Thursday, October 29, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud with heated pool and gym

Today at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud with heated pool and gym is rest day for me but I'm struggling not to go in the gym - which I guess is a very good sign.

I weighed myself today and seem to have put on 2 lbs even though I have been very good on my diet - however I do feel a lot leaner and my muscles are showing more, I guess with all this gym work and diet I've lost fat but gained muscle.

I'm back to how I looked in February before the injury in my right elbow that effected me for 6 months of this year,

I'm eating 5 times per day, starting with 3 weetabix and an omelet, roast chicken with vegetables (no potatoes) and 7 egg omelets ( just 1 yoke) through the day and just snaking on fruit.

I'm currently 19 st 2lbs - my next scheduled cheat meal is on 7th November lets see how my weight changes over the next 10 days! If it does not start coming off soon I guess the only thing to do is start some cardio. My aim is to get down to 13 stone for a show next year.

In the mean time I have decided to start training my abbs on my rest day, firstly to feed my first for training and secondly to increase my metabolism - I've also noticed with the introduction of dead lifts my abbs feel stronger as its training all my core.

The gym at our Brittany holiday cottage is available for our guest staying in La Forge and La Veille Maison.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Keeping fit and using a gym while on holiday at our Brittany holiday cottages

Keeping fit and using a gym while on holiday at our Brittany holiday cottages is very important for a lot of our guest - this year we had the highest usage of the Gym than any other year.

Staying in La Forge or La Veille Maison this year we have had footballers, marathon runners, rugby plays, HIT enthusiast and those simply wishing to keep to a fitness regime while enjoying a holiday.

All have said they enjoyed using the gym and it was one of the factors why they choose to book one of our holiday cottages.

We are asked what cardio equipment we have in the gym and always report that because we live in such wonderful surroundings, those wishing for some cardio either walk, cycle or simply swim in the heated swimming pool.

The gym at our Brittany holiday cottage

Monday, October 26, 2015

Enjoying the October weather at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud

Enjoying the October weather at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud today - we decided to pop down to Carnac for a trip down to the coast.

The weather this late in to October has been wonderful as was the case last year and its always nice to pop down to the coast on these bright sunny days.

We had a full moon last night and it was an extremely high tide today and the sea was quite rough. 

The beach at Carnac had almost been covered in water when we arrived and with a rough sea loads of people were out enjoying the surf  using power kites.

Just a short drive from our Brittany holiday cottage

Enjoying the October weather at Carnac

The beach at Carnac almost covered by water today
Carnac is just a 40 minute drive from La Forge and La Veille Maison

Sunday, October 25, 2015

October weather at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud

Today is the 25th October and we are often asked whats the weather like in October at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud - well today like most this month it's warm, dry and sunny.

I think this month we have only had a couple of days where we have had showers - I have still gone out and watered the plants in the garden this month.

October is a lovely month for holiday makers to visit Brittany while staying in our holiday cottage La Forge as they can go out and enjoy all the tourist sights without all the crowds and then return to the cottage and enjoy a log burning stove in the evening as the nights are starting to get cold.

This year we have had two sets of guest staying in La Forge during October, a couple from Scotland at the beginning of the month and the American couple who stayed last week.

We still have Christmas and New year weeks available in La Forge - why not enjoy the festive season here in France with the cottage decorated for the festive season.

The Brittany cottage near Baud decorated for Christmas

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with gym and private heated swimming pool

After a days rest at our Brittany holiday cottage with gym and private heated swimming pool it was back in the gym again to train legs.

Looking at the competition they all have great leg develepment and thankfully I have always had big legs - but size is not everything as condition and separation of the muscles is just as important!

With that in mind I'll continue to do my sets pf deep squats but also work on the leg extensions to bring out the separation of the quads and leg curls for the leg biceps.

I'm hoping that also incorporating dead lifts this year for the first time in my life will make a significant increase in overall development and I'm looking forward to seeing the results in 11 months time.

Also once I start the bike work in the spring and hill walking I'm sure that will also benefit my muscle separation in the legs.

Thankfully our holiday cottages La Forge and La Veille maison  are situated in beautiful countryside with loads of great walks available.

At 30 for the ANB welsh show

Friday, October 23, 2015

Keeping fit and having fun with the family at our Brittany holiday cottage

Keeping fit and having fun with the family at our Brittany holiday cottage is one of our goals in life and getting ready for a body building show next year and loosing 6 stone is not just for my benefit but also for me to be running around after our son.

