Name Greg
Age 30
Height 5'10" (178 cm-ish)
Weight 81kg
BMI
I've just managed to shift about 2-3kg in the last month but that's down to having 24hr access to a (fairly average) gym, good food and no access to beer.
To drop weight back in the real world (i.e still maintain some of the more unhealthy habits and strike a work/rest/exercise balance) I've got a few tips.
Commuting on yer bike's great as it gives you a fairly decent dose of exercise daily without eating into your schedule however it quickly loses some of it's effectiveness as your body becomes used to your pace of riding. I found when I used to work in Melbourne I could still maintain a fairly decent level of health and still drink like a f***ing legend by mixing up my training and watching my diet.
For exercise I'd recommend along with the commuting, try and do at least 3 sprint sessions a week. Basically spend 20 minutes on a bike (an exercise bike's the most effective for this) alternating between 12 seconds of relaxed pedalling and 8 seconds of full pelt sprinting. It cranks your heart rate up pretty quickly which is good for burning off fat and you wind up using the same (if not more) energy than you would in an hour long constant cycle. You can monkey around with the timing as well (say, 20 seconds sprint, 40 seconds rest) or by sprinting up a short steep hill, cruising back down and repeat for 20min.
Secondly I'd sign up with a cheap gym. Boxing and Martial Arts ones are the best as they're generally a lot bloody cheaper than your health and fitness clubs, you can do the classes which are good for learning new skills and uppping your training levels, you get to hit things and if the gym's anything like the one I train at, there's a f***ing absolute bonanza of hotties who train there!
Anyway, I digress a bit. Doing weights 3 times a week is brilliant for losing the pounds as after a weight session your body's still burning off fat as it repairs the muscles used during your sesh. Couple this with a bit of muscle growth and you'll be looking like fully-ripped mean machine in no time! If you want advice on what programmes to use the best thing to do is get yourself down to the newsagent and pick up a copy of Men's Health (I'd also pick up a copy of Hustler to hide it in
). Every issue seems to be the same shit but they always seem to have pretty decent weight-lifting guides.
Lastly there's diet to consider. Or more importantly Beer and Kebabs. Now as you're all no doubt aware, beer's not the greatest thing for keeping off the flab (for then it would be truly perfect and that'd seriously piss Allah off...)
However I still manage to maintain a fairly debauched lifestyle without turning into Shane Warne so it is possible to enjoy the best of both worlds.
First off. Low-Carb beers do fuck all for you, taste like shit and make you look like a nonce. Avoid them like the plague. There's two schools of thought on Guinness. Some people reckon it's less fattening than lagers, others more so. What I do know is that I tend to drink a lot less if I'm on the black stuff so at the end of the night I've not piled too much crap into me, I've probably not been thrown out and I've still got my trousers on. My shit might be black for the next day or two but c'est la vie
.
Try and cram as much water down your neck as well. Especially on a piss-up. The worst thing I find these days is that hangovers seriously f*** me over and make it harder to exercise. If I throw in a few pints of water on an evening, I drink less and sleep better and if you combine the water with couple of berrocca the next day and a few carbs (pasta or tatties are usually good) it's easier to motivate you to get back out riding (or down the gym)
Look into changing the amount you eat, when you eat. 5 smallish meals a day is a lot better for your metabolism than 3 'square' meals. Just try and keep it healthy with plenty of pasta, chicken, fish, salad etc.
As for late night munchies when your on the razz? who gives a shit. it won't kill you to stray occasionally and it's usually a good idea to treat yourself now and again.
Now if all that sounds like too much hard work, believe me it's not really. That's all spaced out over a week and there should be 2 or 3 rest days thrown in for good measure. The weights sesh's should only be around 40 minutes long and 20 minutes sprinting is f*** all really. Just don't go in all gung-ho at the start an burn yourself out too quickly and vary it all from week to week to keep yourself interested and to stop your body shifting down a gear.
Finally. Mojitos and Caipirinhas are a great source of vitamin c. Try and include them as much as possible!
