Four Weeks and Counting

by Rebecca Maslin

I am currently winding down after the Easter weekend and have had the pleasure of some much needed rest, a few days off work and time spent catching up with family and friends. Despite thoroughly enjoying this down time, the one thing that has remained consistent is my nutrition plan (GASP, I didn’t even have an Easter egg!) and training schedule.

My reasons for this are that I am four weeks away from a big goal I set myself at the start of 2012, and I am feeling more motivated now to achieve that goal - looking what I hope to be my best shape and condition yet. It was one of my New Year’s Resolutions to have fitness photos taken by a professional photographer this year and to pursue the path of an aspiring fitness model. The date of my photo shoot is Saturday 5^th May and rather than slowing down I am only building momentum and enthusiasm as the date draws closer.

What has compelled me to share the last four weeks of my training, food plans and preparation with Revolution was my own personal experience and feedback from clients who also underwent the Revolution 12 Week Transformation. What I found (and this is not the case with everyone) is that as they go further into the 12 week plan and their goal draws closer, they are often side tracked and tired after dieting, watching their food and making exercise commitments for 8 weeks. Clients can at times lose motivation or lack inspiration, miss socialising and drinking alcohol/eating out regularly and revert back to old habits that they feel comfortable with.

What has always amazed me is knowing how some people have trained in the gym and committed themselves to following a food plan, but in the last few weeks before their 12^th week measurements or an important date, where they should be pushing harder and giving a little more of themselves to their goal, they seem to fall off the wagon and become disinterested with very little justification the majority of the time.

This is something I hope to shed some light on and to the best of my ability demonstrate how the final weeks leading up to a big goal - be it an important social occasion such as a wedding, beach holiday or the last push in your Revolution 12 Week Transformation - should be executed.

There are a few things I would like to share with you in this first blog post so that you know where I currently am with my training and diet.

I have followed the exercise principles of the Revolution 12 Week Transformation. Once I felt my body was conditioned and ready, I followed a five day split lifting weights since the start of 2012. My split was training legs twice a week in a high rep range and then my upper body split was chest and triceps, back and biceps and shoulders and abs - lifting as heavy as I could without injury and maintaining correct form for 10reps each set. I also had a boxing/cardio circuit with Ryan weekly to maintain a base level of fitness. The muscle definition that I am starting to see now is a result of my training with weights prior to circuits which is the training phase I am now in, leading up to 5^th May.

However, you cannot out train a bad diet and I have also been following a food plan in the last 8 weeks, and sticking to the main nutrition principles that Revolution advocate for fat loss. These include choosing complex carbohydrates throughout the day with my main meals, mainly oats and sweet potato with lots of leafy green vegetables, eating every few hours to keep my metabolism revving, choosing lean proteins such as white meat and fish, and especially choosing good quality fats in my diet such as almonds and walnuts, olive oil, flaxseed and egg yolks. I have eaten lean and clean foods (no non/low fat products - these are high sugar!) and for the last five weeks I have been booze free....this has been the hardest part of all of the above.

These last four weeks, I will be hitting weight and cardio circuits hard as well as including some steady state cardio work to expend additional calories. My diet will also be tightened up as I am now following a carb rotation plan. This is not a ‘no carb’ plan, but rather I vary the amount of carbs I eat depending on my training that day. For example, I eat more carbs on a day when I am doing leg circuits, as they require me to use up more energy so I will need extra fuel on these days.

The key point I want to get across is that I personally feel that I have done the hard part and broken the back of my goal. These last four weeks will be an education, as this is when I start to learn a little more about myself and how the body works, what it is capable of when pushed and diet tweaked and food plans adhered to. I know these next four weeks will fly by as quickly as the last 8 weeks, and I feel excited and incredibly determined to see through every workout and give 100% to seeing through my goal with success. I am hoping that Revolution clients will get a better understanding of how important the last four weeks leading up to a goal are, and that it should now be a snowball effect gathering pace rather than a slowing down mentality.

