Week 5 - Burn baby burn!!

As the title suggests and the previous post complaining of muscle soreness the shock to the system of changing the exercises and dramatically the pace of the workout has made my muscles burn. Strangely the soreness and aches are more pronounced a day or two afterwards which is why this week I've only managed to hit the gym for the NROL workouts (A & B) just twice. Yesterday was the workout B, which following the session I felt pretty good but late last night I could start to feel the effects and this morning I'm stiff in the back and upper legs. Not half as bad as following workout A. My poor legs. Anyway on with the update report:

• Weight - 14st 10.5lbs (down 1lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 9.2% (down 0.6% from last week)
• Waist - 35 inches (down 0.5 inches from last week)

I also have readings from a handheld body composition monitor. These are as follows;

• Body Fat% - 28.0% - (down 0.8% from last week)
• Body Water - 52.1% - (slight rise in water content this week)
• Muscle - 67.9% - (corresponding drop in muscle due to rise in water above)
• BMI - 28.8 - (down 0.2 from last week)
• calories - 2, 834 - (a maintenance drop of 6 cals)

The figures show exactly the same increment of progress as last time which is very pleasing. Even the hand held monitor has picked up a slight reduction in BF% and BMI (the other results are pretty much the same). I don't think that these reductions actually come across in the pictures though which is a little disappointing but I'm making progress and that's the main thing. Next week's training will be somewhat disrupted again as I will be away on business for a few days so will have to fit gym sessions in where I can. I should at least be able to get the minimum of two in as I did this week but the cycling will be significantly reduced since I wont be commuting for much of the week. We'll see what effect that has. I'll have to see if I can compensate in some way. Anyway, that's all for now. I'll keep you updated the best that I can.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Muscle Sorness!

I was intending to have done the workout B today of the Break In sessions but my legs are so sore and suffering from overdoing it in the first workout. The change in program and intensity has really hit me. More so the days after rather than immediately following the session, it's strange. Anyhow I intend to do the session tomorrow no matter what. I'll let you know how it all goes. I suppose the plus point is that if my legs are hurting then I wont notice the shoulder so much - good old diversion tactic.

Cheers, BustaGut!

A Change of Pace!

Just wanted to give a quick update of the session I've just had at the Gym. My NROL book has gone missing so I've ordered an electronic version on CD to replace it. Whilst I'm waiting for it I needed to change the current program as I'd been doing it for a few weeks and the plan was to try and regain some of the cv that has been lost due to a slower paced strength initiative that I was pursuing and then I got injured had a forced layoff and the recent recovery sessions that I've been active with. So basically I'm saying that the tempo and intensity of the training has been low for some time and it is this aspect that needed to be addressed.

So I looked through some of my old training sessions and was lucky enough to find the NROL Break In Sessions that I did. So I thought that since this is very similar to the Fat Loss I sessions then this would be a good starting point especially with no book to reference. If I remember rightly I think the book even suggests by passing Fat Loss I after the Break In sessions as they are so similar. So I wont be going far wrong. So how did I find the change of pace and intensity? Very Hard actually. I did complete the session in just under 18mins so compared to the 1hr 30mins I'd been doing with the recovery sessions there is a massive difference. Some of the weights will need to be adjusted (slightly lower) since my form of the exercises are now much better the range of motion the weights travel through is much greater so in effect I'm doing more work. When I first started the Break In sessions the exercises range was smaller so weight travelling much less. So in order to ensure I don't cheat I'd rather get the weight right although I need to make sure that I'm still only just getting the reps out.

I must admit it feels strange getting out of the gym so quickly again it's like when I first started TNT. You have this feeling like you haven't done enough. But you have. As far as the shoulder goes it was fine a few little twinges here and there but nothing to really worry about. Besides I really didn't have the time to let it bother me. I'll be having a go at the workout B later on in the week so I'll hopefully let you know how that session goes as well.

Cheers, BustaGut!

A Quick Comparison

Above is an image comparison of the start and finish of the previous 4 weeks on the diet reset. The images on the left are at the beginning of the 4 weeks and those on the right at the end of 4 weeks.

Disappointingly there is only a relatively small visual difference;

• Weight - 9lbs drop
• Body Fat % - 2.5% fall (according to callipers - although questionable)
• Waist - 1 inch drop

Well there is a lot of work to do ahead of me but I will try to keep you updated as I progress through the training and diet pitfalls. Wish me luck!

Cheers, BustaGut!

What Next!

