I have just reached the end of a 12 week body transformation program with Ben Shills from Peak Performance Fitness (http://www.peakperformancefitness.co.uk). The aim of this program was to see how much body fat I could lose in 12 weeks … how lean could I get? I must admit that at the age of 59 I was somewhat daunted by this but was also excited by it and wanted to give it a go.

Ben warned me that this would be a tough program to follow; it would be hard work, I’d feel tired, I would lose some motivation, I would feel hungry, I would probably feel ill. He was not exaggerating!

Targets

The targets we set at the start of the program were mainly aesthetic. This was not about training for a sport or hobby, it was not necessarily about losing weight although some weight loss was inevitable, it was not necessarily about strength and it was not about muscle building although again some strength gain and muscle building was inevitable. This program was all about trying to shed body fat. How much body fat could I lose in twelve weeks? How lean could I get?

There were some other targets. Some of them we achieved together, some of them went by the wayside. The cycling target, for instance, has not been achieved; it was initially set back by the poor weather early in the year, and in latter stages of the program through fatigue. This will be taken forward into the next program … again.

Exercise

We moved from a three way split of push, pull, legs to a two way split of upper then lower twice a week. The advantage of this was that we could achieve a greater intensity in the workout; we would “waste” less time in resting between exercises; and it also meant that each muscle group would be worked at least two times a week.

We incorporated a lot of the principles from the book Principles of Muscle Building Program Design by Nick Mitchell from Ultimate Performance. There is so much in this book which make sense and I have learned so much from it.

One of the downfalls of this new two way split is that there is little time for recovery in the week and the second session of upper, say, could be a struggle.

Another change was that all warm ups and stretches took place before the session started so that more time could be spent on the exercises themselves.

Work did not stop in the gym. Ben set a steps target. Initially this was 11,300 a day (79,100) a week, but this was soon increased to 15,000 a day (105,000 a week) Except for one week these targets were met. I poor weather some of these were done on the treadmill in the gym, but mostly it was done by walking round the village and countryside in the evenings. The annoying thig is that the Stairmaster in the gym does not count steps on my Garmin device!

Also outside the gym I had daily stretching and foam rolling at home, plus some core exercises when I had time. These were most days, even if I was not having a session with Ben at the gym. I also stopped going to exercise classes as the intensity of the gym work meant that more recovery time was required.

Nutrition

Throughout the program I was working in a calorie deficit, although there was one day when I was allowed a “calorie holiday”. Believe me I took advantage of it!

Part way through the program Ben altered my macros to increase my protein intake and to reduce the fat intake. It was difficult to get the balance correct, but I did feel better for having the extra protein.

My eating pattern changed as well. I found I was eating less food but eating more often. Gradually I found that large meals were a real struggle to eat.

The start of the program coincided with Lent and so I gave up alcohol for the first part of the program. I really felt so much better for it. Alcohol has gradually crept back in, but not in the quantity and not in the bulk I have had before – in the whole of the twelve weeks I have only had four pints of cider!

Problems

During the program I had to work through some injuries, most notably a problem with my IT band in the right leg. This meant that some exercise such as hip thrusts and glute bridges had to be abandoned for several weeks.

I also hit plateaus. There was a period when I could not get higher that 180kg on the lateral leg press. This was a cause of much frustration and anger at myself. We worked through it though by using other exercises to strengthen my legs so that I could break through. What a fantastic feeling when it finally happened!

At one point I did feel “broken”. This was just before the early May bank holiday. By this stage I was exhausted all the time, I was hungry all the time, and I did not think that I could continue. I still worked hard through the session, but was shattered by the end, aching all over and felt I never wanted to see a gym again. Over the weekend I continued to feel awful and even considered messaging Ben on the Sunday evening to cancel our Tuesday session. The extra day of rest (apart from the interminable steps) on the Monday did me the power of good and I felt recovered enough to go back and throw myself back into the program.

Learning Outcomes

I learned lots of new exercises and techniques. I did boxing training for the first time in my life and loved it – or was it just the revenge of being able to hit out at Ben? The importance of recovery time became very clear to me. For the first time I was actually looking forward to spending time away from the gym.

This program made me really appreciate Ben. I do not think it would be possible to do a program like this by yourself. Ben was always there, pushing, cajoling, encouraging and occasionally nagging at me to get through an exercise. I keep hearing a voice in my head saying “Come on John. You are better than this”. What has been achieved is as much Ben’s achievement as it is mine.

Results

I have had some weight loss, though this was not really a target of a priority.

My measurements have definitely gone down, most significantly from round my waist. This means that my musculature has become more visible – I have abs that you can see now! Unfortunately, all my trousers have become too loose around the waist!

I have also been achieving personal bests on a more or less weekly basis, even when I have been feeling tired and exhausted. And I have been so proud of being able to do 3 sets of unassisted pulls ups over the last few sessions. My coordination is still way off, though, when doing dead bugs.

Apart from the one week I mentioned earlier, I have thoroughly enjoyed the program. I have looked forward to going to the gym and have generally felt better and happier at the end of a session than I was at the start.

Conclusions

In all truth, I would have liked to have lost a little more body fat – maybe two or three more weeks would have helped. At the review we decided to keep to this program (with additional steps!) for a further three weeks.

Was it all worth it, though? Most definitely! It has been a pleasure to work with Ben on this project and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it.

What happens now? I am hoping that after the first three weeks of the next program we will work on building my strength and muscle mass.