What's been happening?

Well, you'll notice that I haven't posted in a while so what have I been up to? Well my eating has been quite a bit off mark some time mid-November and I ate anything and everything over the Christmas period. In terms of training I progressed through the Hypertrophy phases and currently in the first few sessions of Hypertrophy III. I became ill over the Christmas and new year period and was completely drained of energy. Work has been ridiculously hectic so yes I've been struggling.

What does all of this amount to I hear you ask. Well it means that I've put a lot of weight back on this morning 15st 3.5lbs which is eve slightly up from last week and I'm trying to be good. I'm hoping some of the weight increase is muscle mass but I can tell by my clothes and just visual appearance that plenty of it is actually fat. I'm still cycling to and from work, which by the way has been very difficult what with the weather and all.

So what am doing about it? Good question, like I said above I'm getting back into training following the long break and bad habits of late last year. I'm doing the Hypertrophy III sessions and once these have been completed I will do all of the Fat Loss phases. I've avoided carbs as much as possible over the last 2 weeks to try and get some fat burning established again but my weight has risen slightly from last week (up 1.25lbs). I will need to move off plan A and back on to plan B where I take in carbs before and after training otherwise I'm not going to maximise the benefit of the Hypertrophy sessions.

I think to help I need to try and get my eating into some order splitting things down into smaller and more frequent meals (and try to avoid eating late). Currently I haven't been doing this so I believe that will help if I can sort it out. Free time at the moment is very very sparse. I'm very busy at work doing long hours and when your busy through the day eating a little frequently becomes a bit difficult to accommodate. I'll just have to try harder and get more organised and strict with taking that time. Work also has had the knock on effect of having me eat later than I would like when I get home and I really do need to make sure that I get more sleep. See I can identify a number of areas where I need to improve I just need to get organised and commit to doing it. Oh, yes at the moment I'm only doing two gym sessions a week so when possible I'll need to move this back up to three. I would have moved it to three already but with doing a couple of weeks on plan A to get myself internally sorted and getting use to the exercises of the new program I was struggling with muscle soreness and general fatigue.

So that's where I am at the moment. I'm not pleased with the way I look but am going to commit to completing the Hypertrophy III sessions properly and then trying to sort everything out with the fat loss sessions. I'll try and keep you updated as I go.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 12 Hypertrophy I - Finish line reached!

Weight 14st 3.5lbs which has increased slightly over the last week but nothing to get too hung up about.

Having completed the Hypertrophy I sessions over a 12 week period of 2 sessions per week I thought that I’d look back over any improvements within the workouts that I’ve made. So lets start with workout A which is effectively what you would call the upper body session of a traditional split programme. It consists of Dumb-bell incline bench press (approx 45 degrees) superset paired with Cable seated row, Dumb-bell shoulder press superset paired with Widegrip lat-pulldown and Barbell close grip bench press superset paired with High pulls.
With NROL Hypertrophy I the difficulty comes in the form of changing rep ranges and the number of sets. The rest periods between sets are also adjusted as well. So in order to illustrate what happened over the twelve weeks I’ll have to identify the set and rep range being discussed. The best way to do this I think is to simply list the exercises and any increases achieved, so here goes;

Workout A:
For 5 sets of 5 reps
Dumb-bell incline bench press – weight increased by 10KG
Cable seated row – weight increased by 1 plate
Dumb-bell shoulder press – overall weight increased 5KG (that’s 2KG/side)
Widegrip lat-pulldown – weight stayed the same
Barbell close grip bench press – slight increase of 2.5KG (that’s only 1.25KG/side)
High pull – weight increased by 7.5KG (that’s 3.75KG/side)

For 3 sets of 15 reps
Dumb-bell incline bench press – weight increased by 5KG
Cable seated row – weight increased by 1 plate
Dumb-bell shoulder press – overall weight increased 5KG (that’s 2KG/side)
Widegrip lat-pulldown – weight increased by 1 plate
Barbell close grip bench press – weight stayed the same
High pull – weight stayed the same

