Client #3 - Sabine:

Before: October 2005
155 cm
Weight: 110 lbs
Body fat: 24%

After 5 months: February 2006
Weight: 102 lbs
Body fat: 18%

After 10 months: August 2006
Weight: 105 lbs
Body fat: 17%
This is off season with no cardio!

WORK OUT
Before following the training routine and principles that Sean introduced me to, I did cardio for about 1 hr / day and 1-2- times weight training sessions per week. The weight training consisted of a whole body work out routine and lasted for about 1.5 hrs (3 sets/15 reps per muscle group). No apparent change in body composition was noticeable over time. My focus was counting sets, reps and looking at the amount weight I moved.

Now I shifted my attention from cardio to weight training: Daily work outs last about 45 min; 1-2 muscle groups per work out session. Instead of sets & reps I focus on stimulating the muscle; the weight I move became secondary.

To prepare for my first photo session, I started cardio 6 weeks out from the photo shoot; getting up at 4 AM and doing 30 – 45 min cardio before work. The changes in body composition became very apparent and were also monitored by weekly weight and body fat measurements. At this point I would like to point out that the last winter in Munich was nasty…imagine doing cardio outside at 4AM in Vancouver, BC in February!

It was very surprising for everybody around me to notice the dramatic changes in a relatively short period of time. Interestingly, I did adapt very quickly to the modified schedule and getting up quite early ;). Towards the end of February I went through a plateau. I was very motivated and over trained. Cutting back on the cardio and re-newed focus on my carb intake got me out of this phase within a couple of weeks.

NUTRITION
Even though I was interested in nutrition and read a lot on this topic before, I found it truly amazing what impact my changes in this area had on my physique. Originally mainly fruit, vegetables, pasta, whole grain bread some white bread; hardly ever meat, fish or seafood. I was trying to go for what would be generally considered a balanced nutrition. Looking back I definitely did not include enough high protein in my diet. The only sources of protein for me were dairy products (low fat versions). I drank about 172 gal of water or diluted juices per day.

I shifted my nutrition towards high quality protein and started to pay particular attention to my carbs and fat consumption.
Particularly the times right before the photo sessions with very little to no carbs were very difficult, but worth it.
During my off season, I maintain a very clean diet. This allows me to reduce cardio to a minimum, maximize the gains from my weight training and stay lean at the same time. I eat several times more than I did before, cut my daily hour of cardio out of my schedule and stayed at around 18% body fat at the same time.
By the way $0 cost for protein powder or any miracle supplements!

MENTAL ASPECTS
One of the things that changed was my body awareness. I started to feel the muscles working and put my mind into each rep instead of being occupied with counting and worrying about more weight and how many set are left.
I find it amazing how my muscles respond to this approach and how my neural system starts to re-wire.
I gained a lot of confidence from my recent success and the comments from former work out partners. Particularly, since I believe I discovered a way for me how to improve consistently.

It becomes frustrating at times to see how even small change in my work out schedule or nutrition can have a dramatic effect on my physique. Things that would be considered “normal”

FUTURE GOALS
I am getting ready for my next photo shoot end of October. Targets:
Weight: 103 lbs
Body fat: 14%
At that point I will decide on competing in figure or fitness class shows…..