Men: Get that abs ready for new year. Look sexy in 6 weeks

Spencer matthew went from 13 stones and 17% body fat to 12 stones and 7% body fat followed by high protein diets and took diet supplements. Worked out 1hr a day and 6 days a week for 6 weeks.

Buffing up

He says its fair to say am a bit of a yo-yo dieter. I get in shape for a bit and stick to my gym session for a week of two but soon i let it al go with too many parting at nights and booze and take aways. Before i know it am looking pretty hefty again, but this time around Mens health Magazine had given him the opportunity to turn things around and feature in the Magazine, with the help of diet, fitness and a range of Forza supplements to help with the occasion lack of energy and deal with food cravings.

He works out: there were weekly body fat test and photographs every two weeks to keep spencer focused and with the help of shaun stafford , the WBFF PRO fitness model world champion and he runs City Athletics.

Shaun Stafford.

The Diet

Shaun set me a base calorie level which was just below the daily requirement and was designed for fat loss. It was high protein, moderate to low carbs and low fat. 

He had me eating quite small portions regularly throughout the day and introduced a lot of exotic meats and fish so it didn’t feel like I was living like a Trappist monk. We had six days on and one day off which was good because you would go insane if you were on low carbs every day.

7am - Breakfast Egg white omelette with lean ham and spinach – cooked in Lucy Bee coconut oil.
(Here’s the science bit - coconut oil is composed of medium chain fatty acids - as opposed to long chain - which are used by the body so are NOT stored as fat.)

The meals during the day contained exotic meats  - including kangaroo, to keep things interesting! - with brown rice and steamed greens. These are small portions and every three hours.

SPENCER'S DAILY DIET

10am - Lean Turkey meat, 50 grams brown rice, peas, or spinach
11am – high protein snack such as biltong, if I was needing some energy
1pm - Kangaroo burger, 50 grams brown rice, steamed broccolli
4pm - Wild boar, brown rice (again) and some bok choi
7pm - I would often have fish for the last meal – and again some exotic selections like Barramundi fillet (200-300 gm), or swordfish steak (250 gm) not always with rice in the evenings but still with some steamed greens

Supplements

Hard work: Spencer was doing one hour a day six days a week, so it is do-able for anyone

I was taking a range of Forza fitness supplements, which dealt with cravings, increased fat burning and also provided energy and protein. 

I took two capsules of Forza T5 Super Strength most mornings – these kick start the fat burning process and gave more tone and muscle definition.

The Work Outs

These were really hard. The bottom line on this is that if you want to get the full Men’s Health look you’ve got to work really hard. The first few training sessions were so exhausting I was sick. 

Thankfully as I got fitter this happening less and less. 

I was doing one hour a day six days a week, so it is do-able for anyone. My sessions were full body work outs with weights, starting with low reps at first and then building up high reps and bigger weights. I also tried to fit in three cardio sessions a week, a short run, swim or a bike ride but I didn’t always manage three.

Here is an example of a work-out Shaun would have me do. It was all high intensity work-outs with not much rest in between.

Now is the even harder bit of keeping it up and not falling back into my bad habit, and that’s going to be pretty tough with Christmas party season approaching but I think I will manage. 

For the full story of my fitness journey you can get a copy of Men’s Health January issue which is out from Wednesday 3rd December.

SPENCER'S WORKOUT 

  Start with 500m to 1000m row to warm up
Barbell Squats - four sets of eight
In between each set do four sets of eight Wide Grip Pull Ups
Seated Cable Row – three sets of 10 reps
Walking Lunges – three sets of 10
Barbell Bicep Curls – three sets of 10 reps
Leg Press – three sets of 12 reps
Flat Bench Press – four sets of eight reps
Sumo Deadlift with the barbell – four sets of eight reps
Incline Dumb Bell Chest Press – three sets of ten reps
Swissball Back Bridge and Leg Curl – three sets of ten reps
Dips – three sets of ten reps
Prone Ham Curls (single leg) – three set of 12

Happy working out boys..