Blonde will make thin ....Here we go again !

[sovietsong]

• How many calories are you consuming during your 5 "off" days?

I'm really not looking at what i'm eating during the normal days, i just eat what i like but without being silly.  Just avoiding take aways & unhealthy amounts of sweets/chocolate.  If i want something i have it, i just don't go mental.  Something i'm getting much better at is stopping when i'm full & having "normal portions", the fasting makes you realise what hunger is & somehow helps me put things into perspective!  Hard to explain as you assume on the days off you will just pig out but you really don't fancy it after a day of really low calories.

• What sort of foods do you choose during your 2 "on" days?

I've tried multiple things but what works best for me & my job is to leave eating as late as possible, drinking lots of water & about 2-3 cups of black coffee until around 2pm, then i have a really small chicken breast & a very small portion of wholemeal rice.  Same again at about 5:30, today is a "fasting day" & i'm hungry, big glass of water & think about a normal day tomorrow - including peanut butter on toast for breakfast!  lol

• Do you pick the same 2 days every week and how do you decide which days they are going to be?

I mainly go for Monday's & Wednesday's but have swapped out the wednesday for a thursday if i'm going to the gym or doing something on a wednesday.  Not sure why these days work for me but i like eating what i like on the weekend

• Are you doing any sort of training?

I am going to the gym 3-4 times a week, although this has been a bit on off in the last month or so, I doubt i'm doing the best training schedule for weight loss.  I do 1 day of cardio & then free weights - my friend has done all the research & i'm happy to follow his lead.  I make sure i'm eating on days i go to the gym, just heard its bad to train on no food.  Seems right.

• If you had to guess right now, by when do you think you would hit your target weight?

This is a really good question, I have done a few weight loss plans & i've done ok but generally not kept it up.  I'm getting married next year & I hope to be ready for the wedding in June, however my goal is to lose 9kg before xmas & then the rest before June.  I've not really been measuring the loss this time, I just checked the scales at the gym on sunday & thought, wow thats 5kg, i need to go brag on the blonde will make you thin thread!!

[/list]

If you'd like to know anything else please let me know, a chap at work did lots of research & turned me on to it as he'd had some good success & pretty much ate what ever he wanted on the days off, i assume he did it like me & didn't go absolutely berserk.

The documentary by BBC is really good & defo worth a watch.

[zerofive]

• How many calories are you consuming during your 5 "off" days?

I'm really not looking at what i'm eating during the normal days, i just eat what i like but without being silly.  Just avoiding take aways & unhealthy amounts of sweets/chocolate.  If i want something i have it, i just don't go mental.  Something i'm getting much better at is stopping when i'm full & having "normal portions", the fasting makes you realise what hunger is & somehow helps me put things into perspective!  Hard to explain as you assume on the days off you will just pig out but you really don't fancy it after a day of really low calories.

I was hoping you would say this! Whenever I see another one of these crazy "don't just take my word for it" diets, a little piece of me dies inside. However, this diet looks okay for this reason. When you only eat 500 calories a day, it "teaches" you what hunger feels like, that way you realise on your off days just how much unneccessary food you were probably consuming. Absolutely wonderful for perspective. Great job.

• What sort of foods do you choose during your 2 "on" days?

I've tried multiple things but what works best for me & my job is to leave eating as late as possible, drinking lots of water & about 2-3 cups of black coffee until around 2pm, then i have a really small chicken breast & a very small portion of wholemeal rice.  Same again at about 5:30, today is a "fasting day" & i'm hungry, big glass of water & think about a normal day tomorrow - including peanut butter on toast for breakfast!  lol

I've spoken to a couple of people who use intermittent fasting. Rather than 5:2 though, what they do is pick a 6 hour window per day and don't eat outside of that. ALL of them said they prefer fasting in the morning and eating in the evening! Also, water and coffee fantastic "fillers." By no means am I telling you how to diet, but probably take it a little easier on the coffee if you can.

• Do you pick the same 2 days every week and how do you decide which days they are going to be?

