My training thread, progress, advice etc

[erics44]

alright man, first time ive seen your training log so first time ive posted

what was the radiotherapy for? i havent read all the thread so soz if ive missed something

from your first post it seems you are trying to add muscle(weight) and lose fat at the same time

id say unless you are very young and/or a freak of nature thats probably gonna be difficult

most people do it in cycles (bulk then cut) so say you are 130lbs and 25%bf and you want to be 140lbs and 14%bf, the best thing to do would be to bulk (eat lots and lift lots of weights) for 6months say

reaching 160lbs and 35% bf maybe

then cut (lots of cadio, low cal diet)

dropping then to nearer to your target

its pretty impossible to do it all at the same time

[ono]

Hey Ryanman thanks for asking.

I'm still training 4/5 times a week. I'm not really seeing any gains any more which is disappointing, I think once Christmas is out the way I will need to revamp my program and change it up a bit.

I do sets of 8 chin ups and pull ups now, although what I class as pull ups is when I grip these handles on the bar with wrists facing inwards towards the body.

Actual widegrip pulls are still really hard. I can do 3 raising to just above eye level with the bar but I don't seem able to lift up to chin level with them, although I'm not sure if you are supposed to anyway.

Chin ups and regular pull ups are to chin level though.

Wish I was ripped and shreeded by now, but I guess that is mainly for the young and the elite.

As long as I continue to get a little bit better and keep heading in the right direction I am happy. The best news is I have been completely healthy for a year now, not even a cold and my thyroid function and testosterone levels have noticabley increased.

Hoping to start some volunteer work in January, feeling positive about everything for the first time in several years. Even started seeing a new girl.

What's your diet like?

Generally pretty good, I eat fairly well, several small meals a day, no crap, well usually no crap.

I think I probably need to change my program up a bit. I've been doing the same whole body routine twice a week since March now.

After Christmas I will split it in half and workout 4 times a week, and add some different exercises.

I might also use my stationary bike as well as a break from rowing and to get my body adapted to some other form of cardio.

How many grams of carbs/protein/fats per day?

[Kev]

Hey Ryanman thanks for asking.

I'm still training 4/5 times a week. I'm not really seeing any gains any more which is disappointing, I think once Christmas is out the way I will need to revamp my program and change it up a bit.

I do sets of 8 chin ups and pull ups now, although what I class as pull ups is when I grip these handles on the bar with wrists facing inwards towards the body.

Actual widegrip pulls are still really hard. I can do 3 raising to just above eye level with the bar but I don't seem able to lift up to chin level with them, although I'm not sure if you are supposed to anyway.

Chin ups and regular pull ups are to chin level though.

Wish I was ripped and shreeded by now, but I guess that is mainly for the young and the elite.

As long as I continue to get a little bit better and keep heading in the right direction I am happy. The best news is I have been completely healthy for a year now, not even a cold and my thyroid function and testosterone levels have noticabley increased.

Hoping to start some volunteer work in January, feeling positive about everything for the first time in several years. Even started seeing a new girl.

What's your diet like?

Generally pretty good, I eat fairly well, several small meals a day, no crap, well usually no crap.

I think I probably need to change my program up a bit. I've been doing the same whole body routine twice a week since March now.

After Christmas I will split it in half and workout 4 times a week, and add some different exercises.

I might also use my stationary bike as well as a break from rowing and to get my body adapted to some other form of cardio.

How many grams of carbs/protein/fats per day?

I don't weigh it out, but I eat sensibly.

For example so far today I've eaten the following.

2 slices brown bread with crunchy peanut butter with an apple
4 ryvitas with philadelphia light spread, ham and mustard

In a bit I'm going to have a can of tuna with broccoli.

I've drank one glass of water and 3 cups of green tea so far.

Dinner tonight will be chicken, brown rice, a fried diced red onion and a Patak balti sauce.

I'll also have one chocolate whey protein shake with two scoops of raw oats after my workout.

This is a typical day and to be honest I'm not in the slightest bit interested in making it more complicated than this. I don't want to be weighing food as it's just not sustainable for me in the long term. It has to be easy otherwise it becomes a chore and I'm less likely to stick with it.

[Kev]

My bodyweight is now 140lbs, up from 135 when I was just rowing. So I've gained about 5 lbs of muscle (well weight at least) in the last 5 months, although the last couple months it's remained the same.

I'm thinking maybe this is just my ideal natural weight?

I'm not looking to add size or bulk. Ideally I'd love to start to resemble a boxer's body, muscular but lean. I guess training 3 hours a week probably isn't going to produce that, but if I could look in shape, so I at least look like I work out, that would be great.

