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!

Legs aching!

Hi there, just thought I'd updte you all on the way things went yesterday on workout C. That's the one with all the deadlifts it's basically a hamstring killer (in a good way). Anyway as it's a strength stage of my development I've been trying hard to push the weights up gradually in all of the sessions but have had the most success in this particular workout. Yesterday I managed to increase all the weights on all of the sets. Even the hanging leg raises at the end I managed to get 15reps rather than the prescribed 10reps for two sets. Also I did all of this with only an extra 20secs of time needed above my quickest time for that workout so all in all I am pretty pleased with the way it went.

The only problem with this is that for the next few days my hamstrings feel pretty tight and need stretching off a lot and they feel tender to the touch. Strangely this seems at it's worst a day or two after so I probably have worst to come. It's all good though because it doesn't stop or debilatate me in anyway just reminding me of the tough session I had. That's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Strength I: Week 5 (week 17) quick results

• Weight - 14st 6lb (no change - still higher than plateau weight - bad)
• Body Fat % - 26% (bio-impedence) 7.1% (digi-callipers)
• Waist - 34 inches (still slightly over)

I think that there has been a bit of overeating here but to be fair the training I've been doing may well have contributed to the weight gain so I'm hoping some of this is new muscle. The waist measurement is still the same so that's a positive but bf% is a bit worrying although again I think that the digi callipers reading is possibly more accurate than it was last week but still measuring lower than is actual where the converse with the bio-impedence method is true. So what does that mean? well it means that I'm somewhere inbetween more than likely about 17%ish but that's just a guess.

I'll have to give a fuller evaluation later as I have to go.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Struggling!

Lately, as I've been trying to push the NROL Strength programmes I've struggled a bit and have had to slightly adjust the weights downwards. I know that getting a 1 rep maximum right where your fully pushed can vary and does have a lot of varibles to consider that might effect it but it still feels wrong adjusting downwards when you feel you should be heading the other way. Well I've noticed this for the last few sessions and really just needed to rant basically.

I spoke to the gym instructor today at the gym about getting rid of the last bit of bf and he confirmed that this was the slowest part and possibly the most frustrating. He said that as he thought I was training correctly it would be diet (as it usually is for 90% of cases). He said that it would boil down to being strict with the diet - small amounts frequeantly and all that so I suppose it's a case of re-assessing my strictness to TNT go back to frequeant feeding but small amounts (grazing), stick to program and then see what happens.

Cheers, BustaGut!