33. Olympic effort

Photo: 2012 Olympic Rings on The Mound, Edinburgh; Derek Green

Like millions of people around the world, I’m currently tuning into television and online broadcasts to see athletes produce amazing performances in their chosen sports at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

For the United Kingdom, I enjoyed watching history being made twice in one evening. Jack Laugher and Chris Mears won Britain’s first ever Olympic gold medal for diving, in the 3 metre synchronised springboard event. Then Max Whitlock* won a bronze in the Men’s Individual All Round Gymnastics final, something that hasn't been achieved in 108 years.

It was clear to see that all these gentlemen were in peak physical condition as they participated in their competitions. Four years of dedicated hard work and training, since the last Olympics, has paid off and now they are all medal-holders.

This made me reflect on where I was, when London 2012 was on. In all honesty, I was in a completely different place to where I am now. Inactive, over-weight, stressed, unhappy and jealous of guys, like Jack, Chris and Max, because of the great physiques they had.

One of the legacy aims of the London Olympics was to encourage the UK population to become more active in sport. In fact the BBC's Sport Department adopted “Get inspired” as its strapline, that four years later, is still used across all their channels.

Although it took me another two years before I kickstarted my personal body transformation programme with Luke Bremner Fitness, just flipping through my previous blogposts it is amazing to see how far I’ve come in such a relatively short space of time.

Often television commentators and pundits will talk about the “sacrifices” athletes make in order to achieve their goal. The same can be said about any of us who have decided that it’s time to get into shape. Favourite, and often extremely unhealthy, foods are consigned to the dustbin. The consumption of alcohol is a rare treat rather than a regular occurrence. Suddenly an awareness of protein, carbohydrates and fat intake percentages become important factors of daily life. As does sleep. And exercise.

But that’s the perculiar thing. Back in 2014 it did feel as though I was making sacrifices in order to change my body. However after two years, what was once strange and unfamiliar, has now become the norm. I love returning home, after trips away, so I can take control of my diet and eat clean again.

As for my body, it’s gradually transforming. There’s no questioning that I’m fitter at the age of 51, then I've ever been. Sometimes I’m amazed at just how flexible I’ve become, and astonished at the amount of weight I’m capable of lifting. Catching the attention of the guys from “Briefs” last week – the handsome Australian male boylesque troupe – who were wandering around town promoting their Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, was certainly a boost for the old ego. Especially as I’ve been an admirer of theirs for several years.

Now the body jealousy I had during London 2012 has vanished. As the Games of the XXXI Olympiad take place in Rio, I’m thrilled with how my fitness levels and physique are progressing. But what excites me most is not knowing what I’ll be capable of achieving in the gym, by the time the Olympics are held in Tokyo in 2020.

I'm confident that I'll report back and let you know how I get on.

*Since writing this post Max Whitlock has won individual gold medals for both Men's Floor and Pommel Horse disciplines.

31. Ctrl Alt Delete

Photo: Terrance Emerson / RF123 Stock Photo

I'm currently taking a much needed rest week and allowing my body a little time to recover from a rather intense period of exercise. It feels a little odd. As though something important is missing. It's a similar sensation to the one you get when you leave home without your phone or credit cards. You know you've forgotten something, but can't identify precisely what it is. 

I'd actually take this a little further and say that this morning a wave of guilt hit me. This was probably due to my meet with Luke at Luke Bremner Fitness yesterday, when he took my body measurements. Unfortunately I've let things drift in the wrong direction slightly. But as Luke said, "We've focussed so much on my strength and lifting abilities this year, that we've perhaps neglected my nutrition and body composition a little."

There were some definite positives about my numbers though. Luke having to remeasure my biceps, to double-check their increase in size, gave the old ego a much needed boast. That certainly made all the tough workouts I've done this year feel worth it. And as I told Luke at the beginning of our meet yesterday, "I'm having the best time doing what I do each week, with his team's excellent guideance."

For me, this week also feels like it’s the end of “extra time” - see my blogpost of 01 July 2015 entitled Extra Time to get a full match report! Which, in essence, means the first game is now well and truly over. I'm certainly not upset at the final result. Far from it. I'm highly delighted with my performance and how well my body has coped with everything.

With Mr Bremner’s help, now feels an appropriate time to reboot what I’ve been trying to achieve over the past two years. The prospect of starting something new feels exciting, but I’m also realistic. I know this next phase, when we focus more on my body composition, isn't going to be easy. Firstly, I’m starting at a much higher level this time around. Secondly, for most men of my age, our midriffs have become problematic areas. Often years of neglect and inactivity need to be put right, but I'm up for that challenge. 

