How Jen Transformed Her Body In 12 Weeks

*****

The last 12 weeks I've been running a Transformation Contest in my company. 4 volunteers signed up to transform their bodies as well as their mindset towards a healthier lifestyle).

Each volunteer was asked to commit to training 4 times a week, 1 private training session, 2 home workouts and a Bootcamp session aswell.

They also followed my nutrition plan for the 12 week duration which involved the Elimination Diet, Metabolic Typing and Eat Stop Eat.

I'm really proud of all the transformers that took part. All lost body fat and changed their bodyshape.

Here's the winner's story and pictures. Jenny McComb lost an amazing 2 stone and completely changed her body shape.

She will receive a £250 cash prize.


*****

I have just completed the 12 week Evolution Challenge, and I have to say I loved every minute of it! It’s been a great experience from start to finish and the benefits are amazing. I have written a testimonial to show you all how it went...

On the first day I went to see Sam before the contest started I was so nervous! I really didn’t know what to expect. My only experience of sport instructors up until this point had been psychotic PE teachers at school who made us do various sporting activities in a t-shirt and underpants whilst barking orders at us and telling us how rubbish we were at everything, so my hopes weren’t too high! I couldn’t have been more wrong. I think Sam could see how nervous I was so he put me at ease straight away whilst still grilling me a little to make sure I was committed to the program. Which is fair enough, you don’t want time wasters! Anyway, I felt instantly comfortable with him and COULDN’T WAIT to get going. I had the perfect motivation too as my partner surprised me on Valentines Day by asking me to marry him! So as well as being thrilled, I was instantly thrown into a panic at the thought of having to get into a wedding dress and being photographed on the day. I DEFINITELY needed help!

As I said I didn’t have a very good introduction to sport at school, so I developed a real fear of anything gym related as I thought there was no way I could be any good at it, so my weight has always fluctuated as a result. However, things started to improve when we moved to Sevenoaks a couple of years ago. Knole park is on our doorstep, so I couldn’t avoid being active any longer! Initially I started off by enrolling myself in swimming classes. They were great fun, and I was the only person there under 60 so I think I was a bit of a novelty for them! We spent as much time laughing (old ladies have a VERY dirty sense of humour!) as learning to swim, so I finally realised not everyone is like my old PE teacher, so maybe this exercise lark wasn’t so bad after all! So I started swimming 3 times a week at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre.

Whilst I really enjoyed the swimming, and I was noticing the benefits a little weight-wise, it wasn’t having as much of an effect as I would have liked, so my Fiance, Steve, suggested running. My immediate reaction was that I couldn’t run the length of myself, but with Steve’s help I went for a few short runs in the park and realised I could cope better than I thought. So I took the plunge, bought some running gear and joined the throng of runners on the South Bank in my lunch breaks. Again, I was super nervous to begin with and worried I would just look ridiculous, but what I saw was a wide range of runners of all ages, sizes and abilities, so I settled into a routine and started to really enjoy it. I saw results quite quickly which was really encouraging, but again I seemed to get stuck at a certain level and couldn’t get much further. Then, on impulse, I picked up a copy of The Vine magazine and saw Sam’s ad for the Evolution Challenge. It sounded perfect! Once I started training with him I was pleasantly surprised by my fitness levels. I think the swimming and the running were having more of a beneficial effect than I thought. So whilst I struggled with the workouts and Bootcamp to begin with, it wasn’t so bad that I had to stop, so I was really pleased with that. I was by no means fit yet, but I was on my way!

