Week three of the #100DaysToMuscle challenge and I’ve realised something. One of the bigger battles so far, perhaps unexpectedly, has not been the physical demands of the training (which I have REVELLED in), but the change in diet. Or to put it another way, going from eating for one to what feels like eating for three.

For as long as I can recall, my daily eating routine has been as regular as the Noon Gun (cool historical story behind that by the way, give it a Google). Three boiled eggs and a glass of spring water in the morning, a bowl of Futurelife/Weet-bix with banana as a mid-morning snack, bowl of oats with peanut butter and honey for lunch, banana as a mid-afternoon snack, and then a single-serving supper. And water, water, water throughout the day.

Slight aside – you can always tell whether you need to adjust your H2O intake by the colour of your stream. Personally, faint yellow to colourless is the hue I aim for. Dark yellow to brown, spend more time by the office water cooler.

Anyway, back to the diet. It’s common sense that if one is doing a moderate to intense training program, those kilojoules need to be replaced – even more so if the goal is to bulk. And yet it’s still surprises me when friends tell me that they’ve just starting a new HIIT routine, but when asked about how they’ve altered their diet, it remains unchanged. #RookieError.

The aim is to replenish the ‘fuel’ used during a workout, as well as add surplus kilojoules to put on that GOOD extra weight.

On the other hand, if the goal is to slim down, you would go the opposite way where you’re eating at a deficit so you’re cutting and not gaining.

So since I’m aiming to bulk I will continue chowing for three.

Here’s what my man Rodet (@rodet_yila) had in store for me at Sports Science this week:

Monday (Day 1):

 Warm-up – 2 x 2 mins cardio & dynamic stretches with lift prep.

 Primary Lifts – Deadlifts (5 x 2) superset with Split jerk (5 x 2)

Metcon – Rope pull-ups / Reverse mountain climbers / Skipping / Cuban press / Eccentric sit-to-stands / Row ergo. (2 x 60:30 secs work:rest ratio)

Finisher – Skipping (200 skips), Row ergo. (250 m), Shuttle sprints (3 x 30 m)

 Cool-down – static stretches

 Wednesday (Day 2):

 Warm-up – 2 x 2 mins cardio & dynamic stretches with lift prep.

 Primary Lifts – Bench Press (5 x 2) superset with Power Cleans (5 x2)

Metcon – Ring rows / Pezziball leg curls / Fury plank / Thrusters / Row ergo. (2 x 90:60 secs work:rest ratio)

Finisher – Tug o’ war: winner – 10 Burpees / loser – 10 push-ups, 10 inverted rows, 10 squat jumps

 Cool-down – static stretches

 Friday (Day 3):

 Warm-up – 2 x 2 mins cardio & dynamic stretches with lift prep.

 Primary Lifts – Back squat (5 x 2) superset with Box jumps (5 x 2)

Metcon – MB side toss / (Assisted) pull-ups / High knees / Push-ups / Wall ball / Lateral fury walk-outs (2 x 40:20 secs work:rest ratio)

Finisher – Repeat sprints

 Cool-down – static stretches

FYI, be wary of those “Reverse Mountain Climbers” (Monday metcon)… Incredible workout for just about the entire body, but your triceps will feel like somebody’s holding an iron to them!

Till next time, chow like a champion.