Sam Watt | Personal Trainer in Leeds, West Yorkshire - Sam Watt Personal Training

Current off-season progress, 118kg

4/21/2016

Sam Watt personal trainer leeds

Progress is going better than expected, I'm at my heaviest ever body weight of 260lbs / 18.5 stone while also being at my leanest in off-season. I haven't changed my calories from last season, I'm not currently monitoring it but it's between 4,000 to 5,000 calories. I eat clean most of the time but will have some sort of fast food daily just to get in the calories.

I've amended my training by including a lot more powerlifting style training into my programming - this has resulted in me adding a few pounds of muscle since the turn of the year as well as reducing my body fat also.

I'm looking forward to beginning my shredding phrase where I'll be looking to drop approximately 20kg to see what is revealed.

Sam

VIDEO: 175kgx7 bench press, personal best

4/13/2016

I'm very happy with an unexpected personal best today on the bench press. I did 170kgx5 a couple of weeks ago, so I was going for 175kgx5 but the weight felt comfortable, so I managed to squeeze out a couple more reps. I'm going to deload for a couple of weeks then I'll give 180kg a try

VIDEO: How to perform a pull-up correctly and safely

3/20/2016

I had to make a video about doing pull-ups correctly because I see most people doing it wrong and it's doing my head in! Not only does incorrect form mean that your back won't develop as quickly as it should but you can place a lot of strain on your shoulder joint to the point of injury.

Give it a try, you'll be surprised what a big difference it makes to how your back feels. Copy, share and forward to someone who may find this useful

Sam

VIDEO: Deadlift - 270kg x 5

3/14/2016

I didn't really plan to go heavy on deadlifts today but sometimes you just feel strong and think, what the heck! I'm quickly closing in on 300+kg for reps....watch this space

My clients will be happy after £1m X4L refurb

2/25/2016

My clients are going to be very happy in the £1m all newly refurbished X4L Leeds gym, it looks incredible! Tonnes of new equipment, great design, while still feeling spacious. Check out the photos and descriptions attached

Sam Watt personal trainer leeds

8 power racks: get ready for plenty of squatting and deadlifting. New water fountain nearby too

personal trainer leeds

Equipment as far as the eye can see, I've spotted 4 leg presses so far. Directly ahead 3 machine fly station

personal trainer leeds

Even more machines. Going to try out training with chains for the first time

personal trainer leeds

Struggling for bench? Not here - there are 20

personal trainer leeds

Glute-ham raise and trap deadlift bar - can't wait to try these, as never used either before

personal trainer leeds

Both the studio and main gym have running tracks. No treadmills for my clients!

personal trainer leeds

Plenty of benches for International Chest Day

personal trainer leeds

8 stairmasters, my favourite indoor machine cardio

Boxing ring and MMA cage are back but you won't find me getting beat up in there though

VIDEO: Squat 250kgx5 and full quad workout

2/21/2016

Quad training went well today! I decided to put myself through a short but intense workout, focusing on only three compound exercises. I went heavy on squats (250kg/550lbs x5) and nasty volume on front squats and leg press (5 sets of 15 reps for both, with a rest-pause on the final set, going as heavy as possible, with minimal rest).

I changed my technique slightly from the standard power squats, due to slight groin injury. So I brought my feet in closer and didn't quite go as low but ensured that I placed most of the weight load on my quads rather than my posterior chain (back, glute, hamstrings). It seemed to do the trick, quads fried!

Sam

VIDEO: Barbell preacher curls for big biceps

2/20/2016

I love this exercise to isolate the biceps as the triceps are supported. No half reps here! I slowly extend my arms fully then concentrate on activating my biceps to raise the weight. When I get to the top, I contract my biceps as hard as I can, before repeating.

