February Progress

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me from the end of December before I started going to the gym but these are progress pictures I took back in February after a month of going to the gym:

(These are the probably the best progress pictures I've taken of myself, they go down hill from here so it's quite hard to see my gains, ah well... )

Rough statistics at the time: 

Measurements:

Age: 17

Height: 170 cm (5'6)

Weight: 65 kg (143 lbs)

Personal Best Lifts:

Flat Bench Press: - (Only did Dumbbell bench press)

Dumbbell Bench Press: 27.5 kg (Each hand)

Squat: - (Only used machine)

Dead lift: 80 kg

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: - (Only used machine)

Military Press: - (Only used machine)

Don't worry this list of personal best lifts will be full later on, and you'll be able to observe my progress. 

Weekly routine at the time:

Day 1: Chest/Triceps

Day 2: Back/Biceps

Day 3: Legs

Day 4: Shoulders/Traps

In my first month I was following basic schemes such as pyramiding up in weight and down in reps for usually 5 sets, but basically doing all the different exercises we could do. 

The chest routine I was doing during this time was taken from the amazing Asian 'Hanhchampion' (http://www.youtube.com/user/HanhChampion, http://hanhchampion.blogspot.com/).

I love to push my boundaries and work as hard as I can to progress rapidly, so since joining the gym i have been pushing myself to lift heavy, there is never a session in the gym which I don't try to make progress either in the weight I do or the reps I do of a very heavy weight.

Supplements taken:

During this stage I was only taking a protein supplement which I casually bought from Holland & Barrett for a 'reduced' price by using coupons from a magazine. In my opinion the products I bought were extremely over priced even with the coupons for the amount of servings and the quality of the product. I didn't have a shaker to bring to my gym so I would whip up 1 scoop of  whey protein at home after my workouts and if i felt like i had a strong stomach I would drink the milk & egg protein before bed. 

Holland & Barrett Whey Protein (Chocolate):

Price: £29.99 (Without coupon)

Mass: 908g

Servings: 36 (25g servings)

Price per serving: £0.83

Protein: 18g (Per serving)

Fat: 2.2g

Review: Without a coupon this product is very expensive, it has an acceptable amount of protein and about 8.5 grams of BCAA per serving which is not bad. In chocolate it tastes alight, slightly sweet and it mixes easily in water and milk. They claim to provide you with extra high quality proteins, which I agree with since I had main some good gains using the product, but at the price and fairly bland taste, I won't be buying it again. 

Holland & Barrett Milk & Egg Protein (Strawberry):

Price: £13.99 (Without coupon)

Mass: 398g 

Servings: 19 (21g servings) 

Price per serving: £0.74

Protein: 16g (Per serving)

Fat: 0.3g

Review: I also bought as a source of protein for my body to digest while I'm asleep, since after a little research I found that milk and egg protein is digested over a long period of time. I was extremely disappointed with this product. I bought the strawberry flavour which tasted HORRIBLE! It was very bitter and didn't taste anything like strawberry at all, I had to down it in one otherwise I probably would have vomited. The consistency wasn't helpful either, with the recommended amount of liquid added it was like thick custard and since it mixes very poorly it was like custard with lumps of bitter shit. Its price isn't too bad but since it's a poor product I wouldn't recommend anyone buy it. after having around 8 servings I had to throw it out, i just couldn't stomach it. 

Diet: 

I didn't really alter my diet once joining the gym, my diet wasn't too bad but it was very good either . I never really had issues with my body fat, but i wouldn't mind losing a little to get better muscle definition. At this point in my training I was eating the usual 3-4 meals a day.

Breakfast:

A cup of tea with:

Option 1 - Shreddies

Option 2 - Cheerios

Option 3 - Porridge

Option 4 - Occasional bacon sandwich 

Lunch:

A bottle of Pepsi with:

Option 1 - Baguette Sandwich from Greggs

Option 2 - Couple of Greggs Sausage Rolls

Option 3 - Chicken pasty

Option 4 - Occasional tray of chips

Option 5 - Occasional 'King-sized' Burger from a dirty burger place

Diner: 

Basically a bowl of rice with a plate of vegetables and meat. Which is basically every diner, this is how Chinese people eat :P, the amount if eat therefore varies, but lately I tried to eat more meat and more vegetables to encourage healthy muscle growth. 

Before Bed: 

After a few hours I'm hungry again so I eat something before i go to bed, usually a sandwich or some noodles.

I was getting my 8 hours of sleep on school nights and 10-12 hours on weekends. 

Later I'll make a post about my goals and how I will try to achieve them. 

My new blog

Here an Introduction

My name's Tak and I am an Asian guy currently 17 years old and studying in sixth form at a secondary school in England. I'm an easy going person, but I have clear goals which i strive to achieve with plentiful amounts of determination to see them through. Education is very important to me, I don't know whether it’s from me being Asian or from the influences of my very Asian mother, but I've grown to feel like I'm a failure if I get anything below an A grade which many people find bizarre, but I'm glad I feel this way as it has helped me in achieve my previous academic merits. Working hard in school now will help me to have a brighter future; i have hopes of studying engineering, which I love, in a good university. Since I'd prefer to flourish rather than fail, I'm not going to piss away my chances of having a bright future by pissing about in school and not listening in class, in my opinion I think many kids in England haven't realised that they're basically ruining any changes of being successful individuals in the future who can secure a job and be respected, who the hell wants to work in McDonald's for the rest of their life? So I try my best to encourage younger students at my school to work hard and help them realise that they're in an important stage in their life, maybe even give them some advice or help in their studies or career choices. 

So what will i blog about? 

Well in the new year of 2011 me and one of my best friends began going to the gym, we like to see how far we progress and how we develop so I decided to make a blog to track my progress whether it be muscle growth or strength progress I will post it on here and look back on it all after a few years, and probably think "Bloody hell i look so gay", but i won't regret it of course, everyone starts somewhere and i don't mind looking back on my past and laughing, so i always think twice before acting to make sure i don't do something I'll regret in the future, regret may help you learn from your mistakes but it doesn't feel great lol! So best deny any contact with it.

I'll be posting information on what and how i eat, my workout routines, supplements I may use and my reviews on them, personal best lifts and some progress pictures (No homo :P). I will also be explaining how i get myself motivated and what sort of goals i set to help me progress rapidly. 

I may also post about my other interests such as engineering or sports, and possibly give advice on studying because as i mentioned before, I'd like to increase awareness of the importance of education and working hard in young people. 

Thanks for reading, and remember work hard and study hard to achieve your goals make great progress and flourish, because you weren't made to fail and diminished, you're a star, and you are made to burn brightly while you're alive and go out with a bang!