From day one James has been in the gym sitting in his baby chair watching me and his mum train and we are always encouraging him to get involved.



We are looking forward for James to be working out in the gym with his friends in the future at our holiday cottage near Baud.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Brittany cottage near Baud with private pool and gym

Today at our Brittany cottage near Baud with a private pool and gym I was back in the gym for a chest and tricep workout.

Started of with 6 sets of incline bench press starting at 60 kg and finishing on 80 kg - then 3 sets of decline bench press at 80 kg and finishing with 2 sets of 35 kg flat bench dumbbell press.

I'm concentrating for the first 6 months on purely compound exercises and then introduce some flying to gain more separation.

It was then on to triceps where I started with 7 sets of tricep cable push downs starting with 20 kg for 30 reps and then increasing the weight up to 50 kgs with less reps.

To finish I did 2 sets of tricep rope pull downs with a kick out to the side at the bottom of the movement.

Had a lovely roast chicken and mixed veg waiting for me after the workout to feed the muscle growth.

Looking to grow my chest at the gym at our holiday cottage


The gym is available for guest staying in La Forge and La Veille Maison.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The gym at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud

After a 2 day rest I was back in the gym today at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud for a back and bicep workout.

With 12 months to go before I compete again Ive decided to switch around every workout during this next year, incorporating different exercises and the order I do them in - its all about freshening up my workouts to get maximum muscle stimulation.

Today I had to be a little careful as I've had a slight back twinge over the last few days and I pulled something in my right forearm while doing heavy wide grip pull downs to the front last Friday.

So with that in mind I did 6 sets of extra wide grip pull downs to the back of my neck starting on 50kg and increasing each set until I got to 80kg.

Then for a change I moved on to dead lifts ( normally do these on a different day)

5 sets starting on 60 kg moving up to 140 kg for 6  reps and thankfully my back felt strong and no pain at all - just decided not to push myself to much!

I then just did 4 sets of dumbbell standing curls using the fat gripz for the first time with that - it felt really weird holding the dumbbells but my forearms felt as though they were going to explode.

Looking forward to hitting chest tomorrow - determined to make some big gains on that over the next year at the gym in our holiday cottage.

Brittany holiday cottage with gym and private heated swimming near Baud

We currently have an American couple staying at our Brittany holiday cottage with gym and private heated swimming near Baud, they arrived on Saturday for a 5 night stay.

They had come from Texas for him to run in the Vannes marathon on Sunday 18th October and when he popped to Vannes to get all his race numbers last Saturday he was awarded a prize for the greatest distance traveled to run the marathon.

At 66 he started running marathons at 60 and this was going to be his 19th - he run it in 4 hours 40 minutes which is a fantastic time, his best to date was 4 hours 30 minutes.

The couple are enjoying there stay in La Forge and getting to see a lot of places of interest over there remaining stay - its there first holiday in Brittany and both have said how good the location of the holiday cottage is to explore all the tourist sites of Brittany.

In the evenings they are enjoying the wood burning stove to keep them nice and warm in the cottage.

The Carnac stones are just a short drive from our holiday cottage.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud

Today at our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud is rest day - after 3 straight days in the gym its good just to chill and repair the muscles from the earlier workouts.

I saw on face book today a picture of a recent natural body building show in the UK - it was a competition of champions, all holding British titles either in weight categories or age and it really highlights the mountain I need to climb over the next 12 months.

The level of competition
 Three of those in the picture have just reached 50 years of age which is fantastic conditioning and a measure of the condition I need to achieve. It does look very scary when you see pictures like this but you have to bear in mind most are around 13 stone in weight or less.

I just hope that under my current 19 stone frame that when I cut down to 13 stone I'm looking at the same size and conditioning.

Thankfully having the gym located at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud its so easy for me to have a workout. I will print this picture of and place it in the gym for my motivation.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud

Today at our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud marks the end of the second week of the start of my diet.

This year I hit an all time record of 19 st 7 lbs and decided enough was enough. I'm 50 next September and to celebrate this mile stone I would love to compete again in a natural body building show.

I started the year of really well in the gym at the holiday cottages only to suffer tendinitis in my right elbow which put a hold on any progress.

With the purchase of the fat grips my training is now back on course as is my diet and today I weighed in at 18st 13lbs - so that's a 8 lb loss in 2 weeks.

