STOPJABBAINGON

COPING WITH THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE (MEETING 2)

Posted on February 14, 2018February 14, 2018 by simonscholes in Blog

MEETING 2

So, it’s that time of the week when I’m heading onto my 2nd session with the wonderful team over at Cruse Bereavement.

So, firstly, for those of you who’re new here, my dad passed away on June 13th last year, and although I mentally understand I need to move on with life, my mind, and my body know subconsciously I’ve not yet dealt with the grief process and keeps slowing me down. So at the end of last year, I decided now was the time to speak with someone, and try and find some coping mechanisms and hopefully find a way through to the other side of the grief. My biggest issue and worry about my grief is that I’m struggling to let go emotionally, when I want to cry, I switch off and move on, and that’s my mental coping mechanism, but, I honestly believe I need to truly have a big release, and so we’re trying to find a way of helping that happen.

So this time it was another opportunity for me and my grief counselor to sit down and discuss in more depth about the previous week. Things that might be playing on my mind more and more after dads passing, and most importantly, the relationship I had with dad.

I know many people don’t get to have much of a relationship with their fathers, so I consider myself incredibly lucky. Dad worked in the merchant navy and was away a huge part of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sad he missed out a huge amount of my life, but, also, he gave me an opportunity to see so much more of the world. I traveled with him when I was younger and he gave me and the rest of my family amazing experiences.

This was where I feel I will be able to move on more than anything with my grief. One of the ideas my counselor came up with for me was to write down about things that are going through my head. So for example, when my mind is going into a bit of a funk and I find myself slowing down mentally, take a moment to write down whats going through my mind. It might not be about dad at that moment in time, but at least I’m getting that problem down on paper, and out of my head.

The 2nd thing I mentioned in my previous blog was a memory jar. I’ve really latched onto this idea, but, I wanted to try and make it my own. The reason being is that, as a creative person, and running my own creative agency, I have so much more than just a one-line experience running through my mind when I remember something.

DEAR DAD…..

So I sat down and discussed my own personal idea, and I want you guys to also be part of this. I’m going to make time to write letters to dad. My own personal dear dad, just writing to him about a specific memory that’s in my mind at that moment. So rather than just writing on a slip of paper, I remember when we went to Russia and slipping it into a jar, I can write dad a whole letter, and write creatively about the experience, the smells, the sounds, the sights, and what it meant to me that he was able to give me that experience. Sometimes the letters will be longer when it’s about big experiences, other times it’ll be about cuddling up with him on the sofa when I was about 5 or 6 years old and watching grandstand on a Saturday afternoon, before as all kids do, I got bored and went to play outside, but those little things are what I want to latch on to, they’re my memories of dad, and I feel they’ll help move me forward in this process.

So, yet again, thank you for listening to my ramblings, and keep your eyes peeled for my first Dear Dad letter which I’ll post on my blog once I’m happy with what I’ve written.

I hope this has helped someone, anyone, in their journey of grief, and if I could suggest anything is everyone’s journey is different, so once you’re ready and in a place to do so, sit down with someone and talk to them, you’ll be amazed what comes out, and what possibly could be other worries you have that are connected to the situation you’re currently in.

So, until my next counseling meeting, take care.

COPING WITH THE DEATH OF A LOVED ON (GRIEF COUNSELLING MEETING 1)

Posted on February 4, 2018 by simonscholes in Blog

So, last week I finally got the call.

Towards the end of last year, I’d put myself forward through self-referral to speak with a grief councillor.

As you may, or may not know, my dad passed away very suddenly on June 13th, 2017. It came as a huge shock to me and the family, but, I’ve always felt like I need to just move forward. However, I soon realised my grief was not going to allow this. Let me try to give you a little background.

My name’s Simon, and I run my own visual marketing agency in the UK. I’m a former athlete and have always been used to being able to put my head down and crack into any task, be it running 8 X 400m, or producing leads for my business, and everything in between. Just after dad died, I chose to go to Business Biscotti. This is a networking event that takes place near to where I live. Everything seemed to be going fine, then we came to the stand in a circle and pitch your business moment. As always, I went into a bit of an autopilot and produced a flawless pitch to everyone in the room, and this is when it went all wrong. After the pitches had finished, I was approached by a number of people wanting to know more about our offering, and how we could help their businesses. My brain basically did a massive fart, and the only thought going through my mind, wasn’t brilliant lots of interested people, it was, I wish you lot would just FUCK OFF.

