Thursday 30th August 2012

Food diary: (eating big for stimulant free legs day tomorrow morning!)

WORKOUT 1

10.00: 50g Oats, 1 1/2 scoops when protein
12.30: 3 x chicken drumsticks
14.30: 100g quark, 1 scoop when protein
16.30: atkins protein bar

WORKOUT 2

18.30: 100g quark, 1 scoop whey protein
21.00: grilled chicken breast, chirozo, tomato sauce, vegetables, mozzerella, 4 chips (PUB),
22.00: wholemeal flour, butter, argave syrup

NB: since I have avoided flour until recently I have noticed that after consuming it often leads to pain and bloating (not attractive not fun!) - so in terms of starchy carbs I will stick with
oats and wholegrain rice, avoiding wheat as much as possible. On a more positive note however it is much easier to keep my sweet tooth at bay and not order desserts when out for dinner - although it does take some strong will power to watch my little man munch his way through a chocolate brownie and ice cream.

Workout 1 - cardio
(08.30-09.15)

15 minutes spin bike
15 minutes treadmill 10km/h
15 minutes abs

Workout 2 - back

Wide grip pull up
10 x 2 -12kg

Lateral pull down
10 x 40kg x 1, 8 x 60kg x 1, 6 x 60kg x 4

Barbell bent over row (overhand grip)
12 x 25kg x 4

Single arm bent over dumbbell row
12 x 14kg, 10 x 16kg, 8 x 18kg, 6 x 20kg

Standing bent over flyes
12 x 6kg x 3

Cable reverse flyes
10 x 3.75kg x 3 (shoulder pain!!)

Iso lateral dy row
12 x 40kg
Single
12 x 20kg, 10 x 25kg, 8 x 30kg (es)

Wednesday 29th April 2012

Food diary:

10.00: Handful Almonds
11.00: Whey Refresh
13.30: 3 x grilled chicken drumsticks
15.30: 30g whey protein, 100g quark
18.00: 2 x grilled chicken drumsticks, 12 almonds, 30g cheese

WORKOUT

21.00: 3 x chicken drumsticks, 30g whey protein, 100g quark
22.00: 30g wholemeal flour, 10g butter, argave syrup

Workout - shoulders (tired workout)
(20.00-21.00)

Dumbbell shoulder press
15 x 12kgs, 10 x 14kgs, 8 x 16kgs x 3

Dumbbell shoulder raise
8 x 10kgs x 6

Dumbbell upright row
12 x 12kgs x 1, 10 x 14kgs x 3

Standing alternate arm shoulder press (power)
18 x 10kgs x 2

Superset - slow 180o raise --> frontal raise
8 x 6kg --> 8 x 6kg x 3 each side

Shoulder press machine EXHAUSTION
30 x 15kg

Pre training supplements

Before I started training "intensely", coffee was my pre training fuel. A double espresso 10 minutes before a workout used to give me the buzz I needed. However as life has got busier and training got harder - I have relied on my coffee more and more to get through the every day tasks. This has meant that on occasions I have needed a new "buzz" to stimulate my mind and body prior to a workout - however to be  honest I HATE the feeling pre-workouts give me and struggle to eat and sleep afterwards.


Common ingredients in these such products include the hugely questioned and sometimes banned substance 1,3 Dimethylamylamine. This is a powerful natural stimulant which acts as a norepinephrine releasing agent meaning that commonly feelings of increased energy and focus are noticed. Sometimes elation is also noted (which happened to me the FIRST time I took this) which could be because it may stimulates dopamine (happy hormone) release. However the after effects of this can be unpleasant, depression, extreme fatigue and irritability have been noted.