I have to say that I was a little skeptical of the Evolution Challenge at the beginning, Sam seemed very nice, but all the talk of the special 30 day diet of giving up wheat, dairy and alcohol (?!) did sound a little bit fad-diety to me, but I thought he must know what he’s talking about to have all those muscles on top of muscles! And he was so right. Almost instantly I started to feel better than I had done in years. I was worried as Sam had warned me that I would feel really rough and horrible for about a week, but it didn’t affect me too much, probably as I’m not, and never have been, into junk food. Steve and I ate mostly the right things, but our diet just needed a lot of tweaking rather than a complete overhaul. The only ill-effects were stomach upsets. I have always been prone to them since I was little, so the de-toxing did hit me quite hard in that department, but since starting the Challenge my tummy has felt better than it has done in years! I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice to say I’m now regular as clockwork! I think for me it was definitely some form of wheat intolerance as cutting out bread and pasta has been extremely beneficial. The 30 day diet plan also made me take a good look at how much alcohol I was drinking. I was definitely drinking too much for my age and size, matching Steve drink for drink in the pub. I have cut the amount I drink by about two thirds now, and again I feel so much better for it. I still enjoy a nice glass of wine now and again, but everything in moderation! I think this has had a huge effect on my weight loss, as I suppose large glasses of wine and pints of beer were my equivalent of burgers and chocolate. The beer has gone completely! I feel quite embarrassed to think I was drinking big man pints! Anyway, the important thing is that I’ve made the change, so I’m not going to get too hung up or guilty over my past misdemeanors. Suffice to say, I still enjoy a drink (I am Irish after all!), but I’m much more mindful of what, and how much I’m drinking. Sam’s idea of keeping a food diary on my daily blog was great, it does make you think twice about what you are consuming as you don’t want to look bad in front of other people! It really helped me loads to write it down.

The other challenge with the eating side of things was the Eat Stop Eat program. This involved fasting for 24 hours once a week. I was extremely unsure about this. It sounded a bit too faddy, and a bit like an eating disorder. I approached it very warily as I wasn’t too sure whether I wanted to do it or not. I quickly found out that it wasn’t as hard core as it sounded. The more information Sam gave me about it the more relaxed I felt about doing it. I think this is one of the key points of the Challenge. Nothing that Sam asked me to do was randomly plucked out of the air, everything was properly and extensively researched and he could answer every question I had with ease. This gave me loads of confidence in what he was asking me to do. The fasting was hard. I’m not going to try and pretend it was easy! I do get quite grumpy and frustrated when I’m hungry, so I did find it tricky, but the way it made me feel was amazing. I felt lighter, less sluggish and I’m pretty sure I’m going to continue it for quite some time. Steve still takes cover on the days I’m doing it as a hungry Jenny is a grumpy Jenny, but I’m hoping the longer I do it the better I’ll get at it! I think I just need to be better at taking my mind off what I’m doing and not obsess about food too much.

So food-wise, the Challenge wasn’t quite as tricky as I had anticipated once I got my head round it. The exercise on the other hand! I don’t think I have ever sweated as much in my life as I have over the past 12 weeks! At first the exercises Sam showed me seemed a bit strange. There wasn’t as much jumping up and down as I had thought there would be! There were a lot of slow, controlled movements. I always thought up until that point that you had to be running around like a mad thing for it to do any good! Again I was skeptical, but one look at Sam’s bulging biceps told me he must know what he’s talking about! I couldn’t believe the results. Body issues I had been harbouring for years, and I mean YEARS started to melt away. My bum became perter, my thighs less wobbly, my tummy flatter, my face thinner, my arms less flabby, cellulite started to disappear from my thighs, I just couldn’t get my head round what was happening. And the results came so quickly that Steve and my friends and family were amazed. We all thought it would start to work towards the end of the 12 weeks and then I would have a long hard struggle ahead of me after that and that it would take the best part of a year to see real results, hence me doing this so far in advance of my wedding (14th August 2010, woohoo! Sorry...) This just wasn’t the case though, very quickly my clothes started to not fit properly anymore and people at work really started to notice how I was changing, it was truly unbelievable.

