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BLOG: International Chest Day Story

4/27/2015

27th April 2015

A guy came over to me today to complain that there were too many guys in the gym and all of them wanted to train chest and none of the benches were free for bench pressing. So I asked him what he was training....he said he wanted to bench press to train chest!

So I took time out of my own workout to diligently explain that I managed to develop my chest by doing plenty other of exercises rather than just bench-pressing. I showed him the freely available incline bench, decline bench, Smith machine as well as a standard bench for using dumbbells. I continued with my workout feeling content that I helped another person today, until I looked around to see him standing around waiting patiently for 20 minutes until the bench press became available. Good to see I didn't waste my precious time afterall!!

Sam (fustratrated)

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BLOG: Eating to get big.....now weighing 256lbs

4/21/2015

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In a follow up to my Facebook post yesterday about guys wishing to get big, I stated in order to get big you need to create a surplus in calories, which means eating big. I've managed to put on 2kg in the past 2 weeks to over 116kg and 23kg in just over 2 years by following this rule.

There's no way I could reach my minimum 5,000 caloric target by just eating "cleanly" like chicken, fish, vegetables & rice in every meal. I'm a big believer in flexible (IIFYM) dieting to hit my calorie and macro targets. I simply don't have the time or inclination to eat 8 times a day with my work commitments and appetite, therefore each of the 3-5 meals I consume will be between 800 and 2,000 calories. The post workout meal for my first training session today was a Five Guys double cheeseburger, with fries and 2 refills of soda - 1,800 calories, 60g protein, 150g carbs and 92g fat - perfect for me. During the day I'll also eat lots of vegetables and fruit to hit my micronutrient targets also.

Sam

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VIDEO: Squat 220kgx10

4/16/2015

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As I'm looking to develop my front and side quads rather than overall leg and glutes size, I've been squatting with my feet closer together while my heels are placed on 2.5kg plates. It really isolates the quads nicely - give it a try

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My body composition test results @ Leeds University

4/14/2015

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Today I took part in an interesting research study at Leeds Becketts University to measure body fat percentage/distribution, lean tissue and bone density in natural bodybuilders using a state-of-the-art DXA scanning machine (usually £200+ per scan). This involved me lying down while it X-rayed my body for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the machine stopped half way through and decided that it couldn't scan my whole body in a single pass due to my size and width. The operator said it's the first this has ever happened while he's operated the machine!!! Oooops!

Embarrassment aside, below is a brief summary of the results and my conclusions:-

BODY FAT
Result
Officially 15% but 11% by usual body fat measurement standards. This is because the scan takes into account below the skin (subcutaneous) as well as internal (visceral) fat stores.
Conclusion
I'm very happy to remain at this bf% in my off season as this is fairly lean. Also, goes to show when people say they're at 10% bf...they're probably quite a few percentage points higher.

BONE DENSITY
Result
0 is normal, 1 is very good, 2 is superb. Mine is 2.2
Conclusion
Proof that years of heavy powerlifting and lifting heavy weights has strengthened and protected my bones and given me a much better chance of avoiding osteoporosis as I get older. The study also found that swimmers, cyclist, long distance runners and non-weight lifters have a much lower bone density. So I'd suggest all these groups begin lifting weights to protect their health for the future.

SPINE
Result
My whole spine is in really good condition, with no compression of discs
Conclusion
Those who say lifting heavy, doing heavy deadlifts and squats are dangerous in my opinion are incorrect as I've done so for many years. Doing any of these lifts incorrectly IS dangerous (hence get a tutor) but if done right, will strengthen your core, improve your posture and overall strength.

Due to my participation in this study I can get multiple free tests a year over the next 5 years. It'll be interesting to see how the numbers stack up when i'm contest ready. I'll be sure to post an update

Sam

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Liking the next UK Beef Front Cover!

4/6/2015

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BLOG: International Chest Day Story

BLOG: Eating to get big.....now weighing 256lbs

VIDEO: Squat 220kgx10

My body composition test results @ Leeds University

Liking the next UK Beef Front Cover!

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