Ruth Garbutt is a mum looking to regain her pre-pregnancy body. PT Adam Haines knows exactly how to help her do that. The duo has 10 weeks to make it happen… Let’s go!

The challenge 

Ruth Garbutt is on a mission. Having had two children, she’s now looking to eat and train her way back to peak condition. One problem: she feels she can’t do it alone. This is where BESTFIT and friends come in. We’ve enlisted the help of PT Adam who, using Fitness Space gym, Lean Lunch for nutrition, XTEND® HydraSport™ BCAAs and Cellucor C4® Sport pre-workout supplements and Shapewatch to track Ruth’s progress, has devised a plan to help her achieve her goal. As this issue went to press, Ruth was embarking on week three…

“When I first sat down with Ruth we went through her exercise history, nutrition habits and lifestyle, and looked at how much free time she has. From there, I came up with this 10-week plan,” explains Adam. “It’s going to be quite intense, simply because we’re trying to maximise her results in a short timeframe.”

“My main goal is to lose 10kg, though after chatting to Adam we agreed that I should aim to lose more fat than weight,” says Ruth. “It could be that I lose, say, 7kg, but a lot of body fat, and so still get the look that I’m after. When I started, my body fat was 33% so the aim is to get that down to around 20%. I feel good about it. A lot of the weight I’m carrying is, I think, hormonal. I have two kids and I only stopped breastfeeding my son about eight months ago and I gained weight after that, so I feel this is the shock my system needs. I seem to be an expert in gaining weight in pregnancies, but less so at losing it! Well, time to change that. The challenge doesn’t scare me at all.

“I think a lot of women will be able to relate to my situation. I’m someone who likes to take care of myself but by having kids my body is now facing challenges that I don’t seem to be able to manage. I’ve had two C-sections, which has wreaked havoc, so I need to learn how to train effectively and challenge all the things I thought I knew about my body.

“Ultimately, my aim is to get my strength back, so I’m really keen to develop my core and strengthen my back. I know how to train and I’m not afraid of the pain, it’s just about doing this alongside cardio, eating well and generally weaving all of this into an already busy life that revolves around two young kids.”

THE PLAN

“Ruth’s 10-week programme is split into two-week microcycles,” explains Adam. “In each two-week window she’ll be doing two full-body workouts which will be her ‘bread and butter’. These will work all her major muscle groups and will comprise of mainly compound muscle movements. Then she’ll do two specialisation workouts; for the first two weeks we did arms, and now we’re working on her back. After that, we’ll work on her legs. She’ll also do one or two cardio sessions a week, so in total she’s doing up to six sessions a week.

“The cardio sessions are tough, whether it’s a high intensity session with me, which might include functional training, so battle ropes, slam balls and treadmill sprints, or it might be kickboxing session. If she can’t get to the gym, she might do a session on her Airbike at home. That might be low intensity, but it’s still 30-40 minutes of work.”

THE STORY SO FAR

“We’re in week three and she’s doing really well,” says Adam. “I think she’d find it harder if she didn’t have someone working alongside her and pushing her to progress her weights, but that’s the same for a lot of people. That’s the whole ethos of Fitness Space, and the point of a personal trainer.

“She’s lost 2kg in the first two weeks and her muscle mass is still retained. At first, I wasn’t sure if she had 10kg of body mass to lose, but she’s on track after week three.”

“I’ve found the HIIT and the weights really challenging actually, more than I thought I would, because we’re doing a lot of tempo stuff,” says Ruth. “In the past I’ve been used to banging out sets and reps whereas now I’m slowing my reps down. And there are a lot of reps! The HIIT stuff in particular… I’ve felt really unfit. My body is sore too. I was expecting my body to ache, but I think it’s things like having to pick up the kids that really brings home how much my body is aching. I’ve really enjoyed having a mentor help me through it, though.

“My body feels a lot smoother already. Less puffiness. I’ve lost 2kg, which is really assuring. I can notice that my clothes are a bit looser.”

