I'll link it now.. http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/fast/the-total-body-bulk-up I need a diet to go with it but I can't find a decent one..I'm thinking porridge in the morning with a glass of milk for the protien (I'm not a massive fan of protien shakes, so I want to get more from my meals) Fish/Chicken for my lunch and then for dinner have meat. I don't want to go with the method of having 6 meals a day...Thats way too much.
I'd be more concerned about the program. That does not look like a good method for bulking. You really want at least 2 days a week off, otherwise your body's CNS cannot recover properly and you won't make gains. I'm on a 5 day split because that's what works for me, but a lot of people make very good gains on a 4 day split. I don't know of anyone that does 7 days on. The other thing to think about is that this routine has to be sustainable. It takes the body 3 weeks to even start responding to a new resistance training program, which means that 28 day workout will only yield 1 week of actual growth. You can't expect to see any real gains in a matter of weeks, as the body simply cannot grow that fast. You need a program that you can sustain over a period of months, not weeks. 18-24 sets per muscle group (6 sets over 4 exercises), per week is pretty much optimum for growth. Also looking at that program further, the rep ranges are horrible. When I'm bulking my program looks like this: Monday - Chest and back Tuesday - Abs and rowing circuit Wednesday - Off Thursday - Biceps and triceps Friday - Legs Saturday - shoulders Sunday - Off With regard to your diet, nobody can give you a set diet plan. You need to work out your daily macro and caloric requirements. Generally you will need to eat around 500 calories above maintenance per day in order to grow, ensuring that you consume around 1.5 - 2 grams of protein per pound of body mass. The correct amount of complex carbs (carbs are transport nutrients) and fats are also pretty essential, but again you will need to work out how much of these you need to meet your own macro requirements. Although you say you don't like protein shakes, I would really advise that you do get one. They are very useful post workout, when your body has that 30 minute anabolic window and you really don't feel like eating a big steak.
Down 15 pounds after weighing myself AFTER breakfast so I'm very happy Today is also my cheat day so going to head out later tonight to watch a hockey game and than ufc at a bar, though I don't plan on doing any drinking. Woo
Up a pound this week so 17.6 stone. Eating has all gone to pot due to late working and a lack of food in the house Looking forward to training tomorrow though
This is a really helpful thread. i have been juicing this year and it has helped. I have lost about 4 kg in the last couple of months. The thing is that i hate the gym but i gotta keep going good luck to all you fellow losers!
Dropped another hole on my belt today. That makes 6 holes down in 11 weeks which works out to pretty much a 6" loss. Not sure on the weight loss at the mo, getting weighed again tomorrow. Got just over a week left to hit my goal of 5% loss over 12 weeks
Lost 11lbs in three weeks just by cutting out junk food. Gonna start exercising more next week and see what happens.
Did not read all of the thread but just want to add my story and method. Last year, around march, I weighed 102kg / 225 pounds. I'm 183cm tall and even though my bodyshape can handle a little bit extra weight, I was clearly overweight. So I told myself I would get into shape. At that time I wasn't exercising but I was cooking myself with quality healthy ingredients. My problem was that I ate too much and used some ingredients too much (butter, cream, cheese, ..). I had a bad habit of drinking Coke too much and often having unhealthy snacks in the evening. So my plan was simple: - stop drinking Coke or other sugar-beverages during the week; - no more snacks (especially after dinner); - avoid fast food; - eat way less and cook more heathy stuff. To give myself a boost I also removed Bread, Rice, Potatoes, etc.. from my diet the first month. It's hard and forces you to prepare every meal yourself but it will kickstart losing weight and it gets you focused. Losing weight was going well and I was feeling better. As soon as I was under 95kg / 210 pounds I added some exercise to my life. I did a 'start to run' program, which was jogging at a very basic intervals for three times a week (run 2 min, walk 1 min, etc..) untill you build up to jog about 30min straight. As soon as I got under 90kg / 200 pound I started enjoying exercising a lot more. Also went to play some badminton at a local club with some friends. In a few months I had lost over 15 kg / 33 pounds and was weighing about 85kg / 187 pounds. I really got into exercising and bought a road bike and went on a lot of rides during the summer. Being outdoors more often, exercising more and eating healthy I dropped to 82 kg / 180 pounds. I stayed on that weight for a about 6 months. During the winter I didn't exercises as often and also ate a bit too much (holidays) and gained a few kg's again. I'm about 85kg at the moment and although I'm happy with that, as soon as spring really starts I will get back at it. My dream weight is about 78kg / 170pounds, which I hope to reach this year. For my body this is going to be a life long struggle to keep my weight under control. Although I enjoy exercising a lot more, I'm never going to be a sport-freak who just cant go through a day withoug exercising. good luck to everybody.
