Where have I been?

Sorry everyone, I haven't been updating for some time and I apologise. The reason is because I've had a few things go wrong. I've been playing the odd game of rugby here and there for my old team which unfortunately has resulted in a number of injuries that have affected my training. The most recent happened just under two weeks ago. I was packing down in the scum and it collapsed. I landed on my left shoulder with the rest of the pack forcing their weight down on me. Luckily my neck was fine and everything else was fine but I couldn't raise my arm properly and was in pain. I left the field.

The following morning I was in so much pain that I went to hospital to have it checked for any breaks. After a few hours and xrays the diagnosis was that the injury was muscular and connective tissue damage and would take about 6 weeks to settle down. There was a big improvement in the arm / shoulder over the next few days in that the amount of pain reduced but it is far from being normal. I had just completed two run throughs of the 4 workouts in Strength III sessions of NROL (so was half way through). Unfortunately this forced break has thrown a very large spanner into my progress. The lack of training and an already relaxed eating approach to carbs in the previous weeks leading up to Christmas has meant considerable loss of progress. However, I am quite philosophical about this and always intended to have a splurge at Christmas. This has become a little out of hand now and I am eating excessively what ever I want.

The intention is to allow this to continue until the new year and then begin reorting back to TNT plan A eating (at least for 4 weeks). Once I've done that I can see about returning to begin the Strength III sessions again. Hopefully during the de-carb process in TNT plan A I can start to do some exercise in the gym and test the shoulder trying to get it working properly again. This unfortunately might be a bit painful as it will have tightened up even though I've been trying to keep it moving. No doubt I will have to be careful as I dont want to cause any more damage. I am under no illusions that it will be hard work but I'll just have to knuckle down and get on with it.

I'll try to keep a more regular update from now on and get some pictures taken as I'm aware the others on here will be presenting an inaccurate position. I know I'm not going to like what I see but at least I'll kow what I have to work with.

Cheers, Bustagut! (Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Everyone)

Halloween Splurge! - briefly off the wagon.

Hi everyone,

As you'll know from my previous post that I've been experiencing some knee problems this week. I've avoided the gym and actually took a day off riding the bike to work in order to help sort things out. Not sure whether or not this had much effect since it felt a tad worse for resting it fully - but hey that might just be a mental thing. Anyways, I made an effort and played rugby yesterday and the knee held up nicely (although I've got so many aches and pains this morning it's hard to say whether it's hurting or not).

Last night I had what is professionally known as an out and out splurge. By that I mean I went out and enjoyed myself had too much to drink (as I don't usually drink). I also ate quite a few carbs when I got back home as well (mainly sweet stuff that I had left from the trick or treaters) chocolate was very nice after not having any for a long time. Infact I had some jelly sweets as well but soon afterwards felt a little bit sick due to the sugar rush. Anyway that was yesterday and know we are determined to get back on track. I do think having a splurge every now and then is quite good for you and I plan to have another at my works Christmas Lunch. In the meantime however, I need to get back to eating low carb and hopefully begin the Strength III sessions very soon.

I'll have to let you know how things go!

Cheers, BustaGut!

Knee problem!

I've been experiencing some problems with my right knee. It feels like I've over extended it but I don't know how. It's been hurting so I think it's best to rest it from the tough gym work. I made a decisiom in the end to go for the Strength III sessions. I worked out a rough estimate of the weights I should be using based on previous exercises and rep ranges. I would have liked to have spent the next couple of weeks fine tuning this before beginning them properly and getting the most benefit from them. Unfortunately due to my knee I think it best to stay out of the gym for now and rest the knee the best I can. I am still cycling to and from work with the intention of playing rugby this weekend so I hope it recovers enough for that. I'll let you know. At the moment it's nowhere near normal so fingers crossed it gets better soon.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 9 The Final Session!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.1% (no change from last week)
• Waist - 34" (again no change from last week)
  

This week has been a strange one really. I had one remaining session of the Strength II program to complete and that was the focus. I did go circuit training at the beginning of the week which I enjoyed but was an obvious shock to the system and I could feel the effects in my muscles for the following 2 to 3 days. I have been cycling well this week although I have had the odd little twinge in my right knee but nothing to worry about. One thing I did forget to mention about the circuit training is that it placed a lot of pressure on my left ankle (the one I broke) and this was sore for the entire week. Though it didn't stop me from doing anything it was a niggling pain that I could have done without. That said I think I will do the odd circuit training session when the mood takes me.

