He Lost Fat AND Rehabilitated His Shoulder
Amir came to Enterprise Fitness with the goal of losing fat and improving his strength in the gym, which was undermined by an existing shoulder injury. Ultimately, these goals represented an emerging priority towards his physical health and fitness which he had long overlooked due to a busy work life.
Amir was previously training at the gym, but did not have a systematic training or nutrition plan to successfully achieve his goals. This was compounded by injuries which slowed his progress. But it all changed when he started training at Enterprise.
Here was what Amir achieved after 13 weeks:
- Lost 15.1 kgs in 13 weeks (102.3kg to 87.2kg)
- Pain-free shoulder
Training
Amir’s training was split into three phases:
- Phase 1 – GPP 4×10-12
- Phase 2 – Modified 8×8
- Phase 3 – Modified tri-sets
Amir began with a GPP (general physical preparedness) phase to develop foundational strength, stability and mobility in key movement patterns. Amir experienced scapular winging, shoulder instability with radiating pain, and tightness in his neck and upper trapezius. Rectifying his shoulder injury was a gradual process but it greatly improved with specific rehabilitation exercises that targeted muscular weakness, such as serratus anterior and subscapularis strengthening.
From here, he completed a modified 8×8 which increased the total training volume but also reinforced technique through the high exposure to individual movements, particularly with more complex movements like deadlifts and barbell squats.
The third phase used modified tri-sets to increase total time under tension and work density using a spectrum of repetition ranges to drive lactate accumulation and ultimately fat loss. By this point, Amir was dumbbell and barbell pressing pain-free across all pressing angles.
Diet
We started on a -20% net weekly caloric deficit, alternating between training day and non-training day nutrition to accomodate for variations in activity level, energy and recovery demands.
Protein was consistently at around 2g/kg bodyweight to support lean muscle mass and fats were also maintained at around 0.8g/kg bodyweight throughout. Carbohydrate was the main fuel substrate that was manipulated throughout Amir’s 12 weeks in synchronicity with increases in training volume. To maintain training performance and manage stress, carbohydrates were reserved for pre and post training and for fuel and glycogen replenishment respectively.
Ultimately, the key to Amir’s success was developing a routine with his meal preparation and timing, so that he was not reliant on finite willpower to achieve daily success.
Supplementation
In regards to supplementation, Amir used the Night Magnesium powder and Trighanda by Designs For Health and MetaZinc by Metagenics. He was provided with specific lifestyle, nutrition and supplementation support to help him handle his stressful workload and constant lifestyle.