Obviously, this isn’t how I portrayed myself externally, and I politely asked them all for their business cards and excused myself. I didn’t go back to business networking again for the next 5 months or so. It was my bodies way of telling me, this is too soon Simon, you need to heal.

Dads funeral came and went, and I did his eulogy on the day. I thought this might be a chance for me to draw a line under everything and move forward. It was honestly the worst and one of the best moments of my life. I was able to tell everyone in that room how much I loved him, what he gave to me and my family over the years, and how being part of their lives he also affected them too. Yes, I had to stop a number of times to truly compose myself, but, I got through it, and hopefully did him proud.

The thing is, with grief, there’s no real plan of attack. You never know when you’re done going through it. A friend of mine said something very wise just after dad was gone. “Time’s a great healer, what a load of bollocks, time simply distances you from the pain” And how true those words where. In the weeks and months to follow, it didn’t really get any easier. I found myself immersing myself in the work I had coming in, but, I also found it incredibly difficult to stay focused. I’d be working hard and the next thing I’d know is the next 3 hours will have disappeared and I’d done nothing on my work. I do a lot of the editing for the business, and this became arduous and elongated as a task. What would normally have taken me a couple of hours, was now taking me days to complete, and this was another missive indicator to me that my mind was still not in the right space, and, I was struggling.

I spoke about this with my wife, and a little with my family, mainly my sister, and after a while, I decided that maybe speaking to a grief counselor was the right route for me. I’d read all about the stages of grief, and how I should get angry at some point etc. etc, but, the most worrying thing for me was, when I spoke fondly about my dad, and I want to cry, I shut off emotionally and move on, I don’t cry at all. It’s as if I’m telling my brain, well, I’ve cried enough now, so pack it in, you’ve got work to do. I also know this is not a healthy approach to healing which is why I again decided the counseling was the way forward.

I contacted Cruse Bereavement in November. They’re a fantastic charity, helping individuals and families through their grief after the loss of a loved one. They’re not there to give you answers, but, to help draw you towards the right approach to helping you with your grief.

So that brings us to now. I had a bit of a wait until a counselor was available to help me, but, last week, I got the call. Can you come in and meet me this coming week. We arranged for the Wednesday, and as the day approached I became more and more apprehensive, have I decided to do the right thing? What if I’m over my grief really and they can’t help me? What if she doesn’t really have any ideas for me?

Well, I pushed myself and made sure I went along to my first meeting. 4pm, Wednesday 31st January 2018. I met a lovely lady, who sat down with me, and explained how the system works. She’s almost a facilitator, as I mentioned earlier, she doesn’t have the answers, but, can hopefully give me the tools to help me cope with the loss of dad. Nobody said this was going to be easy, but, I’m so glad I’ve now started on the road to recovery.

We spoke about dad and our relationship. What he did for a living, and how long he was away for (he was in the merchant navy and spent a lot of my childhood away for work). I spoke about how lucky I was to have him in my life, the experiences we had together, in fact even writing this now, I remember more and more of the session my brain had almost stored away a little, maybe for a time like now when I can put it down onto paper.

We decided between us that perhaps a couple of nice ideas to help me through my daydream moments would be to write. Instead of simply drifting along and daydreaming and losing a few hours, when I realise I’m in a bit of a funk, sit down and write, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about dad, just whatever comes out as I put pen to paper. That way, no matter what it is that’s causing me to feel the way I am, at that moment will come out of me.

Also, a 2nd idea she gave me as we were speaking was a memory jar, which I felt was a truly lovely idea. Just have a whole bunch of slips of paper, and every time I remember something about dad, a moment in time, something he said, a time he made me laugh etc. etc. I write it down and slip it into the memory jar. If the feeling ever takes me, I could sit down and read these moments back again, or, purely leave them in the jar as a way of getting those times out and not essentially have them playing on my mind constantly.

Both these ideas really appealed to me, firstly for the slightly creative element to them of the writing, but, also because they’re not things that will take much time or effort for me to do. My life won’t be taken over by doing them, and even though writing this blog isn’t part of my therapy, getting this down on the computer is making me feel better.

So, there we have it, my first step towards recovery. I don’t know how long it will take for me to be over my grief, and what the future sessions have in store, but, I’m hoping my guard will slowly lower itself and my emotions will come to the forefront.