The only down side I encountered were that a few friends started to be very negative about what I was doing. They were obviously going through their own body issues and seemed to be getting annoyed with me for being proactive and doing something about it. They kept going on about my “weird diet”, why wasn’t I having a glass of wine, was I sure I didn’t want dessert, was I becoming boring, saying they couldn’t see any change in me and was I sure I was losing weight? I felt a bit upset about this to begin with, but I soon got over it when I bought my first pair of skinny jeans in a size 10!!!!! Don’t care what anyone says, I own a pair of skinny mini jeans and that’s the most important thing :)

I really thought I was doing all the right kind of exercising before I met Sam, but very quickly I realised I had been getting it all wrong. The concept of fat loss was a new one to me, I thought it was all about weight loss, but how wrong I was! I don’t really care what I weigh, I’ve never been one for obsessive weighing, so much so that I only bought a pair of scales when Sam asked me what weight I was at the beginning! But losing the excess body fat is what I’ve been trying to do unsuccessfully for years. If only I had met Sam 9 years ago, I could have saved myself a lot of time obsessing about my appearance. I really did think that although I was quite chunky, that I was quite fit, but I was wrong about that! Although now I feel fit as a fiddle! Walking up the steep hill from Sevenoaks train station on my way to and from work doesn’t take anything out of me anymore, I can run for about an hour solid without having to stop, I can keep up with Steve when he takes me hill walking, I feel so much better both mentally and physically.

I think one of the most important things that this Challenge has given me is a positive mental attitude. I’m much more upbeat and feel like I can do anything. I’m so much more confident in myself since I started this process 12 weeks ago. I went from a “Maybe I’ll do that if I can” to “Of course I can do that!”. So much so that I enrolled myself on a Children’s Book Illustration course at St Martins next year, something which I’ve wanted to do for years, but finally felt confident enough to give it a go. If it works out and I get a new career out of it, great, if not at least I gave it a go instead of always wondering if I could do it or not.

So, to put it all into perspective, I’ve put the facts and figures below of exactly how my body has changed:



WEIGHT:

BEFORE: 10.5 stone
AFTER: 8.5 stone

MEASUREMENTS:

BEFORE:

Chest - 92cm
Shoulders - 40cm
Waist - 82cm
Hips - 100cm
Thigh - 59cm
Calf - 37cm

AFTER:

Chest - 91cm
Shoulders - 38.5cm
Waist - 72cm
Hips - 92cm
Thigh - 53cm
Calf - 35cm

DRESS SIZE:

BEFORE:
Tops - 12
Bottoms - 14

AFTER:
Tops - 8, sometimes 6
Bottoms - 8, sometimes 10

So there you have it! Proof that the Evolution Challenge REALLY works. No messing. I would encourage anyone who is considering this Challenge to definitely do it. I know what it feels like to feel absolutely miserable about your appearance. It takes over your life and it’s all you can think about sometimes. No matter what size you are, if you’re not happy, you’re not happy. If you think it’s impossible to change (and believe me, I did) then you are very, very wrong. This Challenge works, that’s all there is to it. If you follow it to the letter and do everything Sam asks, no cutting corners or just doing the bits you like the sound of, then you will DEFINITELY see results. Then you can finally look in the mirror and be pleased with what you see, and that is worth so much. You will also see massive benefits to your health and your mental attitude, who could ask for more?!

I think it’s also worth saying that the Challenge isn’t so strict that you can’t enjoy yourself. You are not constantly hungry, this isn’t about starving yourself, it’s about eating the right things and the right size portions, and you can still fit your life in around the workouts as each session only lasts approximately 45mins, so it’s easy to fit in even with a busy lifestyle. I worried a lot before starting the Challenge that it was going to take over my life, but that simply wasn’t the case. If anything, it’s added a whole new dimension and introduced me to new hobbies which is great, and through the Bootcamp sessions I did I met some really nice people which is brilliant as before this I didn’t know anyone in Sevenoaks! However, having said that, you need to be willing to really get involved in the Challenge and work very hard at it, no cheating! It is hard work, but if you embrace it 100% you will see the benefits really quickly.

So if you’re thinking about taking up the Evolution Challenge, please do, you won’t regret it. Maybe I’ll post a picture of me in my wedding dress up here next year.

*****

I love hearing stories like this.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Sam

Best Abdominal Exercises

Following on from my last blog post, I wanted to show you more of my favourite abdominal exercises.

