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 By: Richard Wallace
Name: Richard Wallace
Before: (October 2006)
After: (December 2007)
I've always been a bit tubby throughout my childhood, but in my last year of high school it got out of hand and it got to the point where I didn't want to look at myself in a mirror. I wouldn't walk around outside without constantly sucking in my gut and I felt so self conscious about taking my shirt off at the beach. Some people find bodybuilding strange but I have always admired bodybuilders and after reading up on some incredible transformations in this same section, I decided enough was enough. It was time to put an end to all that and sort my body out as well as my mind.
I really believe that the mental side to bodybuilding and the drive to succeed is just as important as each gym session. It's what makes you relentlessly keep coming back and waking up the day after a hard session, being sore all over to the point of immobility and relishing it. I love that feeling and am sitting here with it right now after a good, hard session last night and I couldn't be happier in the world, in fact I really haven't been anywhere near this happy before last year when I started going to the gym.
I joined up at a local gym and got one of the trainers to make me a program as I didn't know a whole lot about how to get started. I was going 3 - 4 times a week with 20 minutes high interval training rowing at the end of each session and it was tough but I put up pictures of my favorite bodybuilders as motivation. Beginning Motivation Articles: I'm also never at the gym without my iPod, it lets you keep great rhythm with your workouts and makes them lots more fun. I have a lot of music which I find very inspirational, whether it remind me of my dad or something that happened and this gives me that extra drive when the going gets tough. I did this program for about 3 months over the summer holidays until I moved down south (even further) to Otago University at the start of this year. I carried on with the same sort of routine for 5 months but incorporated a lot more sporting activities for cardio.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Richard Wallace. My hall of residence had a tennis court so I picked up tennis and started playing regularly 3 or 4 times a week, I also picked up squash consequently and also did a lot of running not only for fitness but to get familiar with a new town.
Then in the second half of this year I started really turning up the heat; I was going to the gym 3-4 times a week, and almost every other day I was out running, swimming or playing tennis. I didn't keep a strict schedule of when I did what, as I preferred to do whatever I felt like doing most at the time, that way my workouts stayed fun which let me sustain it throughout the year. It is now December 2007 and I can't believe I could ever say this, but I'm happy with how much fat I've lost. A few weeks ago I started a bulking up phase to try and get a lot bigger than I am now so I'm eating lots of good carbs and enjoying Mum's home cooking while I'm up from college. Once I'm happy with the size gains I've achieved I will go back into a cutting up phase with lots of cardio to show all my hard work off!
I didn't keep to any strict schedule of eating certain things, because I wasn't yet clued up on nutrition. However the one thing that I did across the board of all my intake was cut away fats and processed sugars. I stopped eating takeaways, sweets and lollies', and I'd even avoid eating potato chips. Instead I found healthy, great tasting alternatives like whole meal crackers with tasty cheddar cheese and cucumber slices.
During the year I was studying frequently until 3 and 4am because I was trying to get into law school, and I had to find a way to avoid those sugar cravings late at night. I found drinking lots and lots of water, spacing out smaller meals and allowing yourself healthy snacks was the way to go for me. I still kept to a 3 meal a day eating schedule because I didn't really have time to do a 6 meal schedule, but I think the main thing whether doing either is to keep your food healthy and you will see the difference. Meal Frequency Articles: I never realized just how important diet and nutrition are to bodybuilding and overall fitness and I am much more considered about what I eat now. That is not to say I don't have the odd beer or piece of cake, I just have it in moderation and not too frequently.
I alternate Upper Body + Core and Lower Body + Core. I always start off with doing all stretches on all body parts whether I am working them that day or not. This is because I want to achieve greater flexibility than I have at present. I then do a warm-up of 10 dips, press ups, lunges, squats, close-grip press ups and calf raises.
Incline/Decline Bench - 3 Sets of 8 Dumbbell Flyes - 3 Sets of 8 Bench Pull - 3 Sets of 8 Military Press - 3 Sets of 8 Vertical Rows - 3 Sets of 8 Standing Barbell Curl - Pyramid Sets 12,10,8,6,4 Incline Bench Curl - 3 Sets of 8 Tricep Cable Pulldowns - 3 Sets of 8 Skull Crushers - 3 Set of 8
Hack Squat - 3 Sets of 8 Seated Calf Raises - 3 Sets of 8 Lying Leg Curls - 3 Sets of 8 Standing Barbell Calf Raise - 3 Sets of 8
I don't do squats or deadlifts at the moment because I need to strengthen my back up before I do anything like that, I can't risk it getting hurt again.
With this 1-4 system, I do a set of 12 of number 1 through 4 with no rest until after number 4, I do this twice.
Just dive right in! Why would you live life at any less than full pace? The quicker you get into it the more you will get out of it and the better results you will get. Read up on lots of these amazing transformations and jump on YouTube and check out the masters posing and get inspired. Even if you don't feel its true, every person has the potential to look amazing and get big with perseverance and hard work. You know you want to!
 Click Image To Enlarge.Richard Wallace. Every bit of training is worth it when you can walk down the street in a singlet and feel so much confidence that you never had before that you just cannot stop smiling! Please don't hesitate to let me know if there is any more information you require or anything else I can do. 
Richard Wallace Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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