Choco Banana Shake

Hey all.

This is a shake I used to celebrate me reaching 75kgs and getting my waist line down to 32 inches.
It is delicious and healthy.

2 bananas
250ml of milk
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cap Vanilla essence

Throw it all into a blender and mix it up. You can also add some grated coconut or coconut milk for an extra tropical taste!

Mission Accomplished! Transformation 2012 -13

Hey everyone!

I have reached my weight goal of 75 kgs! My waist line is at 32 inches! It has been hard work but I am feeling so much better and eating and training so much better.

With all this I must be honest and say that my body fat did not drop down to 15% as I wanted it to. I went a bit slack on my diet and training.

Just to recap I started off at 101 kgs, with a waistline of 36 and body fat percentage at 28%. This is what I looked like about a year ago:

 


 This is me now:

 There are a lot of take aways from my experience

1) It is possible to lose weight.
2) I learned a lot more about training and enhancing a healthy lifestyle for myself.
3) I have a new respect for bodyweight exercises.
4) I have more energy and more flexibility and mobility.
5) I am not bound by food yet I eat till I'm satisfied.
6) My strength level has increased.
7) I have learnt how to make my training time productive.

On this quest we also had the good report that we were expecting our first child! That's excitement enough and motivation enough! One thought in my head was my wife is pregnant and I am not. We don't enter the tummy growing competition as we see so often with couples who are expecting:) I decided that as hers grows, mine will reduce! I do have a responsibility of being a healthy father and one who can set an example.

I would like to thank my wife, my dad and mum, my pastor for all their support and encouragement. I also would like to thank ISSA Master Fitness Trainer Ratnadeep Tatgade for his guidance..

Also this is the main program that I followed on my journey to reach here. It is in the book 'The Classic Physique' by Matt Marshall

If I could do this anyone can. Put the excuses behind you and go for it. I did have setbacks in between which took me a bit longer to reach my goal but I stayed with it and made it. Make a quality decision, set your goals and go ahead. Don't let anything stop you because its yours to take.

By the way, to celebrate the accomplishment I rigged up a simple but delicious shake. Check it out here.



Should you need any help in reaching your goals you can contact me or leave a comment.

The Basic Fantastic 4 Steps to turn into a Human Torch

Johnny Storm or the Human Torch! Whichever way you look at him one thing is for sure he's got a great metabolism.Its so good he just isn't a star, he turns into a super nova. He set one example for me:

'Its your body. You have a choice whether you want to be a load of lard or an energetic mobile fat blasting furnace with high metabolism.'

The turnaround starts with these 4 basic steps.

1.       Nutrition: Without nutrition in place there is no way you are going to burn fat. Nutrition is the most important factor to fuel the energy needed for the various processes of the body. Stick to real whole foods and avoid processed and refined foods. Keep yourself well hydrated.

2.       Build muscle: If ever there was one thing that burns fat rapidly, even while you are not doing anything its muscle. The more muscle you put on the more fat you will burn. This is why you spend more time building muscle by lifting weights that are challenging to you as it is essential to fat loss.

3.       Conditioning: Conditioning not only preps and develops your energy systems but taps into fat resources. Just 10 minutes of conditioning is enough. You pretty much wouldn’t want to do anything after those 10 minutes. The intensity of the 10 minutes will boost your recovery, improve your oxygen capacity and torch fat.  Conditioning can be sprinting, bodyweight circuits, sled pulling or pushing, swings etc.

4.       Rest and Recovery: You need time to rest and recover. If the body over trains it will create stress which leads to fat retention. Also do not unnecessarily worry about anything. The biggest contribution for stress is worry which releases unpleasant chemical reactions promoting fat retention and fat increase.

This post is short enough but probably a summary list will keep things even simpler for you:

1)      Nutrition: Eat real foods. Stay away from refined and processed foods

2)      Build Muscle: Lift challenging/ heavy weights

3)      Conditioning: Do 10 minutes of conditioning at least 3 times a week.

4)      Rest and Recovery: Sleep well and stop worrying.

In case you have any doubts please find a personal trainer. You are also free to contact me or leave questions in the comments box.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall.....

One of the best things to have when you are tracking your progress is a mirror. A full length mirror. How does this simple everyday object help?

1) Checking Body Composition: Though there are different methods of checking body fat, the mirror just has a way of not lying about your progress. You might have started to lose fat in one area and not quite in another. Tracking this way will show you how much more fat you have to lose. The mirror along with a body fat analyzer will keep you on track and measure your goals when it's body fat.

2) Muscle and Body shape: One look in the mirror and you will immediately see your symmetry and how the muscle is shaping as you train.