I mainly go for Monday's & Wednesday's but have swapped out the wednesday for a thursday if i'm going to the gym or doing something on a wednesday.  Not sure why these days work for me but i like eating what i like on the weekend

• Are you doing any sort of training?

I am going to the gym 3-4 times a week, although this has been a bit on off in the last month or so, I doubt i'm doing the best training schedule for weight loss.  I do 1 day of cardio & then free weights - my friend has done all the research & i'm happy to follow his lead.  I make sure i'm eating on days i go to the gym, just heard its bad to train on no food.  Seems right.

If your goal is losing weight then training on no food is okay. Some people get a little light headed doing compound weight lifting movements on a completely empty stomach, but usually a banana and a protein shake with water is more than ample fuel. If you don't mind, what is your routine? I'm sure we could turn it into the best training schedule for weight loss

• If you had to guess right now, by when do you think you would hit your target weight?

This is a really good question, I have done a few weight loss plans & i've done ok but generally not kept it up.  I'm getting married next year & I hope to be ready for the wedding in June, however my goal is to lose 9kg before xmas & then the rest before June.  I've not really been measuring the loss this time, I just checked the scales at the gym on sunday & thought, wow thats 5kg, i need to go brag on the blonde will make you thin thread!!

As well you should brag! 5kg is a fair chunk to lose in less than a month! 9kg before xmas is a good target (especially considering we're going to be putting it all back on in one meal no problem ) New year is always a good time to reassess the goals. Good luck mate

[sovietsong]

• Are you doing any sort of training?

I am going to the gym 3-4 times a week, although this has been a bit on off in the last month or so, I doubt i'm doing the best training schedule for weight loss.  I do 1 day of cardio & then free weights - my friend has done all the research & i'm happy to follow his lead.  I make sure i'm eating on days i go to the gym, just heard its bad to train on no food.  Seems right.

If your goal is losing weight then training on no food is okay. Some people get a little light headed doing compound weight lifting movements on a completely empty stomach, but usually a banana and a protein shake with water is more than ample fuel. If you don't mind, what is your routine? I'm sure we could turn it into the best training schedule for weight loss

Day 1 - Chest & Tri's -

Chest

Chest Press 8x4
Incline Chest 8x3
Decline Chest 8x3
Ropey Machine (sort of like flys) 8x3

Tri's (really don't know the names of these)

Pull down type thing with Bar - 8x3
Pull down type thing with rope - 8x3
Assisted dips - 8x3
Skull crushers 8x3 (i normally skip this as it hurts my forearm, don't know why)

Day 2 - Back & bi's

Back

Lat pull Down 8x4
Seated Row - 8x3
Bent over row - 8x3
Some upper back thing i can't explain 8x3

Bi's

Pull ups (assisted obv) 8x4
Hammer curls 8 x 3
preacher curls 8 x 3
Ropey curls 8 x 3

Day 3 - Legs & Shoulders

Legs

Squats 8 x 4
Leg Press (the one where your sort of pushing upwards with free weights on instead of the one where its a proper machine) 8 x 3
Extensions 8 x 3

Shoulders

Shoulder press - 8 x 3
some type of raise using ropey machine 8 x 3
another type of raise using ropey machine 8 x 3.

Day 4 - Bike/run/swim depending how we feel.

All days include a warm up on the rowing machine, & a little race to 500 meters.

what do your think?

[zerofive]

Disclaimer: sorry if anything appears condescending, I just try to keep things as simple as I can when I'm explaining

This looks like a variation of a fairly popular training split called P/P/L (Push/Pull/Legs). It's quite a popular split; I used to train using PPL, and my routine at the moment is a slight variation of it. The problem with this routine for weight loss rather than muscle gain (I appreciate the two aren't completely exclusive, but for simplicity's sake let's just say they are) is that there is a lot of focus on smaller muscle groups. It's obviously fine to do 12 sets of biceps when you're looking to put on some weight, because then you get this lovely swole set of guns as you set out to achieve. However, when you're looking to LOSE weight, you want to perform movements that use lots of muscles together at the same time. Touching one's shoulder with one's hand is not recruiting many muscles! So you see the problem with lots of single joint exercises on a weight-loss routine: you're not building a lovely aesthetic set of muscles, and nor are you really torching much fat.

