In Fitness and in Health
-
Good program. Although I'd have thought some decent leg work (deadlifts, squats) would also be useful for for balance, and endurance. Stable base and all that. One things for sure any program that is giving the kind of results you're seeing will help you do most things better and longer.
I had to google beasting. Sounds uncomfortable [emoji38]
-
I'm doing leg presses and barbell squats…..The one thing I have always had is pretty strong legs, so I'm not focussing on them that much, what I believe (and what the F do I know really?) will help me, is better core strength, thus enable me to deploy my legs muscles better and quicker in the right place at the right time.
-
Just curious, Giles. Did they have you do a full VO2Max test on a treadmill with the respirator hookup and everything? Always wanted to do one.
-
I'm doing leg presses and barbell squats…..The one thing I have always had is pretty strong legs, so I'm not focussing on them that much, what I believe (and what the F do I know really?) will help me, is better core strength, thus enable me to deploy my legs muscles better and quicker in the right place at the right time.
Makes sense about the legs and I'm sure you're right about the benefits of a strong core. Throw in back rows and you're set!
-
Speaking of legs, my PT has me on German Volume Training right now. It's a pretty simple programme: Ten sets of ten reps each on a single exercise, with a couple of accessory moves to finish
youoff.I did squats today. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to walk tomorrow. :o
Yeah, those Germans, they're cruel…
-
If the Germans seem mean, check out the Smolov squat cycle haha
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Completed the Bristol half marathon yesterday.
Completed run in an unadjusted time of 1hr 53mins. Expect actual time may be a minute quicker. It was tough !!
Corrected time; 1hr 50 mins
-
Paula and I did a 4.5 mile walk with a pub at the end, that was enough for us…..
I like that kind of motivation, the promise of food and alcohol [emoji488][emoji481]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Had a great workout with some clients tonight with the music blaring and barbells being thrown around. Reminded me why I started working out in the first place - having fun.
Hope everyone is finding their inspiration to achieve their goals
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I am trying to get some size back on at the moment. Since my son was born I have lost 16 kilos of which most was muscle. I have never stopped working out although less times a week as
I was before he was born. The main factor in this was the amount of food I have been eating. Or more importantly the lack of food.So as of 2 weeks ago I have begun to hit 3200-3500cals a day.
I can only get to the gym 3 times a week now. So I follow a 4 day split but only training 3 days a week. So everything gets trained every 10-12 days.
I feel the extra rest is definitely helping me. I can't say I wanna be back to my heaviest but if I can get a solid 5kg back I will be happy a man. -
More training today for the upcoming Bath half marathon, March 2017, where me and Jules ( @Black Orchid ) have pledged to raise a minimum of £300 each for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity .
Huge thanks to those IH forum members that have already sponsored us.
To read the backstory click; https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3976.msg474036#msg474036My Garmin GPS watch died before I finished my route so I used http://gb.mapometer.com/ to measure the full route. I did 11 miles and Jules did 5 miles. Today's training route and data;
To donate to this amazing charity, whilst supporting me and Jules, simply click on links below;
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/barcleyroberts
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/julesroberts -
I am trying to get some size back on at the moment. Since my son was born I have lost 16 kilos of which most was muscle. I have never stopped working out although less times a week as
I was before he was born. The main factor in this was the amount of food I have been eating. Or more importantly the lack of food.So as of 2 weeks ago I have begun to hit 3200-3500cals a day.
I can only get to the gym 3 times a week now. So I follow a 4 day split but only training 3 days a week. So everything gets trained every 10-12 days.
I feel the extra rest is definitely helping me. I can't say I wanna be back to my heaviest but if I can get a solid 5kg back I will be happy a man.This is interesting to me as it chimes with some of my experiences although you're coming at it from a different angle than I had to. My starting point back in April was that I was overweight and hadn't trained meaningfully for almost a year as a result of injury, then new baby etc. I was 105kg. I've been following the program posted here back in may but have doubled the amount of exercises (and therefore frequency) and increased volume. I've now hit my target weight of 95kg and I'm lifting at an acceptable level (1xRM squats = 145kg, 1xRM deadlifts =140kg, 1xRM bench = 90kg). All my gear fits me much better, with the exception of a couple of shirts and a pair of BB's that are now too big.
