#cuttingweight day 9

Rise and Shine (limp) 4.15am Tuesday 5th of January 2016

Planned workouts: 5-6.30am BJJ drills and sparring

5.15-6pm Kettlebell and 6-6.45pm spin class

Effective workouts: 5.15-6pm Cardio Kettlebell and 6-6.45pm spin class.

The BJJ session was a light session with mostly drills from spider and armbars from side control. The reason why the session was light is that I was stiff and tired. Monday really did me, I have almost no energy.

The cardio Kettlebell class was divided in 5 5' workout with basic Kettlebell techniques followed by intense body work exercises. More than 20 people in the spin class, so all the ingredients to push harder.

Nutrition:

Breakfast: after eating so much yesterday evening, I had no appetite at all, so I had a handful of almonds and was sipping a coffe during BJJ (didn't finish it) and did not even touch the IBCAA, as the session was really light.

2nd Breakfast: around 8am Whey protein shake mixed with oats (not esoecially tasty, but not disgusting)

3rd Breakfast: around 11am 4 buttered toast and a white coffee

Lunch: 4 eggs scrambled eggs, some broccoli and cauliflower and some mustard

Snack: tuna, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, flax and pumpkin seeds, olive oil

Dinner: Quinoa with chickpeas, carrots. Onion, spinach and cod fish, cottage cheese and honey, a square of black chocolate.

Drinks: 1 black, 1 white coffees, 1 green tea and 1.5-2 liters of water

Comments:

I felt slow the whole morning and not especially hungry, the food I had was spread out and look little snacks. Later on during the day I made sure that the food I eat was protein dense, as my protein intake was quite low. Drinking has been hard, I drink a lot when I train hard, today the hard sessions were late afternoon so I struggled to drink enough water.

Both training sessions were good, I did not feel the stiffness of the morning and my energy level was high. 

Day 9 conclusions:

From a physique perspective, I weighed myself right after dinner and was at 85.9kg, if the weight loss keeps on at that pace, I will have to increase my calorie intake, not to end up far too light.

At a conditioning level I did feel the difference between last week and the beginning of this one, my fitness as such is challenges as well as my capacity to recover during workouts.

At a BJJ level, thanks to Luke my training partner as well as the guys at Icon BJJ Norwich, I am learning and improving my game everyday. 

Tomorrow will be tough but I look forward to it as I need to push myself to my limits and beyond. 

Size does not matter...You just need to believe and make it happen

#TrainForLifeClasses

Tabata Class 6.45-7.30am 4th January 2016

3 1' (1 minute work/15" rest): 5 open close squat, 3 SR, 1 Bu

5 55" work/15" rest 10 Reps  4010 tempo*15-30kg front squat  (go down in 4", without pause go back up and down again)

3 1' 5 open close squat, 3 running back, 1 Burpee

4 1' step up step down with barbell (15-30kg)

10 20"/20" rowing intervals (20" fast and 20" slow recovery).

Comment and get in touch, if you are not sure about one exercise execution or simply show us some love by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and Instagram. 

All smile, but it was a tough one... 

#Cuttingweight day 8

Rise and shine 3.30am Monday 4th of January  

Weigh in first thing in the morning (no toilet stop) at 85.9kg without iPad and 86.7 with IPad in my hands. Official weigh loss of 3kg in a week. 

planned workouts:

5-6.30am BJJ drills and sparring, 6.45-7.30m Tabata class, 8-9.15pm BJJ sparring

Effective workouts: 

5-6.30am BJJ drills: Stand up, breaking the grips, half guard recovery, sparring, long step and leg weave. 

Tabata 6.45-7.30am

3 1' 5 open close squat, 3 Shuttle Run, 1 Burpee/15" recovery

5 55" 10 4010 40kg front squat/15" recovery

3 1' 5 open close squat, 3 running back, 1 Burpee/15" recovery

4 1' step up step down/15" recovery

10 20 fast /20" slow rowing intervals, averaged speed 1'39" and a total of 1851m

Comments:

BJJ: The focus is on being TIGHT and control the tempo, move only when grips are established.

Conditioning: I am really happy with my first real tough session, as I was between the faster ones. Last week training did show. I felt strong and never really out of breath. In pain? YES, but I managed to keep composure and work through it. A good start. 

8-9pm BJJ sparring and drills: I was showed some knee bar drills and did some sparring. I was really tired at that point. 

