don't make the mistakes I made, you'll waste time!
BIT OF BACKGROUND
I’ve always been in to sport since I was about 9 years old. My parents weren’t really sporty or remotely interested in sport as I was growing up, so I would just take myself wherever I could to get involved in the various sports I was interested in.
Football and tennis were my favourites, but I was tiny as a kid from about 8 years old and developed way behind my peers at school, my final year 11 picture made me look like an infant compared to some of the other lads in the year!
I think this is where my obsession of getting jacked and ripped came from originally. I always wanted to be muscular and athletic, but even after my growth spurt in my late teens, I was skinny as a rake.
I started lifting weights, (of sorts) at about the age of 18, plus I was playing a low standard of football at this time.
I eventually moved to Southampton to live with my mate from work, also called Dan, who was always in good shape and a few years older than me. He won’t be disappointed to read that at that time I was always envious of him and his physique!
Fast forward a few years, more training, getting stronger and fitter really helped and I signed for a decent football team in Kent, had a baby and still made no serious changes really in my body – but I could now say I could do plenty of pull ups, bench 100kg, squat 140kg and deadlift something similar, at 80kg bodyweight, that was respectable.
29 – It was when I reached about 29, I’d qualified as a PT, still didn’t look anywhere close to where I wanted, but could now lift some decent tin in the gym after joining my favourite gym of all time – Samsons in Eastleigh (what a reputation that place had!) – this is where I really started to learn what to do.
At this point, I’d gotten myself pretty strong, I could bench 130kg, Squat 220kg and Deadlift 260kg – not bad for 84kg, but I STILL didn’t have the physique I desired and I didn’t know why.
So here’s the mistakes I made, so you don’t have to!
- CONSISTENCY/PROGRAM HOPPING
Whilst I trained very regularly and got pretty strong as above, I didn’t really see any significant improvement in my physique, primarily in terms of muscle tissue.
I wasn’t consistent enough in following a structured program, jumping from one to the next, after just weeks or even days. I’d often cite boredom, or got lost in the nonsense of daft stuff such as “Muscle confusion” – ie confuse the muscles to force them to grow. God, I wish I’d never even heard that bullshit.
The times I stuck religiously to a program I either paid for or designed myself for an absolute minimum of 6 weeks was where I saw the most improvements.
Changing too quick means you won’t get stronger in the movements, which is absolutely paramount to building muscle (hypertrophy) and strength quickly.
2. NOT EATING TO SUPPORT MY GOALS
It took me a few £1000’s on programs, seminars, various shows/fitness conventions, hours and hours and hours of reading to start seeing some results, but most effective was a 1-2-1 chat with Dr Eric Helms of 3DMJ and a world class competitive NATURAL bodybuilder – to finally see where I was going wrong.
Claim to fame, I actually taught on a course with him a few years after this, he definitely won’t remember me, but I idolised him. Bloody nice bloke too.
He simply said, “you’re lifting heavy enough now, but have you ever tracked your protein intake?”, the answer was no, and I did for some time after this. Surprise surprise, massive changes came!
I also was all over the place in terms of daily calorie intake, I had wild fluctuations and at the time, I didn’t realise how impactful this was.
3. NOT MANAGING MY TRAINING WELL
Too heavy, too hard, too frequently.
I was lifting in the gym, high volume every week (this means lots of weight, lots of reps and lots of sets), plus playing football 2 x per week, cycling and trying to work a full time job, build a business AND my daughter who I had alternate weekends, lived in Kent. This was a 400 mile round trip alternate weekends there and back twice.
Plus, I’d met Becci and we were socialising a lot.
I was training to absolute failure every set, every session and as a natural (ie someone who doesn’t take any enhancing substances) trainee – this is nothing short of daft, so if you are reading this, don’t do that if you are training more than 3 x per week…
This was a LOT of stress on the body, I broke down a lot. Lots of niggly injuries which set me back weeks and sometimes months at a time.
4. NOT FOLLOWING A BALANCED PROGRAM
All I was interested in was getting strong, muscular and ripped. I didn’t care about being more resilient when I got older, being able to move well, not having problems with my shoulders, hips, back, knees etc.
So I only trained for muscle and fitness, not for function. That was a mistake. You can do it all if you have a good program.
5. NOT FOCUSING ON HEALTH OVER EVERYTHING ELSE
What I mean by this, is having a more rounded approach to both training and nutrition. At the time, it was all or nothing, which did see results, but I’d bounce from training really hard and eating really “clean” – not seeing friends for a few beers and focusing all on training etc.
This was not good for my mental health and a huge regret of mine. I suppose its helped me with the 1000’s of clients I’ve worked with since, as it helped me learn that you can socialise and get in ridiculous shape.
MY PLANS GOING FORWARDS..
At the moment, I’m nursing a significant knee injury sustained playing 11 a side in 2023, I’m waiting for a decision on an operation. So I am back with a structured training program that’s focused on building muscle and strength.
I’m also cycling when I have time, which at the moment is sparse, but I’m in the gym 4 – 5 x per week.
I’m managing my intensity, not training to failure, backing off when I feel I need to, pushing myself when I feel good. I’m not deviating from the program. My warm ups are “functional” (my trainer/gym owner mates will punch me for saying that word) – focused on building resilient hips/shoulders/spine/knees, which is about stability, strength and mobility.
I’ve almost removed ultra processed foods entirely, as I can make most of my meals now at home without having to reheat them.
I’m 41 now, so socialising to me is about 3 pints and heading home so I can hang out with the wife and watch the football 🙂
Lots of mountain biking and some road riding. Then walking the dog.
BODY CHANGED MUCH THEN YOU WAFFLY OLD ****?
Yes, the last 12 weeks, I’ve seen more changes in this timeframe than I have in the last 12 years.
I’m almost annoyed with myself. But in that time I’ve set up 3 businesses and had to survive the lockdowns blindly with no support. So there are reasons, but now, I’m focusing on my health and body first, everything else after this.
Funnily enough, changes are huge and things are moving in the right direction.
Watch this space!
