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Training Video: Full Body Push Day

Today's routine was my full body push day, which usually means some chest, some quads, and some shoulders.



Not shown in the video is some machine lateral raises, and triceps push down.

I dunno why my calves look SO skinny. I need to address this situation!
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Back and Biceps Training Video

More correctly in the context of my program, this is Upper Body, Pulling Routine. Which is mostly back, rear delts and some broceps to finish off. I'm really trying to bring my traps and biceps up this season so... on the other pull day there'll be some shrugs and maybe upright rows as well.

 

This was a pretty fun session today at Doherty's Gym in Brunswick. If you're looking for Personal Training In Brunswick give me a yell and we'll get started.
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Legs Day Training Video

I decided to make some new training videos again, just some selected highlights of the day. So today, here's my legs routine.

 

Highlights include 100kg squat and 300kg leg press. I didn't bother filming my standing calf raises but you can see a little of everything else I got up to today. You'll notice there's no weight on the sled I'm pushing around at the end there... usually people load these up with a whole heap of weight, but usually people aren't trying to push it across a non slip rubber floor. It's tough going, but I'm getting better at it.

Of course all of this was filmed at my location for Personal Training in Brunswick, Doherty's Gym.

Tomorrow I'll film my Upper Body Pulling routine so stay tuned for that.
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Business and personal plans for the next few months.

Just typing this one up to get my ideas and plans straight in my own head really, as well as perhaps a little leverage to make sure everything happens in due course.

Business stuff, mostly. I'm at a stage now where the online coaching business is taking off to a point where I want to make it about 50% of my business, which will allow me to work more closely with a smaller number of clients in real life as a Personal Trainer in Brunswick at Doherty's Gym. I'm thinking 6 - 8 local clients is PLENTY with the way I operate.

Now what I need is to get a more consistent rate of new clients starting the online coaching program. At the moment it is a little more sporadic than I'd like. So I need to market it a bit more actively and aggressively I suppose. My only hesitation at this stage is that I have a fantastic product, fantastic program that I believe in that has produced amazing results for everyone who's done it so far... but I have kind of a crappy, antiquated delivery system and I'm not sure how much I trust it if things really take off to the level that I want them to. So... I need to work something out there. Improve the format and delivery, add more video as well as the text and so on. That's shit I need to get together.

I really want to do an app as well that can give people their correct target calorie recommendations for their goal and training style. In theory that's not so hard to find someone to put the equations into an app but I need to find some way to simulate the human interpretation of the numbers which is something that comes down to human intuition and experience. I'll have to brainwork this idea for a bit and see if I can do it.

What else is good is my brand new clothing line that I'll be launching in the next month. Possibly I'd like to do the app mentioned above under the same brand name as distinct from my DaveHPT brand. We'll see on that one. The clothing line is going to be fucking awesome though and I'm optimistic it will take off.

Uhhh that's about all on the business side I guess. For my own training goals I'm well into spring aka trimming up for summer, have added some conditioning and will be working on bringing up some particular body parts that I want to emphasise. Mostly traps and biceps.

That's all!
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My Lose 5kg In Time For Summer Plan

I'm not really a "real" body builder like some of the boys & girls I know who take it very seriously and do whatever it takes to get into elite level shape, ready to take the stage and hopefully come home with a trophy. That sort of thing... well I've never done it and it's not what I coach people to do, but I can only imagine it takes some quite specific nutrition planning, hard and constructive training, and a lot of dedication and will power.

My own goals are a lot more modest. I want to gain some size every year, still be relatively lean in the summer, and I guess it's important to look the part as a trainer - especially at the gym in Brunswick where I work, with so many top level elite athletes present. Also though, I want to eat a fucktonne of pizza.

I think for all of us, our approach should be a nice balance between the result that we want, and what we're prepared to do to get it. For most of us who's goal falls somewhere short of "elite level competition shape"... well as I've said many times; you can get into better shape than 95% of the population with a flexible approach to dieting, so long as you are also training strategically.

What I do... I'd like to use a fancy term like "periodisation" but really what I do is more like your traditional, old style "bulk and cut". Gain in the winter, trim up again in the spring. Here's how I do it.

Winter / Bulking Period:

Always starts out with a plan to gain slowly without much chance of fat gain. So, dial in calories & macros for an expected increase of 3 - 5kg. Then get frustrated that it's taking too long to see any gains, so increase calories again to an amount expected to gain 10kg.

Now for me... it always takes a LOT more calories than expected to gain any weight, and then it's HARD to actually consume that amount of calories anyway. So I have to start looking for ways to add more calories, like adding some coconut to my protein shakes, and maybe grabbing a handful of nuts every time I walk into the kitchen for some reason. That stuff adds up.

When that still doesn't see me gain much weight though, replace the nuts with "a packet of crumpets" and no matter what I have for dinner, it needs to be served on a bed of potato wedges. With cheese.

So what starts out as a calculated and balanced plan to slowly gain muscle without gaining fat ends up more like eating as much as possible as often as possible, with total disregard for macro ratios. And the result goes through a few stages as follows:

  1. Starting to gain a little bit of weight, but still quite lean. Good.
  2. Have put on a little around the waist, but it's all good that's to be expected.
  3. Starting to get a bit fat, but no problem it is all strategic.
  4. Actually quite fat now, lol that's funny.
  5. OK this isn't funny anymore.
Aaaaand one I hit stage 5 that's time to trim up again. Usually this is about the end of Winter anyway and right on schedule. This year total weight gain was 8kg.

Training in this winter period is all strength / resistance training with a near perfect balance of movements... as follows:
  • Balance between upper and lower body exercises.
  • Balance between pushing and pulling exercises.
  • Balance between horizontal and vertical movements.
  • Balance between incline and decline movements.
  • Balance between compound and isolation exercises too.

Spring Cutting / Trim Up In Time For Summer Period:

My idea of a cutting or "trim up in time for summer" plan involves drawing up a meal plan with perfectly balanced macros at a total intake expected to maintain 5kg below my highest weight during the winter. And then exercising the slightest amount of restraint in not completely abandoning the plan as soon as I get the urge to sneak in something different and/or extra due to boredom or whatever other reason. 

If that wasn't clear what I'm saying is the plan is near perfect but the adherence is not so strict. It still works beautifully but by Thursday literally every 3rd thought that enters my head is about pizza... which I don't actually eat until official pizza night aka Saturday.

I was thinking though, if that's what happens to me after 4 days of not very strict adherence to a flexible plan at a slight deficit, imagine what it's like to be on a strict, ultra low calorie diet with a limited choice of bland and boring "clean" foods that you're NEVER allowed to cheat on. 

Screw that. It's no wonder the trainers who think such extreme and drastic measures are necessary all tend to go bat shit insane. 
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