The picture below was taken on Friday 06 April. I am starting to slim down nicely, and as my body fat is decreasing more muscle tone is being revealed. I will be uploading another photo in a fortnight so you can see the progress. Please feel free to post any questions or approach me in the studio if you have any queries with your own nutrition or would like any more explanations from my blog.

Rebecca Maslin

Muscle Meal on Pancake Day.

Hey there Folks.

As if you hadn't guessed, Pancake Day is upon us.
Now, rather than deny yourself the pleasures of the pancake, why not use it to your advantage?
By tweeking the original recipe, you can make a quick, simple and nutritious meal to aid your muscle-gain and recovery.
By making your own from scratch, you can also make the pancake as calorie-dense or as lean as you like, so that it suits your goals.

The simple recipe (that I tried and enjoyed earlier on) is listed below, but you can add or substitute various ingredients to cater for your needs.

Ingredients:

• 3 x Egg Whites (approx. 6g Protein per egg)


• 1 x Small Cup of Wholegrain Oats (Porridge Oats, but relatively fine)


• 1 x Small Handful of Blueberries


• Small drizzle of Olive Oil

Recipe:

• Firstly, whisk the eggs at room temperature until they are white but not a completely foamed substance. You want some liquidity.


• Mix in the oats into the beaten egg whites until you have a porridge type of consistency.


• Once to your desired viscosity, add the blueberries to the mix.


• Heat a non-stick pan on the hob with a drizzle of olive oil or real butter to lubricate.


• Pour the mix onto the pan, wait until it solidifies and then do your best Ainsley Harriott impression to flip it.


• Once satisfied, serve and enjoy!

To garnish you could try a squeeze of Lemon Juice. The Blueberries will add some sweetness to the pancake, but you could always add some Cinnamon, or chopped Raspberries for a change. By adding some natural, unsweetened Protein Powder, you can also enhance the protein content of the mixture.

Enjoy experimenting with this dish, and let us know how it goes!

Aaron and Team Revolution.

The 10 Weight Loss Commandments

Click on this link to see our latest newsletter, which gives you our 10 weight loss commandments thatRevolution client Bob Merckel followed in order to achieve his amazing 12 week transformation.

Our Top 3 Transformations in 2011

Anna lost 3 stone in 12 weeks

"When I started training at Revolution, I felt a little bit nervous about a new experience, but the atmosphere was so welcoming and encouraging that I soon became very excited about starting my training. I received a lot of motivation and support from my personal trainer, Bex, as well as all the other trainers in the studio. Everyone is happy about my achievements and that keeps me going. The trainers are friendly and full of joy, the atmosphere is great - it is nothing like training in a regular gym, where everyone looks at the TV and listens to their own music. Training at Revolution is for me like a social time which does not leave me with big hangover the following day, but with a great boost to my energy levels.

I love training with Bex. Every session with her is hard work, which brings great results and big satisfaction. I never would have thought I could do some of the things I can do now, but with Bex’s experience, skills, patience and reassuring approach it seems anything is possible.

I have been training at Revolution since the end of January 2011. My lifestyle has changed. I have been eating more sensibly, I have been exercising more, my energy level has gone up, I have been generally more positive and happy. I feel great. I feel healthy, fit, strong and more confident. I can say that one of my wishes has come true. Before I started training at Revolution, I was one of those people who wanted to be slim and fit but I did not believe I had strength to do it. Now I look at myself in the mirror and I say: ‘I did it!’

The team at Revolution will be able to help you to achieve your goal. I highly recommend their services. So what are you waiting for?"

Anna Kotek



Dan lost 7% body fat and gained a 6 pack in 12 weeks
"I recently turned 30 and to convince everyone - not least myself - that I was still young, I decided to run a marathon and couple of triathlons.

‘All the gear and no idea’ summed my approach up. But I did manage to whip up some self-discipline from somewhere within, and ramped up my training over the past 16 months.

I was training 6 times a week and getting good results; I lost weight, felt fitter and was able to improve my race times, but it was a long, hard slog. And I couldn't shift the tyre round my waist, no matter how many crunches I seemed to do. You could definitely pinch an inch or two or three.

