rice

5g creatine

2 scoops of whey protein powder in water

5g creatine

1 can of tuna

1 serving of rice

Chicken breast or Salmon

1 sweet potato

1 tsp almond butter

1.5 scoops of whey protein powder in water

1 tsp almond butter or natural peanut butter

1 small tub cottage cheese

1 sugar free yogurt

flax seed oil

Over the span of my time training, I have sampled and used many different supplements.

Below is a list of supplements that have worked for me and have provided me the best bang for buck in terms of gains and added performance.

Whey Protein - Used as a 'post workout' shake after my workouts and for protein replacement meal during some of my regular meals

Dextrose powder - mixed with whey protein for my 'post workout' shake.

Creatine - I started out using a regular creatine monohydrate powder but found I respond better to creatine volumizers (dymatize xpand and San v12).

Multi Vitamin - I use a basic multi vitamin for everyday health and correct bodily function. I find it essential, especially when I am dieting and the type of foods I eat become limited.

Instone Protein pudding - I used a lot during my low carbohydrate dieting days. 100 calories per tin, 20g protein, tastes great, and no guilt. I recommend it to people who crave a desert or sweet during the day/evening.

Flax Seed Oil - Essential fatty acids. For proper hormone functioning, flax seed oil is a must. There are many health benefits with this product and

I feel it to be an essential daily supplement. I use the capsule form and take them during my evening meals.

I try to stay at or above the 8-rep range for upper body exercises. For lower body exercises, I tend to stick to at least the 10-12 rep range.

I follow a 4-day weight-training split, with each workout lasting just over an hour. I do any cardiovascular work on the days I do not do any weight training. The first set of each exercise I perform is usually a lighter/warm up set. I go a repetition or two before failure on all sets (the point I cannot do another rep).
Training when dieting or Bulking does not change. I will always take this approach to training.

A typical chest routine of mine would be:

3 sets of Incline dumbbell presses or incline barbell presses - 8 to 10 reps

3 sets of Flat barbell bench presses or flat dumbbell presses - 8 to 10 reps

3 sets of weighted parallel bar dips - leaning forward to put more emphasis on the chest - 10 reps

3 sets of incline dumbbell flys, every other week flat dumbbell flys - 12 reps

A typical shoulder routine of mine would be:

3 sets of dumbbell shoulder presses - 8 to 10 reps

3 sets of lateral raises - 12 to 14 reps

3 sets of front raises - 10 to 12 reps (every other week change to 3 sets of rear lateral raises - 12reps)

A typical back routine of mine would be:

3 sets of dumbbell rows - 8 to 12 reps

3 sets of weighted pullups - 8 to 12 reps

3 sets of barbell rows or seated rows - 8 to 12 reps

3 sets of barbell or dumbbell shoulder shrugs - 8 to 12 reps

A typical arm routine of mine would be:

3 sets of close grip bench presses - 8 to 10 reps

3 sets of barbell curls - 8 to 10 reps

2 sets of overhead dumbbell extensions 8 to 12 reps

2 sets of incline dumbbell curls 8 to 12 reps

3 sets of tricep pushdowns - 10 to 12 reps

3 sets of cable curls - 12 reps (every other week change to bent over concentration curls)

A typical leg routine of mine would be:

3 sets of leg extensions - 12 to 20 reps (every couple of weeks change to barbell lunges)

4 sets of squats with feet close together - 10 to 12 reps

3 sets of stiff leg deadlifts - 12 reps

2 sets of hamstring curls - 12 to 20 reps

4 sets of seated calf raises or standing dumbbell calf raises with heels on a weight plate - 14 to 20 reps**

A typical cardio session for me would be:

20 minutes of machine bike/treadmill (I use a cross trainer) in the morning at low intensity/jog pace and 20 minutes of the same in the evening. More time or sessions can be added depending on your goals/results.

Monday: Cardio or day off, Tuesday: Chest/Shoulders, Wednesday: Cardio or of, Thursday: Back, Friday: Cardio or off
Saturday: Legs, Sunday: Arms

OR:

Monday: Chest, Tuesday: Cardio or day off, Wednesday: Back/shoulders, Thursday: Cardio or day off, Friday: Arms, Saturday: Legs, Sunday: Cardio or day off