3) Posture: Posture is necessary to be checked as well. There are ways to assess and correct posture but on the go the mirror will also show you how you are developing and if you are at risk for muscle imbalance.

4) Visualization: Since you can see yourself you can also start to visualize where you want to be or where you would like to see yourself.

Use a mirror to your advantage when tracking goals. The weighing scale can only tell you your total weight. The question of bigger concern is how much of that weight is body fat. The mirror will not lie to you. Its about as real as is gets.

Lifting weights - Worth the trouble?

The other day I was sitting with a tennis coach who was saying the gym is boring and that sports is a much better option.

I didn't agree with him on that point. I have heard a lot of people say this. From those who
are good at sports they say the gym is a waste of time and a place for injury. Then there was
another good martial arts expert. He had a superb fitness level all from bodyweight exercises
and movements. He also was of the opinion that the gym was not helpful in the sense of it
doesn't 'train the mind'. Then of course there are the lazy ones who don't like going to a gym
because the little effort that it takes to walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes challenges their
couch potatoes. Some doctors swear that lifting weights gives you a slip disk - never mind that
their body fat content is 38% plus and the risk of heart and lifestyle related diseases are higher -
in short a ticking time bomb. Now I'm not knocking out sports. I use sports to get me conditioned at times. I also believe it is part of the training regime especially when you enter strength and conditioning for the particular sport. However, for people to say that lifting weights and a gym is a waste of time and recipe for disaster is absolutely not true.

So why all this fuss about the gym?

Well firstly I don't think these people have seen proper gyms. They have seen pansy clubs that
offer dances and romances, boring machines and a load of out of shape, impersonal trainers
who have no clue what they are doing.

In my mind the gym is a place where you go to train your body and get stronger and for that a
strong mental connection is needed. In the old days there were no fancy cardio machines and dance sessions. It was just plain old 'lift heavy, lift smart and go home.' Im not against cardio machines or dance sessions but there is something about weights that challenges you mentally and physically. Don't believe me - try cranking out 50 squats, 20 push ups and 20 pullups. Majority of people will not be able to do it even though they bench press about 100kgs.

Lift weights to get stronger. There is a structure to building strength and it doesn't happen in 1
month. You could lose good amount of fat in a month but to have substantial strength takes a
while. We are talking real life strength. Not movie style stunts and good looking bodies. Work
on the strength and the rest will follow.

If you don't know how to train right, hire a good personal trainer or take a session with a fitness consultant. Training sessions should be safe, knowledgeable and fun!

Powerblocks

One of the best equipments that I have come across in the fitness world are Powerblocks. Powerblocks are especially ideal for working out at home. Commercially it is really economical and easy to maintain as well.

Power Blocks have been designed in such a way that one pair of Power Block replaces racks of dumbbells. Adding dumbbells in your weight training can ensure losing weight, gaining strength and building up stamina with an increased fitness level. Power Blocks in my opinion are the best upgrade of Dumbbells.

Features and Benefits:

• Saves space
• Cuts messiness
• Innovative
• Easy to use
• Perfect for in-house training
• Easy for advanced techniques of exercises such as drop sets/super setting

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Power Block Sport 2.4 (3-24LBS Per Hand): Dimensions 10.5"L x5.25" W x 5" H

  

Power Block Sport 5.0 (5-50LBS Per Hand): Dimensions 12.75"L x6.25" W x 6.5" H
 

Power Block Sport(9.0) (Expandable weights)

 

One of the biggest problems to your fitness goals

Time and again I have seen this happen......

Someone walks in to a fitness center and says, 'I want to ________________', whatever it is the person wants. That could be losing weight, adding muscle, just getting fit whatever it might be.

So here they are all revved up and prepped up. The coolest fitness center in town, which has charged them a bomb, the personal trainers with the tight body huggers and absolutely no form of communication or understanding and lets not forget the hep crowd. They have stickers and memberships of the place they go to and show it off proudly. One and half months later they either are not there anymore or they are the same way they started. For those who stay they will keep going in the hope that in the not so far away future.....say 45 years from now they will achieve their goal. I wish them all the best. That amazing center has become a timepass clubhouse. Thankfully not all gyms and fitness centers are this way but most of them are.

What went wrong?

You knew what you wanted. But it did not have a clear cut definition. Once you get that in order you have a specific plan to work with. How do you correct it?

Write a clear cut definition. In case you don't know how to set your goals read this article. Locate yourself and then form a plan with a good fitness trainer or consultant to reach there. Chances are you will start enjoying your training much more and it will give you focus. Also your personal trainer or consultant will keep you motivated and on track. That way your fitness goals are on track and you can reach the goal you have been looking for.

Train Hard, Train Smart