The well known caffeine is  almost always included in these such supplements. This again is a natural stimulant that increase energy and focus which in turn may increase strength and power. But with your average cup of coffee containing about 100mg of caffeine, this amount is increase by 50% in just one serving of a pre workout stimulant. The side effects can vary but although the amount of caffeine has not be revealed in USP Laps Jack3D the two times I have taken this it has given me a left sided ache directly behind the eye - which also happens when I drink too much coffee implying that this pre workout supplement is extremely high in caffeine. A study performed by Nancy University in France commented that:

"The only likely mechanism of action of the methylxanthine is the antagonism at the level of adenosine receptors. Caffeine increases energy metabolism throughout the brain but decreases at the same time cerebral blood flow, inducing a relative brain hypoperfusion. Caffeine activates noradrenaline neurons and seems to affect the local release of dopamine. Many of the alerting effects of caffeine may be related to the action of the methylxanthine on serotonin neurons."

 It also concluded that caffiene has a negative effect on anxiety and sleep which is person dependent depending on their sensitivity to methylxanthine. 

Creatine is a common ingredient in many pre training supplements - normally in the monohydrate form. There are many arguments surrounding creatine - but in my opinion it is safe to use and assists in muscular strength and endurance.

Beta Alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid which when taken increase intramuscular carnosine production which in turn increases muscular endurance and stimulates greater muscular growth.

Finally another common ingredient used is Alpha Keto-glutarate which acts as a vasodilator meaning more blood flow and therefore oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. This means the muscles can not only increase in power and endurance but it also improved recovery rates.

Along side Jack 3D I have tried two other products - well so I thought -  after closer inspection I realized that they are exactly the same product provided by two companies at two very different prices.

Feel Free Nutrition's Extreme Training Boost at £0.42 per serving describes itself as

"The Ingredients of Extreme Training Boost have been carefully blended to give the most intense shirt-ripping power, concentration and strength you have ever experienced!

This Product will give you the drive, the will, and the energy to smash through your goals in every training session" http://www.feelfreenutrition.com/products.php?product=Extreme-Training-Boost-%252d-500-grams

Jst Jodie's Rage 212 Extreme at £0.80 per serving describes itself as.

"JST Jodie® RAGE212 has been carefully blended to give the most intense shirt-ripping power, concentration and strength you’ve ever experienced. This product will give you the drive, the will, and the energy to smash through your goals in every training session." http://www.jstjodie.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207&products_id=162

 As well as identical descriptions, they both have identical properties: So I was a bit shocked at the 100% price increase just because of the branding.

TYPICAL ANALYSIS:	Per 5g Serving Kcal 12 Carbohydrates 3g Of which are sugars 2.8g Fat 0.4g of which are saturates 0g Alpha-Keto-Glutarate 800mg Beta Alanine 750mg Creatine Monohydrate 200mg Caffiene 150mg 1,-3-Dimethylamylamine 24mg

I think there is definitely a place for pre-workout supplements if used safely in moderation. As shown above it is defiantly worth doing research and shopping around before opening up your wallet. Personally the side effects can be too extreme for me so I think I will try to stick with a traditional black coffee prior to my intensive workouts if I feel the need for a BUZZ with the occasional dip into the pre-workout supplement world when things get tough!

Tuesday 28th August 2012

Food diary:

WORKOUT 1

10.00: 6 almonds
10.30: 50g oats, whey protein
14.45: 2 grilled bacon, 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites, spinach, grilled vegetables, protein cake (whey protein, egg, stevia, quark)
16.00: almonds and raisins

WORKOUT 2

19.30: Whey protein shake, protein cake
21.00: Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, 30g cheese
21.45: Protein chocolates (quark, 60g whey protein, 10g butter, water, 100% coco powder, stevia)

Workout 1 - Cardio
(09.00-09.45)

15 minutes moderate running treadmill
15 minutes moderate x- training
15 minutes abs

Workout 2 -Quads
(17.00-18.15)

Leg extension
100 rep (20 x 5) drop set - 55kg --> 30kg

Front squats
15 x 20 kg x 1

Front squat superset --> Bench lunges
15 x 25kg --> 12 x 10kgs each leg x 4

Sumo sqaut
15 x 18kg x 4

Squat jump
15 x 7kg x 3

Leg press
75kg x 12 x 3

Bicep blast:

10 x body weight pull ups
Close grip barbell curls 15kg x 12 --> Barbell curls 20kg x 8 --> Dumbell curls 8kgs x 10 (x2)

Carrot cake

Love carrot cake, but don't love the sugar it contains? Here is my secret recipe to an indulgent, rich tray baked carrot cake that is high in protein and has no added sugar!