I don't think I llok like that yet, but I look much much better than I did at the start of the year.

[Kev]

My plan for January is to make use of this guys materials.

Scooby's Workshop | Home Fitness & Bodybuilding Workouts

He has a pretty busy forum as well, so I will join that and start to get advice there too I think. His videos are really great.

[Kev]

alright man, first time ive seen your training log so first time ive posted

what was the radiotherapy for? i havent read all the thread so soz if ive missed something

from your first post it seems you are trying to add muscle(weight) and lose fat at the same time

id say unless you are very young and/or a freak of nature thats probably gonna be difficult

most people do it in cycles (bulk then cut) so say you are 130lbs and 25%bf and you want to be 140lbs and 14%bf, the best thing to do would be to bulk (eat lots and lift lots of weights) for 6months say

reaching 160lbs and 35% bf maybe

then cut (lots of cadio, low cal diet)

dropping then to nearer to your target

its pretty impossible to do it all at the same time

I don't really buy into this cutting/bulking talk. I think that's true for serious athletes, not people just starting working out.

Somebody who is inactive will both lose fat and gain muscle initially as their body is out of shape and muscle underdeveloped.

Obviously if you are already in shape then it wouldn't be possible as youe muscle mass is already developed and your bodyfat already at a healthy level.

An overweight, undermuscled average guy however will start building muscle from working out and losing weight also, providing they eat properly, at least until they are in shape.

As an example, Manny Pacquiao obviously couldnt build muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but Eddie Izzard clearly did when he did his marathon challenge. He lost a lot of fat from his daily marathon regime, he also built up some decent muscle mass in his legs.

Ricky Gervais clearly lost a lot of weight and packed on some muscle when training for his celebrity boxing challenge a few years ago.

[erics44]

My bodyweight is now 140lbs, up from 135 when I was just rowing. So I've gained about 5 lbs of muscle (well weight at least) in the last 5 months, although the last couple months it's remained the same.

I'm thinking maybe this is just my ideal natural weight?

I'm not looking to add size or bulk. Ideally I'd love to start to resemble a boxer's body, muscular but lean. I guess training 3 hours a week probably isn't going to produce that, but if I could look in shape, so I at least look like I work out, that would be great.

I don't think I llok like that yet, but I look much much better than I did at the start of the year.

everyone would like a boxers body, its just difficult to achieve

there arent many people who can add muscle and burn fat at the same time

if you havent used you muscles for a long time then maybe you will fill out a bit when you first start to put them into action again but they wont grow at a very fast rate if you dont bulk

and by a very fast rate i mean even the best bulkers (natural of course and over a certain age) will only put on 5lbs absolute maximum in a year (more like 2-3lbs for most people), and thats bulking with out worrying about fat gain

youll only put on weight if you are taking on excess callories

so if you eat 3500 and burn 1000 rowing (daily allowance 2500) then youre not gonna gain any weight of any kind

[erics44]

alright man, first time ive seen your training log so first time ive posted

what was the radiotherapy for? i havent read all the thread so soz if ive missed something

from your first post it seems you are trying to add muscle(weight) and lose fat at the same time

id say unless you are very young and/or a freak of nature thats probably gonna be difficult

most people do it in cycles (bulk then cut) so say you are 130lbs and 25%bf and you want to be 140lbs and 14%bf, the best thing to do would be to bulk (eat lots and lift lots of weights) for 6months say

reaching 160lbs and 35% bf maybe

then cut (lots of cadio, low cal diet)

dropping then to nearer to your target

its pretty impossible to do it all at the same time

I don't really buy into this cutting/bulking talk. I think that's true for serious athletes, not people just starting working out.

Somebody who is inactive will both lose fat and gain muscle initially as their body is out of shape and muscle underdeveloped.

Obviously if you are already in shape then it wouldn't be possible as youe muscle mass is already developed and your bodyfat already at a healthy level.

An overweight, undermuscled average guy however will start building muscle from working out and losing weight also, providing they eat properly, at least until they are in shape.

As an example, Manny Pacquiao obviously couldnt build muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but Eddie Izzard clearly did when he did his marathon challenge. He lost a lot of fat from his daily marathon regime, he also built up some decent muscle mass in his legs.

