Hit by Mystery Bug - Training on Hold!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update to let you know what's happening. I've been struck down by a mystery bug (illness - virus) that is going around and it isn't very nice at all. I woke up early Thursday morning with headaches, knee and back pain (as before but much worse - it must have been partly due to beginnings of bug and not just injuries). But the worst aspect were really bad stomach pains which resulted in me being unable to eat and drink next to nothing. I reckon I drank about 2 small cups of fluid all day and laid in bed resting as I was completely exhausted. A day or two on I'm much better but still not right. I have mild fluttery stomach pains off and on all the time and my back and general joint pain is still faintly there (coming on stronger if I ignore it and don't rest when it starts).

So as you can see there's not much training going on whilst I feel like this and I believe that it would be foolish to even try. I intend to give myself a rest until next Friday and if I feel up to it I'll attempt 1 leg session ie workout B that I missed this week due to illness. If I'm still not right then I will wait a little longer. These Hypertrophy sessions are hard and demand a lot of effort, if I attempt them too soon then I wont be able to do it and will just get frustrated and annoyed with myself. I'll keep you updated of how things go and fingers crossed none of you catch this horrible mystery bug!

Cheers, BustaGut!

Second Hypertrophy I session - Workout B

I found this session quite difficult this morning because I was watching my knee was ok but ended up pulling my back a little on the deadlift with shrugs because I was forced to do them on the Smith Machine and that altered my form slightly as well as me not warming up the best I could. So there's a lesson there in ensuring that a proper warm up in conducted beforehand. On the whole though I think it went well and it was good to have gotten a try at both sessions this week and I can now work from there. I'll keep you updated.

Cheers, BustaGut!

First Hypertrophy I session - The first of many!

I started the Hypertrophy I sessions this morning and it went well. I struggled a little in sticking to the extended rest periods (compared to Fatloss III) and occasionally cut them a bit short but the longer rests are needed as I tended to struggle too much on the last set of 5 reps (this is how the sessions start but the rests and rep ranges vary each session). I have 24 sessions to complete, 12 on this workout A and another 12 on workout B. I'm hoping to attempt workout B on Saturday morning and then see how the right knee is giving it the rest of the weekend to recover. I'm still having problems with it but I suppose it's only been a couple of days since I adjusted my saddle (by quite a lot actually) so if that is the cause it might slowly ease off as there is less strain on it, especially after a few days off. So at the moment I'll just have to wait and see. Looking forward to the frequency I hope to move to 3 sessions a week again but obviouly that is dependant upon how the body reacts. I'll keep you updated.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 6 - Fat Loss III - End of the road!

• Weight - 14st 4.5lbs (decrease of 0.75lb)

This is a late update to the page which should really have been done at the weekend. I really hit the last two sessions of Fat Loss III and managed to decrease the time of the sessions down whilst keeping the rep ranges, weights and that all important intensity very high. I've made some improvement throughout the 12 sessions but it's time to change the programme now over to the Hypertrophy workouts as I need to add some more muscle (which wont be easy). I've been cycling over the weeks and have had a little bit of trouble with my right knee but I seem to be nursing this along for the time being. I was intending to start Hypertrophy tomorrow but I think I'll delay it for another day at least and commence on Wednesday. I'll let you know how it goes, or whether I decide to take the full week out before the new programmes begin.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 5 - Fat Loss III - Still Stalling near the End!

• Weight - 14st 5.25lbs (no change)

I've only taken the one measurement of weight this week and disappointingly there is no change. Personally I think that the pictures do show an improvement over the two weeks since the last ones but nothing really substantial. I have worked hard on these Fat Loss sessions and am entering the final week of Fat Loss III so am a bit disappointed with the results if I'm honest. I believe the training is sound and so too is the effort I just think the area I've let myself down is the eating side of things which is the biggest area when trying to lose the fat. The aspects that I highlighted as being potential sources of the problem haven't really been addressed so it is something that I need to sort out for the next cycle of training. But adding to the previous list I need to include proper rest and hydration.

After the final week of Fat Loss III I think I need to focus efforts on muscle building. My concern here is that I need to add more muscle mass whilst avoiding fat increase as far as possible. I don't want to be cycling my training and flipping from one extreme to the next and never really making any progress. That is how I feel has been happening somewhat over the last year or so. In fact having looked back over some of the pictures I think that I have been leaner so that isn't very encouraging or inspiring. My effort in training is as good if not better than before so it does point the finger at adjustments being needed in my diet approach. I'll have to get things together so that I can maximise the benefit that I'm putting into my training. That's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Week 4 - Fat Loss III - Quick Overview

A disappointing week this last one as I've slipped back a little. My weight has risen to 14st 5.25 lbs. I've been thinking hard about the reasons for the increase (1.75lbs) and can put it down to eating too many nuts again and not cycling as much as I've done in previous weeks. I'm currently nursing two niggly injuries with my back aching and right knee so I'm trying to be careful there.

I've been putting in lots of effort on the Fat Loss programmes and really smashing Fat Loss III hard to keep the intensity really high so am disappointed that I haven't got more to show for the effort I've put in. In some respects I actually feel like I'm stepping backwards in terms of visual appearance. I have no real size now and a few comments over the weekend has brought me to cement my decision to move into a Hypertrophy stage at the end of Fat Loss III. I suspect my diet needs to be tweaked in that I have gotten out of the habit of eating regularly throughout the day and reverted back to 3 large meals a day so presume that this wont help matters. Anyway I'll have to have a think about how I approach this and the Hypertrophy stage in order to be better this time next year. Continuous improvement is what I'm seeking. Well that's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!