We welcome guest blogger Geraint Llewellyn. [caption id="attachment_118" align="alignnone" width="235"]Geraint Llewellyn Geraint Llewellyn[/caption] Being a 34 year old full time Manager of an independent health food and supplement shop means I’m a busy man. I’m also Dad to two boys and engaged to be married this May to the beautiful Carlene who has an eleven year old son. As you can tell, I’m a man with his hands full! Finding time to get to the gym can be tricky, so that’s why I've been exercising at home for the last few years – and getting myself ready for Powerlifting victory. In mid-December 2013, I became a member of the British Drug Free Powerlifting Association (BDFPA). Taking part in my first competition in January this year, I came away victorious, setting a new bench press record. So let me tell you about my journey and how I managed my success… Why powerlifting? When I turned 30, I’ll admit I was pretty out of shape. I’ve always been attracted to the world of weight lifting, so I decided it was time to stop watching and start doing. I thought it would be great to actually get to competition level, so for the last few years I've been weight training pretty much daily. Creating my ideal home gym space I knew that to get into the shape I wanted, I needed to be dedicated. So I’ve spent time building up my home gym. As a working parent, I find it's more convenient than finding time to go to the local leisure centre or gym. To ensure I was well equipped, I spent last year upgrading all my home gym equipment to heavy duty, full commercial stuff, all of which came from Fitness Superstore. My older bits of kit were limiting my progress and were no longer suitable - or safe! Here’s some of the equipment I use: [caption id="attachment_121" align="alignnone" width="500"]Geraint benchpressing This is me bench pressing 155kg at home. This shows the safeties on the rack only an inch from the bar. When training at home alone, safety is paramount and they are there ready incase I struggle with this weight.[/caption] It was training with my friend Phil in early December last year that prompted him to suggest we take on a Powerlifting contest. To this day, he still reckons it was my idea! I was also encouraged by the support of my friends Kyle and Lee. They’re natural bodybuilders and had been trying to get me to join them on stage for a while. Getting ready for the BDFPA Welsh Open Championships Here’s my training schedule for the week: Sunday = chest Monday = back Tuesday = squats / legs Wednesday = shoulders Thursday = arms Friday = deadlifts / legs Saturday = rest day [caption id="attachment_127" align="alignnone" width="600"]Squats with 180kg weights This is me squatting 180kg. As you can see from the festive decs, this was taken at Christmas time.[/caption] I start all sessions with heavy compound movements including Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press (about 5-8 sets each) before finishing with supporting exercises for lots of volume with high reps. Chest day as an example:
  • Flat Bench: 12,10, 8, 6, 4, 1, 1 reps per set
  • Incline bench, decline bench, decline dumbbell flyes, flat dumbbell flyes, incline dumbbell flyes: 3 sets x 10 reps each.
My diet I follow a high protein diet, which I've designed through trial and error, with a sensible amount of carbs and healthy fats spread over eight meals a day, similar to a bodybuilder but not quite as strict! I kept my diet in check over Christmas and New Year, and I even trained right the way through (even on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)! My thinking was that I couldn't control how strong the other competitors would be but I could control how hard I worked to be able to stand amongst them as equals. What I take to work:
  • 8.45am: Oats, muesli, milled chia seeds, cranberries, blueberries, wheatgrass powder, Sci-MX Ultra Whey Protein, all mixed with water just before I demolish it! Solgar VM75, 1000mg Vit C, Quest Forte 4000iu Vit D, Solgar Full Spectrum Omega Salmon Oil Capsules.
  • 11.15am, 1.30pm, 3.45pm: 180-200g skinless chicken breast seasoned with herbs, basmati rice, mixed seeds, cranberries, beetroot salad.
  • 700ml Green Tea between each meal, plus loads of water throughout the day.
I also have a sports nutrition drink/protein shake pre and post training, and allow myself whatever my fiancée cooks us for an evening meal! Check out part 2, where I reveal exactly how I got on at the BDFPA Welsh Open Championships, including a video snippet of the day…