Working Abroad!

Since the end of February 2012 I'd decided to set myself a target of losing as much body fat as I possibly could to achieve my "Summer body". I named it "Mission Summer body" and took it very seriously! This was the first time i'd ever done this and thought It would motivate me even more If I were to treat it as if it were a bodybuilding competition I was preparing for. (Of course what i'm actually preparing for couldn't be any more relaxing, however I didn't let this fact effect my efforts to achieve "Mission Summer body" the best I possibly could) The deadline for this target is later this morning at 9.20am when I fly to Ayia Napa Cyprus to work for 6 weeks. As you can imagine my gym regime will change drastically as I won't be able to upkeep my strict diet or workout as often as I wish.

Last year I worked for the same people in Ayia Napa for 10 weeks and I can regretfully say everything I had worked for in the gym prior to that 10 weeks had most certainly been lost by the time I arrived back in the UK. This was confirmed when the following conversation took place with my Nan.
*Knock Knock*
*Nan Opens Door*
Me "Hello Nan!! You alright!? :D"
Nan "Yuh Skinny. Yuh didn't tek no weights witchu :/"
Me "-_______________-"

This year I'm determined to prevent this experience from happening again. So my plan of action is to in fact begin my mass phase as soon as I land, not in an attempt to gain weight, but to maintain it. I've prepared my mass protein powder in food bags.
2 x Dorian Yates Formass Vanilla Ice cream 2270g
60 servings = 120 scoops
120 scoops / 42days = 2.8 scoops per day
2.8 scoops in the am + 2.8 scoops in the pm = 5.6 scoops
120 scoops / 5.6 scoops per day = 21 days.
Which means the powder i'm taking will only see me through half of my stay in Cyprus :(
(I will be buying a mass gainer whilst i'm out there to make up for the rest of the time i'm there)

Getting through customs will be exciting...

Being surrounded by KFC, Mcdonalds, and Pizza Hut etc will ensure this is no easy task. However I am confident for my plan to work as I'm heading to Miami at the end of August and you can imagine I plan to be in top condition for that holiday too!

To summarize, my main message in this post is that I won't be writing any posts whilst I'm working away for the next 6 weeks :( I hope you all have a great summer and achieved your "Mission Summer body" to your own satisfactions!

Mission Summer body complete
17/06/2012

Current bodyweight - 75.6kg
Current bodyfat % - No idea!

My Workout

Full Routine:

Mondays: Chest, Anterior Deltoids & Calves

1. Incline Smith machine bench press 4x8-12
2. Incline bench cable fly 4x8-12
3. Decline cable press Superset with fly 4x8-12
4. Machine fly dropset 4x8-12 (On the 4th set, 3 dropsets until failure)
5. Cable rope front raises Superset with single arm front dumbbell raises 3x8
6. Standing barbell shoulder press Superset with 5 second negative reps 3x8 (Only 5 negative reps)
7. Standing dumbbell calf raise 4x20
8. Calf press machine 4x20
9. Calf press (on leg press machine) 4x20

Tuesdays: Back & Hamstrings.

1. Wide grip pull ups 3x10
2. Smith machine pronated grip row 4x8-12
3. Lat pull down machine (Single arm) 4x8-12
4. Single arm dumbbell Rows 4x8-12
5. Romanian deadlifts 4x8-12
6. Laying leg curls (With dumbbells) 4x8-12
7. Seated Hamstring Leg curls 4x8-12

Wednesdays: Medial, Posterior Deltoids & Trapezius.

1. Single arm dumbbell upright row 4x8-12
2. Dumbbell lateral raises 4x8-12
3. Single arm cable lateral raises 3x8-12
4. Sitting rope face pulls 4x8-12
5. Reverse incline bench dumbbell front raises 4x8-12 (2nd, 3rd & 4th set until failure)
6. Bent over single arm rear delt cable fly 3x8-12
7. Smith machine shrugs (Close grip behind the back forming a triangular shape between elbows & neck) 4x8-12 Superset with straight arm shrugs until failure.
8. Smith machine shrugs (Shoulder width grip in front) 4x8-12

Thursdays: Abs.

I perform 3 circuits of 3 various exercises 30 reps each. Or 4 exercises of 20 reps each if I feel like hitting an extra area of my abs or the same area twice in the same circuit but with a different exercise.

1. Leg raises 20 reps
2. Decline bench crunches (With twist) 20 reps
3. Standing plate/kettlebell oblique crunch 20 reps
4. High cable crunch 20 reps

Those 4 exercises performed straight after one another are one whole circuit. Once I complete 1 circuit, I rest for 2 minutes and do exactly the same again. (3 sets all together)

Fridays: Biceps & Triceps. 

