BodyBlitz Challenge Measurements Before Height: 183 cm Weight: 95 kg Chest: 116 cm Waist: 93 cm Calves: 44 cm Arms: 41 cm Thighs: 65 cm After Height: 183 cm Weight: 92 kg Chest: 99.5 cm Waist: 85 cm Calves: 41.5 cm Arms: 42 cm Thighs: 63 cm

Having undertaken the 12-week challenge twice before, I felt like I had learnt enough to ensure third time lucky. The first attempt was several years ago in New Zealand. I was highly motivated and went hard out right from the get go. It ended about four weeks into the challenge with a midnight junk food binge at the local servo. I approached the second challenge far more cautiously, and as a result, probably paced myself far too much. I lasted the 12 weeks, and was fairly happy with my results; however, it wasn’t nearly enough to win the challenge.

This time, I designed my program to fall somewhere in between the first two tries. The platform of my training was weights, but I supplemented this with a variety of other activities including jogging, kayaking, hill sprints, punching bag and mountain biking. I am fortunate to live 50 metres from my work place, so I was able to train during lunchtime where I experimented with a bit of German Volume Training. In the gym, every two weeks I would increase either reps or weight and even added an extra set every now and then. In addition to the physical aspect of this challenge, I also included motivational tools in my program, such as purchasing a copy of Australian Iron Man every four weeks and attending the North Queensland bodybuilding titles. On week 10, I cut back the training a little so that I was ready for the final push in weeks 11 and 12.

I trained harder than I ever had before because I could see the gains and knew I was getting stronger which motivated me to train even more intensely. I had been pretty much doing the same weights and reps for a long time and this was the first time in ages I had really pushed myself. I was very aware of the dreaded fatigue brought on by overtraining and on several occasions had to use my head over my heart and take it a bit easier.

In terms of diet, I have the advantage/disadvantage of being a vegetarian. The negative side of this is that eggs, tofu and protein powder can get pretty boring after a while but the advantage is that I am invulnerable to the temptations of burgers, buckets of fried chicken and delicious-smelling pies. I’m not much of a carb eater and I slowly cut my carbs even more as I approached the end of the challenge. In the last 2 weeks, I avoided carbs as much as possible. I constantly had to battle my weaknesses — cheese, chocolate and the occasional beer, although I did include the occasional cheat food in my program (I didn’t want to end up in the servo again in the middle of the night!).

As for supplements, I always take multivitamins, iron tablets and various protein powders. For the 12-week challenge I also started taking some new products. I have tried many fad supplements over the years and to be honest, I didn’t feel like I got too much from them. This time was different, I started taking Gaspari Nutrition’s Superpump250 and in all truth, I think it is the best supplement I have ever tried. At first I attributed it to the placebo effect because I had read good things about it, however after about a week it became apparent that my strength and endurance gains were significant. Later in the challenge, I began taking Vasocharge by Scivation which was equally good, although the pins and needles it gave me were a bit un-nerving at first.

Now that I am at the end of the challenge, I feel great. I thought that when I finished, I would feel like eating and drinking all the bad things that I used to, but I really have no desire for them. Even though the challenge is finished, I’m sure I will continue to pursue a more healthy lifestyle because I feel so much better than I did 12 weeks ago. Even if I don’t win anything, it was still a worthwhile experience and I’m really glad that I completed it! IM