Thanks for listening, and I hope if you’re going through anything like this yourself, it’s maybe helped you, even just a little.

See you next time.

Simon

IT’S NOT FEELING LIKE CHRISTMAS

Posted on December 13, 2017 by simonscholes in Blog

WOW, not written one of these in a long time. I must apologise that the below blog was literally me just typing and seeing what came out. I just wanted to start documenting a journey I’m about to begin, and this is my way of doing it.

So, we’re into the festive season once again.

Even at 40 years old, I have always loved this time of year. I may well be an adult, but, I’m a child at heart, I love all those things kids love, the magic, the colours, the smells, the food, and most importantly, the time with family and friends.

Obviously, I know that, that’s not what the holiday season is all about for those people who enjoy the religious aspect, however, for me this is it.

So why, do I this year find myself struggling to get into the festive spirit.

Well, as some of you will already know, earlier this year I lost my dad. Now, I know I’m not the first person in the world to lose someone, and I know I won’t be the last. In fact the only 2 things we can be sure of in life is that we’ll pay taxes, and that we’ll die one day. This however, doesn’t make it any easier.

I’ve been exceptionally lucky I have the most wonderful friends and family around me, who are happy to just sit and listen to me going on about how great my dad was, how lucky I was to have him around for 40 years of my life. Especially when I have so many friends who lost their dads at a much younger age than me.

This is kind of why I wanted to write this blog, firstly to get my own feelings out on paper. I’ll be honest, I’m struggling with the death of my dad, and I’ve started the proceedings to get some professional grief counselling in early 2018 (it’s quite a long waiting list, but, that’s another story).

I currently find myself sitting with a huge aching in my heart, but a blockage in my feelings. Something that is frankly stopping me getting through the grief process. I don’t know what it is, but, I do know it’s affecting my work, and my mindset, which is why I’ve taken the step to get help.

I just wanted anyone else who’s in the same position as me, or going through something much worse than losing a loved parent, know, you’re not alone, you do have people around you who’ll listen, and, if you don’t want to lay your problems at their door, there are others who’ll sit down and hear you….without judgement…..without malice, but, with love, and open arms.

I’ve not even started the process yet, but, I can tell you right now, I already feel I’m on the road to recovery by just getting in touch with them. As I write this, I think I’m going to write a blog after each session I have with the counsellor, just to let you know how the process works, because, that’s the one thing that scared me at first, I didn’t know what to expect, I STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, but, not everyone can take that first step, so maybe my blogs will help you.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, and that’s basically what they are, and I look forward to you joining me on my journey.

I don’t for one second believe it’s going to be easy, not in anyway shape or form, but, I hope it will help me push forward, and continue to live life and make dad proud of me, as much as I am proud of him and how much he sacrificed, and gave me and my family over the years.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN SHOWS WHY HE’S THE BOSS

Posted on July 17, 2017 by simonscholes in Uncategorized

So at each concert, Bruce pulls out the name of a track he and the E Street Band played back in the day, maybe one of there own, and maybe someone elses track.

Check out this incredible rendition of someone elses song….you really NEVER CAN TELL

Bye Dad

Posted on July 3, 2017July 3, 2017 by simonscholes in Blog, Uncategorized

So, on Friday I said goodbye to my dad who suddenly passed away on Tuesday 13th June, 2017. The day I found out, I found great solace in writing his eulogy, and although it was without the hardest thing I’ve ever, EVER, had to do in my entire life, apart from a couple of large wobbles, I made it through it, and hopefully did dad super proud.

I’d like to share what I had to say with anyone who chooses to read this blog, as I want everyone to know exactly how awesome my dad was, and although it’s only a short sample, how much he gave to me and my entire family, just by being him. A friend of mine put dad very well when we spoke about him passing away, and his words where “I always liked your dad, what you saw, is what you got”. I think he got him smack bang on, he didn’t hide behind any false pretences, and was never afraid to tell me, he loved me. Anyway, please have a read, and I hope it perhaps helps anyone else who might be going through this same pain right now.

DAD,

Athletic…….svelte…………good hair……….great legs…………..

Just a few words I’d love to use to describe dad….. I’d love to use them,

but, I can’t,

they do describe me though, and, his genetics played a part……well apart from great legs. Mum always used to say i got my legs from dad, and she always liked them.

Cross word fanatical, cantankerous, stubborn, funny, intelligent (he was usually quite good at the quizzes at the Swan), Bacardi loving, my friend, spirited away far to young at just 69 and before he had enough fun.

