My training thread, progress, advice etc

[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.

[Beanz]

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.

What Erics44 says is true. If you really want to change, what he says is true. I know because I am suggesting it you will probably dismiss it but if that is so then listen to what he said

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

I am guessing he said that because he found it to be true.I am not an advanced Bodybuilder, Boxer or athlete and I have health issues but I manged to put on a couple of stone of muscle over a couple of years. I started with the Mark Rippetoe starting strength basic Barbell training program and did it all at home, safely with no spotting partner.

Like Eric said if you want to put on muscle then you need to up your carbs and protein to gain mass. You dont need ridiculous amounts but you need to eat a little more to get a little bigger. Also because of your reduced thyroid problem you will no doubt realise that your below average testosterone levels may well be largely responsible for you slow mass gains. To supplement anything your healthcare professionals are doing to remedy this you really need to incorporate squats into your training routine.

You have already recognised the benefit of full body exercises that recruit many muscles at once. This is important because it means with reduced lung function you can do more work, more efficiently, in less time. The Squat is the king of the full range of motion exercises and will help you build, Strength, power and size. it will help increase the production of testosterone and make you bigger. Indian wrestlers do it hundreds of times a day with no weights and are incredibly strong.

If you can already do pull-ups, which are fuckers and chin ups add the squat, deadlift, and press and you can make real noticeable gains. For example you can do as many chins as you like but however big your biceps and well defined your back gets you will look weird without a well developed chest and shoulders and having the strength in your legs to lift heavier and increase your mass. This is true even if you just want to put on a half stone of useful nice looking muscle of 6 stones of Arnie type beefcake.

Whatever you do I have found the best way to learn is to listen to the experiences of someone who has achieved what you wish to. If Eric managed to get himself into good enough shape to fight in the ring then there must be something to his advice.

[Gandalf]

Push ups are my latest thing and I have been doing them daily now, but having almost no muscles I find my body to be sore and my breasts to be tender. It's getting easier now though. Whilst I struggled to do 5 before, I can now do 10. I guess breathing was my issue, but now I am learning to inhale and exhale at the correct junctures. It's good, I can march around the lake in the time it takes to listen to a New Order album and then get home and do sets of push ups. I also use my kindle to exercise my eyes. They move left and right hundreds of times each day which is immensely satisfying.

I have no interest in building myself or being a muscle Mary dwarf like Bilbo. I just want to know that I am doing just a little bit to make myself a more disciplined human being. Between 22 and 31 I completely ignored needing to be physical. That is a very long time and so when people criticize me for power walking I don't mind because I know that it is enough for now. This morning I was walking so quickly that I was almost at a canter.

My previous post was a man only half way reformed, I am doing far better now. I might even start light jogging soon.

And that book idea is something that I should keep on the back burner as it is too ambitious for now.