I have another meet with Luke schedule for later in the week, when we’re going to discuss my nutrition. This is to help me concentrate on both diet and calorie in-take. It's now May, and I’m determined to be beach-body ready by September. So enough from me. I'm off to select a prospective holiday destination right now…!

29 Take aim…

Towards the end of 2015 the Ladybird Books for Adults became a "must have" purchase for people of a certain age in the UK. The Hipster, The Shed, The Mid-Life Crisis and Mindfulness were parodies of subjects covered with wit and humor. 

One particular page in the How It Works: The Wife book literally made me laugh out loud. Juxtaposed to an illustration of a ballet class, with a ballerina performing a pirouette in the foreground, the text reads: "Rosie is a member of a fitness club. There she has tried crossfit, spin and ultra-ballet. Her £600 annual membership meant that each visit last year cost £200." 

The reason why I found this so funny is because I know people - of both sexes I hasten to add - who've spent huge amounts of cash on gym membership fees but within weeks of joining have lost interest in their own well-being. The one phrase that really irks me, when chatting to anyone about fitness and nutrition, is when they say, "Yes, I really need to hit the gym hard!"

Over the past couple of years of working with Luke and his team at Luke Bremner Fitness, I've come to realise this is a misconception. Unless you're in good shape to start with, immediate results from the gym are often unobtainable. We're so used to living in an "on-demand" age, that when desired body transformations don't happen as quickly as we'd hoped, we simply give-up and lose interest.

My advice to anyone embarking on a programme to change their body and diet, would be to stop thinking "short haul" and start thinking "long haul." Something that spurred me into action, was the sudden realisation that I wasn't getting any younger. The prospect of spending my senior years taking prescribed medication every morning is an unattractive concept. Hence the reason why I've been working on getting myself match-fit again. I know what I'm doing is forever. It's a complete lifestyle change. I don't perceive it as being a quick fix.

To help me with my progress, when I first started, Luke asked me to write down a few aims and incentives. These were to help the both of us understand where I want to get to. My aims, or goals if you like, were practical things. For example, "Swap the moobs for pecs." The incentives were the things I wanted to happen, or treat myself to, as a result of what I was doing in the gym and kitchen. Again an example being "Find Mr Right." 

At the beginning of 2015 Luke asked me to review my aims and incentives, and now as we start another new year it's time for me to evaluate these again and refresh them as required. 

So here are my goals for 2016:

1. Looking at the data collected over the past twelve months I see that I've managed to reduce my body fat by 1.5% between March and the end of last year. So in 2016 I'd like to try and shave another 1.5% of body fat off - if I can - and bring my total down to 15.5%
2. I'd like to maintain my current body weight of 81kg, unless it increases due to muscle gain.
3. Add a little more cardio into the workouts I do at home. I have a self-powered treadmill that's been idle for almost two years. It would be good to incorporate that, or alternatively is it time to buy a bicycle for weekend rideouts?
4. Continue to develop and tone all muscle groups as we're currently doing.
5. Nutrition. I'd like to expand my repertoire of meals so I have more variety, but at the same time I'd like to pay attention to what food types I should be eating when, e.g. post-workout meals, non-work days etc.

My incentives for the this year are almost unchanged, but there's one major difference. 

The quest to find Mr Right has been pushed down into second place. Top spot goes to "My health, well-being and happiness." This is because I've found such a good place to be in, both physically and mentally, that I have no intention of leaving it. 

My other perennial incentive is to buy some new motorbike leathers. Last year I fell out of love with biking for some reason, which was odd considering it's been part of my life for 25 plus years. In 2016 I'd like to reconnect with that pastime, so perhaps something new to fit the trimmer me would be the incentive to kickstart that interest again.

So if you see me out on a bike - petrol or pedal-powered - in the springtime, don't forget to give me a wave. And if you live in the Edinburgh area and you're really serious about transforming your body through exercise and nutrition, then why not get in touch with Luke Bremner Fitness. There really is no time like the present. So what are waiting for now? January 1st next year…?

15: Time for bed

As anyone who has visited Scotland's capital city during August will know, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are rather jolly and social affairs.

Not only is it the perfect opportunity to see live comedy, theatre, concerts and art exhibitions - but it's also a great excuse to catch-up with friends. Certainly for me it's one of the main times of the year when visiting out-of-town acquaintances contact me and suggest meeting-up for a drink.

