23 year-old Kyle Daniel from Kingston upon Hull is one of our first brand ambassadors. Hugely passionate about sports growing up, he started out playing football, rugby and basketball. However he had most success competing in track and field events such as triple jump and the 100m sprint.
In his own words
I was inspired to start training when I saw a mate who had put on a decent amount of muscle over the past months and I was really impressed. I had always been fit and healthy but lacked any real mass, I always thought I was one of those people who would never be able put on size even if they tried. I started to notice more videos online of influential fitness ambassadors such as Greg Plitt, Zyzz and Rob Riches. So I did plenty of research on training and nutrition and wrote myself a basic gym programme and got on with it. I was only doing the basics but concentrated on massively increasing caloric intake and lowering my alcohol intake (this wasn’t easy in first year at university) and it all took off from there.
Workout regime
My training regime differs massively from month to month. I try to mix things up as much as possible in order to stay fresh and look forward to a new exciting routines. When I first started my routine was a basic bodypart split and looked something like this:
Chest – Incline DB Press 4×8 Flat Bar Bench Press 4×8 Cable Flys supersetted with press ups 3×10 Incline DB Flys 4×8
Legs – Squats 5×5, 10×10, 5×10 – I vary this very often Leg Press 4×8 Lunges 4×10 Leg Curls 3×10 Leg Extensions 3×10 Calve Raises 5×20
Back – Deadlifts 5×5, 10×10, 4×8 – again varies often Wide Grip Pull ups 4xfailure Bent Over Rows (usually on smith machine to aid with form) 4×8 Lat Pull Down 4×8 Cable Seated Rows 3×8 Bent over two arm long bar row 3×8
Shoulders – DB Shoulder Press 4×8 Military press 4×8 Arnie Press 4×8 Shrugs supersetted with lat raises 4×8 Standard Shoulder Press Machine at my gym supersetted with front raises 3×8
Arms – Skullcrushers supersetted with close grip bench 4×8 Seated Incline Bicep Curls supersetted with Hammer Curls 4×8 Tri Extensions supersetted with Close Grip Bicep Curls 3×8 Dips supersetted with seated bicep curls 3×8 I tried to focus on compound movements when I first started training and I believe they are what allowed me to start to see differences in size so quickly. Nowadays, I like to focus on vertical and horizontal push/pull days and experiment with different routines.
Supplements
As far as supplements go I try to keep things simple. Off season I will use a ‘Mass Gainer’ protein shake in order to get as many calories as possible when trying to put on size. I also use a pre-workout supplement to give me a boost if I have had a long day at work in order to ensure I get the maximum intensity out of my workout. I also use Advanced Growth Nutrition creatine monohydrate. This is the most scientifically tested sports supplement ever and believe this gives me the edge when lifting heavy in big compound exercises such as squats or bench press.
Diet
In terms of my diet, since I have a very high metabolism my main focus in the off season is always on getting the calories down me and I can afford to be a little less strict than some people. However, I still try to maintain a healthy varied diet largely focusing on a 40/40/20 macro split. My main protein sources are red meat, fish, chicken, turkey and eggs. I will usually consume these with whole wheat pasta or brown rice and a selection of vegetables. I try to keep cheat meals down to a couple of times per week in the off season and I understand that this sounds very basic, but it is something that I have seen works best for me.
Equipment
My equipment use is similar to my supplement stack, I try to keep it simple with the basics I need to improve my workouts. Firstly, the Elite Body Squad
wrist straps are essential for me. I wear these whenever I am bench pressing and they were crucial in allowing me to break through plateaus and completely eradicating the wrist pain I’d been trying to train through for the past weeks. I use these whenever I am pressing weights as the comfort and confidence they bring is second to none. My Elite Body Squad
weightlifting gloves are also a must. I use these religiously throughout my back workout and the ‘max grip’ allows me to row heavier and squeeze out those extra reps when usually my grip would cause my sets to suffer. The last bit of equipment I’d like to mention is my Elite Body Squad
lifting belt. This gives me a huge psychological advantage particularly going into my squats and allows me to keep a tight core throughout the movement. It also reduces stress on the spine which is an obvious bonus when you are squatting over double your bodyweight up to twice per week.
Competitions
On November 15th 2015, I entered my first UKBFF Men’s Physique competition in Leicester. This had been a huge goal for me and to step on stage was a great experience. I got second call out, which for my first competition in a nationwide competition I was absolutely delighted about. It allowed me to push myself to the limits and learn a huge amount about my body and how it reacts in different situations for example through diet and water manipulation. It was extremely tough but it’s safe to say I have caught the competing bug and I am looking to compete again in 2016. My goal for the future is to compete again and qualify for the UKBFF Men’s Physique British Finals in 2017.
You can follow Kyle on Instagram here
