My training thread, progress, advice etc

[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.