High five to LEP member Elliott who has done amazingly well – losing over 4 stone in weight and completely transforming his health, fitness and overall body confidence!

When Elliott came to the LEP Fitness consultation he felt tired, weak, sluggish and was very unhappy with his body shape…

Like lots of people he’d fallen into the trap of takeouts, fast food and chocolate bars!

BUT That’s all a distant memory now! 

In this post i’d like to share what we’ve done so that you can gain some tips to help you on your own journey and hopefully gain some inspiration from Elliotts story.

The Results…

Throughout the process we’ve kept an eye on Elliott’s weight, measurements and taken pictures to assess progress. Here are the results so far…

His stats went from…

• Weight – 14.12lbs down to 10.10lbs 
• Stomach – 93cm down to 73cm
• Arms – 31cm down to 29cm 
• Thighs – 59cm down to 51cm 

Starting Out…

During Elliott’s first session it was clear to see that he was unfit, we both knew that from the start, but that said he gave 100% and that’s one of the most important aspects a coach looks for when taking on a new personal training client. 

During our first few sessions I made notes of his weaknesses/strengths and took him through a specific fitness test where I assessed flexibility, body composition, strength, muscular endurance and technique. 

Once we covered the basics, and got some numbers down I went away and created a plan of action to specifically suit Elliott’s current starting point. 

The Regime That Worked…

#1 Exercise

Nothing fancy, we literally got Elliott moving more to begin with. I kept the exercise selection simple, working on his weaknesses like the upper back and repairing his rounded shoulder posture.

We spent lots of time on exercises like bent over rows, inverted pull ups and scapula drills to help pull Elliotts shoulders back, and improve overall body composition. 

Alongside corrective exercises I started to teach him how to lift weights correctly, explaining the tempos of exercises i.e. controlling the weights (not swinging them!) and how to isolate muscles individually, but also how to get multiple muscle to work together during compound lifts like the squat, deadlift and bench press. 

We also set some goals, for example to begin with Elliott struggled to do 5 push ups, so we set a target of 20 (to be achieved in 4 weeks) and then as time progressed we increased that slowly up to 50! which he can now do – high five!

For the first 8 week phase alongside training with me 2x per week where we lifted weights and worked the full body, Elliott also followed a home workout program using a combination of resistance bands, dumbbells and bodyweight exercises – which he did by himself 3x per week.

During the second phase of training (next 8 weeks) we began to increase intensity even further, taking very little rest in between sets and training the full body every single session. For example he would do a full body circuit something like…

1. Bent over rows
2. One arm DB row
3. Inverted pull ups 
4. Bench press 
5. Alternating lunges 
6. Barbell curls 
7. Barbell RDL
8. Deadbugs
9. DB clean & Press
10. Dips 

He did 8-15 reps per exercise and each exercise was performed one after the other until the circuit was completed (10 exercises in a row). Once the circuit was done, 60s rest was given (enough time to have a drink and pass out on the floor! lol!) and then it was time to go again! 3-5 rounds would be completed each session. 

I planned out 4 different workouts (similar to the ones above just different exercises) and we did these on rotation for the 8 weeks.

One of the main focuses throughout our training has been to improve Ellliots strength and he has gone from doing…

• 20kg bench press…up to 60kg!
• 30kg squat…up to…60kg!
• 20kg barbell curls…up to 35kg!
• and improved on every other exercise! 

Improving strength is super important if you want to change your body shape. Cardio is great for fitness, and weight loss but weight training should be a number one priority if you’re really looking to burn fat, and improve body shape. The more lean muscle you can build the more calories you’ll burn. Hit the weights if you want to look good, whether you are a man or women – it’s super important!

#2 Nutrition 

They say ‘abs are made in the kitchen’ – which is true. All of Elliott’s hard work could well have been undermined had he not stuck to the nutritional plan I created for him. 

One of the main areas of focus for clients wanting to build lean muscle and lose fat is to make-sure that they are consuming a good amount of protein each day. I’m a fan of meats like steak, chicken and turkey, and also other high protein foods such as salmon, cod, eggs and protein shakes (especially after working out) – read Total Shape’s recommended list of unflavored protein powders

There are two general approaches I take with clients when it comes to nutrition…

1. Strict – this is where I design a super strict plan, with very few cheats (if any!). This type of plan is perfect for the already disciplined clients, with lots of experience. It’s also good for those who are ‘all or nothing’ type of people and need a strict plan to build up compliance, before moving too a…
2. Flexible plan – this is my preferred choice and typically what I use with lots of people if appropriate. The flexible plan is more sustainable and allows clients to eat a good mixture of foods, but also accounts for some treats. For example in Elliotts first nutritional plan he had ‘fish and chips’ and other treats. I just made sure that throughout the week he was in a calorie deficit.

Moving Forward…

Now that Elliott has lost the fat, improved his strength, it’s time for us to build some serious muscle tissue. In 2019 we’re going to turn him from a light weight boxer into a beast from the East! lol! The aim is to slap some serious muscle onto his frame whilst staying lean. 

Watch this space!

High five to Elliott, he’s a real gent and has unbelievable work ethic. He’s proof that with the right plan of action and hard work you can achieve amazing results over a very short period of time. 

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