How to workout consistently with ADHD
My 14-Day Fat Loss Transformation – By NITROvit creator Mark.
Intro:
This blog post details my fat loss transformation over 14 days. I have ADHD (ADD) and focusing at the gym was always a problem. I developed a style that suited my lack of attention and using it was able to transform my body quickly and safely.
I have written this blog in the following style:
First half: My training style, nutrition, supplements, mindset etc. Here I share the best knowledge I’ve picked up over the years that I’ve found to get me results.
Second half: A daily journal where I share what I ate, my workout, and my thoughts on the day and how I felt.
If you don’t have time to read this in one sitting, I recommend you take time to read the first half, and then wake up and read just one of my daily entries per day.
Even better still would be if you made my ‘day one’ your ‘day one’ too and followed the blueprint I’ve laid out below.
Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment, or use the comments section to update us all on how your progress is going.
—
Hello.
I’m Mark.
Most of you know me as this guy – (Taken mid 2020)
Unfortunately, this is me today, April 20th 2021…
So what on earth happened? Well lockdown happened. I’ve just finished my 12th month of it… And it’s taken its toll.
I’ve been confined, like you I’m sure, within 4 walls for a year, with no access to a gym, my barber, or the great outdoors.
In 12 months I’ve met just 4 people beyond the shopkeepers that were allowed to stay open.
And it’s taken its toll.
Mentally I had a wobble last year, and realized I was punishing myself too hard trying to eat clean and workout from home while in lockdown.
Really I should have relaxed and taken better care of my happiness levels.
So for the past few months I’ve been eating what I’ve wanted (I found a Kebab shop that delivered!), drunk when I wanted (too many beers on too many nights), and felt sorry for myself slumped on the couch with boxes of chocolates!
In my opinion it was the smart choice. I told myself I’d worry about sorting the physical side of things out (such as fat loss) once lockdown was over, and I’ve had 3 or 4 great months if I’m honest Haha!
Obviously however, that lifestyle isn’t sustainable long-term – unless you plan to be here short-term.
Well, today lockdown is officially over!
The gym is back open, the barbershop has it’s lights on, and I now sit some 50 Lbs heavier than last year!
I clearly have some work to do – and I’d be happy for you to join along with me if you’ve found yourself piling on the pounds recently.
My 14-Day Fat Loss Transformation –
Can I do it?
Well here’s a hint… You probably wouldn’t be reading this blog post if I had failed 😉
Also let’s remember that last year I went through a 14 week transformation after the first lockdown.
Here’s the picture of my before and after you might have seen in the email I sent about it…
My favorite machine at the gym was the vending machine…
Motivation – How to WANT to get off the couch
“The strangest thing about my life is that I have to spend the entirety of it with me. To dedicate every waking hour to anything but loving my partner, or loving and bettering myself seems truly wasteful. Head up and enjoy the journey, for there should be no final destination in your lifetime”.
Getting motivated to go workout is hard. Especially if you’re already out of shape.
The whole purpose of the way I designed this 14-day program is to primarily focus on weight/fat loss.
The reason for this is because keeping your body health optimal needs consistency, and exercise needs to blah blah to get you feeling lighter, sharper, more energized, and ultimately motivated to keep going on your fitness journey – unlike many do after just a couple of weeks.
Lisa story – 1 hour is 0.67% of your total week
Yeah – but I’ve got kids…
Amanda story
STOP using your child as your excuse… And start using them as your reason
You owe it to your children, your partner, your future partner, and most importantly yourself…
I promise your life with change.
Stop finding reasons why you can’t and start finding reasons why you must.
Create a strong mental image of the new you
Focus on the after shower
Hang up a shirt Project Noo You shirts XL – L)
So many people pull out a forgotten about favorite piece of clothing, try it on, then get depressed!
STOP! Be happy! You now have a motivator! Hang them jeans up on display and set yourself an amount of time to get in them.
“Shift your focus from the action – to the result and impact of the action
– and you’ll find guaranteed motivation and happiness.”
Training With A Partner Or Alone?
A partner may help encourage you to get to the gym, but they will likely hinder the results
This is your battle and so be a lone Wolf for 14-days… You may very well like it.
Nootropic Supplements For Fat Loss – What supplements should I use to burn fat?
