Andrew Cast in TV Advert
- By Simon Lovell
- Published 08/8/2007
Just thought i'd write a quick congratulations note to one of my clients Andrew Elston who after working really hard over the past 7 months with me has today been cast in a TV advertisment. Andrew came to me underweight and neeing to put on size - he's done fantastically well since January and continues to pack on solid muscle with a strict eating regieme (The Lunch Box Diet) as well as a few important supplements. Here's a recent article on andrew from Exeter's Express & Echo. More details on the ad when I get it.
With an intensive weight training programme and the right diet, Andrew Elston has transformed his skinny frame into one more suited to modelling
While many people find keeping their weight down a constant battle, part-time male model Andrew Elston had the opposite problem.
At 6ft 7ins tall, he has always been skinnier than he would like, but the crunch came when he was told he needed to fill out to get more modelling work.
In less than five months, Andrew has transformed his physique and has gone from 84.1kg (13st 2lb) to 102.6kg (16st) with the help of personal trainer Simon Lovell, who drew up a high-intensity weight- training programme and correct nutrition advice.
"I had the chance to do an assignment for a sportswear company," explained Andrew, a self-employed telecommunications consultant from Honiton.
"I was told my physique was good, but not good enough. They said I was on the light side and I had to put some weight on.
"Ever since I can remember, I've always found it difficult to put weight on, whatever I ate. I wanted to put on bulk, but the right type -to tone my muscles and shape them, and make them big without the fat."
Andrew, who is married with two children, decided that he would need a personal trainer to make sure he was eating and training correctly. He has been training with Simon at Fitness First in Exeter since the beginning of January.
Simon explained: "A lot of the time, people who want to put on weight go to the gym, but they aren't properly informed and end up leaving lighter because they are not training correctly. You need to know what you are doing - you have to eat properly to gain weight and complement it with exercise. Andrew has been training four times a week for an hour. He spends one session interval training and three sessions muscle building."
Andrew has also been following Simon's lunch box diet, a healthy-eating plan that is also used by people who want to lose weight. The diet involves packing a lunch box with different combinations of food and grazing on it throughout the day, plus eating a normal breakfast and evening meal.
"Andrew has had to eat more than normal to get the calories in, but the principle is exactly the same," said Simon. "He gets all the nutrients which play a massive part in how his body synthesises things like protein and is able to generate muscle."
Andrew said: "I'm on a huge diet now - I eat five or six times a day. I estimate I'm eating about 4,500 calories a day. The lunch box diet has been really important. I've been eating lots of coloured fruits and vegetables, meat and a lot of nut-based products.
"Eating six times a day includes pasta or rice at least twice a day, a lot of meat and a lot of eggs. Every other day I have three eggs for breakfast and two bowls of cereal. I probably get through seven or eight bananas a day and I have five pieces of fruit last thing at night as well - every day I have three grapefruits and at least two oranges. On top of that, there's whey protein, which I take twice a day, and carbohydrate multi-dextrin-based drinks, which I make with whole milk and chocolate to give myself energy before training. Weight training can really take it out of you."
Andrew has put on nearly three stones and is very pleased with his progress.
"When I first started, I didn't think I was going to cope with the weights Simon was talking about. When I came in, I couldn't lift 3kg dumbbells above my head. Now I'm doing about 30kg," he said.
"I've seen a huge difference in my physique. I take photos of myself once a month - front, side and back views - to track my progress. Looking back at the ones I took in January, it's just amazing. The muscle structure is far more defined.
"Where I was skinny there is bulk. I used to be able to put my hands around my bicep - I can't do that any more. Before, I modelled suits because of my height, but there's no doubt that with the bulk I've got now, I can really make the suit hang well on me - it looks really good.
"The other place I've noticed it is on sheer power and strength. I can do things now that I wasn't able to do when I started training."
And Andrew is keen to point out that the fast results he has achieved have been through hard work alone. "A lot of people don't want to wait for results and they take steroids, which is really harmful," he said.
"This is based on two things only: one is the lunch box diet and the mix of fruit, vegetables, nuts and meat, and a balanced diet. The other is the high intensity weight training.
