Workouts 29/10 and 30/10

The decision to cut out cardio and start taking creatine is paying solid dividends. Great chest and biceps workout, absolutely smashed it.

29th October Heavy Weight/Low Rep Pecs and Biceps Workout 82.3g

Barbell Bench Press 100kg 3,3,2
Barbell Bicep Curl 50kg 2 45kg 4,3
Incline Barbell Bench Press 75kg 5,4,3
Hammer Dumbbell Curls 22kg each 6,4,4
Cable Cross Overs 37.5kg 8,4,4

30th October Light Weight/High Rep Back and Triceps Workout 81.4kgs

Wide Grip Pullups 16,8,5
Narrow Grip Tricep Dips 19,10,9
Mixed Grip Cable Row 75kg 12,10,6
Dumbbell One Arm Triceps Extension 12kg each 11,7,6
Barbell Shrug 80kg 10,10,10

28th October Light Weight/High Rep Legs and Delts Workout

Went to the gym this morning for a light weight/high rep legs and delts session. Except this time without any sort of caffeine or preworkout. Was quite a bit more difficult, particularly squats. I actually think it's something I'll continue with though, part of the idea of my light weight sessions is to provide an element of rest particularly for my central nervous system which takes a pummelling from training that pushes you close to failure.

28th October Light Weight/High Rep Legs and Delts Workout 81.1kg

Barbell Squats 80kgs 8,6,5
Barbell Press 50kg 7,5,4
Barbell Deadlift 100kg 10,6,5
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 12kg each 8,6,5

Beginners Guide to Bullet Proof Coffee

It's so beautiful

For the uninitiated an original Bullet Proof Coffee contains

• 1 cup (8-12 oz.) of coffee using filtered water, just off the boil, with 2 1/2 heaping tablespoons freshly ground Bulletproof® Coffee Beans. (French Press is easiest.)
• Add in 1-2 tablespoons of Brain Octane™ to the hot coffee (It’s STRONG – start with 1 tsp. and work up over several days).
• Add 1-2 tablespoons grass-fed, unsalted butter or ghee
• Mix it all in a blender for 20-30 seconds until it is frothy like a foamy latte

and is available here

I guess the next question any potential Bullet Proof Coffee consumer should ask themselves is "why?" because to most the idea of consuming butter with coffee sounds utterly absurd. Regardless Bullet Proof Coffee has be shown to provide;

• A brain boost thanks to the caffeine but also the good cholesterol and fats in the grass fed butter and MCT oil. Your brain is made up of a lot of fat and cholesterol the consumption of a bullet proof coffee on an empty stomach allows rapid absorption of these fats combining with the caffeine and fuelling brain function
• A boost to fat burning thanks to the butyric acid in the grass fed butter and the fat consumption boosts the bodies release of ghrelin which plays a key role in the burning of fat stores. Not to mention the caffeine which has great thermogenic effects
• Blunts the insulin response immediately and for the rest of the day. Meaning that you'll immediately feel full and will require a lot less food to feel satiated from your remaining meals.
• Good quality coffee is also chock full of anti-oxidants

I believe, however, that one needs to test the BP water before jumping in and shelling out for a lot of expensive ingredients they may never want. This is my guide to popping your BP coffee cherry.

• I would start off having a long black with 5g butter and 5g coconut oil (any brand you can get your hands on for now), this will give you an idea if you like it or not and if it's worth going to the additional expense and effort of buying the proper ingredients (grass fed butter, organic coconut oil, MCT oil or cacao butter)
• Make sure you start with 5 grams of each ingredient only, any more than that as a start point and you'll get the runs
• This should be consumed as your first meal of the day and a minimum of 2 hours before eating again. Consuming a BP coffee on an empty stomach allows the maximum benefits to be felt and not eating for 2 hours after prevents you from getting the runs (from excessive fat consumption)
• Make sure you use a stick blender (or something similar) to really blend up the ingredients thoroughly (minimum 2 minutes), if the fats don't completely emulsify through the coffee the drink becomes oily and unpalatable when it should taste creamy and delicious.
• I use a Le'Xpress Frother like this to blend mine

• Glass blenders or plastic bullets have been known to crack or explode because of the heat of the coffee, so be warned.
• Gradually increase from 5 grams to 15 grams of butter and coconut oil (some go higher but 30g of fats suits me fine)
• If you think you want to continue with it look to purchase grass fed butter, organic coconut oil or MCT oil in order to receive the maximum benefits
• Please note that a true BP coffee includes Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) oil (available from bulknutrients) but I really like the nutty taste of coconut oil so I keep using it, coconut oil is 50% mct oil anyway
• My personal recipe calls for 10g of Cacao butter (along with 10g of grass fed butter and 10g coconut oil) because it's absolutely delicious and has many nutrional benefits (similar to that of dark chocolate)
• I also continue to use regular espresso coffee because I'm not sold on the benefits of BP upgraded coffee