I avoided the rugby this week although I do intend to play this coming weekend. We will be playing a club that I use to play for so that should be interesting. The only problem is that I only have moulded studs at the moment and as the pitch becomes more and more boggy with the autumn and winter weather I need a better grip especially as I'm much lighter than my opposition. I have some on order but with the postal strikes it may be a while before the get here and I doubt they'll be here in time for the next game.

So the end of Strength II and it's decision time. I think I'm going to progress on to Strength III and then see where we are at the end of that. I will then either go into fatloss sessions or move across to the Hypertrophy workouts for a brief period before the fatloss period begins. Well I have a lot of work to do prior to that so I first have to work out the weights etc for the Strength III sessions then have a quick trial before beginning them properly. Wish me luck.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Circuit Training

Just wanted to let you all know that I managed to get to circuit training yesterday. I've only been trying to get there for the last 4 or 5 weeks but something always seemed to crop up at work. Anyway it was pretty tough but in a good way. It way devised differently to when I last did it there. It had an outer circuit of steps against the sports hall wall that were exercise stations and 4 inner work areas that had a set of exercises per area with each exercise being done for 40 secs before changing to the next. In between these two circuits there was an area for running that was used in between each station exercise for 20 secs alternate. The outer circuit was done then the inner and then another circuit of the outer one going the opposite way to finish off. It was a total of 45mins of hard work but all god stuff. I intend to do this from time to time.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 8 pics as promised!

NROL Strength II: Week 8 update

I seem to be having a little trouble posting pictures onto the site at the moment. I'll try again later but thought I'd give you a quick update as to what's been happening and then provide the visuals afterwards.

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.1% (no change from last week)
• Waist - 34" (again no change from last week)

I've been in London for a couple of days this week so that has interferred with my usual training schedule. That combined with me playing rugby the previous weekend (which we won by 60 odd points by the way) meant I only weight trained once this week. The reason for that is because the place we were staying was next to the train station and I didn't get much sleep so was a bit zonked by the time I got back and so needed an extra day to recover. This meant that I went training on Thursday. I did cycle to and from work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so that is a least something.

The coming week I hope to complete the last Strength II session and begin preparations for the next stage of my training, that is if I get enough time to work it out. I have been trying to get to circuit training at work for the last few weeks so work load permitting I will try to make tommorrow the first session I get to. I might also play rugby this coming weekend but I haven't made a final decision on that as yet. Basically the plan is to ensure I get plenty of exercise in this coming week to make up for the lack of it this week.

As you can see from the results there hasn't been any change this week. In fact there hasn't been much if any over the previous few weeks either. So I need something to push through the plataeu. Hopefully when I change programmes again it should have a noticable effect but we'll have to wait and see. Right, I have to go now but I will try and post the piccys later.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 7 update

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.1% (no change from last week)
• Waist - 34" (again no change from last week)
  

NROL Strength II: Week 6 results - small progress!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.1% (down 0.7% from last week)
• Waist - 34 inches (down 0.25 inch from last week)

I have to say that's been a tiring week as my body again took longer to recover from playing rugby the previous weekend. I didn't go circuit training on Monday as I honestly didn't feel up to it and I didn't just want to go through the motions. I left going training in the gym this week until Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday's session was good although tougher than I would have expected. Friday's session was excellent I was ab;e to increase the odd weight and still hit the end of the session quicker than I had done previously so I was pleased with that result. I had booked Friday off work so wasn't cycling that day but I had been cycling very well throughout the week. Knowing that I wasn't cycling on Friday I pushed myself on Thursday and did the return journey home of just under 7 miles most of which (last 4) are up hill in 34 mins. A time that I am very pleased with. The journey doesn't seem to get any easier although I do seem to be getting better in terms of speed and time. I suppose the hill I ride up coming home would be hard for a large majority of riders so I need to take heart from that. I'm not playing rugby this weekend, although I may do next week as they are particularly short of players at the moment. So all being well and work permitting I should push myself to go circuit training on Monday next week. I'm also going to revert back to my usual days of training on Tuesday and Thursday. This should allow me the extra day of recovery should I play rugby the following week.