Nutrition: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of berries and 24 almonds, a tbs of flaxseed, a black coffee

Supplements: 10g of IBCAA while training, glucosamine (joint repair), omega 3 fish oil pill, Echinacea and vitamin C with Zinc (colds)

2nd breakfast: 50g porridge with whole milk, a whey protein shake and a black coffee. 

Lunch: yesterday left over of Marrocan chicken with chickpeas, Pasta, and couscous

Snack:  lettuce, cherry tomatoes, a tin of mackerel and a tbs of flaxseed

Dinner: chickpeas, Roasted courgettes And pepper and a banana 

Day 8 conclusion:

I felt heavy and sluggish with breakfast before training. Tomorrow I will train with an empty stomach to see the difference. 

Till mid afternoon, I did a good job by eating every 3 hours, but because I didn't plan menus wisely, I just had 700 calories for dinner. And at dinner time, I ate as much as I could, going almost 700 calories beyond my 2500 allowance. 

It felt good but I was curious to see the immediate consequences, so went on the scale...86.1kg!! 

I was amazed and a bit disturbed as I thought that I ate far too much... It seems that all the Heavy  training was paying off.  

At a physical level, I felt good during the day and collapsed at night, felt exhausted, stiff. The difference between today and last week in term of intensity is the same as passing from a jog to a sprint. 

Recovery is in order as tomorrow is another day, I am planning on eating 2700cal instead of 2500, as it is more achievable, I train 3 times a day and the weight is falling off too fast...

I tell you more tomorrow  

From being upset to be delighted. 3.2kg weight loss in a week... 

#Cuttingweight day 7

Rise and Shine 6.15am Sunday 3rd of January 2016

Planned workouts: 6.45-7.30am conditioning and 9.30-1030am spin class

Effective workouts:

4 sets of 10 squats with 80kg and 4010 tempo (slow descent and up fast), 1' rest between set.

4 sets of 10 30kg good morning

3 sets of 90kg squat

9-10 spin class: 

Today spin felt even better than yesterday, I increased the intensity of the workout as I feel less rusty. I surprised myself at times having the resistance close to the max. It didn't last...lol

Nutrition:

Breakfast: a cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of summer fruits (raspberries, cranberries),  1 handful of almonds and 10g of IBCAA

2nd Breakfast: a Whey protein shake and a handful of almonds

Lunch: a steack, some broccoli and cauliflower and some mustard

Snack: a banana and a black coffee

Dinner: Moroccan chicken with lentils and pasta 

Drinks: 2 black coffees and 2-2.5 liters of water

Comments:

As yesterday more squats and I ventured with heavier weights and some good morning to strengthen lower back and maintain posture.

The spin session felt good, I am 3-4 sessions away to be back in gear. I felt stronger and more comfortable than yesterday. 

At a nutrition level , there were some good and bad. The good is that I didn't feel so hungry.

I planned better my meal and ate almost every 3 hours and that helped a lot. On the other hand, I realized that I try to eat more anticipating that I will be hungry. In other words, I plan a meal and try to add ingredients because I think it will not be enough food.

i recognized the problem an I am working on it. 

Day 7 conclusions:

From a physique perspective, my extra Xmas weight did fall fast. I lost around 3kg in the 3-4 first days. Now I am sitting between 86-86.5kg which is my normal competition weight.

I am lucky to have the extra weight issue sorted, now I can focus on getting Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

My first week preparation has been really positive as I stayed away from injuries, lost the extra weight and learnt more BJJ. Now the good and hard stuffs begin, more workouts, more intensity and stay on track with the weight.

I am excited and can't wait for tomorrow to come and get started.

It was ages ago... I am working to get back to my best standards. It may take a bit of time, nevertheless, I will enjoy the journey.. 

# Cuttingweight Day 6

Rise and Shine 6.15am Saturday 2nd of January 2016

Planned workouts: 8.30-9am conditioning and 9-10am spin class

Effective workouts: 

Conditioning: solely focused on squats, after the warm up, I completed 4 sets of 10 squats with 70kg and 3" pause at the bottom. 

My focus was to see where I was whilst recovering from niggles, sore knees and traps problems. I feel ready to lift heavier and get back into deadlift next week. 