I'm fully aware that in the initial weeks I will see bigger drops and then expect only a  2 lb loss per week from then on. I'm not doing any cardio yet, this will start around May to shed the final few stone. As I have to loose 6 stone its going to be a long process.

I will post a picture each month to show my progress, here is the picture from last night at 19 stone.

19 stone 17th October 2015

Today I am back in the gym for a leg work out after doing chest and triceps yesterday.

The gym is available for all our guest to use staying in La forge or La Veille maison

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated swimming pool and gym near Baud

Today at our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated swimming pool and gym near Baud our first ever American guest arrived for a 5 day stay.

They flew to Paris where they hired a car yesterday and made a stop over last night to arrive at 10 am this morning.

During the low season we are able to offer flexible days and start times for guest holidays to commence in La Forge to accommodate there individual needs.

They were welcomed to La Forge with the wood burning stove already lit so the holiday cottage was warm and welcoming for there arrival.

La Forge is available to rent all year and during the low season we offer short term and long term lets.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud

Yesterday at our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym near Baud, Naomi and I closed the swimming pool for the winter season.

To clarify the steps of closing the pool.

Two weeks ago the heater was switched off and we have allowed the temperature of the water to drop to under 10 degrees - the recent cold nights have helped going down to 3 degrees for a few nights this week.

Yesterday I cleaned the pool, the skimmer nets were replaced and the pump filter was also cleaned.

I then added a winter dose of Chlorine equivalent to what I use for a shock treatment then covered the pool with the winter cover.

I left the pump running for an additional 24 hours and now its been switched off.

From now until the opening of the pool in March I will just run the pump once per week for 3 hours just to turn the water over.

Naomi cleaning the pool in the summer at the Brittany holiday cottage

The pool this year has been an absolute doddle to maintain as we switched products and opted for an all in one tablet that did everything. In past years we would get algae growth appearing every couple of weeks after a  treatment but this year none!

The swimming pool is opened in March and offered on a private basis from 12th March through to the end of May for guest staying in La Forge and then throughout the summer months shared with La veille Maison also.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated swimming pool and gym near Baud

Today at our Brittany holiday cottage with private heated swimming pool and gym
near Baud is legs day! - of the 4 workouts that I do this is what most shy away from but for me has always been a firm favorite.

Who wants to look like this on the beach!
Many a time I've watch a body building show to see guys with great upper bodies but lacking any notable leg development and its not a good look.

From the age of 14 I've always hit legs hard. My typical leg workout in my twenties was:

8 - 10 sets of squats : starting of light and increasing weight with every set making my last the heaviest. Using a simple rule of thumb if I can get 6 reps I need to get heavier but if I can not get 3 reps then its too heavy - when I trained I would always try to get 10 reps but would stop at 10 saying to myself a simple mantra 'save some for the next '

I would then do 6 -8 sets of leg extensions followed by 6 sets of leg curls and 4 sets of calf raises.

If I was competing then I would ad front squats, lunges and hack squats to ad some variety including strip sets and mixing the order of my 3 primary exercises.

Within the gym at the holiday cottage we have a squat rack plus a machine that allows leg extension and leg curl. Next year I'm hoping to ad a sissy squat to the gym.

The gym is available for guest staying in La Forge and La veille Maison to have a good workout.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private pool and gym near Baud

Its been a week now at our Brittany holiday cottage with private pool and gym near Baud that the diet has been in force and in my first week I've lost 4lbs.

It feels a lot more as my T shirts seem to be very loose all round. I've not done any cardio but been in the gym 5 times over the week lifting weights at the gym located at our holiday cottage.

The aim is to just hit the diet and gym for the first 6 months and then start the cardio to loose the last 3 stone of 6 next year with the aim of competing in a natural body building show to celebrate my 50th next September.

I must admit my training has been very much the same for the last few years, just performing the same exercises week in week out. I've decided to mix it up now to stimulate new growth.

So today rather than just doing 6 sets of flat bench presses I opted for 5 sets of incline followed by 5 sets of decline.

The gym at the holiday cottage has a bench that allows multiply angles of training  - thus allowing you to hit the muscles at all the angles to maximize muscle stimulation. In addition I used the fat gripz to get that extra movement in the exercise and take the pressure of my shoulders and elbows.