At two sessions a week I only have a couple of weeks left on these particular Strength II sessions. I know I debated about doing the proper bodybuilding sessions but there has been no real mention of them by the gym owner so I suspect it may be best for me to continue with my own training for now and look at that as a possibility for the future. That being the case then I'm sort of edging towards doing Strength III sessions as this should take me through until after Christmas I think and then I can look at doing some of the fat loss sessions to cut back and hopefully reveal some of the hard work I've been doing. Now is the time to start preparing for the next stage so that everything is ready once the Strength II sessions end (I may take a week out and judge weights etc).

In terms of this week's results there has been some positive progress. Weight has remained the same. 14st 3lb seems to a rough constant. I haven't really been below this and would say that this is more or less my established norm at the moment. Pleasingly though the body fat % has fallen and I'd love for this to fall further but considering the type of training and the intake of carbs around training I suppose I couldn't really ask for more at the moment. When I revert to Fat Loss early next year I would hope to be reaching lower visibly noticeable levels (but that's work to come). Also the waist measurement has fallen back down to 34 inches which is very pleasing as this is a measurement that has been creeping up nervously over the past few weeks. It is also a measurement that I would want to fall once the Fat Loss sessions are worked through. Anyway that's all for now I'll report back before the end of next weigh in if I can but either way I'll keep you posted on any progress etc I'm making.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 5 Results!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.8% (no change from last week)
• Waist - 34.25 inches (no change from last week)

In terms of results it's been a stagnent week. This is especially annoying when you consider that I've cycled about 70 miles this week communting to and from work, completed 2 heavy strength II sessions in the gym and played 80mins of rugby at the weekend (yesterday in fact). So for there to be no movement and no visual improvement within the photos then yes I am disappointed. Until I played rugby yesterday weight for some reason was elevated to about 14st 5 or 6lb, so unless this is a direct byproduct of the strength sessions then I must be doing something wrong. The only trouble is is that I really don't know what that could be. I honestly feel that I'm doing enough to warrant much better returns than I'm currently achieving. I'll have to push on and keep a more watchful eye on things to see if I'm just being complacent.

I had intended to go circuit training at work this week but it had been cancelled so I'm booked in for tomorrow lunchtime. The rugby games will only be every now and again as I am not able to do every week and obviously there are a number of conflicting interests what with work, family etc. I am not going to get drawn into a position where I feel pressured in turning up week in week out - I just cant do that. I have to be able to play when I want to and not feel like I have to.

Anyway I'll get going. I'll try to keep you updated on how things go and if I spot anything that I'm doing wrong.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 4 Results!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (down 2lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.8% (digi-callipers - down 0.7% from last week)
• Waist - 34.25 inches (no change from last week)

Been training hard this week and because I was aching from playing rugby I waited until Wednesday to do my first gym session of the week. I did however do my usual cycling to work which I noticed was greatly improved on the return journey home (even though I was tired going there). Strange, but I was really pleased with the way I cycled up the big hill. It doesn't seem to get any easier although I did notice this past week that I did make better progress. Unfortunately as I was down in London again on Thursday and took Friday off work as part of my leave it meant I only cycled the first three days of the week.

Gym training was productive as well. I'm trying to push the maximums each time to move fractionally forward, I'm trying to develop a closer link with the effort my body puts in and know when to push and when not to. Delaying the sessions until Wednesday this week is a good example of that since it would appear that both the cycling and the lifting has benefited from the extra rest following the rugby game the previous week.

The results above have shown some rebound back to lower levels but these are still elevated in my opinion. I would prefer it if the BF% fell along with the waist measurement too. As I'm at the half way level of these Strength II sessions I need to be careful that the eating aspect of the plan doesn't get out of hand. I went to watch the First XV play rugby this week and whilst there was some good play in patches I wasn't that impressed with the set pieces. Anyhow, I was approached for my number by the coaches who watched a video of the game I played in the previous week. I'm a little apprehensive about being pulled into a set regime again as I made it clear that I can only play now and again. I've been there and done that and quite simply cannot commit the amount of time required. I thought that they understood that. I also don't want to waste my time sitting on a sub bench either so I sloped off at the end of the game before I was asked again. I suppose I'll have to think harder about how I want to play this since I don't want to be continuously pestered on the phone and also lead them into believing I can do more that what I can. Also I definitely don't want to feel pushed into something I'm not going to enjoy. It's essential the right balance is struck with enjoyment and my current commitments taking precedence.