Over the past few years I’ve seen more and more fitness supplements – including Protein powders – featuring Nootropics in their formulas.
Nootropics are ingredients shown to improve baseline cognitive function.
Hydration – But I hate drinking water!
Dehydration is an enormous energy Every time I take another band off I remind myself of the mission – the reason WHY I’m doing this.
In a small way, this takes my focus away from the mundaneness of drinking endless water, and fires me up to drink more.
Choosing Somewhere To Train – Which fitness place gets the best results? (Use pictures of Box and Gym and Home)
Find a place to workout 1 – 2 km from where you live.
Find obstacles such as steps and stairs.
What’s The Best Workout Program For ADD Sufferers?
What’s the best style for massive transformation fast? It’s a mix of 3… CrossFit, Metabolic Conditioning, and Traditional Weight Training.
As Bruce Lee mixed up philosophy with many fighting styles to create his Jeet Kune Do martial art style, I too have mixed up the 3 most effective styles to make sure every workout works!
And I added a little psychology in too; Some Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and mental games to make my workouts more mentally manageable.
I’ll come onto that in the next section, but first let’s look at how I workout…
The Perfect Workout Breakdown For People With ADD And Focus Issues
Due to my poor natural focus levels, the thought of going to a gym for an hour makes me want to vomit.
You must be the same right?
Well I keep my sessions to 35 minutes (unless I’m really enjoying myself).
Better yet, I mix them up with 3 different activities:
5 mins Dynamic Warmup
25 mins Main Workout
5 minutes Stretching/Yoga (Image)
Contrary to popular belief, traditional stretching is neither the most effective – not safest way to warm-up before exercise.
Slow stretching of the muscles should be saved till AFTER a rigorous workout – Not BEFORE – as stretching can actually cause the muscles to tighten and therefore may be more prone to injuries, pulls, and tears. Not cool.
Dynamic warm-ups for example help the process of warming and lubricating the joints, which stretching DOES NOT.
When I was first shown a “dynamic” style warm-up for the very first time I was blown away – and left out of breath! I soon saw the point of it… In just 2-5 minutes my muscles felt ready to work and full of energy, my body and lungs felt fully oxygenated, and my head was clear of cobwebs – raring to get into the main workout.
Take these warm-ups at your own comfortable pace. There is no race, just be sure to complete the exercises and complete them safely as shown in the accompanying videos found here:
As I did in my transformation, you should start by using Dynamic Warm-up 1 solely throughout your first week of training – before you begin the main session. You should be ready to progress to Dynamic Warm-up 2 for week two, Warm-up 3 for week 3 and so forth. I set out my warm-ups this way as I increased the intensity of them. I’ve kept week 1 nice and simple.
Remember to stay focused, positive, and enjoy that you are finally moving again. OK, Here we go!
Don’t focus on lifting the weight with your muscles, focus on fatiguing your muscle with the weight.
I only bench 88 lbs
Consistency is more important.
Will I get bulky?
Psychology And NLP To Make Things Easier
Count down 10 to 1
Use the power button
Visualize you already leaving before you’ve even started
Watch your language! ONLY focus on going today and tomorrow… Nothing more – BUT – tomorrow you say the same thing.
Nutrition – How serious am I getting with my diet?
So my nutrition on day 1 wasn’t on point. This was intentional and here’s why:
- I had some ‘bad’ foods left over (and a Coke) that I didn’t want to throw out when they tasted so good!
- I didn’t want to develop sugar cravings that would make me miserable because I went from eating dirty to eating clean overnight.
Mixing up day 1’s meals with some healthy foods such as chicken fillets for lunch – with the remaining bacon and eggs I fried for a toasted sandwich earlier – was my way of slowly weening myself off the unhealthy foods I love.
It’s still day 1 as I type this and tomorrow I will purchase cleaner foods, and avoid processed foods and the microwave meals I’ve become used to.
But I still make have a treat for a day or two before going all out clean.
And I’ll still enjoy a ‘cheat meal’ such as a Donna Kebab on Friday night. The key is consistency, and suffering doesn’t promote that.
If you train and workout hard enough you’ll still be able to enjoy the finer things in life…
In my version of Heaven, Kebabs are health food.