For 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumb-bell incline bench press – weight increased by 5KG
Cable seated row – weight increased by 1 plate
Dumb-bell shoulder press – weight stayed the same
Widegrip lat-pulldown – weight stayed the same
Barbell close grip bench press – weight stayed the same
High pull – weight stayed the same

Clearly from the above we can see that for workout A the best improvements were achieved within the 5 sets of 5 reps range. The two largest improvements of 10KG and 7.5KG respectively were achieved here. The least productive range for workout A was the 4 sets of 10 reps range where the majority of the exercises remained at the same weight. I did experience some problems within this workout for about 2 to 3 weeks in I was struggling with the Widegrip lat-pulldowns as I was experiencing a sharp nipping in my right shoulder. That aside this workout was enjoyable.

Moving on to workout B, the lower body portion of a traditional split programme approach. This encompassed the Squat superset paired with the Deadlift with shrug and the Bulgarian split squat superset paired with the Step-up. As with workout A these were also dealt the changing rep and set ranges so I’ll list the exercises and any improvements under the appropriate approaches;

Workout B:
For 5 sets of 5 reps
Squat – weight increased by a fantastic 27.5KG (that’s 13.75KG/side)
Deadlift with shrug – weight increased by 22.5KG (that’s 11.25KG/side)
Bulgarian split squat – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)
Step-up – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)

For 4 sets of 10 reps
Squat – weight increased by 10KG (that’s 5KG/side)
Deadlift with shrug – weight increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/side)
Bulgarian split squat – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)
Step-up – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)

For 3 sets of 15 reps
Squat – weight increased by a mere 2.5KG (that’s 13.75KG/side)
Deadlift with shrug – weight increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/side)
Bulgarian split squat – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)
Step-up – increased by 5KG (that’s 2.5KG/ dumb bell)

From these results we can see that the two largest increases appear within the 5 sets of 5 reps range for the Squat and Deadlift with shrug respectively. At 27.5KG, the squat holds the record for the biggest improvement during the Hypertrophy I sessions over the 12 weeks. It’s interesting to note that the third largest increase for workout B, 10KG also appeared within the Squat for the 4 sets of 10 reps range. The Bulgarian split squat and the Step-up experienced a consistent 5KG increase across the board of rep and set ranges.

Not to neglect the Core work the Slant board crunch (that I substituted for the swiss ball crunch) in workout A and the Reverse crunch of workout B were performed consistently over the 12 week period at 3 sets of 20 reps.

So that about wraps up this quick evaluation. I hope people find this useful and encouraging that improvements can be made over a relatively short period of time. I am sure others can and will experience better improvements that I have. Just stick with it!

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 11 Hypertrophy I - Penultimate week!

Very near to the end of Hypertrophy I now with just another 2 sessions to go. I've kept up with the cycling and did my two sessions this week in the gym. I've been hitting it hard and putting some real effort but have had a big blow out over the weekend with plenty of carb and sugary treats (naughty). Anyhow, I have been feeling a bit run down lately so I suppose I've treated myself to make me feel a bit better. Strangely I do feel ok if a little guilty. My weight this week has remained the same at 14st 1lb so it should be alright I think. I've been doing some preliminary work one working out the weights etc for the next set of workouts that I intend to move onto Hypertrophy II. It's all been paper based and looking at what I did previously on them but it will give me a good indication of where to start. Anyway that's all for now, just a quick update this week.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 10 Hypertrophy I - Nearing the end!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a very busy week at home and at work but I've stuck with the training and the cycling. I have let myself down a bit at the weekend by having a blow out with sugary carbs (a no no) over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday)though I dont intend to do that for a while now I have it out of my system. I do think that it is worth doing that once in a while purely for that reason. Don't feel guilty just move on. So how's the training being going? Well apart from some nipping in my right shoulder with pulldowns very well. I've been trying to move the weights up gradually in each session even if it's not on all the exercises I know that I've done more work in each iteration of each session. I've also kept an eye on the time and tried to limit the amount of wasted time between each set(ie getting to the next exercise). I've only overshot a couple of times but generally speaking I either improve the time to complete the session or bring it in the same as previously. This ensures the intensity of the sessions are as high as possible.