I then hooked up with Will at Revolution. His motivation, training plan and secret diet tips were honestly a revelation. I burnt that tyre away in under 8 weeks, improved my flexibility and general fitness, whilst maintaining muscle mass. It happened all really quickly and pretty effortlessly, particularly when compared with the hard training I had being doing over the previous year.

I love the buzz in and around Revolution. The team are really motivating and make the sessions fun. Will varied each work-out and gradually increased the intensity over the 12 weeks. I honestly can't believe the results.

I'd like to thank Will and everyone at Revolution for helping me with my goals over the past 12 weeks. And for making it really fun too. There's a lot of great banter in the studio, which helps you to forget how hard they're making you work."

Daniel Larcey



Erin went from size 16 to size 8 in 12 weeks

"After 3 years of a 'work hard, play hard' lifestyle in London, I realised that I had become a slightly "jigglier" version of my former self. I had always been quite active, involved in dance, beach volleyball, ice hockey etc, but at the age of 34, I had graduated to a dress size 16 - the largest I have ever been. With an imminent move back home to Toronto, I needed to spring into action. After weeks of dabbling in cardio, classes at the gym and altering my calorie intake (with minimal signs of improvement), I decided to seek guidance from Revolution Personal Training Studios.

I had seen their advertisements at Angel tube and outside the Business Design Centre, and was skeptical that they could really make that much of a difference, but what did I have to lose? The specific measurable goals that I set with Giuseppe's coaching during our first session seemed quite daunting, but I was assured that they were realistic and achievable. After the first week I began to feel the difference in my energy levels, and by week 3 I was well on my way to seeing real results. My Wednesday and Friday evening sessions at Revolution quickly became the highlights of my week. I was feeling great, getting results and having a fabulous time. Everyone at the studio took a real interest in my progress and I truly felt that both Giuseppe and I had ownership of achieving my goals. The results I have achieved have not come without hard work and commitment, although Giuseppe's coaching and motivation were the catalyst. I smashed my goal at 12 weeks. Praise and gratitude to everyone at Revoluton PTS!!!"

Erin Cooney

End of my 12 Week Transformation

Before and after...

So the end of my 12 weeks has finally arrived, and for once I'm not going to write too much as I think my after picture (on the right) speaks for itself.

Just wanted to thank all the trainers and clients at Revolution for their continued mickey taking, banter and at times support. Particular thanks go to Neil McGuigan, Giuseppe DiCredico and my brother John, but most importantly a big thanks to Mrs G for putting up with my moods when I couldn't have a caramel slice.

I'm going to summarise my 12 week transformation over the weekend, as I'm too busy promoting the Revolution white collar boxing show on Thursday night at the Troxy (for tickets call 020 7288 6121) to do it this week.

Cheers
Rob G

Never go out drinking with a mad Irishman and a crazy northern lass!

On Thursday night, I was invited to celebrate the Business Design Centre being open as a business centre for 25 years. Over the 6 years that Revolution has been open, I’ve built up great relationships with the Morris brothers who own the BDC, and Dominic Jones who is the CEO, and thought it would be great fun to join them for their celebrations.

With this in mind, I ate perfectly all day and had a plan to say ‘no’ to all the lovely food on offer, but to say yes to 2 glasses of red wine. I was joined by my good friend and senior Revolution trainer Neil McGuigan. For those of you who don’t know Neil, he is someone who works hard but likes to play even harder.

The party was fantastic, and as a business owner I found it really inspirational. Stories were told of how the family business started and how - against all odds - it succeeded to become a huge success and also one of London’s iconic buildings.

I was on track to stick to my 2 glasses of wine, but then Neil hit me with the old classic “one for the road mate”. Well, it was never going to be just one more, especially when you’re out with Neil. After several glasses of pink champagne (I was including that under the ‘red wine’ banner) and more wine, we headed out of the party and down to the gym to grab our bags and head on home. Not sober by any means, but certainly not sozzled.

That’s when we bumped into Bex Maslin, London's top female trainer, locking up the gym after a late finish. We all looked at each other and said “one drink in the nags head?”. Well, the rest is a blur but I’m going to call it power drinking. Within no time at all, there were 3 empty bottles of red wine on the table, more drinking followed but I can’t honestly remember what it was.