Sorry for the rant. One thing that did surprise me was how tired I was during the game. Especially in the last 20mins. I know that it was probably a big shock to the system, I was having to do more work as I was now lighter than when I last played (pushing much more than my body weight now). Luckily the ground being firm was in my favour but it was unusually warm that day so I suppose that also played a part. I thought that I was much fitter than that and so feel like this is something that I need to work on. I've thought how best to add additional CV work into my day and one of the obvious ways is to do some circuit training once a week since it is run at the offices I'm now located at. I could do this on a Monday's during lunch and keep the rest of my training week the same. This seems like a good idea but I'm not sure whether to start it this coming week or not. We'll see how I feel.

Anyway that's all for now I'll keep you updated on how things go.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 3 belated results!

• Weight - 14st 5lb (up 2lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 7.5% (digi-callipers - up 1.1% from last week)
• Waist - 34.25 inches (up 0.25 inches from last week)
  

Although this post is a little late the pictures and measurements are all from the weekend. I'll be honest I'm very disappointed. The expected rise in weight that I thought would happen last week has actually surfaced this week. Most worryingly the body fat % has shot up by more than a whole percentage point with a corresponding rise in the waist measurement as well. I know last week was disrupted by a couple of days away due to work but I'm struggling to see where I've veered off to this degree. I also realise that the type of training that I'm doing is encouraging mass and strength but this gain appears to be an increase in fat not muscle. I cycled to work 3 days last week and even played 80mins of rugby on Saturday for the first time in a very long time (body still aching and recovering now). I also think the weight gain etc is noticable within the photos, which is another kick in the teeth.

Strangely enough the gym sessions have been going really well. I'm putting in lots of effort and trying to nudge the weights up each time. I've completed 6 of the 16 sessions so at 2 per week that's another 5 more weeks to go before I change the workouts. If my composition continues in this direction I'll have to revert back to the Fat Loss sessions once the Strength II workouts are complete. I'll keep track of things and see how it goes.

Again this week I have a scheduled meeting out of the office so my training plan is disrupted this week as well. I suppose all I can do is press on as planned whilst keeping an eye out for things that would / are being disrupted. One factor may well be sleep. I've let this aspect slip of late so haven't been getting the required rest. I mean I have noticed that I've been more tired than I usually am. Perhaps it's all catching up to me. Anyway, I'll keep you updated the best I can.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Week 2 Results!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (no change from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.4% (digi-callipers - up 0.6% from last week)
• Waist - 34 inches (fraction down from last week)
  

A bit of a mixed bag this week. I mean training has gone well and the effort has been very good so I've no complaints there. Weight hasn't moved which is the one thing I had expected to rise slighty so I'm a little surprised. The waist measurement has reduced fractionally, so is a positive but this is tempered by a sharp increase in the BF% which I must admit didn't really anticipate. Not sure if this is just a blip, a return to normal after a large drop last week or not I suppose I'll have to take a measurement next week and see if a pattern is emerging.

I feel encouraged by how my muscles are feeling and am certain that the training is having a positive effect. I just need to create a momentum and then keep it going. Next week will be disrupted a little with work and meetings out of the office so I'll have to do my best to work around that. Being away also makes eating to plan more difficult as well so I have that to contend with this coming week as well. I'll let you know how it all goes.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Belated Week 1 Results!

• Weight - 14st 3lb (down 6lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 5.8% (digi-callipers -down 1.6% from last week)
• Waist - 34+ inches (down nearly 0.75 inch from last week)

This has been a particularly tiring week. Getting back into the training has been tough after the vacation although it has been good to get started again. I'm slower than my initial preliminary sessions but I suppose that is to be expected. I'm sure the speed will pick up once I get fully back into the swing of things. The cycling route to and from work has now been sorted out and it works out at just under an extra 2 miles added to my round trip which will be beneficial without adding too much to the journey times. That's good because it means I'll be doing more work throughout the week, an extra 10 miles (nearly) more than before. This equates to just under 70 miles/week just commuting.

