Year One

I began my training as a complete novice, with very little knowledge or understanding of what I needed to do in order to gain size and strength. I joined my local gym and was given the standard resistance machine programme that I soon realised was NOT what I needed.

First thing was to establish the what i needed to be feeding my muscles, or lack there of, I sort the advice of a close friend who runs his own fitness company, (link below) he himself had gone from scrawn to brawn and was looking to help others achieve their goals. He kindly wrote me the nutrition plan i needed to pack on muscle and stay lean, high protein intake, eating frequently etc.

I was still a little unsure on what I wanted to achieve? So for the first year I just kept it simple, the kind of workouts you see in the magazines, Squats, bench press, chin ups, press ups, seated curls, flys, shoulder press etc. I wanted a lean muscle look, Brad Pitt in Fight Club sort of thing, not too focused on size, just happy to see some gains and have a beach body. Now I am rather lucky in that being naturally tall thin and fit, acquiring a lean muscle look isn't too difficult, I didn't really work too hard for the photo you see below.

Fellow Gym enthusiasts will know, we are always wanting more! My next entry will discuss the last 10 months and how I reached my target of weighing 90kg, vast increase in strength and more all rounded gains. This is where the real hard work has been put in as I struggled to add bulk to a naturally slender frame.

If you are seeking advice and guidance in order to achieve your fitness goals then check out my good friends website.

http://www.jcfitnessexperience.com/

Want to have your say? Feel free to leave comments or E-mail me at hugh_bennett@hotmail.com and, as always, feel free to post my link to your Facebook.

The below picture was taken around 1 year after my training began.