He was husband to mum, and mine and nene’s dad.

Those are words we can use for him.

He was brother to Heather, and son to, Marjory and Henry, grandma and grandad.

And, believe it or not, back in the day he was quite a sporty lad, playing football, and I’ve even got a black and white photo of him lining up for a school sports day athletics race, at Costello, back when it was a cinder track and he was about 13.

He had a hugely eclectic taste in music. With a love of everything from the Moody Blues, The Beatles through to musical theatre like Phantom Of The Opera which he finally got to see on Broadway a few years ago.

In fact he gave me a love of music of all genres, which was probably to blame for me ending up working in radio for such a long time,

and,

as we all leave later…….there’s a piece of music that will play……that not only did he love, but, I’ve luckily found a version that includes so many of his favourite musicians, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Jeff Lyne, and, so many others, from when they said goodbye to their friend George harrison, and I think it’s perfect for us to say goodbye to our friend today too.

He taught me about the wonders of Meccano, Lego, electronics and airfix kits…….. although when it came to building stuff, he’d usually take over so it was done right……..but, we did have quite a few planes hanging from my bedroom ceiling we’d built together.

He read me stories in bed as a kid, then would finish them off by rubbing his bristly chin over my face to make me laugh. So much so, that I would get upset when he forgot to do it after reading.

And,

he gave mum, Jannene and I the greatest gift of all, an opportunity to see parts, and, cultures of the world other people only dream of seeing. India, Petra, New Zealand, Australia, USSR, America, Equador, the Suez & Panama Canal and even Perth in Scotland…..yes indeed.

He started his career as an apprentice on the docks of Hull, working over the years with the likes of Port Line and Cunard. When he met mum he was already at sea, but, she gave him a new drive (more commonly known as a kick up the back side), and he went on to eventually get his chiefs ticket, which is what he did until he retired just a few years ago working for Unishipping.

As I grew older, he told me how being away for such long periods of time from us was hard for him. It’s probably one of the main reasons that when we could go with him, either for a few days, weeks, or, for a whole trip, he’d have us there.

I still have fond memories of my first ever trip away with him. Mum and I went away for four months.

I may have been only 5 years old at the time, but, even now….. at 40, those memories are still as vivid as if they happened yesterday…….From me being arrested by Neptune…… (Dad dressed up, but I’m not meant to know that)…….for throwing messages in bottles and hitting the poor fishes on their heads with them……….to watching school children march up and down in Novorossiysk for hours on end, guarding the eternal flame.

I always loved going away with dad……..it meant a bit of me and him time, in, for want of a better wording, his natural surroundings.

He’d take great pride in showing me around the different engine rooms on different ships, and even once, I got my very own boiler suit, and spent most of our trip down there with him.

I’m still not particularly great at fiddling with engines, but, I did inherit his love of steam engines, and I’ll make sure this year to visit another steam rally to remember him by.

Other times in his life……..I remember how proud he was to have my sister on his arm for her wedding to my brother in law,

walking her down the aisle and giving her away.

There’s a photo just as you’re getting out the car and the smile on his face is something else, and, I know how happy I was that he was with me on my wedding day to Zuzana.

He loved being a grandad………and it’s with a breaking in my heart he won’t be around to meet any more grand children that may come along…………MAY…………..don’t get too excited just yet mum.

But, I know how happy and proud he would have been to be their grandad too, and in spirit he still will be

I think through all of this, the one thing I can take solace in, is, I spoke to him the day he passed away, and although we didn’t have an exactly riveting conversation……….I was telling him about my new drone and work and stuff, and in his usual excited way he said “ah, very good”………Just before I said goodbye, I did tell him I loved him, as I always did when we either spoke, or where together, and he told me he loved me too.

Hopefully you all have a fond memory of him from sometime or another you can use to remember him by.

A moment at Springhead, where, when he was home, he came and supported me, and could even be found raking a long jump pit now and again at a competition.

A time from the swan and cygnet where he went to be surrounded by friends a couple of times a week.

A trip you had with him where you sat putting the world to rights over a Bacardi and coke.

Simply a family and friends bbq sat out in the rain with a tarpaulin covering the fire so it didn’t go out while he cooked the sausages and burgers.

