May 24, 2012

Cool marketing tactic BMW! Complimentary Apple iPad

	Dear Mr Anamourlis, For a limited time, Leo Haese Pretoria is putting even more excitement in your hands with a complimentary Apple iPad* computer with every Certified Pre-owned BMW. Enquire with us about the range of outstanding models available with affordable offers, and enjoy a rich multimedia experience on the move should you decide to make a purchase. There’s more to motoring at Leo Haese Pretoria. For further information or to book a test drive contact: Jolene Yssel Tel:012 3663000 E-mail: jolene@leohaese.co.za *New 16 GB Apple iPad offer valid until end May 2012. Colour subject to stock availability and not available in conjunction with any other Certified Pre-owned car offer. Please present this email at the dealership to validate the offer. Terms and conditions apply.



	Leo Haese Pretoria 1207 Burnett Street Hatfield 012 3663000 http://www.leohaesepretoria.co.za

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May 22, 2012

My SleekGeek Journey

Earlier this year a group was created on Facebook promoting healthy living for a generation of IT folk who generally are not the healthiest bunch – I don’t really regard myself as being unhealthy, but I certainly do identify with the IT crowd. The concept was cool, so I gave it a go, everyone puts R500 into the pot and the winner walks away with approximately R8,000 (various categories were defined and in total their were around 70 contestants). More details here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/sleekgeek/

I went for the “Get toned/ripped” category, and apparently I came in second… how depressing, 1st loser! LOL. Oh well, I guess it means I need to work harder.

I was asked to submit a testimonial, so below follows my response and pics. There has also been a web site created for the concept and another competition is lined up for a few weeks time, if you’re looking to get healthy, I recommend joining in: http://www.sleekgeek.co.za

Q&A from the Judges:

1. If you have them on hand then your key starting end measures

Weight: 70.9kg -> 71.5kg (It was not my goal to put on weight, but I definitely have more muscle and less fat now!)

Height: 167cm

Neck: 36.5cm -> 37.5cm

Chest: 96cm -> 103cm (happy to report the flexed state shows much greater improvement)

Bicep: 33cm -> 33.5cm (happy to report the flexed state shows much greater improvement)

Tummy: 87cm -> 85.5cm

Thigh: 55cm -> 56cm

Wrist: 18cm -> 18cm

Body fat: 18.9% -> 18.4% (probably the biggest disappointment as visually the results are MUCH better)

2. What your plan was? What you did?

I had planned to win! In fact I’m still bummed that I didn’t! It’s first place or nothing in my book!

Unfortunately the first 4 weeks were marred by flu and personal and work commitments. Nevertheless when I got going, I went hard. It was a mixture of healthy living, moderate dietary changes and exercise.

3. Eating?

I was on a high-protein diet, regularly swapping my breakfasts and lunches for a protein shake. I think the biggest improvement I made diet-wise was to cut-out late evening snacking on junk food. I didn’t eliminate it completely but I managed to substitute a lot of the chips and ice-cream for biltong and almonds.

I probably could have done a bit better on the eating side of things, I didn’t restrict myself when we had to entertain guests or on the odd-trip to a rugby match, but I regularly chose the healthier options at restaurants. It wasn’t actually as tough as many would think – but then again I could have been a little more strict with myself. I tried to restrict my carbs, but I definitely did not come close to eliminating them.

I had almost no alcohol at all, but this was a lifestyle change I had made about a year before already. When I did drink beer, it was always light beer and in moderation.

4. Training?

On average I hit the gym 3 or 4 days a week and I chose to pursue a muscle building routine focused primarily around large muscle groups. On days I didn’t go to gym I did many push-ups…. Many, many push-ups! It wasn’t uncommon for me to complete 500 push-ups in a day (spread over 10 sets and a few hours). I set myself a few goals:

Complete 100 push-ups in a single set: Achieved, managed a high of 107

Bench press (flat and inclined barbell) my body-weight: Achieved

Push double my body-weight on the dips machine: Achieved

Run 5km: Didn’t put enough effort into this one! Failed

Complete a set of 10 unaided chin-ups without rest: Achieved

Cycle 30km: Did not achieve this, but I’m confident I could if I tried – just didn’t have time for cycling in the last few months.

5. Biggest lessons/tips?

You can’t ignore diet! And trying to lose fat at the same time as building muscle is very difficult! Without sufficient nutrition muscle won’t grow and you won’t have the stamina to work-out properly, while without a calorie deficit you cannot lose weight… so it’s a fine balance which is sometimes easier to avoid by first losing weight and then adding muscle, or first "bulking up" and then “cutting”.

I don’t believe it is wrong to take supplements like Phedra-Cut or Creatine, at the very least they offer a psychological boost, I tried both during the 12-week period with some noticeable affects. I think I would recommend these products if asked.

6. Next goals

I’m going to continue on the same routine, the focus will be to add muscle but this time I’m going to ignore fat loss and rather add a component of getting myself much fitter. I suspect that if I achieve that goal the additional fat will fall away as a side effect. Getting myself in shape for XMAN (http://www.xmansa.co.za) should pretty much match my goals.