Last time I checked I was down roughly 16.5 pounds, though I haven't done any measurements on hips and such to check inches lost. Gotten a bit sloppy with my exercise, my treadmill / stairclimber doesn't have an adjustable incline which is really bothering my foot, making it difficult to manage 30 minutes on it. After about 10 I need to stop, so once weather improves I'll get to doing my exercise outside. Food wise, had no issues with junk food or sugary drinks or alcohol, only time I cheat is on a Friday or Saturday, in which case I may have a few unhealthy things but no alcohol or pop / juice. I don't feel too different yet, but my attitude has greatly changed, I started with a positive attitude and I've yet to be discouraged, if I see I lost a pound or 2 every week I am very satisfied. I've heard more than that is unhealthy, and when I had a family birthday last week a few people noticed I had lost weight, which I'm rather happy about. I also tried on my old jeans, I absolutely love them but due to my weight I no longer fit, well, they fit now, just not very well. I'm excited to be able to fit into them soon, mostly tight around the thighs. Apparently I have a large butt and thighs, makes buying jeans a pain. Oh well, with the diet and exercise I'm sure it'll all shrink down eventually. I've also noticed some of my fitted shirts fitting better, which is great! I too have a goal of 170 pounds, but I'm just taking it in small steps and enjoying the small victories as I go. I'd probably say I'm in the same boat Lovah, I expect to put weight on over the winter, than lose it in the summer. Learning to cook your own meals is definitely key, which is something I still need. Only thing I really make myself is my breakfast. Snack wise I just stick to veggies and I will sometimes snack after dinner but I make sure that if I'm snacking I'm going to be up for roughly 3 hours before going to sleep. Since I eat the same things pretty much daily I've stopped using the myfitnesspal app, after getting into the routine for 2-3 weeks it was a great tool, but now I only really use it to look up information about foods if my mom makes something different or if we decide to go out. My mom tries to make everything healthier so if she makes something unhealthy she'll swap out some of the worse ingredients for healthier ones, so I'll just reference said item in the app and find the average calorie / information and use that. I know its being lazy but right now its working for me.
So after 2 months of serious life changing and good habit forming, I've lost 5kg. It's slow going, but then again they always say the slower you lose, the slower you gain again. /2cents
5.9kg down in 11 weeks so far. 1 more week to lose another kg.... Looks like I am going to be walking home a few nights this week, Trying to stick to the 1850 calories per day as a food goal rather than an overall net goal for the day taking into account exercise as well.
I've dropped about 2kg of the worst that I'd put on, i.e. the ones that made it noticable, but I'm still eating badly. But I've been hitting the gym very hard, (4+ times a week) and getting good sessions out, but my run last week has done my ankle in. Bad times! Also good work Almighty on your 5.9, thats good going. And the same for you Draksis.
One thing I can advise for anyone who is bulking up...Do your pullups! Some of the best exercises I've done, and I've noticed a massive different since doing them!
Pretty demotivated today, finally really nice out and tried to go for a run, and I just couldn't. I managed to jog at a good pace for about 3-4 minutes, than I walked for 1-2 minutes and my calves and ankles really stiffened up. I stopped at a bench to rest and tried to pick the pace back up and instant soreness / pain. I stopped, tried taking my orthotics out (I'm very flat footed) and it relieved me for about a minute or so before everything stiffened up again. I managed to suffer through it for about 15 minutes before having to just call the run. I do get some ankle stiffness when I use my stairclimber but nothing nearly this bad, nor this quickly. After some investigating I realize I've never bothered to really stretch so next time I decide to run or use my machine I guess I'll look into a stretching routine. Leaning more towards my bike next time I feel like getting out.
OMG! Weight loss twins! I've been slowly dropping from a lardy 86kg, trying for 78kg too. Currently at 80.2kg. Feeling slimmer but not sure if my fat layer is getting any smaller. Trouble is when it comes to weight loss it's all too easy, during winter at least, to focus on what I eat rather than exercise. So I'm controlling my calories fine, but it does suppress my appetite for exercise, so much so that I haven't consistently exercised since December, leading to loss in CV fitness and feeling like my muscles are receding too. Depending on where precisely your stiffness is arising, it might be worth considering compartment syndrome as a cause. I get this sometimes when trying to resume a running habit after a period of inactivity. The individual muscles running between my calf and my ankle are being worked more than the sheaths around them can accommodate - i.e. perhaps you're trying to do too much of the same movement type too soon. So defo try mixing up with cycling, swimming etc.
