JOE Gets Ripped Blog: Week 1

So it’s one week down, eleven to go on the JOE gets ripped challenge. Before I started this, I suppose I would’ve been better known for the long distance runs I have done over the past couple of years. I must admit though, apart from running, I did no other form of exercise. So to go from that to my new routine is a big change of lifestyle

At first I thought I was going to be spending all my spare time in the gym lifting heavy things and puking in buckets. However, the schedule Dan has put together for me really fits into my lifestyle. Between Monday and Friday I’m in the gym 6 times (3 cardio and 3 weight days). Monday and Thursday is a morning and night session. Tuesday and Friday are only at night and each session only takes between 35 and 40 minutes too, so it really is in and out.

I’m also getting used to the new diet. I’m not the biggest eater, I would have had eggs and a yogurt for breakfast, not much of a lunch, and then a decent dinner. However, I do have quite a bad sweet tooth - chocolate and biscuits were my biggest downfall. I was never massively into carbs anyway so I’m not missing the exclusion of potatos, pasta, rice etc too much.

I’m eating three big meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, but in making sure I’m having a healthy snack in between too.

Coming up with ideas for tasty meals are a bit of a challenge but one I’m enjoying. Fish with chilli flakes and broccoli, chicken mixed with red peppers, mushrooms and tomato and bacon with Cajun seasoning with carrots and cucumber (I found the mixture of hot and cold really worked with this dish) are ones I've tackled this week.

Supplements are completely new to me though, but I’ve quickly discovered they are essential to the whole program. The amino energy gives you a great kick before the gym especially for the night sessions and while the protein is good for muscle repair I’ve found it really helps suppress appetite between meals. For a bit of a day time snack or breakfast alternative, I’ve been adding berries to it, making smoothies and including carrots and spinach in it too is a great way of getting in that extra veg without noticing.

DAN SAYS...

When I was asked to get Brian Maher ripped in 12 weeks I was looking forward to the challenge as I knew I could push him to the max - and no better way than the gruelling but effective workout methodology of German Volume Training (GVT).

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure - or pain - of ever having tried GVT, it involves, rather simply, doing 10 sets of the same exercise, with the goal being to do 10 reps per set. Of course, the goal is more or less theoretical, because if you can actually do ten full sets of ten, you're not lifting heavy enough weights.

The easiest way to determine what weight to start with is to choose an amount of resistance that you could do 20 times; for most individuals, this equates to a weight that's roughly 60% of your 1RM (the maximum amount of weight you can lift one time on any given exercise).

Scientifically speaking, by exposing a group of motor units to such a high volume of work, the body adapts to the incredible amount of stress by growing the targeted fibers at a pretty fast rate. And, along the same lines, the large training volume appears to contribute not only to increased mass, but decreased body fat.

When it comes to fat-loss the more muscle the better and that is what we are trying to achieve with Brian with GVT.

Watch JOE gets ripped week one here