You’ll also notice as you see my meal plans below, I use a lot of chilli sauce. Chilli seeds contain Capsicum (the heat agent) which aids in increasing body temperature – which aids the metabolism.
A faster metabolism means faster fat loss.
Can you out train a bad diet? Don’t stress over what you eat – focus more on how much you eat. Go little and often.
Should I eat before I train
Eat what you want – if it feels good
Eat as much as you like until you’re full
Chew each mouthful 20 times
Let’s Get Started – Stop saying ‘One day’ and start saying ‘Day one’
Day 1
Date: Tuesday 20th April
Weight: 86 kg/189 Lbs
Body Shape:
My Meals:
9am – 2 cups of coffee
11:00 – Protein shake
12:30 – Fried egg + 3 bacon toasted sandwich with hot chilli sauce 🙂
14:30 – 170 grams ‘ready to eat’ chicken fillets with hot chilli sauce
16:00 – A cup of salt and vinegar peanuts
20:00 – 300 grams of Piri Piri chicken with 200 grams of steamed broccoli/carrots/greens
My Workout:
Thoughts:
So today (day one) was so so… The run to the gym is exactly 1 kilometre, but I had to stop 4 times and walk a little.
The gym session was horrible and while sweaty, out of breath, and moving some weight and my body, I got out after 20 minutes.
This didn’t bother me as day 1 can be a complete shock to the system if you go too hard, and can leave you painfully sore and unable to move for a couple of days if you overdid it.
I wanted to go back the next day and so took it easy, but I was very aware – and a little nervous – as to how uncomfortable I felt…
5 months on the couch, and then suddenly I’m jumping up onto 3 foot high boxes and swinging kettlebells above my head… I thought the old magic would be there but it wasn’t.
Again, I don’t care too much. Today was more about letting my brain know lockdown is over and we were leaving the house again!
As for my diet, to be honest, I mixed up a little good with what was left in my fridge. Again, I don’t want to either shock my system too quick with a drastic change in diet – nor push myself into unhappiness and suffering by de3priving myself overnight.
So I’ve used up the remaining food and will go out tomorrow food shopping for some healthier options.
It is 11:30pm and I am tired now as I write this so will sign off and get a good nights sleep ready for the gym tomorrow.
Day 2
Date: Wednesday 21st April
Weight: 86 kg/189 Lbs
Body Shape:
My Meals:
9am – 2 cups of coffee
11:00 – Protein shake
11:30 – 3 boiled eggs
13:30 – 6 inch ‘9 wheat’ toasted steak and cheese Subway with jalapenos and red onion
16:00 – A cup of salt and vinegar peanuts and cream cheese and breadsticks (I had to finish them off rather than throw them away) 🙂
19:30 – 190 grams of fillet steak, 300 grams of boiled new potatoes, 3 large spring onions and hot chilli sauce
21:00 – 2 x cherry cough sweets (I didn’t have a cough but needed some sugar)
My Workout:
My Thoughts:
I did take today a little more serious. I tried to not stop on the run. I still did 3 times but it was an improvement on yesterday.
Unfortunately the gym session was still under-par for me. I shied away from doing any real cardio and could feel I was still fighting wanting to exert myself.
I still went at it however and had to lay on the floor a couple of times. It was just mentally tough – the urge to go home and get back on the couch was still strong in me.
I tried to stretch out but had brain fog as to what to do. As I remembered my old Yoga and stretch routine I realized I had no interest in that today so left.
I ran, I trained. It could have been better, and I understand I’m facing that rough internal fight as I start to push myself out of my comfort zone.
I met mum for a walk and just some hours later noticed my legs were weak from the deadlifts. I didn’t use any real weight at all, but I had hit them.
We walk just shy of 5k before heading into the food store to stock up my freezer.
I bought lots of chicken breasts and lots of steaks. Only 1 microwave dinner this time – and it’s a slimming world one so don’t get on my case! 🙂
It will be a shock preparing real home cooked food again, but the steak I had for dinner tonight tasted better than any microwave meal I’ve tasted.
I will need to be disciplined and get a little structure into my meal prep. I also notice that my meal times between days are all over the place.
I’m not going to stress over it now, but by next week I think it will be highly beneficial to try to eat at the same time every day.
