If I was to describe it in one word, I would have to use the word brutal, as well as amazing, informative and inspiring.
I arrived a few days before the actual course because I wanted to use the gym and become familiar with things. I also wanted to have a play on all of the amazing equipment, not just the weights but also on the outside grassed area too. (Little did I know I’d be seeing that quite a lot during the 3-day hypertrophy/fat loss boot camp.)
I got there bright and early the first day, still feeling my muscles from the punishment I’d given them in the three days leading up to the camp (that probably wasn’t the best idea on a physical basis, although I did save my legs for the camp and I am glad that I did!)
After the first workout I knew I was in for a battering and I had that little glimmer of a thought: what have I signed myself up for now?
It’s kinda funny, as a trainer you always think you push yourself pretty hard and you try to get all the bits in. Even the bits that you really don’t like to do. It’s part of the job. But if there is one thing that the experience has taught me is that even I need someone stood over me for those moments where I’m feeling tired; they help me to drive harder.
I’ve got to say that, that’s one thing the guys at UP do really well: they not only know their stuff, but they know how to get the most and the best out of you.
Their eyes are like Hawks and their voices are like lions roaring at you to keep going: you feel like the gazelle running across the planes of Africa. Wondering what I meant? Well, the reason I refer to them as lions is because if you dare to stop before you’re supposed to then you get lept on like a lion leaping on its prey and boy do you suffer for it!
Personally, if there is one thing the experience has taught me about myself is that I am capable of so much more than I usually push myself to, and I can train at a much higher level than I currently do.
I’ve been left wondering, though, how many of my clients would get better results if I was a little more aggressive with them? I know that most believe they give 100% in their sessions and I used to think that too, until I trained like I have over the last few days and I literally had nothing left to give at the end of the session.
I wasn’t able to stand
I didn’t have enough energy to walk
Especially when some of them literally stroll out the door.
I’m definitely going to be making some changes to the way I structure people’s programmes, especially for clients who want to really push themselves to the next level and are ready to go after their big goals.
Day Two
As for the second day, that wasn’t any easier and in fact I’d say it was harder. Whether that was due to my legs feeling like they were seized up from the mega amount of squats I did on the first day, or it was in fact genuinely harder, I have no idea, I just remember thinking to myself “Come on, keep going and don’t stop yet. Just do a few more!”
I didn’t want to get caught by eagle eyes Nick Daniel. I’m just glad I took a shed load of glutamine and BCAA with me, they did give you a recovery shake but since I follow a non dairy diet, that was out for me. What was good was the fact they fed you during the day, you got 3 meals and believe me, if you think you can go on that and not eat to lose weight you are in for a shock!
Day Three
Day 3 was far more lower key and that was a good job too: every time I sat down my legs wanted to seize up and it took me several minutes to get them moving again (which was quite funny). We also only had to do two workouts instead of the normal three a day, which we had done on the first two days.
After today I would definitely need a few days of recovery before I hit it into high gear again! I think back to the times when clients have said to me, “I want to do 3 sessions a day for a week” and I told them they would probably die. Well, after 8 sessions in 3 days I knew I was right!
Would I do it again?
In a heart beat. If someone showed me the level I’d be training at before I left the UK and the amount of pain my legs would be feeling after doing it, I’d have still thought let’s have a go! Now that I’ve done it once, if I got a call saying there’s a another one starting in two days then I’d be hopping straight back on that plane to get back back there asap.
A few people would probably ask, “Why would you do that to yourself or put yourself through that?” My answer would be….for the results. I’m not interested in how many reps I have to do to make more muscles or my physique go the way I want it to go. I don’t focus on the negatives of the journey, I focus on the end result of what I want to achieve and work my way back though the journey to figure out how to get there. Then I simply do what is asked.
You can’t train that hard by yourself
And to push yourself as hard as I have in the last few days, I have come to the conclusion that you can’t train that hard by yourself. You think you can, but when your muscles are burning and your heart is beating out of your chest to get the oxygen to them the voice in your muscles starts getting very loud, and sometimes it takes over and makes you stop. When you’ve got someone there screaming at you to push out one more rep, you usually get one or two more out. After doing two minutes solid on a leg press I can testify to that!
It’s all about focus
Look at it this way, if you’re on a diet and you focus on all the foods you can’t eat then you’ll probably quit the diet, but if you’re following a food plan and focus on what you have to eat every day then you won’t be concerned with what you’re not eating (positive vs negative).
I leave you with this thought:
I went to Marbella to find out what other trainers are doing different than I am, to get better results in fat loss and muscle building than I was, and I found out what it was.
The truth is that there are no special programmes === there are good and bad training programmes just as there are good and bad trainers and good and bad diets! If you want the key to changing your body then you have to ask yourself, “How much do I really want it?”
Then when you have decided that you have three choices:
- Get someone to help you achieve your goals (most successful)
- Do it yourself (most likely to fail but not the worse choice)
- Do nothing and stay the same (if this is your choice then you need to go back to the first question and ask it again)
So, if you’re reading this and you want to change your life then get in touch, or go to Marbella. Either way you’ll have made the right choice!