With that in mind, let's quickly look over the routine. You're doing 4 triceps exercises, 4 biceps exercises, and only 3 leg exercises. Have a quick look at the size of your arms and then the size of your legs, and tell me why this might not be the best approach to weight loss. It is a common mistake found in a lot of "personalised" routines: the upper body receives a massively disproportionate amount of exercise, and the result is a woefully inbalanced physique.

We can take a closer look at the routine now that we know that we want to a) perform more compound (more than one muscle group) movements, and b) perform more lower body exercises. I'm assuming your prescription is written as [reps]x[SETS], but I'm going to write it out as [SETS]x[reps] otherwise I will get confused because I'm an incredibly simple human

Day 1 - Chest & Tri's -

Chest Press   4x6
Incline Chest Press   3x8
Cable Chest Fly   3x8
Dips   3xAMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible)
Cable Tricep Pushdown   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15
Burpees   3x10

I've taken out the decline bench press, because 2 pressing movements is plenty, and also your dips have that movement pattern well covered. Pretty much only need to get one triceps movement in (again, your dips have this muscle group well covered as they recruit plenty of triceps) - you're not on your own when it comes to skullcrushers, for some reason my elbows really disagree with the movement so I leave it out too. So we've taken your routine from 8 exercises down the 5 - just make sure you go nice and heavy. I've thrown in some sit-ups at the end, although you can replace these with whatever your favourite abdominal exercise is. And I was nice enough to throw some burpees in, just to make sure we truly empty the tank and because who doesn't love burpees?

Day 2 - Back & Bi's

Deadlifts   4x6
Bentover Row   3x8
Pull-ups   3xAMRAP
Seated Row   3x8
Pullover   3x8
Hammer Curls   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15

In my opinion, as long as you get a heavy movement in for each part of the spine (erector spinae, latissimus dorsi and rhomboids) you can't go wrong with a back workout. I was very surprised not to see deadlifts in the routine. Some people like to do these on leg day, but personally I find either my squat or my deadlift suffers if I do them both on the same day. Deadlifts absolutely crucial - keep good form (check the internet for videos if you're not sure) and the pounds will fucking melt off, I'm serious. Lots of muscle recruitment with that exercise. Good to see some pull-ups, bentover row and seated row in there. I'm going to assume the upper back thingy you can't explain is probably a pullover, as you've covered all the other movements I can think of. If it's not, then I recommend throwing it in at the end anyway. You can replace your hammer curls with your prefered bicep exercise, I've just chosen hammer curls to keep the forearms nice and strong, which is crucial if we're doing heavy back movements once a week. Finish it off with some more abdominal work and go and enjoy your dinner!

Day 3 - Legs & Shoulders

Squats   4x6
Lunges   3x8; each leg
Leg Press   3x8
Leg Extensions   3x12
Hamstring Curls   3x12
Calf Raises   3x12

Shoulder Press   4x6
Alternating Dumbbell Punches   1x100; each arm

REALLY ramped up the leg volume here. You're going to be recruiting A LOT of muscles here. After the first week, you will walk like you sat on something phallic, and stairs will be a nightmare, but I promise you the pain will be well worth it and you won't feel it nearly as much in subsequent training sessions. The reason I think a lot of people skip legs or do very low volume is because of the initial shock your body goes through. If you keep it up though, you will see some fairly immediate results. I've thrown in some hamstring curls so that we maintain the balance in our thighs (we don't want insane quads and weak hamstrings, or at least your knees don't) and I've also thrown in some calf raises. You'll notice the rep range for this is 12 reps, as it's not crucial to go heavy, just as long as we go nice and slow with a controlled movement.

Shoulder press self explanatory. Dumbbell punches? Grab the lightest dumbbells you can find. 2kg weights will be plenty for this, trust me. Then just throw a straight "punch" (not as if you were actually trying to take someone's jaw off, just press the weight in front of you). You'll come out firing for maybe the first 50 reps, but I guarantee you'll be sweating buckets by the time you get to the 70 or 80 mark. Take as many breaks as you need, just get them all done.