Ricky Gervais clearly lost a lot of weight and packed on some muscle when training for his celebrity boxing challenge a few years ago.

you look more musular when you lose weight, less fat and you can see whats underneath, your body also changes shape when you do vigurous excersize

ricky gervais and eddie izzard were fat potatos, they started doing some excersize and they began to lose weight so the muscles showed through more, their backs began to straighten a bit, shoulders less hunched so they definately will have looked better

its very unlikely they will have added muscle tho

adding lean muscle is very difficult

UK-Muscle Body Building Community - Bodybuilding Forum is a good site for advice on this stuff

[Kev]

alright man, first time ive seen your training log so first time ive posted

what was the radiotherapy for? i havent read all the thread so soz if ive missed something

from your first post it seems you are trying to add muscle(weight) and lose fat at the same time

id say unless you are very young and/or a freak of nature thats probably gonna be difficult

most people do it in cycles (bulk then cut) so say you are 130lbs and 25%bf and you want to be 140lbs and 14%bf, the best thing to do would be to bulk (eat lots and lift lots of weights) for 6months say

reaching 160lbs and 35% bf maybe

then cut (lots of cadio, low cal diet)

dropping then to nearer to your target

its pretty impossible to do it all at the same time

I don't really buy into this cutting/bulking talk. I think that's true for serious athletes, not people just starting working out.

Somebody who is inactive will both lose fat and gain muscle initially as their body is out of shape and muscle underdeveloped.

Obviously if you are already in shape then it wouldn't be possible as youe muscle mass is already developed and your bodyfat already at a healthy level.

An overweight, undermuscled average guy however will start building muscle from working out and losing weight also, providing they eat properly, at least until they are in shape.

As an example, Manny Pacquiao obviously couldnt build muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but Eddie Izzard clearly did when he did his marathon challenge. He lost a lot of fat from his daily marathon regime, he also built up some decent muscle mass in his legs.

Ricky Gervais clearly lost a lot of weight and packed on some muscle when training for his celebrity boxing challenge a few years ago.

you look more musular when you lose weight, less fat and you can see whats underneath, your body also changes shape when you do vigurous excersize

ricky gervais and eddie izzard were fat potatos, they started doing some excersize and they began to lose weight so the muscles showed through more, their backs began to straighten a bit, shoulders less hunched so they definately will have looked better

its very unlikely they will have added muscle tho

adding lean muscle is very difficult

UK-Muscle Body Building Community - Bodybuilding Forum is a good site for advice on this stuff

Adding lean muscle is difficult if you aready have lean muscle. The average man who has never worked out will put on muscle in the first year of lifting almost inevitably.

I think bodybuilding forums and taking advice from experts is confusing as they are further along the road than you (me anyway).

Doing multiple sets per bodypart, negative reps, pyramid sets, cutting/bulking, taking creatine etc are all advanced techniques for later down the road.

You can get into decent physical shape by just eating healthily, and doing weights and cardio a few times a week. That's fine for a couple years, the mor4 advanced stuff can come later.

Basically I think for me, to kick start my program again I need to a) stop missing workouts, I've skipped a few, b) Try some different exercsies and vary my routine a bit, and c) in January cut my workout in half and train 4 times a week, adding a set for each bodypart to give them extra stimulus. d) Switch from high rep training (12-15 reps) to lower reps (6-10) to build some strength.

I reckon that will kickstart me again. Cutting/bulking I'll worry about in 2015 when I can't improve by any other means.

[erics44]

Adding lean muscle is difficult if you aready have lean muscle. The average man who has never worked out will put on muscle in the first year of lifting almost inevitably.

I think bodybuilding forums and taking advice from experts is confusing as they are further along the road than you (me anyway).

Doing multiple sets per bodypart, negative reps, pyramid sets, cutting/bulking, taking creatine etc are all advanced techniques for later down the road.

You can get into decent physical shape by just eating healthily, and doing weights and cardio a few times a week. That's fine for a couple years, the mor4 advanced stuff can come later.

Basically I think for me, to kick start my program again I need to a) stop missing workouts, I've skipped a few, b) Try some different exercsies and vary my routine a bit, and c) in January cut my workout in half and train 4 times a week, adding a set for each bodypart to give them extra stimulus. d) Switch from high rep training (12-15 reps) to lower reps (6-10) to build some strength.

I reckon that will kickstart me again. Cutting/bulking I'll worry about in 2015 when I can't improve by any other means.

the bit in bold isnt really true

i wish it was

you could argue that your first year will be your most productive, as in when you will see your body change the most (that obviously depends on what you looked like to start with) but then you have to do things right in that year, you cant just go to the gym 4 times a week and do anything and eat anything

when i go through bulking cycles i am miles better at it now than i was in my first year of trying, mainly coz i know what im doing and what works for me, maybe if i knew then what i know now my first year would have been my most productive

[erics44]

actually your first year could "inevitably" be your most productive if for instance you were a big fat man

all you would need to do is add any kind of excersize as long as it was significant enough you would probably look a lot better by the end of the year and maybe wouldnt ever make that much improvement again

[Kev]

actually your first year could "inevitably" be your most productive if for instance you were a big fat man

all you would need to do is add any kind of excersize as long as it was significant enough you would probably look a lot better by the end of the year and maybe wouldnt ever make that much improvement again

Exactly that is what I mean. Before I started training all I did was sit in a chair in front of my computer and masturbate all day. I ate crap as well.