In the past I've never really thought about the effect that all this merriment has on my body. However this year is different. 

Last Thursday I sat down with Luke at Luke Bremner Fitness to go through my diet sheets, home workouts, and for him to take my monthly measurements. The results were very revealing. 

I'd already highlighted to Luke - through the colour-coding of my diet sheets - that I'd dined-out a lot more over the past month and consumed more alcohol than usual. This translated into less body fat loss than we had scheduled for, only 0.4% - from 18.4% to 18%. I know it's a loss, which I'm happy about, but it wasn't the full 1% target I'd originally set myself. 

In fact all my body stats over the past month have only had minor improvements. Although my chest and waist measurements have significantly decreased since I started my fitness regime in April - it is now my waistline that is decreasing less rapidly. 

As Luke explained to me there were two reasons - in addition to my recent excessive drinking and eating out - that were the cause of this.

The first was lack of sleep. On average I was sleeping for six to six and a half hours per night. No where near the eight hours sleep that we require. As Luke said to me "Sleep is the body's reset button." There was no real reason why my alarm was set for 06.30, so Luke suggested I push it back a bit. In addition he suggested no 'blue light' for at least half an hour before bed. So for me that means no iPad, iPhone, laptop or TV. Time for me to reconnect with books and magazines again.

The second reason why my waistline measurement isn't shrinking as fast as others is because, as Luke explained, I was failing to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. In fact, some mornings it was almost two hours between waking and eating*. As we all require nourishment after sleep, which trigger certain fat-burning chemicals, Mr Bremner's recommendation was that I make a concerted effort to keep to the 30 minute rule.

So far, so good. Apart from last Saturday evening - which included more Festival activities - I've managed to sleep for eight hours each night, and am already feeling the benefit. In addition I've altered my morning routine and now shower after breakfast instead of before it. This enables me to breakfast sooner, although I'm still finding it challenging to actually eat within 30 minutes from waking. Often it's more like 40 minutes.

However I'm interested to see how my monthly stats look the next time, especially when combined with the tougher exercises Luke has introduced me to recently. As always I'll report back on my progress. In the meantime, happy slumbers!

*A consequence of keeping very detailed diet sheets

7: Whey to go!

It's hard to believe that yet another week has hurtled by. 

Luke at Luke Bremner Fitness has been challenging me more than ever. In general I've been managing to achieve all that's been asked of me, but not necessarily in the most tidy of fashions. As the exercises become increasingly complex there is more to focus on: posture, technique, breathing and apparatus. However it's all gradually coming together albeit slowly.

As I was getting ready to leave after today's workout, Luke mentioned that he hadn't talked to me much about my diet or nutrition as he felt he didn't really need to. He said that I'd seemed to have embraced all the recommendations he made at the beginning of April. 

This is true. Open the cupboards in my kitchen and you'll find that boxes of breakfast cereal have been swapped with bags of mixed seeds and nuts, protein bars have replaced chocolate, and packs of whey protein-shake powders reside where cartons of sugar-loaded fruit juice once sat. Similarly a quick look in my refrigerator reveals nothing but fresh vegetables, some dairy produce and basic, but healthy, raw ingredients. 

About three years ago I decided to refrain from eating meat. This wasn't a decision taken on moral grounds. The fact was that I'd been seriously ill and during my recovery period I couldn't entertain the idea of consuming poultry, beef, lamb or pork. Once I was well again, I continued on this regime. I still treat myself to a little fish from time to time – especially as Stockbridge is home to Armstrong's – which is an amazing fishmonger.

Adapting my diet to suit my fitness regime and new healthy lifestyle hasn't been that difficult, even being a pescatarian. It has just given me more of an excuse to go into the kitchen and experiment with different combinations of vegetables and foodstuffs in order to create tasty, textured dishes. This week I made sweet potato and parsnip mash to accompany one meal, and tried butternut squash stuffed with quinoa and olives as a main course for another. Both super-tasty and healthy. In addition they're both definitely on the "play-list" of things to make again.

I guess I find it strange behaviour for anyone to pay a professional for their expert advice and then to choose to ignore it. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, a good physique is made as much in the kitchen as it is in the gym. If, like me, you've mentally decided to change your lifestyle, then listen to your personal trainer and/or nutritionalist and adopt everything they tell you. If you don't, then the only loser will ultimately be you!