Pete Fraser Fitness and Esquire, Amateur to Athlete in 10 weeks

Amateur to athlete in 10 weeks – weekly update – week 3

Amateur to athlete in 10 weeks – weekly update – week 3

Will Hersey, our “game” editor from Esquire magazine continues his epic 10 week health and fitness turnaround guided by the Pete Fraser Fitness sports scientist trainers.

Continue reading to find out how Will is performing and for training and nutrition updates…

How`s Will finding the nutrition: “…my diet and the nutrition has become easier to manage since week 1 as my body gets used to the calorie intake and I get smarter with meal-planning. I haven’t found it difficult to resist the bad things so far – except for weekends when there’s more free time to fill. Social life of any kind has had to go for now too, as my meal plan means it’s not really possible to get the food I need out and about at a restaurant or a friend’s house say. Living like a monk at the moment – early nights to keep energy high and also to resist temptation!”

“It’s still early days though and feeling motivated that some big breakthroughs lie not too far ahead…”.

We say: Will is starting to settle into the nutrition plan and finding it easier as his metabolism begins to adapt to the calorie intake. His body is starting to consume the available stored fat – slimming him down – this is complimented by the early phase muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) and exercise calories consumed. The athlete is starting to appear!

The athlete is starting to appear!

How`s Will finding the exercise: “The training really stepped up throughout the week. Dare I say it was hard but still enjoyable. How much longer can I say that I wonder? A combination of bodyweight circuits, heavy weights and cardio – no wonder I’m already feeling fitter (and dare I say it leaner). I’m looking forward to the progression of heavier weights as I get stronger and also seeing the spare tyre start to shrink”.

We say: The Pete Fraser Fitness team are training Will at a higher intensity, both aerobically and with resistance. Early stage physical prep training is well under way and we can now maintain a higher training intensity to progress the results. We need to increase calorie expenditure and muscular development ASAP so it’s “all hands on deck” from now on! We fear Will not be reporting too much in the line of enjoyment during his sessions in future updates!!

Will’s first physiological stat check will be at the end of the 1st mesocycle: 2 weeks time

View the current training and nutrition guides on the PDF’s at the bottom of the page.

Updates. 

NUTRITION If you are following our fitness plan you are currently in a depletion phase where calorific intake is low. Your body is undergoing a physiological adaptation to restructure its energy needs consuming its energy mostly from stored fat. “Quality” calories are available from the nutrition plan in the form of complex carbohydrates, protein and unsaturated fats. Refined/added sugar and saturated fat have largely been omitted and the body is being forced to “correct” its metabolism. Any lethargy and sugar cravings should now have leveled out and your metabolism should be regulating itself more efficiently.  Your body should now be consuming stored fat calories. Enough protein, quality carbs and micronutrients are available to repair and maintain your body. 

” Any lethargy and sugar cravings should now have leveled out and your metabolism should be regulating itself more efficiently.  Your body should now be consuming stored fat calories”

EXERCISE  We are still in prep phase where the CV and the musculoskeletal  systems are becoming adapted for the challenges to come. Be sure to maintain the correct levels of resistance during weights sessions and heart rate level during CV work to exercise effectively. We still need to apply a leash at the moment to all you raring stallions! 

Changes:

  • We’re pushing up to 70 – 80% of 1 rep max load on resistance sessions
  • Increase sets from 2 to 3 as the neurological (brain-muscle) connections improved and muscles will begin to tone and grow
  • We’re doubling the distances of the aerobic sessions to increase the endurance benefits and expend more calories. BTW: humans DO NOT BURN CALORIES – we’re not petrol engines! – read more…humans are not petrol engines!
  • We’re increasing distances on both weekday aerobic sessions by 100%. Also increase HR training zone to 75 – 80% of HR max.

Now let’s revise the plan – Amateur to athlete – read on….

Week 3 – Nutrition – essentials

What does this nutritional plan do for you?

“The nutritional plan is designed to support the requirements for the programme including: fat loss, muscular hypertrophy, energy needs and micronutrient provision. As a rule, the aim is to omit refined and processed foods and drinks as much as possible. To form a healthy eating pattern and provide correct quality and quantity of nutrients.”

Strike out:

  • Alcohol, sugary drinks, fruit juice
  • Sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, sugar, cream and full fat products
  • White/refined: bread, pasta and rice

Keep in:

  • Carbs: brown/unrefined: bread, oats, rice, rice and oat cakes
  • Copious amounts of vegetables and salad
  • Protein: chicken, turkey, tuna, white fish, eggs, tofu, quinoa, couscous, lentils, beans
  • Water, lots of water, up to 3 ltrs a day and good quality coffee and tea if you must
  • 2/3 portions of fruit per day
  • Small amounts of nuts and dried fruit

Tips:

  • Split the ‘keep in’ section into 3 small meals and 2 snacks per day. Carbs + protein at each meal except dinner where we omit carbs
  • Reduce carbs after approx. 15:00 hrs and omit them for dinner (“we didn’t say no carbs”)
  • Exercise on an empty stomach (except 1/4 banana 15 mins before training)

 

Week 3 – Exercise – essentials: Preparatory phase – 4 week phase to ready the body for the hard work to come.

What does this preparatory exercise phase do for you?

“The first phase strengthens the muscular system, especially core muscles ready for resistance and complexity increases in phase 2. The C.V. system is prepared by maintaining correct heart rate levels during training to familiarize cardiac and muscular physiology.”

Pete Fraser Amateur to Athlete Week1

 

 

 

  • This week double distances on both weekday aerobic sessions and increase HR to 75 -80% HRmax

C.V.:  cycle 10 miles or run 4 miles @ 75 – 80% heart rate max (HR max).

(Use a heart rate monitor to guide exercise intensity. Train between 65 – 75% of HR max (HOW TO WORK OUT HEART RATE TRAINING ZONES: work out HR max: 220 – age, then calculate desired HR % training zone)

Resistance:
Mon and Fri:  leg emphasis: 5 exercises, rep range 10 – 20.
Wed: upper body emphasis: 6 exercises, rep range 6 – 16.
Each session starts with 5 min easy warm-up, mobility stretches and finishes with core.

  • This week push-up your resistance levels to 70 – 80% of 1 rep max level. 

Active rest: easy pace activity for 45 – 60 mins, jog, cycle, stretch, yoga, swim

Click on the image below to view the programme training cycles 

Pete Fraser Fitness Amateur to Athlete Part 2

Find out about the programme here Amateur to Athlete

Find out more about the great results you could achieve Contact Us