How did I survive the first 2 weeks of my Body Transformation?

Setting of to the local gym I was really excited and motivated for my new weight loss and muscle building Body Transformation. Full of confidence that I will be able to keep up with all the heavy training and dieting. But all was not as easy as I thought it would be...

I quickly realized that I am not as fit or strong as I thought I was. I decided to just get my body used to all the exercise first and do all my workouts at 60% max lift weight. I kept going with my workout program and worked out 5 days per week for the first 2 weeks. The second week I started working heavier weights and really pushed myself to fail each set. Could really feel the pump, hehe. I kept to my fat loss and muscle building diet, which includes an average of 4 means per day. Eating mostly lean meats, healthy carbs and vegetables and salad. I also had a protein shake or two on all my lifting days.

What is my workout split? I decided I am going to use a 3 day workout split, meaning I have a day 1, day 2, day 3, and then I start with day 1 again. Sometimes I take a break on the 4 day and start day 1 after that. For starters my muscle building workout program consists mainly training my all my bigger muscles, different muscles each day so I don't over train and my muscles get enough time to rest and get stronger.

I will post a full workout split and the exercises with sets and reps in another post later, but here are the basics:

Day1:
- Warm up (5 minutes tread mill and stretching)
- Chest
- Legs

Day 2:
- Warm up
- Shoulders/traps
- Biceps/forearms
- Abs/core
- Cardio 15 mins

Day 3:
- Warm up
- Back/lats
- Triceps
- Cardio 15 mins

I was pretty sore and stiff the first week, but I am already feeling better and I can see how I got stronger, already lifting a lot more, and not getting so sore anymore. The diet is pretty difficult to hold without cheating as my girlfriend still wants to eat pasta and bacon etc. sometimes and of course then there's the weekends, where all the housemates party and drink and barbeque (We South Africans like our BBQ) So I guess I am still cheating at least 2 days out of the week. But mostly I improved my diet a lot. I will upload my next pictures at the end of week 3.


Read more:

1. How and why I started my weight loss and muscle building Body Transformation

2. Week 1 of my body transformation with before pictures

3. Foods that burn fat

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Week 1 of my Body Transformation with before pictures

I started with my Body Transformation on Thursday, April 16th 2009. I have just returned from a wonderful holiday with my Girlfriend from Turkey, where we got engaged. Of course I stuffed myself, eating out 3 times a day. So we returned I decided to go to the gym and start my new diet and fitness programs the very next day. I really needed some weight loss after that, hehe. It was almost the end of the week, so I will just count days from April 16th to Saturday, April 25th as Week 1 of my body transformation. And from then on every Sunday to Saturday will be one more week.

Here are some before pictures of me that I took just before I went on the holiday to turkey. (Before Week 1. Let's say April 16th, 2009)

Front: Week 1 - 69kg


Side: Week1 - 69kg

As you can see I've got no muscle definition whatsoever, thin petite arms with a fat belly that screams "punch me". These photos are a great motivation for me, because with the help of my workout and diet programs there is no way that I could look crappier, haha. Only forward with my weight loss and muscle building from here!

Keep tuned for my update on how I survived week 1 and week 2 and look out for my brand new pics at week 3! I'm sure we will be shocked!

Read about how and why I started my Body Transformation.

Start of My Body Transformation!

For my entire life, I have been a scrawny guy with a kind of petite build. (Got it from my mother, I guess) Average weight 65kg, 1.74m. And now that I'm older (30), the metabolism is not what it used to be and I have too much excess belly fat. Being naturally lazy (always thought just smart) I have never really exercised or did training of any sort, cept for some sports back in school. Thus my body is not in great shape. I have also been drinking and smoking quite heavily for most of my life. But now I'm planning to change all that with an all new body transformation!

I have quit smoking heavily for about a year now, and now that I am 30, I'm getting scared that my best and healthiest years are getting less and less. Starting with my 30's I realized that I will never be in better shape than I am now, If I don't make a complete body transformation.

So what am I going to change? I joined the Fitness and Health Centre (Gym) where I am going to start with a workout plan, training at least 4 days per week, doing mostly weight lifting exercises to build muscle. I am going to completely stop smoking, drink less. I am also going to start eating right. LESS junk food, fatty food, white carbs, processed foods and MORE Protein (including whey protein shakes), fresh vegetables, fruits, salads and only healthy carbs like brown rice, whole grain bread etc. (Also going to take regular vitamins) In addition to all this I am going to try out all the things I learned from Weight Loss, Muscle Building and Six Pack Abs guides.

You can read reviews etc. about these various guides and programs on Http://HelloSixPackAbs.com. For building lean muscle I am following the popular Vince DelMonte's No-Nonsense Muscle Building, for more guidance on calorie shifting and how to eat correctly for weight loss, I am using Fat Loss 4 Idiots. For getting rid of my excess stomach fat and getting perfect six pack abs, I am following the programs set out by Mike Gaery's Truth About Six Pack Abs.

So, why did I start this blog with all my rambling? I started this blog to chronicle my body transformation from week 1 as a motivation for myself and as a guide for others that want to try the same. I'm also testing out the various guides and programs mentioned before to see if there are any truth to their claims.

What will I post on this blog? I will post my progress, including weight, measurements, photos, workout programs, diet, recipes and everything else related to my body transformation

What are my body transformation goals? I want to gain weight, building lean muscle, at the same time lowering my body fat %. I am aiming to gain 6 kg of lean muscle in 6 month's time.

I hope you all will be interested in my blog and will follow it closely. I will try to update frequently, so subscribe. Also feel free to comment, give advice, motivate, or share your own personal experiences.