Changing my diet hlped, as did rowing and weights. Next year I will find it harder to make as much of a difference to my body as I have already lost some fat and gained some muscle.

But I'm still nowhere near what anyone would call athletic, and will still be able to make gains by doing routine things like eat, sleep well, train regularly etc, providing I just mix things up a bit.

I think things like cutting and bulking, and advanced training ideas that work for the pros are ridiculous for beginner/average guys. Just master the basics first.

It's not just with bodybuilding but every aspect of life. I see it in chess whenever I play in competitions, people discussing advanced openings they are learning, played by the super GM's that they are spending hours studying, which is just utterly pointless as they still lack even basic chess knowledge. Most people in life (imo), always regard themselves to be more advanced than they really are at whatever it is they do, and so focus on advanced techniques and ideas, whilst never really learning the fundamentals and basics.

Me, I know I'm a pretty weak and feeble guy, and am happy to admit that. I will continue to improve by health the old fashioned way, healthy diet and regular exercise. I'll leave cutting/bulking and counting and weighing calories to the Olympians.

[erics44]

yes you can lose weight and change the shape of your body without following any really principle other than excersize

counting callories and grams of fat/carbs/protein in your diet is for advanced body builders yes, you can get everything you need from your diet by eating the right things

honestly tho man you wont put on muscle unless you do it with a bit of direction

the only way to do it is to use a "bodybuilding" training plan and eat excess calories

if you are older than 23ish (and even then it is hard) adding lean muscle is almost impossible at any significant rate (you could always follow pac and become a roider )

[Kev]

I'm 37 now, and with reduced thyroid function, damaged lungs and below average testoserone levels so I am realistic as to what I can achieve.

My goal is to have a body that when a girl sees me naked she goes 'Ooh!' instead of 'oh...'

That's all the direction I need.

[ono]

Hey Ryanman thanks for asking.

I'm still training 4/5 times a week. I'm not really seeing any gains any more which is disappointing, I think once Christmas is out the way I will need to revamp my program and change it up a bit.

I do sets of 8 chin ups and pull ups now, although what I class as pull ups is when I grip these handles on the bar with wrists facing inwards towards the body.

Actual widegrip pulls are still really hard. I can do 3 raising to just above eye level with the bar but I don't seem able to lift up to chin level with them, although I'm not sure if you are supposed to anyway.

Chin ups and regular pull ups are to chin level though.

Wish I was ripped and shreeded by now, but I guess that is mainly for the young and the elite.

As long as I continue to get a little bit better and keep heading in the right direction I am happy. The best news is I have been completely healthy for a year now, not even a cold and my thyroid function and testosterone levels have noticabley increased.

Hoping to start some volunteer work in January, feeling positive about everything for the first time in several years. Even started seeing a new girl.

What's your diet like?

Generally pretty good, I eat fairly well, several small meals a day, no crap, well usually no crap.

I think I probably need to change my program up a bit. I've been doing the same whole body routine twice a week since March now.

After Christmas I will split it in half and workout 4 times a week, and add some different exercises.

I might also use my stationary bike as well as a break from rowing and to get my body adapted to some other form of cardio.

How many grams of carbs/protein/fats per day?

I don't weigh it out, but I eat sensibly.

For example so far today I've eaten the following.

2 slices brown bread with crunchy peanut butter with an apple
4 ryvitas with philadelphia light spread, ham and mustard

In a bit I'm going to have a can of tuna with broccoli.

I've drank one glass of water and 3 cups of green tea so far.

Dinner tonight will be chicken, brown rice, a fried diced red onion and a Patak balti sauce.

I'll also have one chocolate whey protein shake with two scoops of raw oats after my workout.

This is a typical day and to be honest I'm not in the slightest bit interested in making it more complicated than this. I don't want to be weighing food as it's just not sustainable for me in the long term. It has to be easy otherwise it becomes a chore and I'm less likely to stick with it.

To add any significant amount of muscle, you could probably do with doubling your carbohydrate intake. You're taking in around 260g per day with that layout. Your protein intake is a little better but you could do with adding in another shake to bring it closer to 150g per day.