Some times I’d eat so late I wouldn’t feel tired until 1 or 2 am. Putting an 8pm cut off for my main meal at least (might allow a snack later) will help improve my sleep and recovery.
In a way I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and resting these legs. G’nite.
Day 3
Date: Thursday 22nd April
Weight: 85kg/187 Lbs
Body Shape:
My Meals:
9am – 2 cups of coffee
11:00 – Protein shake
11:30 – 3 boiled eggs
16:30 – 300 grams ‘ready to eat’ chicken breast with hot Piri Piri sauce
21:00 – 2 x cherry cough sweets
22:00 – Protein shake
23:00 – 190 grams of fillet steak cut into strips with hot chilli sauce (It was too late for this meal but I couldn’t resist and buckled)
My Workout:
My Thoughts:
OK, SO I WOKE A DIFFERENT MAN TODAY!
I didn’t fight to get out of bed… I looked at the clock, it was 8am and I leapt out!
Something was different and I couldn’t wait to get to the gym.
I felt flatter this morning too. The scales confirmed I’d dropped
Day 4
Date: Friday 23rd April
Weight: 85kg/187 Lbs
Body Shape:
My Meals:
6am – 2 cups of coffee (bad stomach had me up early)
11:00 – 3 boiled eggs
16:30 – 300 grams ‘ready to eat’ chicken breast with hot Piri Piri sauce
21:00 – 2 x cherry cough sweets
22:00 – Protein shake
23:00 – 190 grams of fillet steak cut into strips with hot chilli sauce (It was too late for this meal but I couldn’t resist and buckled)
My Workout:
10 x kettlebell bicep curls x 5 reps – 8kg
Rest
My Thoughts:
My expectations of today – knowing it was Friday and I avoid the gym on weekends due to crowds – was to go hell for leather and then enjoy 2 well earned days off.
Sadly I woke 3 times in the night and suffered diarrhoea. I’m not sure why I had it as I’d not drunk alcohol for 4 days, but did have some shenanigans whilst cooking the streak late last night.
I cooked it not fully defrosted and then had to reheat – so probably caused the issue myself. But it left me wiped out.
I did get my gym gear on and grabbed my keys twice, but could feel my stomach cramping both times and so went back to the bathroom and wrote the day off.
I was planning to wait to get a haircut on the last day of this transformation, but my dishevelled look was starting to get me down and wain on my confidence.
Having skipped the gym and with time on my hands, I went to the barbers. The crowds had gone and Anna was free to cut 5 months of hair off me.
(Pic of me today)
I got my money’s worth!
To be honest, I’m not disappointed that I rested up today. I am sore… It’s the good ‘I’ve pushed my body hard’ kind of sore – but sore nonetheless.
I’ll also be honest in saying I’m having a drink tonight. I’ll list tomorrow what I drunk, but it’s been 5 days since I had a drink, it’s Friday night, the sun’s shining, and with 3 days of training under my belt, I feel it’s well deserved.
I’ll likely be heavier on the scales tomorrow with no training today and booze on the menu, but the haircut has taken 5 Lbs off my face already so I’m happy.
I spoke with my wife Noon on Skype tonight and she was shocked to see the new haircut. Her smile made me feel handsome and loved.
I’ll sign off now for the evening but I’ll add an update tomorrow morning as to how I rough I feel after the drinks!
The question will be, will I train tomorrow? I’ve only got 10 days left to show off a 6 pack and some clear signs of fat loss…
And if I can’t make a change then all I’ve written to this point will never see the light of day!
I’m going to forget about it now but try to do something tomorrow workout wise.
(Saturday 24th am update) – I feel horrid.
I promised myself I’d be 100% honest with this blog post, and so I will list here the alcohol I consumed last night:
4 x Kronenbourg 440 ml cans
6 x Necessary Evil
3 x Desperado (Tequila and Lager mix)
I needed the night off, but I’m feeling the pain today and realize I’ve got to take this ’14-day transformation’ a lot more seriously next week if my before and after pictures are going to make this blog worth reading.
Day 5
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 6
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 7
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 8
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 9
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 10
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 11
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 12
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 13
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
Day 14
Date: 20th April
Weight: 189 Lbs
Body Shape:
