first proper cardio session today and had a much bigger drop off than lifting wise from the xmas break

leg and lower back today and i did 3 sets x 8 deadlifts at 170kg.   My plan longer term is to get back to doing 200kg+ for 1 rep max but given the cardio i am doing i am doing high volume low weight leg sessions so i don't need huge recovery which affects my cardio.

give me 3 months to get through this training period and we can meet up at DL nottiingham in the summer for work out and have a few beers after in the sun around the pool outside.   would you be willing tto get to 115kg body weight if you could bench 150kg for 5 reps just out of interest?  Id like to meet up once  i have done the 50kgs and lost another 10kg+ then i won't look like a proper fat ***** next to you!

Felt only marginally weaker today.  Chest and biceps.   Did 36kg dumbells x 8 reps flat and 32kg x 8 incline for three sets.  i went slightly lighter than pre xmas but did more reps.  After doing that i went back to 100% of pre xmas for chest accessory exercises with no issue at all.   Biceps were identical to pre xmas and no drop off at all.   Felt super strong and well rested.  Back and triceps tomorrow will report back then.

You have any strength goals or just focussing on the weight side?

Where do you think you could get with the dumbbells? Seem to recall you getting in to the 40s fairly recently?

My pressing is as strong as it's ever been but it's my primary focus so it should be.

Been today and hit 130kg for 4 with a fair bit left in the tank on flat bench followed by 2 sets of 8 at 50kg for incline dumbbells.

DB shoulder press are up to 40kg for 8 and I think that's really helping as an accessory to the chest work. Makes sense really as I'd neglected shoulder pressing for a long while due to injury worries every time I went heavy. Really nice to able to use a taxing weight without thinking I'm going to f**k my shoulder up.the more muscle you have the more fat you'll shift.

Ultimate goal for me is 3 plates for 5 reps on bench but this is a long long way off. Got to keep plugging away at it though.

My main goal in the next 3 months is to drop to 110kg body weight whilst maintaining my current level of lean muscle mass.   Not too worried about strength goals.   Ive got stronger marginal in the last 9 months since the last lockdown whilst dropping lard so don't see getting stronger as a focus think it will come naturally providing no more lock downs which massively set me back.   I'd like to think i could be doing 50kg dumbbells later in the year.  Last workout before xmas i was doing sets of 6 with 40kg's and will go back to them next week.   I have hit 44-46kg previously 3 years ago but haven't ever got to the holy grail of the 50s coming out which is a reasonable goal for this year i think.   When i started back in April afterr 3 months off after lockdown i started again at 26kg.   I don't want to have to go through that rebuilding process again.

Ultimately at our age staying injury free which i tend to do quite easily is the key thing.   None of us are getting paid to train its about enjoying doing it and staying fit.

The strength gains will just happen without you even noticing. You're nowhere near your natural limit by the sound of it so if you just keep shifting metal about your body will keep adapting to whatever you throw at it. Got to make sure you keep challenging yourself though and making progress,

Yeah 100% agree about staying injury free, that's why I've now stopped doing deadlifts and squats completely as I always mess up my hip and lower back at some point.

My leg work now is just leg extensions, leg curls, some of the spready/squeezy ones and then calves. I throw in some hyper extension for lower back just to keep it moving and maintain some base strength but that's it. I don't do bent over rows any more as again it hurts my lower back as soon as I put a half decent weight on the bar. I just stick to the seated variations to get my rowing in.

The routine I currently have is really enjoyable so I'll be sticking to it for quite a while. Every now and then I throw in something new but invariably I mess myself up so I really need to just stick to what works.

Id love to see a video of you banging out 3 plates for reps in the future.  You can't beat watching someone benching 3+plates for reps when you are as shit at chest as i am!

let's hope for a lockdown free 2022 and injury free 2022 for everyone then the rest is much easier.

Felt only marginally weaker today.  Chest and biceps.   Did 36kg dumbells x 8 reps flat and 32kg x 8 incline for three sets.  i went slightly lighter than pre xmas but did more reps.  After doing that i went back to 100% of pre xmas for chest accessory exercises with no issue at all.   Biceps were identical to pre xmas and no drop off at all.   Felt super strong and well rested.  Back and triceps tomorrow will report back then.

You have any strength goals or just focussing on the weight side?

Where do you think you could get with the dumbbells? Seem to recall you getting in to the 40s fairly recently?

My pressing is as strong as it's ever been but it's my primary focus so it should be.

Been today and hit 130kg for 4 with a fair bit left in the tank on flat bench followed by 2 sets of 8 at 50kg for incline dumbbells.

DB shoulder press are up to 40kg for 8 and I think that's really helping as an accessory to the chest work. Makes sense really as I'd neglected shoulder pressing for a long while due to injury worries every time I went heavy. Really nice to able to use a taxing weight without thinking I'm going to f**k my shoulder up.

Ultimate goal for me is 3 plates for 5 reps on bench but this is a long long way off. Got to keep plugging away at it though.

My main goal in the next 3 months is to drop to 110kg body weight whilst maintaining my current level of lean muscle mass.   Not too worried about strength goals.   Ive got stronger marginal in the last 9 months since the last lockdown whilst dropping lard so don't see getting stronger as a focus think it will come naturally providing no more lock downs which massively set me back.   I'd like to think i could be doing 50kg dumbbells later in the year.  Last workout before xmas i was doing sets of 6 with 40kg's and will go back to them next week.   I have hit 44-46kg previously 3 years ago but haven't ever got to the holy grail of the 50s coming out which is a reasonable goal for this year i think.   When i started back in April afterr 3 months off after lockdown i started again at 26kg.   I don't want to have to go through that rebuilding process again.

Ultimately at our age staying injury free which i tend to do quite easily is the key thing.   None of us are getting paid to train its about enjoying doing it and staying fit.

Fight through the first week Dakky and take on board all the little leaks Matt has suggested as they soon add up over a week or a month.

Felt only marginally weaker today.  Chest and biceps.   Did 36kg dumbells x 8 reps flat and 32kg x 8 incline for three sets.  i went slightly lighter than pre xmas but did more reps.  After doing that i went back to 100% of pre xmas for chest accessory exercises with no issue at all.   Biceps were identical to pre xmas and no drop off at all.   Felt super strong and well rested.  Back and triceps tomorrow will report back then.

Well have done a week now and lost 2kg trying to stick to 2000cal a day. Was asleep all NYD so didn't eat at all really

Went over one day with two big bowls of cereal which was super lazy but delicious. Think I ate 2500 that day. The only other sugary foods I've eaten in a week are 3 nutty-chocolatey type bars 135kcal each and one magnum ice cream around 250. Pretty happy with that side of things as i could easily eat 1k cal of sugary shit in a day before for the past couple of years.

Am aiming for 0 deliveries until the end of the month. The only thing I had delivered was a peri peri chicken wrap when my housemate ordered chicken... Not that bad guessing 400-500 cal but not that worth it.

When it comes to real food definitely need to branch out. I've found myself this time not avoiding certain carbs as much; I haven't had any bread, pasta or rice but I have had things like lentils and chickpeas. I'm pretty sure these are "better" carbs than you find in the former... I think I will probably add in some potatoes either baked or boiled for satiety. I will likely have rice somtimes going forwards.

Definitely need to find some more things to eat though. Some examples of what I've been eating:

A good filling meal for 500cal had fried onion/garlic/5%fat mince (half a packet -300 cal)/1tbsp oil then added tinned tomatoes and ate with a shit load of veg. This was a lot of food physically!

Have had a couple of 300cal pre-prepared lentils u stick in microwave either on their own or with tuna.

Have had chicken breast, marinated and then roasted with veg.

Had a ready meal which was 350cal plus some petit pois.

A lot of these meals are a LOT less food than I was eating so it's been tough, hence looking to eat some potato potentially as it's very filling.

Today at 10.30 I fried some garlic and a tin of chickpeas, added seasoning and chili powder and smoked paprika. Around 400cal. I was still hungry. Had two boiled eggs and much better though was still panging for a while. I plan to eat a lot of eggs as they helped me last time a lot!

The 2kg figure means nothing as at the beginnign there's lots of changes in water weight, so I expect the first few weeks weight to mostly drop off before it starts to get tougher. The question is can I make and eat foods I like enough sustainably? To some people 2000 calories sounds like a lot but when you're a human vacuum cleaner it's not always that much. Have to watch things like oils, sauces etc as this is where things can add up quickly!

Having 5% mince then adding a table spoon of oil seems a little strange...... You should do your very best to avoid oil as it's one of the most calorie dense (kcals per gram) foods you'll find.

This girl is worth a watch if you want some ideas on what actually works in the real world:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrA-KN5yQzL1DkcUg9QN4Qw

She used the Greg Doucette (an IFBB pro body builder) cookbook to help her and has links to it in some of her videos.

I've read a lot of reviews about the cookbook and it focusses on low calorie dense foods meaning you get to eat a lot of volume for not many calories. Some of the foods looks really nice such as the anabolic french toast that he always talks about.

The cookbook itself is expensive (very expensive) but you sound like someone who may well benefit from it.

Spend a few hours watching Louises Journey and also Greg Doucette and it may give you a few ideas where to start.

Dakky you won't get better advice anywhere than from Evilpie diet wise.   He really is a relative guru on this stuff.   I know it all as well i just can't usually help myself and definitely have food addiction issues myself to a certain level.   I was 140kg and 6'1'' at my peak weight so we are on a similar page size wise.   I am now 123kg after 15 months since my peak.   If i could diet like Evil Pie i would be a beast but i can't but trying my best the last year or so.

First day back lifting today after a 2 week break which my body needed.   Looking forward to shifting the iron today.   Two weeks off usually doesn't make much difference to strength so hoping i can just carry on as pre xmas.  Will try and post more in 2022 on here.

ive dropped 18 kg's in last 15 months and currently at 123kg and doing dry January again this year so will post weekly weight targets in here.   Aim is to drop another 18kg in 2022 and be 105kg by start of 2023.  My advanced weigh in at the gym also includes body fat %, body fat mass in total and muscle mass so i will post them as well as im not just looking to lose weight but fat mainly.   16kg of the 18kg i have lost has been fat whilst pretty much maintaining lean muscle mass levels.

Jan 1 - 123kg (19 stone 5lbs)  body fat % 32.5% fat mass 39.8kg muscle mass 78.7 kg bmi 36.6

That's the one didn't realise it was that long since it was lasted used!  Five years.  I didn't search that far back.

what happened to the 'blonde will make you slim' thread?  that rolled on for years.  I couldn't find it looking back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtDoPFHuZbk

Incase you never saw the former world champ Peter 'Snakebite' Wright in his much younger days when he was a tyre fitter in 1995.  The swagger was there even that far back.   An equally young Gary Anderson in the crowd cheering on his fellow Scot.  Classic video.

18 months seems about right given the maximum was 3 years.  Not sure what you would have to do to get the full 3 years.