This post is a little bit off my usual travel based post, so I do apologise, however beyond travelling, music and marketing, another love of mine is health and fitness.

I regularly try to get into top shape, then disappear off around the world, destroying all progress but having the time of my life. I now know however that with an empty bank account and a job which prevents me from jumping on a plane, I know have a chance to dedicate myself to the gym, exact for a whole load of short holidays.

 

My New Training Plan

Quick Point: Sorry if you have absolutely no interest in reading this, I wanted to jot it down to help me focus and I love writing and sharing on Spaghetti Traveller, so I’ve placed this all here, but you can tell me to shhhhh if you don’t want to hear my ramblings.

I’m currently 73.7KG, while my bodyfat levels are 12%. I have been previously on a cutting diet where I have been consuming 1,900 calories, however I will now be taking on a bulking diet, where I will be consuming 3,140 calories per day, which will increase every two weeks. An important thing to consider if you are going to bulk is to work out your macro nutrient requirements. This is the breakdown of how much protein, carbohydrates and fat you need per day. Protein and carbs work out as 1 gram = 4 calories, whereas fat works out as 1 gram = 9 calories.

I can’t remember the exact figure (going from memory, can’t find all my papers), but I should be consuming 230 grams of protein per day, 320 grams of carbohydrates per day and 90 grams of fat per day. I break that down into seven meals, with most of the complex carbs being consumed first thing in the morning and post workout. I will also be giving Optimum Nutrition Serious mass a try post workout, with a half dosage, making it 600 calories in each shake.

Questions For Me

I have been working over the past 8 months with SNC Direct, a sports nutrition company based in Brighton, as a Digital Marketing Manager. While it helped me to get the job that I had been actively involved in sports nutrition previously, this has significantly increased my knowledge. I would love to give something back, so if any of my readers have any questions in regards to fitness or nutrition, I would love to help. You can email me at tom@spaghettitraveller.com with any questions, or you can leave a comment at the bottom of the page.

 

Meal Plan

A lot of people who want to take on a bulking diet plan don’t have a clue what this actually entails, so I will write below what my diet will be. It will actually change day by day and week by week, as I constantly experiment, so I will just write up todays food plan.

First you need to work out whether you want a clean bulk or a dirty bulk. I am not interested in getting overly fat really quick, so I’m going to do a clean bulk, eating healthy foods, just in greater quantities, making sure I hit all my macros, without going dramatically over. People who dirty bulk tend to overly consume saturated fats and other things through junk food and generally unhealthy food.

So here is todays food plan:

Meal 1: porridge – made from 1 pint of milk, 1.5 cups of oats, two scoops of Chocolate Cookie Protein Powder, 5 strawberries, 2 plums.

Meal 2: 1 chicken breast, two sweet potatoes, one portion of spinach

Meal 3: 1 chicken breast, two sweet potatoes, one portion of broccoli

Meal 4: 1 chicken breast, two sweet potatoes, one carrot

Meal 5: Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass, a pint of milk

Meal 6: Medallion Steak, 2 tomatoes, a portion of cucumber, one parsnip

Meal 7: 300 grams of cottage cheese, one spoon of peanut butter

 

The Medallion Steak will swap for either a salmon fillet or a venicine burger, while I will try to mix up the breakfast quite a bit over the next month. Plus, as you can see, the 2-4th meals are all a bit samey, so I might need to swap it around, however sweet potatoes are not just the healthiest complex carb, they also taste unbelievably good. Plus there is no risk of food poisoning, like there can be with eating rice cooked the day before.

Well, that is enough mumbling for now, I hope I haven’t bored you all! Let me know if you have any questions regarding your own fitness programmes, I am always happy to help!

2 Comments

  1. ndawkins October 1, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    Oh Tom. I admire your tenacity. I used to be a paragon of discipline back in my tri days. Unfortunately, I think travel has destroyed my willpower. I’m still cycling like a maniac, but I’ve put on weight. The truth is that I’m not paying much attention to the Garmin when I’m on my bike. I keep stopping to enjoy the view or snap a photo (or…wait..is that a patisserie? maybe I should carb up). When I get back to the U.S. in November I’m going to follow in your footsteps and whip myself back in shape. The bread, the butter, the warm croissants, etc. won’t be the same in the U.S., so maybe I’ll be able to get back in the game. I wish you luck. Keep me posted.

    Reply
    1. spaghettitraveller October 5, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Haha the patisserie’s are most definitely my weak point while travelling through Europe. Blame my French ancestry, but nothing beats a croissant and a cup of coffee. I’m finding it easier to stick to my health plan and training guide without a new travel plan in place, but I know what I would much rather be doing! Next year I might be heading to Asia…hopefully!

      Reply

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