I've been considering what I should do next in relation to training. I have a holiday booked for May and would like to be in relatively good shape by then. The rehab sessions have been good but they've only focused on using the shoulder and haven't tried to achieve any of the effects that TNT and NROL sessions produce with their compound movements. I had initially thought about restarting the Strength III programmes but with my shoulder not being fully right and it could take some more time to get to that position it seems sensible to avoid pushing the boundaries of weights in the Strength III sessions where heavier and heavier weights are encouraged,

Addded to that is the current position of my body composition. It doesn't look good, even after a reset on plan A TNT(last 4 weeks). So again perhaps not the best situation to progress back into the Strength III sessions when even more weight could be added to my frame. I believe the better option is to ramp up the speed and intensity of the sessions and move across to the Fat Loss workouts perhaps starting with Fat Loss I and working my way through to Fat Loss III. Hopefully the weights wont be too heavy to cope with but will be challenging enough to stick to the proper programme and allow my shoulder to work whilst building up to full strength again.

I'll also have to be more organised with my diet. I'll have ensure that I have the graze throughout the day mentality rather than the three a day stuff your face approach that I've sort of slipped back into. The actual food that I'm eating isn't that bad, it's to plan 99% of the time so I just need to adjust the way that it's eaten throughout the day. This will make a difference to the amount of food / energy I should be able to pull from the same amount of food. For your body can only absorb so much in one sitting and then the rest is stored (usually). So if I'm giving smaller meals and snacks throughout the day there is a constant supply of energy as the body is using it. Well that's the plan anyway.

The small drop in weight and of course the other less than impressive results are a combination of the wrong approach to timing of nutrition, training and rest (an often neglected aspect). To illustrate the disappointment that the results have produced from an unfocused effort is that there is a hell of a lot of wasted energy and time. Over this last week I've trained at the gym three times this week for 1hr 30mins a session (so that's 4hrs 30mins in total) and cycled over 70miles this week in my comute to and from work. So I would say that there has been some considerable effort put in and I cannot complain about the commitment levels it's just that these now have to be more focused and clever. Infact I will probably find that I'm spending a lot less time in the gym but visiting it more frequently than I have done over the past few months. I'll have to take a look through the NROL Fat Loss sessions and see what needs to be done, workout the programme weights and then get this into my schedule. The Holiday will be with me before I know it so I had better get working HARD!!.

Cheers, BustaGut!

4 Weeks Done - Progress report!

So how has everything gone? Well, although I've been putting in the effort there are lots of improvements that need to be made in order to make better progress. Before I continue take a look at the photos first;

• Weight - 14st 11.5lbs (down 1lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 9.8% (down 0.6% from last week)
• Waist - 35.5 inches (down 0.5 inches from last week)

I also have readings from a handheld body composition monitor. These are as follows;

• Body Fat% - 28.8%
• Body Water - 52.0%
• Muscle - 67.8%
• BMI - 29.0
• calories - 2, 840

The BF reading is considerably more 10% infact. Whilst I don't think the calipers have given a true reading (a bit low) I dont think that the body composition monitor has either (too high). I would estimate me being somewhere about 20% if I'm honest.

The BMI reading of 29 puts me at the upper limit of overweight and nearly in the obese section which I think is a little harsh. I realise I have a lot of work to do but don't for one minute class myself as nearly obese. I give a more general update later but thought I'd post the actual results for everyone to see.

Cheers, BustaGut!

A Stagnent Week 3

As the title of the post suggests there has been no change in any of the results this week. However, whilst I have felt strangely more tired this week I do think that I am better for the 3 weeks that I've completed so far. I've done more cycling and I actually did my recovery session 3 times this week instead of the usual 2. This is something that I intend to do next week as well. I've increased the amount of stretching that I've been doing before, during and after the gym sessions and the off days as well and whilst it has been painful but I do believe that it's having a positive effect and is doing some good. There has been improvement made but the process is proving to be much slower than I had initially anticipated. Even though this can be demoralising, especially when I want to do so much more, I mustn't let it get me down and I should just focus on the job at hand and continue to work hard. Worrying wont help, just stay positive and work and the shoulder should eventually sort itself out.

I now have the reserve bike back with new brakes and the big chunky tyres on. So if the snows return, as some have predicted for February I'll be fully prepared and ready to go. I apologise for the short update report but there hasn't been movement in the way of results to report. Like I said mentally I'm feeling better about the approach but the focus at the moment is still to get the shoulder recovered to a point that I can train properly on it and ease myself back to heavy lifting in the Strength III program. Anyway I 'll have to go now as I need some sleep but I'll give a fuller update along with pictures next week so you'll be able to judge for yourselves whether there has been any change over the diet reset of 4 weeks.

Cheers, BustaGut!