All you'll need is a stability ball and your bodyweight for these...that's it!

I got my Dad to film this the other day. I'm not sure what he did half way through (or what he was looking at, but my head seemed to get cut off when I'm demonstrating the jackknives. Well he WAS buried deep in the bushes when he was filming so we'll let him off!)

Here's 2 great abdominal supersets:



Try these abdominal exercises and let me know how you go = >

Sam

Fat Loss Abdominal Supersets

Alot of you have been asking me about abdominal exercises...

"When's the best time to train abdominals?
"What are the best exercises?"
"How often should I train them?"

are just some of the questions I get on this subject.

The answers?

"Any time is a good time (so long as you train them!), exercises that don't put pressure on your back are the best and training your abs three times a week is more than enough to get you results".

Training your abs THROUGHOUT the workout as part of a superset (instead of right at the end like you'll see in most health club programs) is a great way to burn belly fat.

The core muscles can become more and more fatigued as the workout progresses so performing your ab exercises throughout the workout can be a great way of avoiding "core fatigue" and impairing technique towards the end.

The best ab exercises are the ones that DON'T involve you lyeing on your back, curling your shoulder blades off the floor, or any type of movement that requires you to perform hundreds of situps whilst lyeing on the floor.

Exercises that will help you burn belly fat without placing stress on your lower back are by far the most effective.

Here are 4 of my favourite abdominal supersets that I use in my own personal program and with my clients as well.



That's a much better way of training your abs! Perform that workout 3 times a week and see how you go = >

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

Have You Got The "Fat Burning Gene?" (Read This, It Will Shock You!)

This week saw Usain Bolt set a new 100 metre world record at the World Athletics Championships.

Bolt ran a super quick time of 9.58 seconds, eleven hundreths of a second quicker than his last record.

What an amazing effort. Here's how it looked if you missed it:



Yep, you guessed it! The rumours have already started circulating as to whether Usain is on peformance enhancing drugs or not. Alot of people this week appear to have already assumed he is guilty of doping. This is a real shame, especially when it takes the gloss off the amazing feat that Bolt has achieved.

We shouldn't be so quick to judge especially when none of us have any proof.

Whether he did or not, (we'll never know) the truth of the matter is that Usain Bolt is an amazing athlete.

Don't get me wrong, I'm personally dead against any kind of drug or steroid use to improve performance in sport but... you have to take your hat off to Bolt. This is the fastest that any man has run in the history of 100 metres - natural or not.

So why is Bolt streets ahead of everyone else out there at this moment in time?

Let's put the steroid debate aside for 2 minutes and look abit deeper than this:

Firstly, Bolt is 6 feet 5 inches. He needed 41 strides to win gold on Sunday whilst Tyson Gay who took silver with an amazing time of 9.71 seconds needed 45. Due to his longer strides, he's basically covering more ground than his rivals.

Secondly, Bolt is super-confident. Everytime I watch him, he's always really relaxed. He laughs and jokes with his fellow Jamaicans before every race whilst everyone else looks real tense and nervous.

It's almost like he KNOWS he's gonna win before the race has even started. Any sport physchologist will tell you that this inner-confidence and relaxed state of mind would definitely have a benefit before any sporting event.

Thirdly, in countries where black people are in majority (such as Jamaica, Africa etc.), research suggests that black people have significantly higher amounts of "fast twitch" muscle fibers - the kind that are responsible for short, explosive bursts of action- than white people do (That's why you won't ever see a white man in the 100 metre final!).

But that's not all though, recent research has discovered a super-fast twitch fibre that is ONLY found in Jamaicans. (You can read more about this here)

So you could say that Usain Bolt is genetically gifted right?

He has all the attributes to be the best sprinter that ever lived. He's tall, his strides are longer and being a Jamaican, has a high percentage of super-fast twitch muscle fibers.

So what's this got to do with your Fat Loss Plan I hear you say?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

And that's my point!!!

Read on, let me explain what I'm going on about.