"The diet has to be a lifestyle thing - you can't just do it for a few months. You have got to carry on doing it, just like someone who puts weight on easily. I've got to do the same thing but in the other direction.
"It has been a lot of hard work, but we've got there."
For more information click on www.theheatfitness.co.uk or www.thelunchboxdiet.co.uk
With an intensive weight training programme and the right diet, Andrew Elston has transformed his skinny frame into one more suited to modelling
While many people find keeping their weight down a constant battle, part-time male model Andrew Elston had the opposite problem.
At 6ft 7ins tall, he has always been skinnier than he would like, but the crunch came when he was told he needed to fill out to get more modelling work.
In less than five months, Andrew has transformed his physique and has gone from 84.1kg (13st 2lb) to 102.6kg (16st) with the help of personal trainer Simon Lovell, who drew up a high-intensity weight- training programme and correct nutrition advice.
"I had the chance to do an assignment for a sportswear company," explained Andrew, a self-employed telecommunications consultant from Honiton.
"I was told my physique was good, but not good enough. They said I was on the light side and I had to put some weight on.
"Ever since I can remember, I've always found it difficult to put weight on, whatever I ate. I wanted to put on bulk, but the right type -to tone my muscles and shape them, and make them big without the fat."
Andrew, who is married with two children, decided that he would need a personal trainer to make sure he was eating and training correctly. He has been training with Simon at Fitness First in Exeter since the beginning of January.
Simon explained: "A lot of the time, people who want to put on weight go to the gym, but they aren't properly informed and end up leaving lighter because they are not training correctly. You need to know what you are doing - you have to eat properly to gain weight and complement it with exercise. Andrew has been training four times a week for an hour. He spends one session interval training and three sessions muscle building."
Andrew has also been following Simon's lunch box diet, a healthy-eating plan that is also used by people who want to lose weight. The diet involves packing a lunch box with different combinations of food and grazing on it throughout the day, plus eating a normal breakfast and evening meal.
"Andrew has had to eat more than normal to get the calories in, but the principle is exactly the same," said Simon. "He gets all the nutrients which play a massive part in how his body synthesises things like protein and is able to generate muscle."
Andrew said: "I'm on a huge diet now - I eat five or six times a day. I estimate I'm eating about 4,500 calories a day. The lunch box diet has been really important. I've been eating lots of coloured fruits and vegetables, meat and a lot of nut-based products.
"Eating six times a day includes pasta or rice at least twice a day, a lot of meat and a lot of eggs. Every other day I have three eggs for breakfast and two bowls of cereal. I probably get through seven or eight bananas a day and I have five pieces of fruit last thing at night as well - every day I have three grapefruits and at least two oranges. On top of that, there's whey protein, which I take twice a day, and carbohydrate multi-dextrin-based drinks, which I make with whole milk and chocolate to give myself energy before training. Weight training can really take it out of you."
Andrew has put on nearly three stones and is very pleased with his progress.
"When I first started, I didn't think I was going to cope with the weights Simon was talking about. When I came in, I couldn't lift 3kg dumbbells above my head. Now I'm doing about 30kg," he said.
"I've seen a huge difference in my physique. I take photos of myself once a month - front, side and back views - to track my progress. Looking back at the ones I took in January, it's just amazing. The muscle structure is far more defined.
"Where I was skinny there is bulk. I used to be able to put my hands around my bicep - I can't do that any more. Before, I modelled suits because of my height, but there's no doubt that with the bulk I've got now, I can really make the suit hang well on me - it looks really good.
"The other place I've noticed it is on sheer power and strength. I can do things now that I wasn't able to do when I started training."
And Andrew is keen to point out that the fast results he has achieved have been through hard work alone. "A lot of people don't want to wait for results and they take steroids, which is really harmful," he said.
"This is based on two things only: one is the lunch box diet and the mix of fruit, vegetables, nuts and meat, and a balanced diet. The other is the high intensity weight training.
"The diet has to be a lifestyle thing - you can't just do it for a few months. You have got to carry on doing it, just like someone who puts weight on easily. I've got to do the same thing but in the other direction.
"It has been a lot of hard work, but we've got there."
For more information click on www.theheatfitness.co.uk or www.thelunchboxdiet.co.uk