I was in no fit state to get a tube home, and thought sleeping in the gym was a good idea. I sneaked past the BDC security and went to sleep on the physio’s couch. A terrible night’s sleep was followed by a horrific hangover. How Bex was back in the gym for her 5.30am session, I’ll never know.

Yesterday was damage limitation, and considering my hangover I ate well yesterday, and to coin a phrase from ex football manager and TV pundit Ian Dowie, I’m going to show my ‘bouncebackability’. This is exactly what I’m going to eat today.:

7.30am – black coffee, no sugar
8am – porridge made with water and squeeze of Manuka honey
12 noon – 1 organic chicken breast, sweet potato, carrots and broccoli
3pm – 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a black coffee
6pm – baked fillet of cod with stir fried green vegetables
9pm – green tea

What lessons have I learnt?

1. There’s no one so easy to fool as yourself. I was never going to have just 2 drinks. Once you’ve fallen off, don’t worry about it, just get back on track as quickly as possible.

2. Never go out for a drink with an Irishman and northern lass on a school night.




Cheers,
Rob G

Week 11, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

Nutrition
6.30am - 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a 35ml Yakult yogurt drink

7.15am - white Americano, no sugar

10am - 4 poached eggs, a large handful of spinach and half a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce



12 noon - 10 almonds and a spoon of organic coconut

2.15pm - Mexican black beans, peppers, onions, chicken breast, steak, sour cream, cheese and avocado

4pm - white coffee

6.30pm - large fillet of salmon with a Greek salad and avocado

9.30pm - mug of green tea

Training (legs and shoulders)
Deadlift - 6 sets of 10 reps at 80kg
Arnie press - 4 x 12 at 17.5kg

Shoulder blast, called 'around the world':
- Lat raise, hands start at hips, 3 x 7 at 4kg (super set with below)
- Lat raise, hands start at lower back, 3 x 7 at 4kg (super set with below)
- Db reverse fly, 3 x 7 at 4kg

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 11, Day 2 of my 12 Week Transformation

Long day and late finish, so I'm just going to write down what I ate today:

8am - 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a Yakult yogurt drink

8.30am - porridge made with water, and squeeze of manuka honey

9am - white americano coffee with no sugar

12.15pm - micro whey protein shake after training

2pm - chicken breast with salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, sprinkling of feta cheese and three quarters of a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce.

4.45pm - black coffee with no sugar

5.30pm - a mouthful of chicken breast with a very small bit of salad left over from lunch

8.30pm - 4 egg omlette with side salad and a cup of green tea


Training
6 x 2 minute boxing rounds on the pads with my brother John
4 x 600m runs at 18km an hour (with 1 minute recovery in between) on the treadmill


Cheers,

Rob G

Week 11, Day 2 of my 12 week Transformation

The Final Push!

After a great trip to see the sights of New York, I return with just 2 weeks left of my 12 week transformation. In my last blog post I spoke about how I was finding the training and nutrition easy, but I’m challenging myself to eat super clean for the remainder of my 12 week transformation and I’m going to blog exactly what I eat and what I do for training every day for these last 14 days to keep myself honest.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

5.30am – Yalkult yogurt + 2 Brazil nuts and 4 almonds

6.30am – black coffee with no sugar

8.30am – porridge made with water and small squeeze of honey

10.00am –Micro whey protein shake straight after training

12.30pm – organic chicken breast with sweet potato, broccoli and carrots and half an avocado

3pm – black coffee with no sugar

4pm – 8 almonds and a cup of green tea

7.30pm – Fillet of baked cod with stir fried vegetables cooked in organic butter (broccoli, red pepper, asparagus, courgette)

8.30pm – green tea and slice of lemon

Training
As you may remember, the last 4 weeks of the Revolution 12 week transformation is where we enter the circuit phase of training. I’ve tailored my programme so I do 3 weight training days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and two days of very high intensity cardio training (Tuesday and Thursday) of either 6 x 600m sprints or boxing.