The good old days of youth - I will be back thanks to having our own gym at the holiday cottage
 The gym at our Brittany holiday cottage is available for all to use that stay in either La Forge or La veille Maison.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with heated pool and gym near Baud

With last night at our Brittany holiday cottage with heated pool and gym near Baud being the first cold night of Autumn, it prompted me to look at the weather forecast for the next 10 days.

The sunlight hours seem bright and mild (15-18 degrees) but one evening in particular with the wind chill it could possibly drop to 2 degrees - with that in mind I have decided to take no chances with my potted sub tropical plants.

We have 4 Birds of Paradise plus a pair of Banana's which are now residing in the gym building beside a south facing window, cleaned today to maximize sun penetration with curtains removed the plants will stay here now until mid May to avoid any possible frost damage.

We have found even the slightest frost at the end of the season will hit the plants hard and in particular for the Birds of Paradise stop them from flowering in the next season.

Birds of Paradise flowering in front of La Forge

Mean while in the garden the Tropicana's are still producing flowers as are some of the other exotics creating a lovely feel for the guest staying in our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud.

With a Dutch horticulturist staying in La Forge this season, informing me that the other type of bananas planted directly in the ground will have no problems with the Brittany winter weather I can rest in peace.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym

Today at the Brittany holiday cottage with private heated pool and gym was back and biceps day.

I started of with 6 sets of extremely wide grip pull downs to the back of the neck using the 60 inch bar up to 80 kg followed by 4 sets of narrow pull downs to the front with 100 kg.

I always start of light using 50 kg and increase by 10 kg for every set.

It was then on to bar bell curls using the EZ bar with the fat grips and did 4 sets up to 40 kg - I'm taking my time on the bar bell curls and increasing the weight slowly to reach my old weights of 70 kg for reps.

The gym at the holiday cottages is available for everyone's use during your stay in either La Forge or La Veille Maison.



The results of training wide on pull downs

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Brittany holiday cottage with private swimming pool and gym near Baud

Its been a week now at our Brittany holiday cottage with private swimming pool and gym near Baud that my diet has drastically changed.

It was my birthday on 26th September, as my parents were with us at the holiday cottage for the celebrations as well as Naomi's birthday on 30th it was decided prudent to start the diet on the 1st October.

My new diet is as follows:

Breakfast 2 weetabix plus 200 ml of half fat milk plus a 5 egg omelet (1 yoke only)

Lunch 7 egg omelet (1 yoke)

Mid afternoon snack 7 egg omelet ( 1 yoke)

Dinner steamed salmon fillet and steamed veg

The new diet


Evening snack 7 egg omelet ( 1 yoke)

In addition to the above I probably have 2 pieces of fruit as snacks.

The evening meal changes each day but the other meals remain constant. I'm not counting the calories but I guess I'm under or around 2000 which is a lot lower than my 4000 plus calories a day.

I have a year to loose 6 stone - it sounds scary but its under 2 lbs per week. The aim is to carry on like this over the next 6 months and for the final 6 months start the cardio to increase my metabolism.

I will of course continue to train as heavy as possible in the gym throughout the next year, training 5 times per week.

The gym is available for guest to train throughout the year for those enjoying a holiday in either La Forge or La veille maison.



Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with private pool and free weights gym near Baud

I mentioned last week at our Brittany holiday cottage with private pool and free weights gym near Baud that I had started using the extreme fat gripz.

Wow what a difference to my chest and bicep workouts!

Using the gripz for bench press allows an extra 2 cms of movement on your range which really makes a big difference in the overall feel of the exercise and I'm now pressing my normal 100 kg for reps without any pain in my shoulders or elbows.

With barbel curls for biceps I've taken it slower to increase the weight because of the tendinitis in my right elbow at the start of the year but I've found using the grips my forearms have grown and I'm not feeling any pain in the elbow. I can now flex my biceps without pain.

The gym at our Brittany holiday cottage near Baud
The gym is available all year round for guest staying in La Forge or La veille Maison

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Our Brittany holiday cottage with heated pool near Baud

Today we can announce some great news for guest wishing to make an early booking for our Brittany holiday cottage with heated pool near Baud.

Book your holiday in either La Forge or La Veille Masion between 12th October and the 29th October for this year or next and receive a 25% discount on your Brittany ferry crossing.

In addition to the Brittany ferry discount we are also offering some discounted prices for all weeks for those booking a holiday at either cottage during this period.


Our Brittany holiday cottage with heated pool near Baud - La Forge and La Veille Maison