As I've said previously I intend to work on the basis of 2 strength weight training sessions in the gym / week and the rest of my exercise coming from cycling. I might increase that to three when I progress but for the moment 2 is enough as the weights are heavy. I also have the advantage at the new work location to use the facilities there (for a small fee of course). They run some classes in the sports hall and I am tempted to get involved in the circuit training once I feel I can fit it in. They also do monthly bleep tests that might be good to get an indication of how good or bad my cardio fitness is. I'll let you know how things progress and whether I get involved with these things sooner rather than later.

In terms of the results achieved above. I think there has been a bit of a knee jerk reaction to my body returning to full exercise and it's brought the figures down quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if there was little positive movement over the next week. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if the figures rose slightly. I think it might take another couple of weeks or so before I start to progress past the point I'd reached before going on vacation. Also we shouldn't forget that the phase that I'm on is a strength phase so you would expect there to be some weight (hopefully majority lean) added at some stage. I need to get back into proper eating and feeding habits. By that I need to move into grazing throughout the day rather than stuffing at three larger meals. To do this I need to have 6 to 7 meals & snacks so that I'm not going more than 3 hours without some food. Timing and having convenient food to hand will be the most difficult thing to get right but it is essential if I am going to add any muscle to my frame. It will need nutrients to do this. Also it will be additionally hard for my body to go into a muscle eating reaction if I'm feeding it. The brain will acknowledge that there's food coming in and so shouldn't go into a starvation /presevation mode.

This is what I should be doing but getting it right can be difficult. I have overeaten doing things this way before and it has been awkward getting the required protien incorporated into them as well. I now have more storage space at work now so the plan is to stash snacks and food that is acceptable at work so that I have a handy supply should I need it. Again I'll let you know how things go. Moving to the new location has meant there are still quite a lot of things to sort out and fit in but I believe that the move will be beneficial as facilities etc are better for me to achieve my goals and that can only be good. That's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Quick update!

Hi All, Just thought that I would post a quick update following my first stint of training after vacation. Cycling was good although more difficult than I imagined it would be. I suppose we get out of practice relatively quickly. That and the distance increased slightly by about 2miles making the overall distance about 14 miles round trip. This was enough to make my legs ache this morning and I could tell they weren't use to it. The reason for the increase is that the office has relocated and until I get an alternative route sorted the mileage may fluctuate up and down further. Once I have a proper agreed route I will then be able to start timing myself so that I know I'm putting in the required effort.

This morning was the first proper session of Strength II that will count against the 16 sessions I need to complete in this phase. Generally I was pleased with the effort and result although next time I hope to be a little quicker in the change over to other exercises. Initially my back was stiff and a bit restrictive in the squat but by the final set this was much better and the form had improved. Perhaps I may need to do another small but heavier warm up set just to stretch it in preparation for the proper squats. I'll see how things feel next time. On the quarter squat at the rack, whilst the weight I'm using is very heavy I intend to increase this a little next time as I was strong on the final set doing 5 reps instead of the required 3. To me this is a good indication that the weight can go up slightly, especially with the added safety of the rack.

Well that's all for now. I'm trying out a different route to work this morning and will try to see how I can work the return journey into the one way systems of the city centre without being taken too far of my destination's direction. I'll let you know how things go.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Vacation Over: Damage Report (Time for Work!)

• Weight - 14st 9lb (up half a stone [7lb] from last measurement)
• Body Fat % - 7.4% (digi-callipers -up 2.4% from last measurement)
• Waist - 34.75 inches (up 1 whole inch from before vacation)
  

This appears to be considerable damage done over the two week period especially when you consider that I wasn't going crazy. I suppose the first week I ate pretty much off plan and treated myself but the second week was more in line with my usual eating plan with only the odd deviation. I think where things went a bit wrong was that I had considerably more alcohol than I've had in a very long time and I would class this as one of the main culprits for the results above.This coupled with a significant reduction in activity and eating majority high fat whilst fat burning is turned off from the alcohol pretty much account for everything. The activity levels were considerably lower than I had initially anticipated simply because of the heat and the fact that the bike I hired wasn't really up to the task. By that I mean it had two buckled wheels, was too small a sticking back brake and a dodgey saddle. Unfortunately there wasn't another one available at such short notice so I made do. I thought that the little bit that I would use it would be better than nothing. Swimming any amount of lengths in the pool was also difficult since there were a lot of people in there due to the heat and the pool itself was smaller than the pictures I had seen had led me to believe. I'm not making excuses I'm just giving the background. I intended to use the holiday as a break for my body (from exercising at least) and treat myself. I feel that I've done that now and I'm ready to get back in the gym as well as on my bike to progress further and be the best I can. Whilst the break has given me some ground to make back up it has been beneficial in so many other ways.