Or as my best friend reminded me, when he couldn’t find anywhere to hammer a catherine wheel on bonfire night, so found some wood in the garage, hammered it in, set it off, only for it to not only burn the wood which we found was one of mums kitchen cabinet doors, but, also it flew off the door and smashed the bird bath mum had made at pottery class.

To be slightly self indulgent here, if I can give you all one learning from this whole thing, it’s this……..Tell the people who mean the most to you, you love them every time you’re with them.

Capture memories galore, photos…….videos……..everything you can.

Thankfully I caught dad many times in my daily vlogs, and, those moments are all the more special to me now, as I can use them to be still in that moment………..and be with him.

Just one last thing,

I know he passed on his sense of humour on to me, not least of all because we both love Billy Connolly, Jasper Carrott, The goon show and Monty Python amongst many others. So much so, I’d love to play you some excerpts from his favourite pieces, and you can have a laugh with dad.

click here to play.

I want to leave you with one last funny line from Spike Milligan, and the famous words on his headstone, which I think probably work for dad…..Especially as we knew he wasn’t in great health………..So as Spike……..AND……I’m sure dad would now tell us,

I told you was ill.

We love you Dad…………Bye.

OPERATION SUMMER BODY – TURKEY WRAPS

Posted on August 13, 2015August 20, 2015 by simonscholes in Blog

When people talk about being on a diet, the first thing that usually springs to mind for most is…..BORING FOOD

However, that really doesn’t have to be the case. You don’t have to spend your time munching on a bag of beansprouts or nibbling on a raw carrot.

I’ve spoken a lot in my vlogs & previous blogs about my current diet. Mine consists of my calorie intake being broken down to my macro intake. I have created a spreadsheet to calculate my daily intake for protein, carbs and fats so I know I’m staying on track, each and every day.

When it comes down to dieting there’s one important rule to remember. It doesn’t matter how you’re taking in the calories, as long as you’re not taking in more than you need too. One thing Julian from Titanium Fitness told me as we worked out my diet was, if you want to do it all in one hit you can do, and if you want to eat it all at the end of the day, you can do that too. Your body will take in the nutrients exactly the same way. Although I must say, if you can take in my current loads of 350g protein, 180g carbs and 97g fats in one go…..you’re a far better person than I am 🙂

So, todays vlog is about my meal this evening. I like to keep my food interesting, otherwise I’d drive myself crazy. Today I decided to make Turkey wraps, mainly because it was the first thing that came out the freezer when I opened one of the drawers.

Ingredients:
400G Turkey “excellent meat, high in protein and very low in fats”
1 Onion
A hand full mushrooms
Some mini broccoli
Salad
Tortilla Wraps

First, I browned off the turkey in the frying pan, using coconut oil rather than normal cooking oil.

Once I’d done this, I added in some of my favourite herb and spices to give the meat a little extra flavour. Personally, I LOVE TURKEY. However, my wife, she’s not the biggest fan, so I need to make meals with it a bit more interesting for her pallet.

Spices I used to make the Turkey a little more interesting

I then added in the vegetables (onions, mushrooms & broccoli) and let it all steam and cook together, blending in the spices and flavours of everything together.

While this was happening, I then made up a simple salad of leaves, cucumber & cherry tomatoes and gave them a light olive oil dressing.

Finally, I warmed the tortillas up in the oven and served everything up on the table with a selection of sauces to be used in the wraps.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOUR CALORIES / MACROS come from. As long as you keep track of them and make sure you don’t eat too much of a certain thing (i.e. going over on your carbs) then you’re fine. However, you do need to know where you want to be on calories, otherwise you’re just eating without knowing what your body requires.

The final meal was fantastic, and yes, my wife enjoyed the turkey….so much so, she didn’t even realise it was turkey until I told her.

So, what are your favourite meals to make while you’re working on a new diet? What do you do, to keep things interesting on your dinner plate?

THE PRETTIEST VILLAGE IN BRITAIN

Posted on August 4, 2015August 5, 2015 by simonscholes in Blog

Zuzana, castle coombe forrest — Castle Coomb, Forrest

Over the last few months we’ve decided we want to get out more and see more of this fantastic area and country that we live in.

There are so many amazing places we’ve not yet seen, one of which is the prettiest village in Britain….Castle Coomb.

Castle Combe has been called ‘The Prettiest Village in England’ and with good reason; visitors have been coming to enjoy it for at least a century, and the small street leading from the Market Cross down to the By Brook is as picturesque today as it ever was.

