7 Weeks Out From NABBA North Britain – Weekly Recap

What’s up guys, yet another week has flown by in my NABBA North Britain 2014 Journal Contest Prep. I’ve got a ton of footage to upload onto youtube but im having troubles getting the damn thing to render due to a pc that keeps crashing.

So this is recapping last week, concluding with Sunday 16th March, aka 7 weeks out. Let’s take a look at what i’ve been doing this past week.

Cardio? Is that Spanish?

Like a confused Englishman trying to decipher the word cardio, i had confusingly mixed up my cardio routine this past week. Following a few weeks of hitting 40 minutes of cardio each morning on the cross trainer, last week I turned the dial down. I was hitting the mean streets of the North East of England each morning before breakfast, going for a brisk walk, and hitting my cardio every other evening following my 2nd weights workout of the day. Again this was 40 minutes of the cross trainer, or 20 minutes on the bike if it fell on a leg day. (Falling being the keyword here – dat leg pain)

I changed this up as I was probably doing a bit too much, and risking losing too much tissue, completely against what im trying to do.

Monday – 30 minute walk before breakfast & 40 minutes cross trainer post workout
Tuesday – 30 minute walk before breakfast
Wednesday – 30 minute walk before breakfast & 40 minutes cross trainer post workout
Thursday – 30 minute walk before breakfast
Friday – 30 minute light cross trainer before breakfast & 40 minutes cardio post workout
Saturday – 30 minute walk before breakfast
Sunday – 40 minutes cardio before breakfast

On Sunday’s I don’t hit weights, so rather than walking and doing a cardio session later in the day, I just decided to do my cardio before breakfast. Thursday however I took a torn for the worst as I began to suffer from dreaded shin splints. Not dashing at all. I then decided to do a 30 minute light cross trainer session before breakfast on the friday as to not re-ignite my shins.

Because of this I headed to the Metro Centre on the Saturday looking for a pair of running shoes, Dalton Park on Sunday, and eventually just decided to order online based on a friends recommendation. (I actually still need to place my order)

Clanging & Banging x 2

Prepare for trouble…..make it double. In the words of Jesse & James, that’s exactly what I began doing this past week. As i discussed in my nabba journal intro post i’ve been lifting twice a day on Mondays and Thursdays, separating legs and shoulders. This past week however I’ve began training weights twice a day Monday-Friday, and just sticking to 1 weight session on the Saturday.

I’ve found myself benefiting from splitting shoulders and legs, and as im in a position where i can split out my workouts each day, I thought i’d give it a shot and see what happens. Speaking with Eddy before jumping into doing this, he also said it would be beneficial to do so. Im not gonna argue with a 5 time Mr Universe! My light cardio sessions are always started anywhere between 7.30-8.00. My first lifting session for the day is usually around 12.30-1.00 and my 2nd is around 6.00.

So what did my workout split look like last week?

Monday – Pumping Shoulders / Heavy Legs
Tuesday – Pumping Biceps / Calves & Heavy Chest
Wednesday – Pumping Back  / Heavy Triceps
Thursday – Heavy Shoulders / Pumping Legs
Friday – Heavy Biceps / Calves & Pumping Chest
Saturday – Heavy Back & Pumping Triceps

My heavy shoulders day this past week i noticed a big strength jump. I was pushing the 34kg dumbbells for sets of 8, way above and beyond what I have been the past few weeks. SCORE! Something else I’ve been doing different is hitting abs most days, either in the form of twists, 1 exercise, 2 exercises, or a superset of 2 exercises. Part of this was due to the Arnold Blue Print containing abs every day. It seems to be working, however if i feel too sore i won’t push it, and will skip them.

Youtube Sensation

So you know how I mentioned I went to the Metro Centre looking for some new trainers, well an unexpected event took place. I was in Fitness Attack, a small supplement shop casually browsing away when I heard a guy shout ‘whats your name mate’. Looking around, i was the only customer in the store. A smirk and a mention of Youtube and I knew what answer the guy was expecting…Shreddybrek! Haha crazy. The owner had spotted me from my NABBA videos last year. Definitely a weird but funny experience.

Diet & Supplements

This past week i dropped by carbs from 500g a day to 420-450. I aim for 450, however If i don’t feel hungry enough, i don’t force the additional 30 grams down. Its been easy to drop the carbs slightly and i’ve not noticed any difference in energy levels etc yet. 420-450 is still quite high however, so i wouldn’t expect to notice any negatives this early. I recorded a full day of eating on Sunday, so i’ll be uploading that when i can get it rendered.

I’ve dropped protein from my post workout shake, and I’m now having my carbs/bcaa/creatine/glutamine shake, then following this up with a meal of chicken/turkey & rice about 45 minutes later. I was having my carb shake, then a protein shake about 25 minutes later, and then my regular meal about 30 minutes after that. Freeing up this protein shake on the afternoon allows me to eat a little more in other meals, which I’ve added in breakfast and my last meal of the day, which is a casein protein shake.

I’ve also lowered my fat intake, eliminating extra lean ground beef, which I was having daily, and swapped it for a steak 2-3 times through the week. I’ve replaced the beef mince with turkey breast mince, which is almost fat free and tastes unreal.

On the supplement front i’ve added green tea to my diet, and im having 3-4 cups a day. I’ve read a ton of benefits associated with green tea, it tastes like ass, but lets see if it does help.

I’ve upped my total BCAA intake, now having it pre, intra and post workout. This may be overkill, but i’ve not read any studies or articles in which having them this often would provide a negative effect. Worst case scenario is im spending money on it more quickly. I’ll keep this up for a few weeks and see how things pan out.

That’s a wrap

So there we are 7 weeks out from the NABBA North Britain 2014! This past week I’ve been able to get a couple of articles up including some new reviews in the MyProtein Review section, along with some other tidbits which where my Myprotein Protein Cookies Review & MyProtein Protein Crispies Review. I’ve also seen some great offers posted in the monster supplements discount code, gonutrition discount code, bodybuilding warehouse discount code sections. There are some new great my protein discount codes available at http://cheapproteindiscountcodes.co.uk this week to so make sure to check those out.

Outside of the Gym this past week I pre-ordered the collectors edition of Titanfall, but later found out it had been cancelled so i was all sad faced. I then have Dark Souls 2 Collectors edition delivered so then i was all happy faced. How the tables turn. I also picked up a new Nike Gym Bag, which i’ll most likely do a ‘gym bag’ video of.

The time is flying by, and it feels like the show will be upon me before I know it. You can follow my me on

http://www.facebook.com/shreddybreklol
http://www.twitter.com/shreddybrekgym
http://www.youtube.com/shreddybrek