👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
I am Dennis Okello Mbira, a 25 years old fitness enthusiast living in Nairobi, Kenya. I am a writer and graphic designer by profession but also studies Information and Communication Technology. I am not single but still lives alone and have no kids.
My fitness journey began seven years ago after being introduced to weight training by a close friend. Since then, I have loved the sport so much as it helps you remain healthy.
Although I still have no sponsors, I have been able to gain over 15 kg of lean muscle mass over the course of seven years of training program. It is my main hobby, and I also play basketball and love travelling.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
We don’t have much fat to burn.
I often train 4-5 times a week with a friend who is also a fitness enthusiast. We usually train at a specific gym with other trainers. When going to the gym, we ritually carry a bag where we put our fitness attire and a water can.
A typical training session usually takes 45 minutes of which we must train at least one main body part and one isolation exercise. The training sessions mostly involve weight lifting as we rarely do cardio as we don’t have much fat to burn.
Of all the exercises we do, we particularly love the bench press and T-bar row. We often end out session by taking Platinum Creatine by Muscletech as we relax.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
One of the most challenging parts of training is finding the time to go to the gym. For this reason, we have scheduled our training sessions to be in the evening when we are both free from everything.
While some days I may feel motivated, other days I just get motivated to train by my friend and vice versa. If neither of us is motivated, we may just do some simple isolation exercises for like 20 minutes.
We always search online for the best exercises and new variations to the exercises.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
So far, we are doing quite well in terms of training. Also, there is nothing I would change in my program even if I were to start from the moment I was a beginner.
However, we hope that within five years we will be in a position to compete in the local bodybuilding contests. To achieve this, we always try to beat our own personal records and set new ones.
We also hope that one day it will be our main career and even have a fitness oriented business preferably a gym.
Besides bodybuilding, I plan to venture into the entrepreneurship world after finishing studies.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
I understand that injuries are very common with weight lifting. To prevent them, I always avoid lifting very heavy weights without first warming up using a jump rope. I also try to always use proper form when doing any exercise.
In case I get an injury, I usually take some time off the gym until I recover from it. So far, I have only had one injury specifically on my shoulder and it took about three weeks to heal.
After sessions, I eat lots of carbohydrates and proteins and sleep for approximately eight hours to help me recover.
I never use any recovery supplement or tools. In case I have any travel plans or anything that will greatly affect my training schedule, I consider that as an offseason.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I don’t have cheat days, bulking period, or cutting periods.
In addition to training, I also follow a specific diet routine that I have been following for over a year now.
The diet includes chicken, lean beef, eggs, potatoes, beans, rice and vegetables. This daily nutrition program includes 200g protein, 200g carbs, and 45g fat while the calorie intake is 3,500.
What I love about this diet plan is that it helps me build muscle really quick since I am a hard gainer. To top up the calories from my food intake, I use a weight gainer specifically Serious Mass.
When I go out in social occasions, I always have no problem eating the food there unless it is coffee or alcohol. I always try to avoid taking coffee and alcohol as I think they make me loose much water through frequenting the toilet.
Unlike most people, I don’t have cheat days, bulking period, or cutting periods. My diet routine remains the same all year round.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
One thing that has really inspired me to even start and maintain training is fitness magazines especially Flexx and Muscle and Fitness.
I also get motivated by social media pages like Strong Muscle and Muscle Madness. Apart from helping me with useful tips, they also expose me to bodybuilding champions who I then strive to be like.
Apart from magazines, I have also had lots of advice from fellow trainers I the gym.
One of the best advices I ever got was from a friend who advised me to regularly use Platinum Creatine by Muscletech.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Whether you are just starting out or you are already a veteran trainer, consistency is key.
If you are still new, I would mostly do compound exercises if I were you. I would also learn the correct form for each exercises and follow a program.
If you are experienced, I would recommend you to stick to high intensity, heavy weights and compound moves. I have often heard people saying that going light on the weight is the best.
However, I personally think that big weights and compound moves rock if you are really serious about gaining muscle mass.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
Currently, I am not offering to be a trainer either online or offline, and so, I am not taking on clients.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
For more information about me and my fitness journey, you can follow me on Facebook @dennis.mbira13 or Instagram @dennis_mbira.
I am most active on my Instagram page.