Castle Combe’s history goes back much further than this though. The site of the castle is above today’s village, but little other than earthworks now mark its one time presence. Originally it was a British hill fort which became occupied by the Romans due to its proximity to The Fosse Way. After the Romans, came the Normans, who built the fort up into a Castle.

Where do you have near you that maybe we should come visit?

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HOW TO WORK OUT YOUR MAINTENANCE CALORIE INTAKE

Posted on July 31, 2015August 5, 2015 by simonscholes in Blog

If there’s one thing I’ve had cemented into my daily regime lately it’s that if I’m not eating enough, it’s a really bad thing for my dieting.

Since sitting down with Julian from Titanium Fitness almost 2 months ago now we discussed how me not eating enough actual food and supplementing a lot of my intake was a bad thing. After increasing my intake I’m now back down to the same weight I was when I started this weight / fat loss process and I’m taking in double the amount of calories.

We achieved this by starting the whole process with finding my maintenance calorie intake. This means keeping your current (target) weight reasonably constant. This can be achieved when the number of calories (kilojoules) that you eat is equal to the number of calories (kilojoules) your body uses.

Energy In (Food) = Energy Out => body weight remains stable.

However, for many people, weight maintenance means weighing within 1 to 2 kg of their current (target) weight. The weight on the scale can fluctuate even when you have reached your target weight and there are a number of reasons for this:

Normal body fluctuations related to eating and elimination
Consuming a high salt (sodium) diet
Temporary weight gain due to fluid retention for women near the time of menstruation
Decrease in physical activity

Once you know your actual maintenance level you then have a stage to start from for either adding weight on or taking it off when you get your diet right.

There are many fantastic calculators available on line including this one: CALORIE CALCULATOR

How’s your diet going so far? What are you looking to achieve at the moment from your diet and exercise?

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SUMMER BODY – WEEK 4

Posted on July 29, 2015August 5, 2015 by simonscholes in Blog

Eifle Tower

So the summer body fun is continuing. It’s been a bit of strange week to be fair, for some reason at the start of the week I started to put on a little bit of weight. Not a huge amount, but, enough for me to wonder what was going on.

So after a chat with Julian from Titanium Fitness, we decided it was probably time to drop down by another 200 calories and we split it 50/50 through carbs and fats.

This made a small difference to my weight and it has again started to drop slowly but surely which is really good.

As for my training itself, I’ve changed nothing except for the fact I’m going heavier than I have done in a long time on most of my exercises, and, as an added bonus…….it’s not difficult. This eating more, and losing weight malarky, really does work.

We recently took delivery at our gym of a stair master which is fantastic fun….and a really steady state cardio machine which totally destroys me. I’m not blowing through my rear end after a session on it, but, I am sweating like crazy and burn some real calories too.

Then, this weekend it was our first anniversary so the diet went completely out the window. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over time, it’s that, sometimes, you just need to have a little fun and forget about the diet. Just like with exercising, your body needs a rest from it all sometimes, not weeks and weeks worth of rest, but, a day or two won’t kill you.

We spent two fantastic days together in Paris, a first for us both. We saw all the sights, we walked and walked, we ate and ate and when I stepped on the scales on Tuesday morning…….I’d lost more weight. Now, that could have been the lack of food or the amount of walking we did. Either way, I’ll take it after the amount of pastries I’ve eaten in two days.

Anyway, it’s back on the game now and hitting it hard this week, but, before I go. I must say, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful wife. If you follow me on youtube or other social medias you’ll know it’s been quite a 12 months since our wedding day, and I’m just grateful she’s put up with me for this long.

I love you,

Simon

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SUMMER BODY – WEEK 3

Posted on July 18, 2015August 5, 2015 by simonscholes in Blog, Sport

So, here we are. My progress, so far:

SUMMER BODY - WEEK 3, FRONT FACING — SUMMER BODY – WEEK 3, FRONT FACING

SUMMER BODY - WEEK 3, SIDE FACING — SUMMER BODY – WEEK 3, SIDE FACING

Week number 3 of my brand new diet and attempt at the summer body side of things, and it’s going pretty good I’d say. I was given a brand new way of eating just over a month ago by Julian at Titanium Fitness and since that day I’ve gone through a process of increasing my calorie intake to a sensible maintenance level.

This week has been a little easier on the reduction of carbs by 50g. Most of last week and the first few days of this week I have found myself training well and hard, BUT, feeling exceptionally tired an hour or so after sessions. To the point that on Monday & Tuesday I actually had a quick power nap to catch myself up a little bit.