Progress has stalled here for two reasons (I think). Firstly I'm not eating enough to support any more muscle growth as I've kept myself in a deficit, and secondly I've been doing an alternating full body split three times a week, with about 9-10 exercises each day, so I'm probably not giving my body enough time to recover.
I'm now starting a classic upper/lower split four times a week (upper A/lower A/ rest day /upper B/lower B/weekend). I'm increasing volume but decreasing frequency. The scary part for me is increasing calorie intake. My primary goal is to build strength rather than mass, but I guess some muscle gain is secondary but necessary to this goal? Honestly I'm petrified of putting on too much. Anyone ( @Appfaff @spitfiredealer ) got any tips? I mean, muscle takes less place than fat in theory, no? Is there anyway to concentrate on increasing strength without putting on a lot of muscle?
Good luck with your goals @spitfiredealer ! I'll be interested to hear about your progress.
-
@neph93 i would suggest adding 500 cals to your daily intake and log your progress for say a month. Use the scales and the mirror.
There is no way you are going to get stronger eating in a calorie deficit. I wouldn't worry about putting on too much, your aren't suddenly going to blow up with a extra 500 calories. Those extra calories will no doubt make you feel stronger almost straight away if you have been in a deficit for a while. -
@neph93 I'm also pursuing pure strength in my training, and as such have been concentrating on the big 3 compound movements (bench, squat, deadlift) along with selected accessory exercises for the past 12 months. During this time I found that I wasn't progressing quickly (or at all in some cases), and experiments with both deficit and keto diets didn't really work for me - I think if I'd pursued keto I might have started to see general improvements, but it requires a much more disciplined and organised life than I'm prepared to commit too, at least at the moment!
What I did find extremely useful was Andy Bolton & Pavel Tstatsouline's book "Deadlift Dynamite", which, although it primarily focuses on the deadlift, also examines the other compound movements, and how to develop an overall strategy for strength training. I bought the Kindle edition from Amazon, for about £7, since the paperback is priced at £60!
As a complimentary book, I'd also highly recommend "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Dr Kelley Starrett which has helped improve my flexibility, taught me how to fix a lot of my aches/pains, and provided a great insight into biomechanics and how to apply it to strength training, i.e. how to not injure yourself through poor movement discipline and/or bad habits
-
Huge thanks to @Max Power for your donation to Teenage Cancer Trust and your support
To donate to this amazing charity, whilst supporting me and Jules, simply click on links below;
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/barcleyroberts
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/julesroberts
Thanks in advance, Barcley, Jules & Teenage Cancer Trust -
Huge thanks to @Max Power for your donation to Teenage Cancer Trust and your support
To donate to this amazing charity, whilst supporting me and Jules, simply click on links below;
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/barcleyroberts
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/julesroberts
Thanks in advance, Barcley, Jules & Teenage Cancer Trust+1, thank you @Max Power from Jules
-
@neph93 i would suggest adding 500 cals to your daily intake and log your progress for say a month. Use the scales and the mirror.
Thanks very much for the input. I've become a tracking nerd with calories, weight and workouts. Everything gets logged. It has helped tremendously. My deficit has been around 500 calories so 500 more puts me at maintenance level. I think that's a good plan and like you say I can see how that goes for a month. If I get stronger while staying around about 95kg then nothing's better.
@tmg:
@neph93 During this time I found that I wasn't progressing quickly (or at all in some cases), and experiments with both deficit and keto diets didn't really work for me - I think if I'd pursued keto I might have started to see general improvements, but it requires a much more disciplined and organised life than I'm prepared to commit too, at least at the moment!
Despite having had many more or less successful training periods behind me I started in May at a real low, essentially as a beginner in terms of physical condition if not knowhow. That meant I got to enjoy those noob gains of both building muscle, losing fat and getting stronger while still being in a calorific deficit. Those days have ended for me too!
I'm unfamiliar with keto and will look it up. Thanks also for the reading tips. I'll definitely look those up too. I do love doing deadlifts and squats. I feel they are natural lifts for me, while benching is really something I have to work at.
Thank you both for the advice. I'll post an update in a few weeks.
