Latest Results

Well I have completed the 30 Day Carbohydrate Rotation and can say now that the programme was a success. I lost some body weight which I will have to regain again but my body fat % also decreased. While it was only a small % decrease I feel the programme was a success as TC said it is easy to both gain and loose body weight but difficult to drop your body fat %. As far as my strength training with the ability to achieve full squats I can now do more weight at the gym and feel like I'm getting a considerable workout. For the first time I am also able to complete a deadlift safely. I also took on the Russian Kettlebell Challenge again with TC. While it was still a challenge I found it considerably easier from the first time I completed it. I have included a video of it below:

One Arm Push Ups

After working hard with TC over the past few months I have finally been able to achieve the one arm push up; I have included a video below. With TC's training I have also considerably improved with my squats. This has always been something I have struggled with from day one when I first started training with TC in the gym. My family and I have always suffered from tight calf muscles. I had never done full squats before and it was always the most difficult exercise for me to do in the gym. I was never able to do a lot of weight as I couldn't complete a full squat. With long term stretching and the training provided by TC I feel I have overcome genetics and accomplished something I have always wanted to achieve!

Carbohydrate Rotation 30 Day Programme

Well I have started the Carbohydrate Rotation 30 Day Programme and already on day 10. TC suggested taking the programme as a fast way of reducing my body fat %. Now a 1/3 into the programme I feel great and can start seeing physical results. Will keep you updated.

Russian Kettlebell Challenge

Today I finally finished the Russian Kettlebell Challenge! Which was completing 84 reps of Kettlebell Snatch (24kg) within 5 minutes. Let me tell you it was hard but it feels great knowing that now after setting the goal to finish it by the end of the month and now finally achieving that goal. Which brings me to my goals to achieve within the next month: reducing my body fat to 16%, having an 87kg frame, achieving 20 pull-ups and 90kg bench press. After today I feel confident in achieving each of these goals!

Goals for 2009

Hi everyone

The goals I have set with TC to complete my mission for 2009: Bigger, Stronger and Meaner start with the daily goal of eating every 3 hours and practicing visualisation and imagery. When I first started training the hardest part for me was not the weight lifting but my eating habits. I found it hard to ensure I was eating every 3 hours as before I would probably at most have only 3 meals a day. Since I have increased to 6 meals a day in smaller portions I feel healthier in myself and less tired and fatigued during the day as I did previously. It’s also important to achieve my long term goal in reducing body fat % as TC explained to me without the body receiving regular meals a day the body will store more body fat. Visualisation and imagery is the most important thing towards achieving my long term goals; as well as visualising eating healthier I have also applied it to the gym and was amazed at how by just imagining lifting so much weight how I was able to achieve it just the next day.

I also had a Kettlebell session with TC today. I find Kettlebell training to be a completely different experience then the previous training I have been doing at the gym. While it first appears like an easy workout I soon experience the results of a great workout. Exercises included Kettlebell Swing, Turkish Get Up and Kettlebell Clean & Squat. The final exercise was a Russian Kettlebell Challenge; being able to complete the same amount of reps equal to my bodyweight (84kg) of Kettlebell Snatch (24kg) within 5 mins. I still have 24 reps to go to complete the challenge but already have increased 10 reps from last week so I feel I should be able to complete the challenge by the end of the month.

Below are some videos TC took of my workout today including Kettlebell Swing and Turkish Get Up:

First Blog

Hello everyone this is my first blog.

I will continue to update this blog to follow my progress and results throughout my strength training.

But first I will explain my background and how I started this training. My name is Matt Kelly; I am 22 years old and work at a visitor centre in Perth, WA. I have been weight training for about a couple of years now. When I first started my job working at the visitor centre in Perth I thought it would be a good opportunity to join a gym as I had been wanting to gain more muscle mass for some time. Once I had joined the gym I knew I needed a personal trainer to assist with my training as once I walked in there I didn't know where to start. I was fortunate enough to meet TC Lee who has been my trainer for the past two years and I know I couldn't have achieved the results I have today without his training.  TC started me on a weight training programme and food programme which had me eating a lot healthier. Within six months I could already see results as I had started gaining muscle mass and already a lot stronger.

After a year of training with TC at the gym I had put on at least 10kg of muscle mass and had increased my bench press by 40kg. I continued the training I learnt from TC for another 6 months in the gym and while I was maintaining the body weight and strength I had earlier in the year I didn't feel like I was progressing. I spoke to TC about this and he explained that I had been doing similar training for over a year and while the first part of the training I had seen results the body adjusts to this training and sometimes the body needs more shock to improve progress. TC had described a different form of weight training using Kettlebells; he suggested trying out this training to give my body an additional change to the weight training I have always been using. 

I have been training using Kettlebells with TC for about six months now and can say already how beneficial the training has been. Using a combination of ballistic and grinding exercises it has increased my strength in the gym and again have gained more muscle mass from this training. As part of the Kettlebell training with TC I also worked out both short and long term goals with him such as increasing strength with my bench press, pull ups and squats at the gym as well as eating healthier to reduce body fat. As with eating more to try and gain more muscle mass I have increased my body fat % which I will need to reduce. 

I will update with further blogs to record the progress of my training and results.

Matt Kelly