So what has this equated to? Well the pictures are an improvement from last week but again I dont think they are a true reflection of where I am. The weight side of things on the Saturday morning was 14st 1lb so has fallen by a couple of pounds. I'll have start looking to what session I want to do next and at the moment I think it'll be Hypertrophy II but after that I may have to revert back to Fat Loss again as I do feel I'm putting fat on as well as some muscle. I suppose we'll have to wait and see where we are at the time. I don't really want to be restricting too much over the Christmas period so I'll make a judgement nearer the time. Well that's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

What's been happening? - Update!

Hi Everyone,

Yes I know it's been some time since I last posted and for that I must apologise. So what's been happening? In terms of training somewhat of a frustration, let me explain. You may recall me telling you about the problems I had been experiencing with my knee and back. Well, I'm still having problems with them but not the same as before. I've been nursing the knee some what by lower gearing on my bike and spinning (pedalling faster) to ease much of the strain on it. It isn't perfect but it's not too bad. The problem I had with my back was what I initially put down to bad form on the deadlift with shrug exercise but whilst this wont have helped it does seem to be lingering with aches and pains if I've been sat down for long periods and first thing when I wake up in the mornings. I honestly feel like I'm falling to pieces some times. That said I have really worked on getting the form exactly right on the deadlift and it is much better and feels more like a natural movement. It's not perfect but much better than before. Right, with all of this I've been limiting myself to just two lifting sessions a week to assist recovery (given the added problems) and that seems to be about right as well. I've just finished session 9 of 12 this week for both workout A & B, basically these equate to a rough upper and lower body split. I've taken some photos below but there not very good I'm afraid and in my honest opinion don't really give a true reflection of my condition. These tend to show me in pretty bad condition but I personally feel better than these pictures show and think that the training in terms of small improvements in weights, reps and timings all adding up over the sessions that I've completed so far. Anyway take a look and judge for yourselves;

Granted I know that being on the Hypertrophy program will have the obvious smoothing effect since I'm consuming more carbs than previously. I must also confess to having the odd splurge as well which wouldn't help but these have been few and far between. I am trying hard so I'm not going to lie the pictures are disappointing. I'm not going to let it get me down though (there'd be no point) I'm just going to stick with it. Weight wise I was just under 14st 3lb and have been as low as 14st 0.75lbs but was dehydrated. As I mentioned previously the cycling to work has continued and the spinning provides an excellent cardio session especially up the hill on the way home. Well that's about all for now. I'll try and update much more frequently so as to provide a fuller picture of the program and sessions that I'm doing.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Plodding on slowly but surely!

Sorry for posting in a while but it's been quite hectic. In terms of training it's seems to be going ok although very slowly. It's hard to gauge too much improvement in the sessions just yet as the sets, reps and rest periods are all changing each time but I get the impression that I'm doing ok. I've completed my two sessions this week and although I had spoke about moving to three sessions a week the external changes at work and other stuff have made that difficult to implement. In fact I have been having to go in the evening to do my workouts rather than my usual first thing in the morning. I am trying to find time periods at the gym when it is relatively quiet and that in itself has caused some problems. Also I'm still not a 100% with my right knee and so don't want to push the training too much. Although with that said it hasn't caused me much of a problem in training at the gym it just seems to be with the cycling. There is some improvement due to spinning in a much lower gear than I use to and that has taken the strain off the knee a little but it's still not right and as I cycle all of the working week it doesn't really get that much of a chance of a complete break from it all. It's also something that I enjoy doing so wouldn't really want to have too much time away from it. I think I need to just keep nursing it it some degree like I'm doing and hopefully it will sort itself out over time. If not then I'll obviously have to get it looked at by a medical professional but that's some way off as yet.

