Looking Back at 2014

Well it is almost the end of another year, just 9 days left to go and I thought |i would take some time to look back at this year and see just how far I have come. Because some times we can feel like we are standing still, not growing, not stretching, not pushing ourselves, stagnating in the dark. But, when we look back at our lives, our journey, you will see just how far the road has taken you.

So here is some of the stand out moments and achievements for me in 2014.

Body Building:
1 Competing - This year I made my first steps on tot eh body building stage, Placing 3rd and 5th in two big shows in Northern Ireland. 3rd Place at my first show with NABBA was a great feeling and a great memory, and the journey to IBFA Ireland was also extremely enjoyable but tough. Through both endeavours I have gained a lot of new skills, and learnt a lot about myself, how i respond to certain training styles, certain foods and I am looking forward to my next show and hopefully learning even more about my body and its abilities.
2. Training - This year I made some big jumps in training, from training twice a day for the 2 contest preps to general strength gains all year.
For example my normal back squat routine improved from:
15 reps of 120kg                  to                            15 reps of 140kg
12 reps of 130kg                                                 15 reps of 150kg
12 reps of 135kg                                                 12 reps of 160kg
10 reps of 140kg                                                  8 reps of 170kg
8 reps of  145kg                                                   4 reps of 180kg
3. Diet - This year i spent almost 50% of the time on a show prep diet, prepping for the two shows and that was a first for me, I also kept it very clean in the off season between shows I also learnt a lot about how my body reacts to certain foods and how to properly design a diet plan for myself when preparing for a show.
4. Working alone - I have always trained alone, I rarely had a training partner and so I meant pushing myself, but when it came to both show preps I had no coach, and no guidance, it was experiment and research and my own intuition and hard work. But it taught me a lot and there is still room for improvement and I am excited to see what 2015 brings to my physique.


Work:
This was the first year I worked in a gym, I had been personal training before this with outdoor sessions and classes as well as home visits, but having the chance to work in the Hanwood Centre gym taught me new skills, and really encouraged me to improve and work hard as a trainer, as well as providing great facilities to work with clients and really bring out results.
Working with clients, has also been great this year, you always have one or two who don;t want to put the work in, but I have to say this year has been a good crowd, working hard, and following my advice well. I'm not going to name names here, those that worked hard know it and saw the results, those that didn't well, they know it themselves.

All there is left to say is that 2014 was good, but 2015 will be even better. You ain't seen nothing yet!

Getting stronger

Well since the show 6 weeks ago I have been steadily working on improving my strength and size and it is starting to show some serious results. Yesterday I hit a new PB for squats and over the past weeks almost every exercise has improved. The plan from here is to continue with the bulk and strength programme until January first, and then begin to strip some of the fat off again and work on adding lean muscle and maintaining the improved strength.
The aim is to stay below 10% body fat from January right through to this time next year, adding quality muscle and looking at symmetry and proportion . But I will keep you posted on that aim throughout 2015.

Notable improvements since IBFA 2014:
Squat up from - 160kg for 8 - 180kg for 5
Front squat up from 75kg for 8 - 85kg for 8
Bench press up from 120kg for 8 - 127.5kg for 8
Bent over row up from 80kg for 12 - 95kg for 10
and a lot of other small gains as well

Protein Pancakes

Here is another tasty meal idea for you, and it is super easy to make.

These protein pancakes use 3, yes just 3 ingredients, oats, eggs, and protein powder. Simply blend together 4 egg whites, 2 scoops of oats and 1 scoop of whey in a blender and then pour into a pan and cook for a few minutes each side and your done.

It tastes good on its own, but if cooked too long it can be a bit dry so I usually add natural yogurt and some almonds or fruit to bring up the macros and make it a more complete meal. This morning I had the pancake with 50g almonds, blueberries and some black coffee. But try it for yourselves and see if you like it.

Ingredients:

1 scoop of whey protein

4 egg whites

2 scoops of oats

50g almonds

Nutritional Values:

Plain:   Protein - 42 grams

           Carbohydrates - 32 grams

           Fats - 3 grams

With almonds & blueberries:   Protein - 53 grams

                                            Carbohydrates - 36 grams

                                            Fats - 27 grams

2 Year Transformation

In the spirit of a throw back Thursday / transformation picture combo here is my personal progress shot from 2012 to 2014.
In 2012 I had finished kick boxing, after my club closed down and I turned my attention to a passion that had been growing in my mind for the last few months, body building. it took a long time to get the change from training for speed, explosive power and endurance into training for mass, shape and strength. I had been feeling different for a few months that my mind was wondering away from kickboxing and in the end the closure of the club i trained with was the perfect push to get into a new style of training and explore a new lifestyle, and I have to say I think I have found the one for me. In the last 2 years I have grown, both physically as well as mentally and spiritually, and a big part of that is down to the bodybuilding lifestyle and in particular this years two show preps.

So what has changed from 2012? Well for starters I have gained a lot of lean muscle mass, taking into account the body fat readings at the time I have gained over 31 pounds of muscle in those two years which always makes me laugh, because so many people told me I would never gain too much muscle because I had already been training for years and refused to take steroids, so now I can say, you do not need them, all you need is time, and dedication to training and your diet. Get those right and you will do just fine.

So where next? Well I am going to keep competing, and trying to improve my physique, focusing on adding size, and maintaining symmetry. Lets see what the next 2 years brings.