9-10 spin class:  

It was a gentle hour, a mix of working hard and cruising, the spin class are normally really tough and intense with high resistance. As it was the first session I decided to focus on sprints with 60% of the possible resistance instead of the usual 80%. It went well the session was enjoyable and there is no soreness

Nutrition: 

Breakfast: a cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of summer fruits (raspberries, cranberries),  1 handful of almonds and 10g of IBCAA

2nd Breakfast: a Whey protein shake

Lunch: Chicken left over, 2 boiled eggs, 2 buttered toasts, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, a tbs of flax seeds and pumpkin seeds, a handful of almonds

Snack: Half a banana and a tea with milk

Dinner: 2 grilled fillets of salmon, some noodles and grilled Brussels sprouts and broccoli 

Drinks: 1 coffee, 3 tea and 2-2.5 liters of water

Comments: my lunch was bigger than I thought, I need to be more on top of the food intake, as I have to limit my dinner NOW!

Day 6 conclusions: 

Day 6 was not too hard as the conditioning and the 1h spin class were not too intense.  Today was more about putting some long cardio in and prepare my body to lift heavier weight, closer, to what I normally lift. In other words, I am getting myself ready for the proper conditioning which will start on the 4th of January with 4 days of triple sessions.

From a physique perspective, my extra Xmas weight did fall fast. I lost around 3kg in the 3-4 first days. Now I am sitting between 86-86.5kg which is my normal competition weight.

Tomorrow will look a lot like today but I will start increasing the intensity in spin class and the weight to lift in the conditioning session.

1 hour on bike. You have to get your cardio right, high intensity and short boost are keys, but from time to time it is important to put the miles. 

#Cutting weight day 5

Rise and shine almost 8am, Friday 1st January  2016

Today is Rest day, Family day a good day. 

I got up and jump on the scale and was delighted, as it marked 86.2kg. You remembered I started at 89.9kg on Monday. Imagine my amazement and joy. 

I retuned in bed and in no time the whole family, my wife and two sons were reunited in our bed. It does not happen enough so these are magical moments

NO workouts planned today. Morning park activities with the boys, afternoon, games and cartoons on TV and evening movie with my wife.

Nutrition: 

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, smocked salmon, 2 buttered toast, handful of almonds and 2 white coffees. 

lunch: porridge, with milk, flax seeds and handful of almonds. 

Snack: a banana and 1/2 and a tea. 

Dinner: chicken, chickpeas and roasted vegetables

Recommendations: don't over do it in order to stay on track. As I see that I am ahead of schedule I try not to burn myself out. I funnily crave porridge, bread and fruits, CARBS...so I have some but balance it out by making sure that my calorie intake is low. Hence my little lunch compared to my massive breakfast. 

Conclusions: 

A good day, away from training, some quality time with my family. I am ready fir what is coming my way...8 days of double and few triples sessions.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

My family, my strength, my inspiration, my motivation...SKY IS NOT A LIMIT, together we are Stronger

#Cutting Weight day 4

RISE AND SHINE 4.15am, Thursday 31st December 2015

Planned workouts:5-7.30am BJJ drills and sparring

Effective workoutsBJJ drills: focus on grips and nailing the weight while passing the guard, be as tight and heavy as possible, limiting opponents hip movement. Leg weave start to flow.

No conditioning today.

Nutrition: calorie allowance 2500 (I normally eat 3500-4000, the truth is I don't count)

Breakfast: a cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of summer fruits (raspberries, cranberries),  1 handful of almonds.

2nd Breakfast: a banana, handful of almonds and some porridge.

Lunch: a tbs of flax seeds and some chickpeas.

Snack:  1/2 a cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of  almonds. 1 tbs of flaxseeds, 4 cherry tomatoes.

Dinner: 3 boiled eggs, 250g of chicken breast, mash potatoes, 300g of broccoli and cauliflower.

Drinks: 2 coffees, 1 black another with milk, 3 teas and 2-2.5 liters of water

Comments: I had breakfast at 8am and a nap from 10-10.35am and woke up STARVED and craving PORRIDGE. The porridge sorted me out, I felt better for the rest of afternoon.

The BJJ was good as it turns up that Luke, purple belt Icon BJJ, used to do submission grappling and is really good at leg lock, knee bars and toe hold. We sparred and now I am more concentrated than ever and pay a lot of attention yo these techniques, so much attention that I got caught in a TRIANGLE...

Day 4 conclusions:

I felt tired today after training, my body starts to beg for a break. Anyway I planned not to train Friday New year day and spend the whole day with the family. To keep up with my 3yo and 1 and 1/2yo may be harder than training.

Nevertheless, the break is welcome as I will have 8 consecutive days in double-triple sessions coming my way.