Today was chest and back, and even though that is classically used for hypertrophy I created the circuit-style feel by increasing my rep range to 15 or over, and by super-setting every exercise.

Bench Press (4 x 20/15/15/15), superset with chin ups (4 x 15/12/10/8)

Incline bench press (4 x 20/15/15/15) superset with seated close row (4 x 20/15/15/15)

Db chest flys (4 x 20/15/15/15), superset with wide bent over row (4 x 20/15/15/15)

Dips (3 x 15), superset with close grip chin ups (3 x 15)

I was taken through my workout today by my business partner Giuseppe, and when I was unable to get to my 15 rep goal he made sure I did. Believe me, Giuseppe is not a man to be messed with!

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 9, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

Routine
I’ve been trying to work out why I haven’t blogged more over the last few weeks. Is it my inherent laziness? Or is it some other reason that is perhaps entirely reasonable?

And then I realised - and I want to say this in a way that doesn’t sound too arrogant - that the truth is, I’m finding the training and eating plans all very easy. I must clarify this by saying that it’s not that I’m not pushing myself every time I train, as I can honestly say that I’m training harder and harder. It’s just that I know exactly what is required in order to get results.

I have found that seeing my progress through my measurements is highly motivating, and once you have built a platform of success to build from it is really encouraging, which makes continuing to make the right nutritional choices and getting out of bed to train seem routine.

And routine is indeed the right word. Here is the routine I have at the moment in relation to food, and I hope you might find it of some use yourself. Obviously adapt it to suit you and your life. You can also read more about the Revolution 12 week transformation diet, in the words of my brother and business partner John, in our latest newsletter.

• On Sunday, I go shopping and buy the following: 7 Yakult yogurts, Brazil nuts and almonds, 2 chicken breasts, white fish, eggs, porridge, salad and plenty of vegetables.

• On Sunday night I cook a chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli for the next day’s lunch.

• On Monday morning, when I wake up I have a Yakult yogurt, 2 Brazil nuts and 4 almonds (I start every day like this), and 2 hours later eat porridge with water and a squeeze of honey. 4 hours after that I have the chicken breast etc that I made the night before. For my evening meal, I will have oven baked white fish with green veg and try to avoid carbohydrate. If you do feel like you need some carbohydrate, have a small portion of brown rice.

• On Monday night, I will also prepare my lunch for Tuesday - cook one chicken breast, one portion of brown rice (75 grams approx) and put together a salad.

• On Tuesday, I have the Yakult etc then porridge etc (you see why I’m finding it so easy), then 4 hours after I’ve eaten the porridge I will have the chicken breast etc which I cooked the night before. And for my evening meal, I’ll have a 3 egg omelette with a side salad.

• On Wednesday, I buy my food out as I’m growing tired of making my food in the evening by now. So I’ll have the Yakult etc as usual first thing. Then later I treat myself to one slice of granary toast with 2 poached eggs and 2 rashers of well done bacon. At lunch, I go to my local cafe (the same one I had breakfast in) and have grilled chicken with a Greek salad and half a jacket potato. In the evening I get back to cooking again, and have a chicken stir fry with vegetables (you’ll need to go shopping on Wednesday to buy Thursday and Friday’s food).

• For Thursday, Friday and Saturday, just repeat Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I personally will have salmon on Thursday night instead cod, and feel free to mix up the vegetables as you see fit.

In reality, I’m a fairly boring person. I like my routine and I just find this so easy to stick to, and my results are quite honestly excellent. And my point is this. If you want to have loads of fun, then don’t read my blog and don’t follow the Revolution eating plans. If, however, you do want to transform your body and you do want to feel healthier than you have in years, then follow our advice because it works.

Don’t forget that Sunday is the day you can eat whatever you want, and I like to eat so much rubbish that come Monday morning I don’t want to see another piece of chocolate for at least.......... well at least another 6 days.

I was going to talk about my training now, but I fear I’ve lost people already so I’ll save that ‘til next time, which is just after I get back from New York. “New York?” I hear you say. Maybe I’m not as boring as I thought I was!

Cheers,

Rob G