However, forgetting the fact I’ve felt tired this weeks training has gone exceptionally well. On Monday I completed my shoulder session with yet another personal best on the hammer strength shoulder press of 65kg per side plus the weight of the arm itself, meaning I lifted almost 70kg per shoulder which is a massive improvement from where I was. I also did my usual inclined, treadmill walk at lunch for some steady state cardio work.

Tuesday was a chest day, I’ve not been lifting very heavy with my chest for a while now, and have instead been doing quite high rep work. However, I wanted to try actually testing myself a little again so have began working my way back up the weight tree. This week on Inclined & Flat bench I worked on the dumbbells lifting the 40kg bells for reps of 8 on both exercises. I then concluded the session on the cable flyes & dip machine with some high rep work to keep the burn going. Tuesday lunch was my biceps session, this is one of my weakest body parts so it’s all about trying to lift heavier weights and with the EZ bar I’ve currently built up to 40kg plus the bar itself making the entire weight about 52kg.

Wednesday was something new…ish for me. As an ex decathlete and specifically pole vaulter, my core strength use to be what I’d consider very good. However, I’m the first to admit I don’t do enough core work. Every session I do ends with me doing 15 / 20 minutes of core work but it’s not enough and I skip a lot of the exercises i should really be doing. So this week I dedicated an entire session to this body part. OH MY GOD, it was by far the hardest session of the week for me. I went through multiple routines I’ve learnt over the years 50 double crunches, 40 twisting crunches, 30 crunches, 20 doorbell raises, 10 v sits is just one example of what I did. The lunch time session was my usual cardio work out.

Thursday was a strange day and actually ended up being a rest day. I didn’t sleep well at all and had an exceptionally busy day, I was in basingstoke with my business at a convention and then visited my old pole vault coach for the evening, before getting home at 11pm.

Friday was my usual Thursday session of legs in the morning. The gym I go to (anytime fitness, newbury) has recently extended the club in size and so we’ve some new kit to be working on. For my leg session I took advantage of the hack squat machine. Blimey, it’s amazing how weak a body part can be if you work it in a new way. I found this machine exceptionally hard and made sure I used it most of the session along with leg press, calf raises and quad extensions. Brilliant session, and I felt great afterwards….although I was walking like Bambi on ice.

I still did a lunch session Friday, and another of the new machines was a stair master / power mill. I’ve not done cardio like this, in a very, very long time. I started the machine far too quickly and after about 7 minutes, I knew, if I kept at this pace, there was no way I’d finish my 30 minute work out. I slowed it down just a little and powered through the session. I hurt A LOT, but, it was a great work out, I got a real sweat on, and as far as steady state cardio goes, this really hit the spot.

So that’s been my week. I started it weighing in just over 92kg and I’ve ended it weighing in at 91.8kg so the weight is still coming off which is excellent, and means the diet stays the same for yet another week.

Speaking of my diet, I promised I’d give you a small break down of a day so you could see what I’m eating to hit my macros of 350g Protein, 212.5kg carbs, 115g fat. So here you go:

Protein Bar (cnp professional)	30	20	4.9
Protein Shake (omni core)	50	80	3.9
Bacon x 2	16	0.4	12.6
Eggs X 2	12	1.4	18
Tuna 120g	36	0	7.2
Meatballs	24	14	11
Protein Bar (cnp professional)	30	20	4.9
Minced Beef	46	0	36
Pasta	11	24	2
Protein Shake (diet shake – sci mx)	52	32.2	3.6
Minced Beef (small portion)	40	0	32
Rice 50g	2.1	22	0.2

As you can see from the table, I don’t really take in any snacks, although I do like to class the protein bar as a sort of snack. The main reason for this was the following: As Julian put together my plan I asked about good things to snack on between meals etc. His very excellent point was this…..”if you need to snack, you’re not eating enough”. This really struck a chord with me and since that point I’ve eaten no chocolate bars, no crisps, no fizzy drinks etc etc.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t easy, but, this far into the diet and seeing the results so far, well, I certainly don’t crave things as much as I have done in the past.

So there we go, another week down, and we roll into the next weeks worth of training and dieting. It’s been fantastic fun so far, all be it very hard work.

So, how is your diet going, are you working hard still on your summer body, what is it you’re finding hard to do at the moment?

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