2010-11 first and only year as white belt. I won the English Open, the European Championship, the Abu Dhabi trial in my category and bronze in Absolute white and Blue belt. It was a good year. 

#Cuttingweight Day 1 & 2

 #Cutting weight Day 1 Monday 28th December 2015

Hi guys, I am daddy icon BJJ Brown belt and Personal Trainer at Train For Life Fitness and Nutrition located in Norwich UK.I want to share with you my journey to the European BJJ Championship 2016 which will take place in Lisbon Portugal.

My tale will consist on sharing with you my personal experiences to cut weight without losing muscles, to remain strong and BJJ focused.

The goal is to be 85kg to compete or to lose 4kg in 25 daysThe experiment will be a diary divided as follow:

Planned workouts:Effective workouts
Nutrition:TipsCommentsDay conclusions
To start with you need to make some measurements, in our case we need to know our starting weight.I normally sit around 87kg all year round, so I just need 2-3 days to make the weight when I compete (medium heavy, -88.3kg with Gi), so to get on the scale right after Xmas wasn't something I was looking forward to. Check my face on the video, I couldn't believe what I saw😱I almost wanted to 😭.

I First weighed 91.1kg no GiThen 92.8kg with Gi Weighed, I weighed myself twice and realise that it was not possible as my Gi weighs 2.5kg.I  weighed myself again twice at 89.9kg no Gi. Not good but better than 91kg😰

Day 1: Planned workouts: 5-6.30am BJJ drills and 3.30-5.30pm BJJ drills and sparring.

Effective workouts: 5-6am light conditioning as my training partner realized that he was still celebrating Xmas at his mum...the afternoon session was also cancelled as my other training partner forgot that he had to got watch STAR WARS with his family...✌🏿️

My conditioning session consisted of: 4 sets of 10 4010 (tempo) 60kg squat alternated with 10 4010 40g machine arm row

10 sets 5 70kg deadlift alternated with 3 40kg narrow grip lat pull down and 3 10 15kg lift plate.

5' on bike resistance 10, 2.73km

Recommendations: all the exercise performed are compound and have a direct application to BJJ, I mainly focus on pull exercises such as arm row (break posture, arm drag, leg drag) and leg exercises such as deadlift and squat (stand from closed guard).My first week of training the weight is light and the tempo is slow, it will get more explosive as I get in gear.

Nutrition:Breakfast: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of cranberries and 1 handful of almonds.Lunch: 300-400g if turkey (Xmas Left Over), 200g of lettuce, 4 cherry tomatoes, 10 almonds and a tablespoon of olive oil.

Snack: 3 slices of wholemeal bread with butter. MY FAILURE, I have 2 boys of 3 yo and 1 and 1/2yo, they were having lunch but didn't finish their toasts. I HATE THROWING FOOD SO...

Dinner: chili con carne and 30g of riceDaily drinks: 2 black coffees, 2 green teas and 2.5 liters of water

Tips: Eat really slowly, put your spoon down after each mouthful and chew, over and overDrink a lot of water during the day 2-3 litersComments: I didn't feel hungry at all and have the feeling that I was shrinking, losing weight already. I am a fast eater, so one of the hardest thing for me is to eat slow, but I have to admit that when you eat slow, you get bored of eating and you are not hungry.I dislike water and tea, I drank approx 2.5 liters, I spent the day in and out the toilets.the water does really flush your body, it kind of cleanse you from inside, surprisingly you feel as if you were losing some invisible weight.
Day Conclusion:

Day 1 was a success, the 2 cancelled BJJ sessions were a blessing in disguise as it aloud me to ease myself back into shape at a slow and controlled pace.The Nutrition was easier than expected, I thought I would be hungry, but I never felt hungry at all. The water consumption annoyed me as I had to frequent the we too often for my taste. Nevertheless, I can confirm that it was worth it AS I LOST ... KG IN 24 hours.Follow my journey to know how much weight I lost and how the training is coming along, I will be back tomorrow.      

 #Cutting weight day 2, Tuesday 29th Decmber 2015

RISE AND SHINE 4.30am

Planned workouts:

5-7.30am BJJ drills and 4.30-6pm BJJ drills and sparring

Effective workouts:

5-6am BJJ

6-7am conditioning:

4 10 3" bottom 60kg squat/4 10 50kg lunges

10 10 6 70kg deadlift/4 10 15kg lift plate (1extra deadlift in each set)

5' on bike resistance 10 2.84km (managed 120m more  after training one hour more

than yesterday)

4.30-5.30pm BJJ drills and sparring:

@joshkennedybjj came over, we worked on the leg weave and  sparred. The guy has the most annoying guard EVER. REALLY GOOD, IT IS FRUSTRATING.