Day 4 - Bike/run/swim depending how we feel.

Can't argue with this! Also, as counter-intuitive as this sounds, some low intensity cardio such as running or swimming is going to do wonders for your legs after battering them the day before.

Honestly I've probably put somewhere between 60 - 90 minutes on this post, so I really hope it's given you and anybody reading this thread something to think about. The routine above is by no means perfect, but it's a pretty good outline for somebody looking to shed body fat while maintaining a good level of muscle mass. I promise I'm not undermining your friend here; you guys probably have different goals/level of experience etc.

Give this a whirl for a few weeks and please do let me know what you think, and also how your legs feel after day 3.

Happy to answer any questions you might have. If you're unsure of what any of these exercises are, you can look them up on ExRx.net. Good luck mate.

[sovietsong]

Just had a quick read before work, but wanted to say thank you for putting that together. It looks great. I will come back to this later & have a proper read. Much appreciated.

[sovietsong]

Firstly thank you again for the time & effort you put into that response, its fantastic & I am certainly going to give the new routine a try.  There are a few areas i'm not sure on so wanted to ask you about them if thats ok.

Day 1 - Chest & Tri's -

Chest Press   4x6 - why are we doing less chest press than incline chest press?
Incline Chest Press   3x8
Cable Chest Fly   3x8
Dips   3xAMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) I use the assisted machine, what should i be doing here?  hard as possible or as many as possible?  i set the weight at 40kg currently.
Cable Tricep Pushdown   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15 I always thought that sit ups worked a very small muscle, am i an idiot?
Burpees   3x10 FML

Day 2 - Back & Bi's

Deadlifts   4x6 we stopped doing dead lifts after hurting ourselves quite badly doing them wrong, i will ask for help from an instructor because i've never felt pain like it before but want to do it properly
Bentover Row   3x8
Pull-ups   3xAMRAP as before i use the counterbalance thing-ma-bob, whats my aim, less reps high weight or high reps low weight
Seated Row   3x8
Pullover   3x8
Hammer Curls   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15

Day 3 - Legs & Shoulders

Squats   4x6 I'm not sure why but i really struggle to go low with the squats, i use the smith machine due to concerns about hurting myself but struggle to go low (ass to grass) even with next to no weight, any hints/tips to resolve this
Lunges   3x8; each leg
Leg Press   3x8
Leg Extensions   3x12
Hamstring Curls   3x12
Calf Raises   3x12

Shoulder Press   4x6
Alternating Dumbbell Punches   1x100; each arm

Leg day is actually my favourite, its awful the day (and the day after) after but i love the feeling.  I love cycling and get an odd sort of satisfaction from punishing legs, i can't wait to get stuck into this day! 

Thank you again for this, if i can do anything to return the favour please let me know.

[zerofive]

Day 1 - Chest & Tri's -

Chest Press   4x6 - why are we doing less chest press than incline chest press?   In short: we're not. We are doing 24 reps of each, but the additional muscle recruitment of the flat bench will allow us to lift more weight. As a general rule, the more specialised an exercise is, the less weight we can lift and thus the more reps we should perform in order to achieve a similar amount of volume in. So, while we are doing the same amount of reps for these two exercises, we are taking advantage of the fact that we can lift very heavy on the flat bench to get more overall volume in.
Incline Chest Press   3x8
Cable Chest Fly   3x8
Dips   3xAMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) I use the assisted machine, what should i be doing here?  hard as possible or as many as possible?  i set the weight at 40kg currently.   If you use an assisted machine, just stick the pin in the plate you think you can get 8 reps with. If you shoot too light and can get more reps in, get more reps in. If you shoot too heavy and only get say 5 or 6 reps in, drop the pin a couple of plates (to about a third of the previous weight) and knock out some more reps until you reach failure. This technique can be applied to the last set of just about any exercise to really empty the tank.
Cable Tricep Pushdown   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15 I always thought that sit ups worked a very small muscle, am i an idiot?While your standard set of lying bodyweight crunches does only work the top half of your rectus abdominis, there are variations of sit-ups that work the entire core. Take the jack-knife sit-up for example; 3 sets of 15 reps will be quite physically demanding.