We all need a break, so long as that's all it is and you get back into the swing of things as soon as possible. That is what I intend to do from tomorrow when I'll be cycling to work and attempt the first official Strength II session on Tuesday. I will be doing two sessions a week initially since they take a lot out of me these strength workouts and as I'll be cycling as well this will be enough to begin with. Depending on how things go and timetable arrangements I may move to three sessions eventually but like I said it depends how things go. I'll let you know.

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Preparation Sessions completed!

• Weight - 14st 2lb (down 2lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 5.2% (digi-callipers -down 0.6% from last wk)
• Waist - 33.75 inches (up slightly from last measurement)

Right I've finished preparing the Strength II sessions for when I return from holiday. I did this by running through the sessions trying to get a feel for both the exercises and the weights etc that would be appropriate to use to induce a strength gain. This week I finished workout D and revisited workout A to get that just right. I'm glad I did double check workout A because the trainer at the gym moved me across to the enclosed rack for the quarter squats and showed me the correct form. This was good because the rack and safety rails (which the weight rested on fractionally when the weight was lowered) gave me the confidence (as did the slight pause at the bottom on the rails) to go much heavier. I went from 55kg each side where I origionally performed them to 85kg each side. Although this was a bit too heavy so I resorted to 80KG each side and that felt right. That's a massive improvement and a big difference to have lost out on.

The results above are a little bit mixed as the weight is down as is the %bf but the pictures (although inside) show no improvement (I included some pics of legs as I'm aware I haven't included any previously and thought it would provide a fuller picture of where I am), infact they are less defined than a few weeks previous and the waist measurement is fractionally up since last recording. I'm not too stressed about this as I've put in lots of effort over these past few weeks and I am now truely ready for a good break to recharge the batteries and come back eager to kick some butt (mine of course) in the gym and knuckle down back at work to start moving forward on where I want to be. All of this will take effort and the holiday will be a nice breather before I throw myself into this.

After the 8 week period the Strength II workkouts should take me I will see whether the gym owner was serious in his offer and advice about me using a pre-contest diet and training. I toyed with the idea for some time before I said to him a week or so ago now that I would try it but after I'd completed the 8 weeks of Strength II once I return from vacation. I will need to provide him with the details of the programme I'm currently doing, weights, reps etc so that he will be able to devise a programme for me. Anyway we'll see what happens there as it all might be pie in the sky. If so I'll just continue with NROL and move across to Hypertrophy II (possibly) then after that through the fatloss phases again to strip back. It will all depend on how things go with Strength II and whether the Gym owner was actually serious. I'll let you know.

Will be getting in some activity over the holiday as I'll be biking and swimming but staying out of the gym until I get back. The activity I'll be doing will mainly be for fun and relaxation rather than following any type of training regime (not that I don't enjoy my training programmes because I do but you know what I mean). Anyway it's time for me to go now, I'll update the pages when I return and let you know how it all went. We'll see what the measurements and results are when I get back and I'll take it from there. See you then!

Cheers, BustaGut!

NROL Strength II: Preparation Sessions

• Weight - 14st 4lb (up 1lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 5.8% (digi-callipers -down 0.3% from last wk)
• Waist - forgot to measure - sorry
  

Training has been hard this week as I've been nursing my back along a little. The trial of workout A wasn't too bad and my back had more or less recovered on Friday when I did workout B which contained lots of deadlifts and it just blasted it. I was in a bad way all stiff and achey, bent over. But it was more from overdoing it rather than having pulled anything so that was something at least. It felt much better the following day but I was lifting a few things and bending quite alot all day so by the end it was stiffening up again. Today it's been ok although I can still feel like its done a lot of work and is recovering still. At the moment it's like after a normal gym session so presume it's ok and will be ready for the next session by Tuesday.