Sam

VIDEO: Squat 210kgx8

2/16/2016

Happy with my quad training today despite a slight groin injury. To minimise the damage I switched from a powerlifting type squat to more a bodybuilding/hypertrophy style. I lowered the weight, brought my feet in closer, slowed down my descent and didn't lock out between reps to place more emphasis on my quads. Also, I didn't go too low today as to avoid putting extra pressure on my injury. Nevertheless, it was a good session and I finished off with a few sets of hack squats and lots of leg extensions. Not many exercises but my quads were fried. Sam

BLOG: 9 Days Before Worlds Update & New Pics From NPA Britain Finals

11/5/2015

Well guys, it's 9 days and counting down to UIBBN world championship, in a hopefully sunny Barcelona, Spain. I've been pushing myself hard since winning the NPA Britain heavyweight and overall titles to shed more pounds to try an bring in an even better physique.

It's been pretty tough - I've been pushing myself as hard as possible, with calories and carbs quite low and weight training twice a day plus multiple cardio sessions also. Seems to be working though as everyone seemed to have notice an improvement in my conditioning or that my face looks gaunt like Michael Jackson in Thriller.

Well it's just a quickie blog, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Sam

VIDEO: British NPA Overall Posedown

10/28/2015

BLOG: The NPA British Finals

10/27/2015

Overall line-up

Well guys, what a day it was! On Sunday I won the NPA British Heavyweight title and overall title for the second year running, creating history as this is the first time the overall title has ever been defended. This was my third show in three weeks and the standard was sky high as were the previous two but I was at my all time best as I'd tightened up and improved considerably from the first shows. So I was confident I could improve on my third and second placings but knew I'd be still in for a tough battle.

So once again, based on the judges call outs it was clear the battle for the heavyweight title was between Nigel St Lewis and myself where I came out victorious on this occasion. The standard for the overall was also exceptional with Matt Argall (3x Lightweight winner) and Ben Woodhart (40 master champion) in particular both looking razor sharp. Six of the seven judges awarded me first place, so once again I became British NPA overall champion - overjoyed and happy are both understatements.

I'D LIKE TO THANK

Mike Philips and the NPA for once again putting on a superbly well run show in a very nice venue with all the facilities and space an athlete could want
Neil Millington my friend and right hand corner man who's as much a perfectionist as I am - so that helps! Friends, PT work colleagues and knowledgeable fellow body-builders Ricky Moore and Dominic Haley who's advice I sought. Also big shout out to my family and friends who are my biggest supporters as well as my numerous PT clients and Xercise4Less Leeds staff and members who have closely followed my progress. Thanks all

WHAT NOW?
There's the small matter of the UIBBN World Championship in 3 weeks time! This is where I'll be really looking to reach my peak condition. I plan to push hard and drop another 3-4 kilos to come in really shredded as never before and see what I can really achieve with this physique.

Well that's enough waffling for me today - over and out. Sam

BLOG: My reflections on MWC Pro-Am Show yesterday PLUS BACKSTAGE PHOTOS

10/19/2015

Pro-Am line-up (courtesy of Fivos): Andrew Palmer, Sam Watt, Nigel St Lewis,Milan Panek, Steve Howarth, Robert Rodney

Yesterday I competed in a truly world class lineup with some of Britain's best ever natural bodybuidlers battling for the kudos of winning and a £2000 prize fund. I believe everyone on that stage was either a Pro bodybuilder or a World champion....except for myself! Milan Panek, Steve Howarth, Robert Rodney, Nigel St Lewis and Andrew Palmer, so it's well done to Mike Philips and the NPA for putting together such a line-up.

So after the first couple of call outs, it was the clear the main battle for first was between myself and Nigel (who beat me into third place the week before at the UKDFBA Open). Once again it was very close, a tonne more carbs, less water, a drop in body fat percentage, better and more confident posing had improved me 20-30% on my previous showing, so I was confident I had enough to turn the result around. Unfortunately, when I came off stage quite a few people said my tan was flat and had a matt finished which failed to bring out the detail of my physique. I managed to correct this for the third round, whereby someone said "the difference was night and day and looked liked you had 4 weeks more of dieting between the first and thirds rounds". Big lesson leaned!

Anyway, it came down to single point and Nigel took the spoils and the glory with a great physique and I had to settle for second place and £500. I'm happy though I'm gunning for revenge when I next battle Nigel onstage!!