Nutrition:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of cranberries and 1 handful of almonds.

Lunch: 200-300g of chili con carne Left Over and 300g of steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Snack: same as breakfast

Dinner: stir Fry vegetables and 250g of turkey mince, with coconut milk

Daily drinks: 2 black coffees, 1 green tea, 2.5 liters of water

Tips:

The cottage cheese and nuts is a good snack which sits well in stomach, you don't feel hungry and is digested really fast. I had one 30 minutes before training, I felt energized but not sluggish at all.

Comments:

Today was harder, as I did feel hungry at times, I had a handful of pumpkin seeds and almonds 10 minutes before going to bed.

At a fitness level, I felt a lot better, no stiffness after sessions (=IBCAA) which aloud me to put hours of practice without having to deal with discomfort or injuries.

At a weight level, I am super happy as I weighed myself after lunch and was at 87.8kg YES YOU READ WELL. A drop of 2.1kg in 2 days.

Day 2 conclusions:

The sacrifices worth the results as I may get to my "normal weight for next week".

A WORD OF CAUTION, I AM PERSONAL TRAINER, USED TO TRAIN 12-15 times a week. I am focused and I am on a MISSION.

IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT AS DESPERATELY AS I DO THEN YOU WILL HAVE MORE STARCHY CARBS, SUCH AS PASTA, RICE...

My current carb intake is very low, as carb suck liquid for 1g of carb you retain 2.7g of water, HENCE YOU WEIGH MORE.The conditioning is going well as I put the work without catching niggles or injuries.

The BJJ is good as I get more technical and some flaws in my game are highlighted.

My game is very similar to Rodolfo Viera, I follow him as his game fits my qualities, nevertheless, I realized that I am "loose" sometimes, so thanks to my training partners @joshkennedy, Luke, Mike and my coach Steve Cowan, I am fixing the issues.

Day 3 is on the way: losing weight and feeling tired...

Working out seem more enjoyable as I can see and feel the improvements. I said more enjoyable, still PAINFUL THOUGH

#Cutting weight day 3

RISE AND SHINE 4.15am Wednesday 30th December 2015

Planned workouts: 5-7.30am BJJ drills and 5.30-6.30pm conditioning

Effective workoutsBJJ drills: focus on Leg weaves, long step, knee slide into leg drag from inverted DLV6-7am.

Conditioning 4 10 4010 70kg squat 45"-1' rest between sets I

4 10 50kg lunges4 sets of 10 20kg stiff leg deadlift with Fatz grip (grip work), 10 20kg good mornings (for posture) and 10 double 14kg dumbbell lunge (knee bar prevention)

10 10 7 70kg deadlift (1extra deadlift in each set), had to stop at set 8 as started to feel pain behind my traps.

5' on bike resistance 10 2.86km (managed 20m more  than yesterday)

Nutrition:Breakfast: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 handful of cranberries and 1 almonds.

Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, 100g of pink salmon, handful of almonds, a tbs of flax seeds and olive oil, 50g of chickpeas, 80g crunchy salad, 4 cherry tomatoes. WAS HUNGRYSnack: 1/2 a pear and 5 grapes (my son left over)

Dinner: roasted vegetables (tomatoes, red onion and pepper 3 and a half beef sausages and a bit of mash potato.STILL HUNGRYCrispy salad with mackerel, cherry tomatoes, almonds and olive oil. FELT BETTER.

Daily drinks: 2 black coffees, 2 teas and 2.5 liters of waterTips: plan the hour of your meals, every 3-4 hours, it helps not getting badly hungry.Comments:Apart from a fitness point if view, it does not get easier, I felt really hungry and desperate at lunch and dinner time, hence the quantities eaten.I maintain my carbs intake really low, so I have my ups and many downs, at time I don't feel great.

Day 3 conclusions: I have my first niggle, the pain in my traps, i will not lift any weight tomorrow. I will adjust by eating every 3 hours and resting more. The good NEWS IS THAT WEIGHT GOES DOWN, I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MONDAY TO SEE WHERE I AM.

Training is never easy. It has to be harder than the comp. "train hard, fight easy"