THE NUTRITION

“We’re very lucky that Lean Lunch are providing Ruth’s meal prep,” says Adam. “They provide her with about 1,400 calories a day. We’ve applied the Harrison Benedict formula [which determines your total daily energy expenditure (calories)]. It uses the variables of height, weight, age and gender to calculate the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and then applies an activity factor. Ruth’s BMR is around 1,690 calories and so her calorie target is 1,700 per day. She’s targeting 125g of protein per day, so she’ll have a lean lunch, then a whey protein shake to boost her intake, but only if she’s struggling to get enough protein from her food. All of this means she has around 300 calories a day to play around with, and that could equate to a cup of coffee or a snack. It’s pretty flexible and that’s important; that makes it real.”

“I’m really enjoying both the amount, and the variety, of food I’m eating,” adds Ruth. “I think a lot of people have this perception around weight loss that you eat less, but I know that because I’m working hard every day I actually have to eat more. I’m eating a lot more plant-based and gluten-free food. There’s a lot of quinoa and stuff like that. The meat I’m eating is very lean too. I’ve always eaten quite well anyway, my husband is an athlete, but I’d hit some sort of wall to making any progress through food. So now I’m learning more about what my body needs, it’s a completely new beginning.”

THE SUPPLEMENTS

Ruth is taking two supplements: XTEND® HydraSport™ BCAAs, which have been shown to help support muscle protein synthesis, and Cellucor C4® Sport pre-workout, which providers her with ingredients that support energy, performance, and focus.

Ruth uses the BCAAs throughout the day to top up her electrolytes and to maintain her hydration levels. She’s not a huge fan of drinking water and these are flavoured, so help her get what she needs.

“I love the BCAAs because it’s dealing with my sugar cravings,” says Ruth. “It’s got a sweet feel to it but no calories and no sugar or carbs. It feels like a treat even though it’s not. It definitely makes it easier to give up Nutella, which was my main concern in this process! It’s definitely helping me deal with the soreness that follows big sessions.”

“Ruth doesn’t use the Cellucor C4® Sport every day, but if she’s struggling for energy – she might have had a long day with the kids – she can take this 45 minutes before her session to fuel it,” adds Adam.

THE WORKOUT

(Taken from week 1)

The warm up

Do 5 minutes on any piece of CV equipment followed by a bodyweight warm up of 10 squats, 10 lunges, 10 push ups and 5 walk outs for 2 rounds.

                                                             Reps              Weight           Tempo           Sets

A1: Kinesis machine chest press 10                   7.5KG             3010

A2: Incline reverse DB row              10                   12KG              3010               5

B1: Cable face pull                            12                   12.5KG          3011

B2: Medicine ball twist                     60                   3KG                2020               5

C1: Cable standing row                  12                   25KG              3011

C2: Swiss ball plank                        60 sec                 BW                  n/a                  3

THE TECH: SHAPEWATCH

Ruth is using Shapewatch, a new 3D body visualisation tool that uses augmented reality avatars. It consists of an automated self-serve kiosk unit that delivers scanning results in 60 seconds, and an app, which lives on the user’s smart device. Together, they offer Ruth a detailed, accurate and highly visual account of her key biometrics – including circumference measurements, body fat percentage, lean body mass and waist-hip ratio so she can keep track of how her body changes as she progresses.

“Shapewatch projects Ruth’s body shape onto an app, and we do this every week,” explains Adam. “The idea is that over time we can track where Ruth is gaining/losing weight/fat and see how her body’s changing, which is really motivational. We do this consistently every week, at the same time of the same day, to ensure we get the most accurate results.” Ruth can also post her progress to her social networks, which will hopefully help motivate her by holding her to account to her followers.

THE INFO

The XTEND® HydraSport™ BCAAs combine the clinically studied dose of BCAAs at a 2:1:1 ratio with a revolutionary Electrolyte – Performance Hydration blend. XTEND® HydraSport™ helps you maintain your electrolyte balance while also promoting muscle growth and recovery. Find out more here: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com

The Cellucor C4® Sport pre-workout contains micronized creatine monohydrate, critical support for muscle energy. It also contains CarnoSyn® Beta-Alanine, which delays the onset of fatigue, and Arginine AKG, which promotes Nitric Oxide production in the body. Find out more here:http:// www.hollandandbarrett.com

For more information about the Shapewatch, visit: http://www.shapewatch.com

For more information about Lean Lunch, visit:.http://www.leanlunch.co.uk
Fitness Space gyms are UK-wide.
Visit:http://www.fitnessspace.com