MY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW

My MP3 player decided to do a 5 minute refresh just as I was about to perform my free posing round, a little embarrassing, so had to improvise with some poses for the audience
The over 40's contest between Chris Fortune and Gus Fisher. A titanic battle which Chris won
Dom Rae's stage presence and posing routine, this guy's a junior but is a real pleasure to watch performing

So that's it for this week, next week I'll be competing in the NPA British Finals in the Heavyweight division where I'll be hoping to go one better and snag that 1st place. Check out some of the pics from the show below. Over and out!!! Sam

Backstage with Robert and Milan

Pumping up backstage

BLOG: Competing Tomorrow at UKDFBA Open!

10/9/2015

Tomorrow I'll be stepping on this stage to compete at the UKDFBA Open in Leamington Spa. This is my first competition in 2015 since my silver medal at the UIBBN World Championships in November 2014. I was very happy with my debut 2014 season, winning the regional and national overall titles as a novice but I challenged myself to improve in 2015, I think I've managed to better my physique, size, symmetry and presentation.

The standard of the super heavyweight class will be tremendous on Saturday and I'll need to be at my best to challenge but I'm up for the battle.

Wish me luck and I'll post updates on the results when I can.

Sam

Blog: 4.5 weeks before I compete and quad workout

9/8/2015

Well it's 4.5 weeks before my first competition in 2015 and
I'm happy with my progress. First show is the UKDFBA British Open with the NPA MWC Invitational the week after. I'm currently weighing 105kg (down from 116kg) and the bodyfat is stripping off me very nicely, can't wait.

Today was quad training, unfortunately I picked up and hip injury 4 months ago and I've been unable to do any sort of barbell squats or leg presses. Therefore, I've had to get creative as not to stall on my leg development progress. Today's session was terrific and I expect to have DOMS for the next 4-5 days, it went like this.......

15 minute dynamic warm-up & stretches
Leg Extension - 80kg, full peak contraction. German Volume Training (10 sets, 10 reps with 60 seconds or less rest between sets)
Barbell Lunges - 60kg, 30 steps, x5 sets
Hack Squats - 130kg, German Volume Training
Single Leg Extension - 25kgx15, x4 sets
Partial Leg Extension - 80kg x 20, 3 sets

Followed by 15 minutes of stretching then icepack on hips, same again next week but heavier! #noexcuses

* Don't forget to LIKE this Facebook link :-)

Sam

BLOG: Film shoot for Channel 4 Prime Time Show

9/3/2015

Just finished my shoot for a new Channel 4 prime time documentary with my good friend and personal training client Lee Gilbert. We've got a segment in one of the episodes and will be aired sometime in November and will feature myself personal training Lee at Xercise4Less gym in Leeds. I will provide more details on when it will be scheduled to be on television when I know.

Sam

Good luck to client Galina competing at UKBFF Leeds in her first show today!

8/22/2015

VIDEO: Close Bench 170kg PB and my 2015 contest plans

7/31/2015

While doing triceps today my warm-up close grip bench press felt easy, so I thought I'd go heavy and try for a PB. The result - 170kg for 4 reps! A few people have enquired what my plans are for competing this year, well my off season is well and truly over and I've started my contest prep last week in earnest. My first competition will be the UKDFBA Open in 10 weeks, then the NPA Mike Williams Classic the week after, then the NPA British Finals a week after that. These plans aren't set in stone, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm more than happy with my condition and weight. I'm currently weighing 112kg but in better condition at this time compared to any of my other preps, therefore I'm doing minimal cardio every other day and keeping my calories higher.

Peace and Love - Sam

BLOG: My pre-contest prep diet

6/28/2015

This is the diet I've been on since last years World Championship in November - 4,300 calories, 170g of fat, 430g of carbohydrates and 300g of protein. Along with my heavy duty training I've managed to put on 4-5kg of lean muscle in 7 months to my current 114kg. I didn't precisely track my intake but it was between 4,000 and 5,000 calories per day. If I felt fat I'd reduce, likewise if I felt I was getting too lean I'd increase to keep myself as anabolic as possible while also keeping my metabolism firing on all cylinders.