More often than not, if we see someone with a great physique or someone who is making great improvements in their fitness or health, we sometimes presume that they've been genetically gifted at birth or are taking some kind of supplement or steroid. This is the reason why they're successful with their fat loss plan.

Funny how we're quick to judge isn't it!

We don't stop to think that this person might have made some changes to their diet or some improvements to their training do we?

We don't stop to think that this person leads a healthy life and makes better choices than someone who is over weight do we!

Many people that I've come across during my 10 years as a fat loss coach are under the illusion that fat loss success comes out of a bottle or is pre-determined at birth.

Ony last week I actually over heard a couple of guys talking in the free weights room about me when I was working out saying "Oh, he's real lean, he MUST be on steroids." I think they thought they were being quiet, but I heard nonetheless!

I've also heard two woman talking (check this out!) about another woman saying that "she has better genetics than us so it's easier for her to lose weight."

Let me put everyone in the picture...

When it comes to Fat Loss, none of us have "superior fat burning" genetics to others.

Sure, your genetics may play a part in the 100 metre World Athletics Final like it did for Usain Bolt but NOT as a part of your Fat Loss plan.

It comes down to how many calories you're consuming and how many you're expending.

That's it! Not rocket science right?

Unless you're Usain Bolt, you haven't won the genetic lottery!!!

No one has inherited a unique "Fat Burning Gene."

There is NO such thing!

This is a great quote that I read somewhere this week:

"Genetics make up 1% of your fat loss plan, the other 99% is diet, training and down right hard work."

So true right?

Unless you're Usian Bolt no one has superior genetics when it comes to fat loss.

It comes down to good food, good training, the right amount of recovery and maintaining a positive can-do attitude throughout.

It's time for us to take 100% responsibility for our actions and stop the talk of "genetic lotteries" OK?

Peace out,

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

Are You Ready To Scream?

Have you tried "Screamers" yet?

No?

You don't know what you've been missing out on!

(Relax,they're not as bad as they sound, or are they?)

Screamers are a great alternative to interval training. You'll get the same benefits and you just need your bodyweight to do them.

They can also be done as a challenging finish to the end of your weight training workouts aswell.

Wherever you put them into your training plan, whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced exerciser, Screamers (just like interval training) will help you burn bodyfat and create metabolic disturbance in the quickest time.

I got one of my trainers to take a video of me doing a full set of Screamers a while back.

Here's how it looked:



What jah think of that then? (And yes, my legs were on fire after doing that!)

I used Jump Squats and Burpees in this demo however you COULD pair any 2 exercises together if you wanted to. Push Ups & Tuck jumps is one combo. Kettlebell swings & Squat Thrusts is another.

Have a play around. You may find some combos easier or harder than others.

Beginners Screamer Workout

5 minute warm up, then:

3 x Prisoner Squats
1 x Burpee
6 x Prisoner Squats
2 x Burpees
9 x Prisoner Squats
3 x Burpees
12 x Prisoner Squats

Then Climb back down the ladder.

* Rest for 2/3 minutes then repeat above sequence 2,3,4 times depending on how much time you have.

* If you're performing after your weights workout just perform once.

Intermediate Screamer Workout (as shown in video above.)

5 minute warm up, then:

3 x Jump Squats
1 x Burpee (with Jump)
6 x Jump Squats
2 x Burpees (with Jump)
9 x Jump Squats
3 x Burpees (with Jump)
12 x Jump Squats

Then Climb back down the ladder.

* Rest for 2/3 minutes then repeat above sequence 2,3,4 times depending on how much time you have.

* If you're performing after your weights workout just perform once.

Advanced Screamer Workout

5 minute warm up, then:

3 x Jump Squats
1 x Burpee (with Push Up & Jump)
6 x Jump Squats
2 x Burpees (with Push Up & Jump)
9 x Jump Squats
3 x Burpees (with Push Up & Jump)
12 x Jump Squats

Then Climb back down the ladder.

* For added resistance you can use a weighted vest

* Rest for 2/3 minutes then repeat above sequence 2,3,4 times depending on how much time you have.