This is actually a Kai Greene workout that I fell in love with...
Begin with pre-exhausting the forearms just to boost development there even further.

1. Seated barbell wrist curls 3x20
2. Forearm reverse barbell curls 3x15-20 (some reps wrists turned up, some wrists turned down. This switches the focus between the top and bottom of the forearm)
3. Hammer curls 5x15-20
4. Tricep pushdown alternating grip (2 sets supinated grip, 2 sets pronated grip) 4x10
5. Overhead dumbbell tricep extensions 4x20
6. Close grip bench press 4x15
7. Barbell curls 4x15
8. Incline bench dumbbell curls 4x20
9. Preacher machine curls 4x15

Saturdays: Quadriceps, Calves & Abs.

1. Smith machine Squats 4x3-5 
(On the 4th set 3 dropsets until failure)
2. Leg press squat machine 4x12-15
3. Leg extensions 4x30
4. Smith machine hack squat 4x12-15
5. Standing dumbbell calf raise 4x20
6. Calf press machine 4x20
7. Calf press (on leg press machine) 4x20

Sundays: Day off.

I make sure I use various techniques to ensure I switch up the stimulus every other week. Supersets & Dropsets are my favorite techniques so I tend to alter which particular exercise I use them on. Negative reps are also a really good way to shock the muscles by focusing on the eccentric part of the movement.


I increase the weight of every single set. I believe always challenging the muscles is a key part of development. When I fail (usually during the 3rd or 4th set) I use the rest pause technique which is an approx 10 second rest to allow some strength to return to the muscle and allow me complete my target number of reps within that set.


As a personal preference I like to do cardio in the mornings and weight train in the evenings. It's only during my cutting/shredding phase that I include 3 cardio sessions per week, rarely when i'm in my mass phase. I've tried HIIT (High intensity interval training) Low intensity and moderate intensity. HIIT is my most favoured, it's the harder out the two ;)

Where it all began...

11/05/2009 

As an adolescent I got fed up of my older cousins bear hugging me making me fart...(That actually did used to happen)
But in all seriousness I started going to a local leisure center with friends at 16 so quite a young age. This is where you can imagine all my most egotistical gym sessions took place. I wished to be the one out of all of my friends who could bicep curl the heaviest dumbbells; So that's exactly what I did, and in fact the only thing i did. Which I can be grateful for now in terms of my biceps having a head start over other areas of my physique, however at the time the imbalance in my arms was crazy! I distinctively remember my friend laughing at the shape my arms were starting to form and saying they looked "rectangular". That moment hit a nerve, and after beginning to realize this was true, I was forced to acknowledge my triceps existence. It was then I began to comprehend that an all round effort would be much more beneficial than solely concentrating on my favorite body parts alone. regardless of what my ego was shouting at me!

Whilst in college at around 5'6 I found myself somewhat physically challenged playing Basketball for one of the best colleges in Birmingham. Being one of, if not the smallest player on the team, I had little option but to hit the gym harder and get some weight behind me! However this happened relatively late as it was during my second year when I really decided to make a change.
Studying a Sports performance and excellence BTEC at college, you'd assume I'd have known exactly what I needed to do, but I wasn't really seeing the gains I was hoping for so found myself seeking the college's strength and conditioning coach for advice. It was after the first session I had with him (Strangely enough it was a biceps session) that when I felt the D.O.M.S. (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) I was experiencing first hand what I believed was change happening due to my efforts and had the urge to explore this when working on other areas of my physique.

I've been at my University gym now for 3 years. I'm studying Sports & exercise science and heading into the 4th and final year of the degree this coming September. (I did a Higher National Diploma in Sports science for 2 years which counted as the 1st year of my degree) It's been during these 3 years that I've made the most progress and decided that one day I will step on stage and compete (only in tested competitions) alongside others who share the same passion as I do. Something I made myself aware of from the very start was that, what I wish to look like in the end, the final product couldn't possibly be achieved in a week. Too many people have too little patience when it comes to the gym which either pushes them to take prohibited enhancing products (Steroids) or lose all faith in the gym completely and stop going; one extreme or the other. I plan to reach my peak after at least 10 years of commitment, discipline and hard work. My number one goal is to become the top natural Bodybuilder in the UK. Whilst training to do this I'll be personally training clients and have completed my masters in strength and conditioning, which will hopefully allow me to become a S&C coach for an established premiership football team.

It would be much appreciated if you shared your experiences/support as I partake upon this journey.

Thank you.

10/05/2013