WIth my contest prep commencing in 4 weeks, I'm now beginning to precisely track my calories and macros so I know exactly where I want these numbers to be at. I'll cut calories to 4,000 just by removing a fraction of my daily treats and doing three 20 minute low impact cardio sessions per week. I anticipate this will be enough to start dropping 1kg a week, then I'll adjust as necessary.

Sam

VIDEO: 160kg stiff-legged deadlift & my hamstring routine today

6/17/2015

Happy here with stiff-legged deadlifting 160kgx10 for three sets, it's a great hamstring mass builder. Notice my strict form - I keep my back flat, very slight bend in knee, controlled lowering of the bar to stretch the hamstring as well as pausing at the bottom of the lift to force the hamstrings to work even harder.

My routine went as follows:-

BARBELL DEADLIFT - 190kgx8x2
No bouncing from the floor, pulling as fast as I could while remaining in control. I do this exercise on hamstring day, as I see it as primarily a hamstrings and hip exercise rather than back

BARBELL STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFT - 160kgx10x3
Form must be perfect on this lift otherwise you could hurt your lower back. Done properly it targets the upper portion of hamstring

PRONE LEG CURL - 5 sets
Really focus on squeezing the hamstrings rather than just moving the weight

SEATED LEG CURL - 3 sets
Try pausing at the top of each rep to really force the hamstrings to work harder

LEGS PRESS WITH FEET PLACE HIGH - 3 sets of 20
Push through your heels to use hamstrings rather than quads. Great finishing exercise to get a great pump

Sam

Great Biceps Peak Exercise - Spider Curl

6/13/2015

Give this great little isolation exercise for biceps peak a try!

Setup a 45 degree incline bench, grab an EZ bar and with a narrow grip fully extend your arms, then curl to weight to the top then squeezie biceps for a second before repeating.
Perform 10-12 reps for 3-4 sets

Sam

Hamstring Development

6/12/2015

As I'm looking for maximum gains on my hamstring development I've split my leg training into quads and hamstrings. My hamstrings have really been worked hard today....it went like this :-

BARBELL DEADLIFT - 210kgx5x3
No bouncing from the floor, pulling as fast as I could while remaining in control. I do this exercise on hamstring day, as I see it as primarily a hamstrings and hip exercise rather than back

BARBELL STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFT - 150kgx10x3
Form must be perfect on this lift otherwise you could hurt your lower back. Done properly it targets the upper portion of hamstring

PRONE LEG CURL - 5 sets
Really focus on squeezing the hamstrings rather than just moving the weight

SEATED LEG CURL - 3 sets
Try pausing at the top of each rep to really force the hamstrings to work harder

LEGS PRESS WITH FEET PLACE HIGH - 3 sets of 20
Push through your heels to use hamstrings rather than quads. Great finishing exercise to get a great pump

Sam

Off Season Gains

6/9/2015

Well I've had a productive 6 months off season and I'm very happy with my gains. My focus has been working on my weaker body parts such as quads, hamstrings and calves. Nevertheless I still wanted to vastly improve my upper body thickness, especially delts, pecs and traps to give me a better v-taper hence a more aesthetic look.

It's definitely working but with another 4-5 months to hit the stage again I've got a lot more gains to make

Sam

VIDEO: 160kgx5 Incline Press, Personal Best

5/13/2015

I decided recently that I'd really like to develop my upper chest a bit more, as who doesn't like a big chest!

Therefore, I'm concentrating more on incline rather than flat presses. Over the past year I've lifted medium weights and repped around the 10-12 range but to take it to the next level I've decided that heavy incline presses are the answer - and it's certainly working.

I rarely go over 120kg and 140kgx8 was my personal best, so over the past few weeks I've decided to focus on heavier weights and less reps. Today while carb depleted I inclined 150kg for 7 reps, then went on to do this 160kg for 5 a personal best...so I'm very pleased. Much more heavy weights to come!!

Sam

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)

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

4/21/2015

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