The finished product

My Background

Age: 30 (20/08/1984)
Height: 181cm
Weight: 81kg
Bodyfat: ~13%
Body type: Mesomorphic I guess but I have a very narrow waist considering the width of my shoulders and my legs used to be extraordinarily skinny. I've since been able to put a bit of bulk on my thighs but my calves are basically non-existent. So I guess Mesomorphic upper body and Ectomorphic legs.
Qualifications: I've enrolled in Tafe SA's Certificate III in Fitness but don't start until January. I would plan to complete a Certificate IV one I've finished the III
Sports: None
Supps:
Have tried pretty much everything under the sun but at the moment I'm taking

• The One (original formula) pre workout
• AAKG, Beta Alanine from Bulk Nutrients pre and intra workout
• Creatine from Bulk Nutrients (14g per day)
• WPC and WPI from proteindirect.com.au
• Also consume a daily Bullet Proof Coffee that consists of 10g grass fed butter, 10g organic coconut oil and 10g cacao butter with a long black espresso. Not a true BP coffee but I love it nonetheless

Diet: Currently following a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) and Intermittent Fasting (IF) diet including daily Bullet Proof Coffee consumption (post workout, it's the best), I usually limit carbs to less than 50 grams a day but don't count calories any more and don't hesitate to have a cheat day.

From May to September of this year I was able to lose 9 kilos with relative ease using the aforementioned strategies combined with regular (once or twice a week) 24 hour fasts with morning cardio sessions (both steady state and HIIT). If that doesn't make any sense I'll break it down for you.

• Dinner on Tuesday at 8pm
• Cardio session in the morning
• Bullet Proof Coffee at 3pm (or a minimum of 2 hours prior to dinner). The great thing about a BP coffee when you're fat adapted is it allows your body to continue burning fat and prevents your body going catabolic. It keeps you in the fasted state (by not raising insulin) but prevents muscle loss
• Dinner at 8pm on Wednesday breaking a 24 hour fast

Not currently performing the 24 hour fasts as I'm looking to focus on strength gains. Won't hesitate to use them again if I want to drop my body fat though.

Have had great success in the past with a leangains.com, If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) style IF diet with a 16/8 fast/feed. 2000 cals on rest days (high fat) 2300 on training days (high carb). About 500 cals deficient per day. Was able to lose 10kgs from January to June of 2013 and then a further 3kgs from June to July with a strict calorie controlled (2000 cals per day) ketogenic diet for a total weight loss of 13kgs (see pics below) Unfortunately I found the constant calorie counting too arduous and burnt myself out.

Past: GF of 4.5 years broke up with me in October 2008 and I decided the first order of business was to get my physique back. To that point I'd intermittently played sport and done a few weights here and there but hadn't laced up my adidas trainers in anger for at least 3 years (only exercise was a small amount of water skiing) and was eating terribly. I would have been about 77kgs at that point but probably around the 25% body fat mark.

In the first 4 years I had some solid strength gains but it wasn't until a little over 18 months ago (start of 2013) that I realised the key to a true body transformation rests with diet.

Short term goal: Strength gains without putting on too much size (don't want to "bulk") but some amount of hypertrophy is expected
Long term goal: Keep doing whatever keeps me looking and feeling good in the easiest possible way. Then use my qualification to educate people on making good lifestyle decisions for the betterment of their long-term health.

Strategy: Diet strategies already listed

Training: 6 day split 6 days a week. This is effectively a 3 day split done in 2 different ways alternating either High Weight/Low Rep then Low Weight/High Rep which looks like this

Heavy Weight/Low Rep

Back and Triceps

Light Weight/High Rep

Legs and Delts

Heavy Weight/Low Rep

Chest and Biceps

Light Weight/High Rep

Back and Triceps

Heavy Weight/Low Rep

Legs and Delts

Light Weight/High Rep

Chest and Biceps

As you can see, muscles that share minimal synergists are combined to allow maximum output on each muscle group. Structuring my workouts this way has proved very successful, allowing me to workout more often with more time for my body to recover from the intense ultra low volume sessions

Current PB's:
Bench: 100 x 2
Squat: 110 x 8
Deadlift: 140 x 5
Press: 60 x 3
Wide Grip Pull Ups Weighted 25kg x 6

Narrow Grip Tricep Dips Weighted 25kg x 8

Currently at my PBs on all fronts except Squat (110kg x 5) and Bench (95kg x 4) but will be expecting to push through those in the next month or so.

Goals:
Look good and feel better. Set myself up for a long healthy existence.

Photos
All taken while living in Spain in 2007

Leangains Cut (prior to Keto Cut) June 2013 @ 80kgs

After Keto Cut - July 2013 @ 77kgs

Current Photos @ 81kgs

27th October Heavy Weight/Low Rep Back and Triceps Workout

27th October Heavy Weight/Low Rep Back and Triceps Workout 82.7kgs
Weighted Wide Grip Pullups 25kg 6,4,3
Weighted Narrow Grip Tricep Dips 25kg 8,6,5
Dumbbell Row 50kg each 7,5,5
Cable Tricep Pushdown 45kg 6,4,4
Barbell Shrugs 100kg 10,7
140kg mixed grip 4