My first impessions of the the Strength II sessions are that they certainly knock the stuffing out of your muscles, even with the extended rest periods. I'm trying to push my self hard and lift as heavy as I can whilst not losing too much in the lifting form. I have a couple of more sessions next week before I go on holiday and then I will have sampled all of the Strength II workouts. I can then have a couple of weeks off from the gym knowing what's in store for me once I'm back (quite frankly a lot of hard work - but it will do me good- I think!).

Cycling too has been hard work. The weather hasn't been great, infact it's been terrible, lots and lots of rain. That wouldn't be too much of an issue but the worst thing has been the wind. It makes eveything that much harder and really slows you down, nearly to a stand still sometimes. You feel like someones pushing you back whilst someone else is hanging off your back wheel dragging a freind behind him. It's just stupid! Then there are days it's as still as anything and you seem to be flying along at a great speed - it's those days that keep you coming back after the windy ones.

I'll be putting in plenty of effort next week so I gain maximum benefit from the remaining workouts so that they can act a bit like a buffer to the start of my vacation. I'll let you know how it all goes.

Cheers, BustaGut!

End of Strength I: week 8 (20) prep for Strength II begins

• Weight - 14st 3lb (back up 2lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 6.1% (digi-callipers -up 0.3% from last wk)
• Waist - 33.5+ inches (slightly more than last week)

This week I've been struggling a bit with a few aches and pains not least in the back where I pulled it doing a correction of form on the deadlift and the knees (particularly the right one). I finished the last Strength I session at the beginning of the week and then waited until Friday to do the first of my preparation sessions of the Strength II workouts that I intend to begin when I come back from vacation. Obviously the reduction in activity and possibly a little bit of overeating may have resulted in the rise this week but I suspect that last weeks results were a tad low and that these have just adjusted this week even with the reduced activity.

I'm trying to do a run through each of the 4 workouts in Strength II to ensure I have the weights and exercise form correct so that I can get the maximum benefit from them when I return from vacation (which is only 2 weeks away now - can't wait). When I come back it will be strict plan A TNT to recover fatburning mode but I do intend to progress to plan B during Strength II using dates before and after workouts with my protien shake for the required carbs. I'm not entirely sure how long I'm going to be on plan A when I get back I suppose it depends on how bad I've been whilst I've been away but I'm edging to no more than two weeks but it may be sooner. We'll just have to see.

Speaking to the gym owner where I train and he has asked me whether I want to do a bodybuilding type pre-competition programme of exercise and training. I must admit I am very tempted once I get the Strength II sessions out of the way. These sessions should take me at most (@2 sessions/ week) a maximum of 8 weeks. Then I would seriously think about doing it and having my birthday as the target. This would then fit into my goals quite nicely. I'll have a word with him and see what's best. He mentioned that it would take about 15 weeks to get to where I want to be but obviously this is just a sweeping generalisation and a rough estimate. My only worry is the tiredness of doing something like this and energy levels plus the effect it would have on my concentration levels for work. I'll have to mull it over for a bit but like I said it is tempting. I'll let you know.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Forced Lay Off!

My back and knees have been playing up a bit. The back is the tweak I did with the deadlifts session in Strength I and the knees are from overdoing it with the cycling (I think). I finished the last Strength I workout on Monday but haven't been back to the gym until today (well I'm going after I've written this) as I have been giving the back a bit of a rest. I've been cycling to and from work during that time but I've been taking it easy on the way back instead of really pushing myself and my knees.

The plan at the gym today and for the next few sessions (over the remaining two weeks) before I go on vacation (where I will have a rest from the formal training) is to familiarise my self with the Strength II sessions and ensure the calculated weights are correct so that when I return from vacation I know exactly what I'm doing and with what weight.

I quickly got weighed this morning and from the reduced activity my weight has risen again to 14st 5lb (up 4lb) so we'll have to see what this eventually levels at for weigh in at the weekend. Right that's all I have time for at the moment so I must get going to the gym. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Strength I: Week 7 (week 19) results

• Weight - 14st 1lb (down 2lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 5.8% (digi-callipers -down 0.6% from last wk)
• Waist - 33.5 inches (slightly over)

The photos above are not the best I'm afraid as it's horrible outside they had to be taken inside so no real natural light like last week's. It's dark and grey outside so the flash had a tendency to bounce off me and even though I'm tensing hard you can't really see much.