In terms of eating I've been trying hard to stick to TNT principles but I have been taking in a little more carbs than usual. Ever since starting the Hypertrophy sessions I've been taking in a few carbs before and after each workout with my protein shake. I take this in the form of dried dates, around 6 to 7 (which might be a little too much but not by a lot). I have in the past added a further supplement to my protein powder but enjoy actually eating something instead especially as I like them so much it's like eating a soft toffee or sweet and that's much nicer in my opinion. The only problem is that I do occasionally steal a couple from the fridge every now and again but see this as a treat especially as the dates are extremely low in fat. Now I know on TNT high fat is good but mixing fat with carbs is a no no simply because the fat will be stored, hence the low carb element of the diet. So whilst I'm doing this type of training and I've moved to primarily diet plan B I think it should be ok so long as I don't eat loads and loads of them (which can be easily done). On another eating related aspect I'm also trying to stick with taking a little extra lunch with me to work and then eating twice, splitting it into two meals. These are not generally equal meals or even spaced out with two hours separation but having them provides a more steady stream of food and nutrients to my body throughout the day and this is obviously better than the extended periods I have fallen back into between meals. This is something that I need to improve on further because I do believe that this will and does have a positive impact. You just have to be aware that the portion size is adjusted if you are eating more meals. What you don't want is to be eating 6 large meals instead of 3 that would just equate to an increase in weight. The same amount of food should be split across more frequent smaller meals and this provides a steady stream of nutrients and the body is more able to absorb what it needs from these smaller meals since there is a limit to how much it can take from your food in one sitting.

So have I noticed any difference? Well, in short yes. It's still early days but it is definitely something I want to stick with due to the things I've outlined above. In terms of any figures to support this I can only offer a weight measurement as it's the only one I've kept a rough eye on. Yesterday I weighed 14st 1.5lbs and so the weight that was lost initially to what I thought was illness has stayed off (with work of course) and I went training at the gym yesterday so there has been a small decrease in weight this morning to 14st 0.75lbs. Now I do expect there to be a slight rise to yesterdays levels but it shows there is movement. Also I have noticed a slight visual improvement which I hope will be reflected in the pictures I post eventually (as I'm having upload problems at the moment). Anyhow I'll try to get some photos up during these hypertrophy sessions to see if any of you notice any differences. I think the space between them should act as a good comparison but please be aware of the different purposes of the sessions being compared. The previous pictures were at the end of a Fat Loss period and this current one is supposed to be a muscle building one. Well I think I've brought you all up to date for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Testing The Waters - slowly back to training!

I thought that I'd let everyone know that I went training to the gym on Friday. It was a very tough session but all in all the knee and back held up. The legs were very sore for the next couple of days but it was proper soreness from training rather than any problems. Don't get me wrong the knee is definitely not great and has a tendency to hurt a little when I cycle especially up the steepest part of the hill on the way home. To combat this to some degree I've gone on my other bike that is slower but has a triple chain set and I can knock it down into a much lower gear to go up the hill. It's much slower, still not easy and the knee does still get twinges but it's much better than over exerting it even more so with the other faster bike.

I've been out a little on the bike today which in hindsight I perhaps shouldn't have done as I could have given my knee a longer rest before the cycling working week begins tomorrow. It is swollen slightly and feels a little funny but should be OK (I hope). I've taken some anti-inflammatory to try and restrict any further swelling. The cycling is the only aspect that now seems to be causing me problems as I intend to do two gym sessions this coming week as I think the last one went as good as can be expected. In terms of any progress I may or may not have made it is difficult to gauge since the illness interrupted training and eating, although I've tried to be better since starting back. I've split my lunch into two servings spaced two hours apart at work and believe that this is the way to go. I did it a couple of times last week but meetings and work schedule permitting I'll aim to do this for the full week. That said, when I got weighed on Saturday morning the scales said 14st 1.75lbs. I'm not paying too much attention to that at the moment because the reduction may simply be due to the illness that I had and may well rise back up. I'll keep an eye on it and let you know.

Cheers, BustaGut!