* If you're performing after your weights workout just perform once.

___________

And that's your weekend workout. Good luck with the screamers and let me know how you go = >

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

Your Weekend Workout (Plus What's Sam Doing Half Naked In The Park?)

Every Friday from now on I'll be posting a new workout to my blog that you can do over the weekend. It won't matter if you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced exerciser I'll be posting 3 workouts for different fitness levels.

All you have to do is decide which level you want to work at, write it up and then do it!

Easy huh? And all completely free so relax! = >

This weeks workout is my "Outdoor Bodyweight Fat Loss Circuit"..

Beginners



Here's what it looks like on paper:

5 Minute warm up, then
Prisoner Squats x 12 reps
Kneeling Push Ups x 12 reps
Step Ups x 12 on each leg
Bridging x 12 reps
Mountain Climbers x 12

Rest for 2 minutes then repeat x 3
(If you have more time, you can repeat the circuit 4,5,6 times).

Intermediates

5 minute warm up, then
Prisoner Squats x 20 reps
Full Push Ups x 20 reps
Step Ups x 20 reps
Mountain Climbers x 20 reps
Dynamic Lunges x 10 on each leg
100 metre sprint (optional)

Rest for 90 seconds then repeat x 3
(If you have more time, you can repeat the circuit 4,5,6 times).

Advanced Exercisers

5 minute warm up, then
Jump Squats x 20 reps
Full Push Ups with Rotation x 20 reps
Step Ups x 20 reps
Mountain Climbers x 20 reps
Walking Lunges x 10 on each leg
200 metre sprint(optional)

Rest for 60 seconds then repeat x 3
(If you have more time, you can repeat the circuit 4,5,6 times).

Enjoy! = >


If you have any preference as to what workouts you'd like to see then let me know in the comments section below.

Organic Vs Non-Organic (part 2)

Scientists link Parkinson's with specific pesticide



Following on from my previous post,I came across this alarming research from The Ecologist website.

Scientists have detected a link between Parkinson's Disease and a pesticide.

For years, we've been warned about the dangers of chemical abuse and after reading this study and plenty more like it, I believe we are only seeing the tip of a very nasty iceberg.

Consume only organic fruit and vegetables whenever you can.

You owe to it yourself.

Sam

*********************

Ecologist

14th July, 2009

Tests on Parkinson's sufferers have revealed a high incidence and levels of the organochloride pesticide beta-HCH, holding out the hope of a blood test to catch the disease early
Scientists in the US believe they have found a link between a specific organochloride pesticide and Parkinson’s disease.

A study of 113 people – 50 of whom had Parkinson’s, 20 Alzheimer’s and 43 of whom were healthy – revealed that beta-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) was unusually prevalent in Parkinson’s patients, and in unusually high doses.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas were testing for traces of 15 organochloride pesticides. Published in the journal Archives of Neurology, their research is the first to make a definite link between the progressive degenerative disease and a particular pesticide.

Beta-HCH was found in 76 per cent of the Parkinson’s sufferers tested, 40 per cent in healthy people and 30 per cent in Alzheimer’s sufferers. Organochloride pesticides were widely used from the 1950s to the 1970s.

A possible explanation for the presence of beta-HCH could be found in the genetic make-up of some people, whose metabolism is such that it is harder for their bodies to break down certain substances. Another possibility is that the presence of the pesticide is a marker of another harmful chemical. The researchers said pesticides were only one contributing factor in the development of the disease.

‘There's been a link between pesticide use and Parkinson’s disease for a long time, but never a specific pesticide,’ said lead researcher Professor Dwight German. ‘This is particularly important because the disease is not diagnosed until after significant nerve damage has occurred.

‘Much higher levels of the beta-HCH were in the air, water and food chain when the Parkinson's patients were in their 20s and 30s… also the half-life of the pesticide is seven to eight years, so it stays in the body for a long time.’

The findings hold out the hope that it may be possible to identify those susceptible to Parkinson’s by performing a simple blood test.

*********************