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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    In Fitness and in Health

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    • AppfaffA
      Appfaff
      Raw and Unwashed
      Joined:

      If the Germans seem mean, check out the Smolov squat cycle haha

      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • den1mheadD
        den1mhead
        Raw and Unwashed
        Joined:

        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

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • GilesG
          Giles
          IHUK Crew
          Joined:

          Paula and I did a 4.5 mile walk with a pub at the end, that was enough for us…..

          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • den1mheadD
            den1mhead
            Raw and Unwashed
            Joined:

            @Giles:

            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

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • AppfaffA
              Appfaff
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              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

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • spitfiredealerS
                spitfiredealer
                Raw and Unwashed
                Joined:

                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.

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • S
                  Snowy
                  Joined:

                  dropped 2kg's of late, just a matter of eating less and cleaner. shit like that still amazes me!

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • den1mheadD
                    den1mhead
                    Raw and Unwashed
                    Joined:

                    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#msg474036

                    My 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

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • neph93N
                      neph93
                      見習いボス
                      Joined:

                      @spitfiredealer:

                      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.

                      «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                      We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                      • Dame Vera Lynn
                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • spitfiredealerS
                        spitfiredealer
                        Raw and Unwashed
                        Joined:

                        @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.

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • tmgT
                          tmg
                          Joined:

                          @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 😀

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • den1mheadD
                            den1mhead
                            Raw and Unwashed
                            Joined:

                            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

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Black OrchidB
                              Black Orchid
                              Joined:

                              @den1mhead:

                              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

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • neph93N
                                neph93
                                見習いボス
                                Joined:

                                @spitfiredealer:

                                @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.

                                «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                                We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                                • Dame Vera Lynn
                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • neph93N
                                  neph93
                                  見習いボス
                                  Joined:

                                  This plus 500 calories lark is proving difficult. I was 450cal under yesterday and was heading for the same today. I had to eat half a litre of Ben & Jerry's to get my numbers up. Not sure that's the correct way forward…

                                  «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                                  We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                                  • Dame Vera Lynn
                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • spitfiredealerS
                                    spitfiredealer
                                    Raw and Unwashed
                                    Joined:

                                    Add in more fats mate. Peanut butter by the spoonful. Is a easy one.
                                    Whole eggs.

                                    I use organic beef mince and lamb to make calorie high burgers.

                                    Coconut oil is another one.

                                    List what you are eating daily so we can see

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • tmgT
                                      tmg
                                      Joined:

                                      Yes, lots of good fats is the way to go, try googling 'fat bombs' Mug cakes are also a good way of upping your fat and protein intake

                                      Thinly sliced sweet potato, toasted and topped with peanut butter is pretty good too

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • AppfaffA
                                        Appfaff
                                        Raw and Unwashed
                                        Joined:

                                        Some fun during today's training session. Hope everyone is having a blast working out this week! [emoji123]

                                        https://instagram.com/p/BMFripkFFaE/

                                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • gratefulmelonG
                                          gratefulmelon
                                          Joined:

                                          @TrickHell I started 5X5 a little over a month ago and I'm loving it also. At this point, every workout is a personal record.

                                          @neph93 If you're looking to gain strength without really bulking you might want to check out stronglifts 5x5, especially if you enjoy squats and deadlifts. It could also help with the stall you were speaking of.

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • neph93N
                                            neph93
                                            見習いボス
                                            Joined:

                                            Thank you gentlemen, for the advice.

                                            @gratefulmelon that looks like a good workout. I've saved it for future reference. I've just completed the first week of my new workout which is a upper/lower split with two different workouts a week (so two upper bodies and two lower bodies). It incorporates my favourite moves as well as some new challenging isolation moves (Bulgarian Split Squats) and a couple of moves that I love to hate (Dumbbell Flyes, Pull-ups, I'm looking at you). I have a feeling it's going to work for me.

                                            @tmg @spitfiredealer I dropped whole milk, cheese and some fatty fishes from my diet to achieve my deficit so I've re-introduced them. I've missed my mackerel in fact. Kingsize jars of peanut butter are purchased and I've just made, portioned and frozen a shitload of sweet potato/butter mash. I'm now hitting the calorie targets, so we'll see how things develop. Thanks again.

                                            «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                                            We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                                            • Dame Vera Lynn
                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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