Serves 12 - 15

Ø  50g wholemeal flour

Ø  50g hemp protein

Ø  50g whey protein

Ø  5g stevia

Ø  55g butter

Ø  75g quark

Ø  2 whole eggs

Ø  200g carrots

Ø  25g shredded coconut

Ø  1 tsp cinnamon

Ø  ½ tsp mixed spice

Ø  ½ tsp ginger

Ø  150-200ml water

For the icing:

Ø  200g Quark

Ø  60g Whey protein

1.       Grease and line a square baking tray  and preheat oven to 180oC

2.       In a mixing bowel combine all the dry ingredients - hemp protein, whey protein, stevia, coconut, cinnamon, mixed spice and ginger.

3.       In another bowel mix quark, butter and eggs to an even consistency and combine with the dry ingredients, ensuring all ingredients are mixed well.

4.       Peel and grate 200g carrots and add to the mixture.

5.       Slowly add cool water to rehydrate the protein until it forms a thick liquid consistency and place into baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes. (Warning - the hemp protein means this will not look appealing at this point - just wait until its baked!)

6.       For the icing combine quark and vanilla whey protein and cover cake once it has cooled.

Macros (per serving) 120kcals, 15g protein,4.7 g net carbohydrates, 4.6g fat

To increase calories add walnuts, almonds and dried fruit.

To decrease carbohydrates switch wholemeal flour for ground almonds.

Monday 27th August 2012

It has been a week since I started blogging and it is helping me keep on track (most of the time). Thanks to all those for their advice so far - any suggestions are much appreciated. This week I have managed a PB on  1RM deadlift in addition to learning how to "throw" the heavier dumbbells up when doing chest and shoulders so I can now lift heavier when training these muscles!

I am still attempting to have carbs at least once a day and am going to invest in a post workout supplement with some carbs in too as this will help with the protein absorption into the muscles. BCAAs and glutamine are other supplements that I am going to fully research into a most probably give a go!

Another early post as I am off to Nandos to feed up as the past couple of days have severely lacked in protein!

Rachel x

Food diary

10.00: 50g oats, whey protein

13.00: almonds, raisins

WORKOUT

17.30: Protein shake, protein cake (whey protein, quark, eggs)

20.30: Nandos...1/2 chicken, vegetables, 1tbsp rice

21.30: Protein cake (whey protein, egg, quark, wholemeal flour)

Workout - Upper chest
(16.00-17.15)

Incline dumbbell press:
12 x 12kgs x 1, 10 x 14kgs x 1, 10 x 16kgs x 1, 6 x 18kgs x 2, 5 x 18kgs x 1, 10 x 16kgs x 1, 8 x 16kgsx1

Incline alternate arm dumbbell press:
8 x 14kgs, 18 x 12 kg x 1, 24 x 12 kg x 2, --> increased inlcline 24 x 12kgs

Incline dumbbell flye:
12 x 10kgs x 1, 10 x 12kgs x 3

Press ups to exhaustion

10 minutes core training

Sunday 26th August 2012

So, despite sticking to a grand total of three vodka diet cokes last night and dancing my heart out - today was a slight (total) right off. I simply will not be able to drink alcohol throughout the duration of my training. Not only can I barely function as a human being, but I struggle to eat properly and working out well - pointless!

Food diary:

15.00: Handful of almond and raisins

WORKOUT

18.00: Protein bread, 1 whole egg + 3 egg whites, 30g cheese, 6 x 90% coco no added sugar chocolate

21.40: chicken breast, 15g cheese, 6 almonds, high protein carrot cake
Workout:

30 minutes moderate intensity cardio
30 minutes core training - weight plate side bends, chair leg lifts, woodchops, back extensions, sit ups, crunches, oblique crunches