Dom is one of my current clients and also my flatmate. Usually I try to avoid training people who are close to me, it usually ends in disagreement and a lack of belief in the methods. It’s hard to see someone as an authority when you’ve lived with them for 4 years.
When Dom approached me enquiring about a consultation he was very explicit in his requirements, he wanted to implement some strategies that would allow him to improve in terms of bodycomposition and strength without having much of an affect on his life – some people simply don’t want to suffer through arduous dieting and that’s what we’re all about – we train humans, not machines. I felt I could help Dom make some decent headway without him even noticing the change. Here’s his account of the journey so far:
Hi my name’s Dom and I live with Jonny (editor) and have done for 4 years now, throughout university and now i’m in the real world.
When Jonny asked if I wanted to write an article for PropaneFitness, i initially thought I wouldn’t have much to offer. However I decided that my approach to training may provide some comfort to those in my position who may feel a little intimidated by the Propane pros.
Just by looking on the forum you can clearly see a huge range of different approaches to training and can easily get bogged down. However, what I consider to be the most important is finding a program or a way to train that you will enjoy and will stick with. After all, a training plan can work perfectly in theory but you’ll achieve nothing if you can’t follow it for more than a few days.
I’ve jumped on my fair share of bandwagons and still jump from one to the other when I feel I’m not getting as much out of it as i once did. However, rarely do i make the jump without having a word with Jonny or raising a query in the forum. If you’re struggling to get into a consistent way of training (not necessarily a routine) The Propane forum is a good place to start. You can ask advice from the editors and contribute in discussions, even receive feedback on what you’re doing/thinking of doing from people with a wealth of experience in all aspects of diet and training.
There are a million and one ways to train and much like the new positive teaching in schools, there is no right or wrong answer. Having said that, I have always needed the odd steer in the right direction and fortunately haven’t had far to go.
I’ve never been as dedicated to training as some of those I know but with the help of Propane have managed to make some relatively good gains. The drip feeding of knowledge that I have received over the years from Jonny has allowed me to adapt my training depending in my life style.
With Jonny’s help we compiled a combination of sensible strategies that would impose the least cost and yield the most gain. I now work 9-5 Monday to Friday and am not back in the house until 6:30pm so I use the following approach:
At work I have a whey isolate shake and 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large coffee at 1pm to reign in proteolysis and prevent any potential mTOR deregulation (so I’m told), this also gives me a bump in ketones for energy and serves as a “pick me up” for the rest of the day, I’ll drink this at around the 12-13 hour mark of my fast. When I get home at 6:30pm I’ll repeat the lunchtime shake and coffee combo and train before ingesting any actual food.
In the evening I eat pretty much whatever I want as long as I reach and don’t overshoot the limits and guidelines that Jonny set, so within these parameters I have dietary freedom and never feel deprived. We adjust quantities and what I eat depending on how I’m looking and responding which seems to keep progress constant with regards to visual improvement. Being able to eat huge evening meals, with banoffee pie (my favorite) making a regular appearance, all while starting to uncover your abs is a feat I never thought possible.
I train nearly every day, this helps me to make consistent progress and still accumulate the same weekly volume without eating into my free time too terribly much. I focus on a few select movements which allows me to build better technique and get comfortable with some previously unfamiliar motor patterns. Jonny has recognised that I am playing the long game and advised me accordingly, although I’m quite limited by equipment I still manage a decent training session of about 45 minutes to an hour, its always a challenge but I always seem to end the session feeling better than I started – not bad given that I train in my living room. I’ve been told that I’m the first to experience some of these training ideas before they go out to other clients and so far I’ve added over 5kg to my bench press and I’ve lost some noticable fat around my abdomen and lower back.
The caveat here is that no matter how difficult it may seem to implement effective diet and training into your life there is always a way. Things don’t always have to be “perfect” to yield great results. Equally, change may not always be as daunting as you first expect. Dom always assumed that I would advocate a very strict diet constrained to specific foods and a training regime that would consume his entire evening. Most importantly, he’s learned strategies that can be applied no matter how tough his schedule becomes now he’ll always have a back up plan and a solid base to build on.