Anyway this week's results show some very positive movement. Weight, body fat% and waist measurements are all down from last week. Again this may be slightly flattering in that I'm a little dehydrated but I also moved the training sessions back to 3 times a week instead of 2 which I think will have had an impact. I've also been pushing myself hard with the cycling especially on the way home to make it more intense. Friday's journey home was naturally intense due to the weather conditions. I was battling up hill against a strong wind and torrential rain so my legs were pooped ca putted by the time I got home. I did unfortunately pull my back slightly in the gym on Friday morning but it's getting better now so nothing to worry too much about. It's just a little stiff at the moment.

I've had some feedback this week from the Men's Health forum regarding my transformation and the long stall in progress that I seem to have had lately. I've made some tweaks to things over the last week or so and it does appear to be working but I'll just keep an eye on it since it maybe too early to claim things are progressing again. I only have 1 more session to complete on the Strength I workouts so will then begin to familiarise myself with the Strength II sessions and calculate the correct weight that I should be using for each exercise.

This should then take me to my 2 week vacation period where I intend to take a break from the gym and then hit things hard when I get back knowing the weights etc will have already been worked out for me. I'll be on TNT plan A initially when I get back but I will be looking to introduce some carbs eventually around training to maximise the returns for effort ratio (which hasn't been in my favour recently - and that's been part of the problem). I will be keeping a very careful eye on things to make sure I don't let things become too out of hand like I did last time since I realise I am particularly sensitive to carbs.

Well that's the lan for the next couple of weeks. Back injuries permitting I'll be sticking to this and I'll let you know ho things go.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Swings and Roundabouts - What to do next?

This is just a quick look over how things have gone on this journey of transformation so far. I've reached a pont now where I know I need to change things a little to get things moving forward but I'm a little scared in changing too much as I did before and ended up moving back to where I started from. It's taken a lot of work to get back to this point and I don't want to make the same mistakes again although doing nothing is pretty much a waste of time as well. So I will just have to think hard and be very, very careful at how I move forward. By wat of a visual comparison I've collated a few photos to illustrate what I mean;

The first picture is me at the start of TNT: The second one is me after 24 weeks of TNT: The third is me in March of this year 2009 at the beginning of a fatloss phase and the final one is me currently in July 2009.

This first pic is me at the start of TNT

This second pic is me 24 weeks later at the end of TNT advanced

This third pic is me at the start of a fatloss phase in March of this year

And this final pic is me in July 2009 (last week in fact)

As you can see there's been a bit of going round in circles with the visual appearance an like I said above I really dont want to do that if possible. This will take some careful thought I think and possibly small changes and experimentation. I'll let you know what I end up deciding to do.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Strength I: Week 6 (week 18) results

• Weight - 14st 3lb (down 3lb from last week)
• Body Fat % - 26.5% (bio-impedence) 6.4% (digi-callipers -down from last wk)
• Waist - 34 inches (still slightly over)

I feel that I've put a considerable amount of effort in the gym this week, and whilst I am tensing in the pictures above I do think that there is a noticable difference. The measurements are a little strange since I don't think I've dropped 3lb since last week. I have a suspicion that I was a bit dehydrated and would presume that this also lead to the increase in the bio-impedence bf% reading. The caliper reading shows a small improvement in bf% which would also add credence to the dehydrated theory. Especially since the waist measurement appears to be the same.

Generally speaking I've been getting some strange results back so I think it's time I sorted out my composure and get back to full plan. That involves eating smaller meals more frequently every 3hours. I think diet is where I need to focus because I think I'm doing enough training wise. I just need to ensure I get the maximum benefit from it by eating the right way, times etc. I'll make a concious plan to do this over the coming weeks and see if there is any further changes. As you all know from my weekly reports my weight, %bf etc seems to be stuck at this level or there abouts. I have looked for help and assistance from Mens Health forum, Leigh Peel's website but received nothing back. Not even any words of encouragement. I do feel a little bit isolated now and a bit in limbo not wanting to muck things up but also needing to change things a little to move things along. But How? I feel like I'm doing lots for little to no return so I must be doing something wrong. Hopefully the diet frequency tweak will make a difference I'll let you know.

Cheers, BustaGut!