Burpees   3x10 FML   

Day 2 - Back & Bi's

Deadlifts   4x6 we stopped doing dead lifts after hurting ourselves quite badly doing them wrong, i will ask for help from an instructor because i've never felt pain like it before but want to do it properly   Definitely a good idea to ask for help with form if you think you might be doing something wrong. The most important thing you can do while performing this exercise is to maintain an extended spine. What I mean by this is stick your chest and your butt out like you're a girl showing off at the beach. The movement comes from your hips and your knees, but never from your spine.
Bentover Row   3x8
Pull-ups   3xAMRAP as before i use the counterbalance thing-ma-bob, whats my aim, less reps high weight or high reps low weight   I think I know what you mean. It's like a machine that takes some of your weight off, right? Try to knock out as many bodyweight pull-ups as you can, even if it's literally 1 or 2, then pop the pin in the plate you think you can get to 8 reps with. As with the dips, you can always drop the weight some more if you shoot too high, or knock out some more reps if you shoot too low.
Seated Row   3x8
Pullover   3x8
Hammer Curls   3x8
Sit-Ups   3x15

Day 3 - Legs & Shoulders

Squats   4x6 I'm not sure why but i really struggle to go low with the squats, i use the smith machine due to concerns about hurting myself but struggle to go low (ass to grass) even with next to no weight, any hints/tips to resolve this   I would never want to advise someone to go to the gym to do something that I think would hurt them, but at the same time I am a strong advocate of constantly pushing the boundaries of one's comfort zone. I would strongly recommend you squat with a barbell rather than a smith machine. I compare it to riding a bike with stabilisers on. If you're an absolute beginner then it's fine for getting the movement pattern down and building up a base level of strength that will allow you to squat a 20kg barbell, but after that you really need to learn to ride the bike while stabilising yourself. Don't worry too much about racking a massive amount of weight to begin with, just get used to the movement. Unless it hurts your knees to go ass to grass, then just keep going as deep as you can and eventually the flexibility will come. Make sure you keep your chest up, keep your core tight, and really drive through your heels. Get your buddy to spot you if you think you need it.
Lunges   3x8; each leg
Leg Press   3x8
Leg Extensions   3x12
Hamstring Curls   3x12
Calf Raises   3x12

Shoulder Press   4x6
Alternating Dumbbell Punches   1x100; each arm

Hopefully this has answered all your questions.

As for returning the favour, just make sure you smash it every time you hit the gym!

[zerofive]

How's everyone else doing? Not heard from Lee in a while, or Reddawg.

[leethefish]

How's everyone else doing? Not heard from Lee in a while, or Reddawg.

I am having a break !
I would like to say I am being sensible but I'm not 😳
I will start again fairly soon I am going away for a week in October so after that we will see.

[vegaslover]

8th Sept:      16st  0lb
15th Sept:    15st 11lb
22nd Sept:   15st 10lb
29th Sept:    15st 10lb
 6th Oct:      15st   9lb
13th Oct:      15st   8lb

Loss this week:    1lb
Total loss:           6lb

Arm has healed but not done any gym work. Have been very active every day though as got keys to a new property Tues so been busy ripping out kitchens etc and cutting the jungle of a garden down to a neat outdoor space.

[sovietsong]

Didn't manage to get to the gym yesterday so no weigh in for me this week.  I'm not too worried about weighing myself all the time but should be getting weighed next week to update the team.

Today is one of my "fasting days" & its been a tough one, i'm very tired but managed to keep within the 600 cal's.  Looking forward to peanut butter on toast tomorrow morning!

Gym tomorrow with the new routine so will let you know how i get on.

[zerofive]

8th Sept:      16st  0lb
15th Sept:    15st 11lb
22nd Sept:   15st 10lb
29th Sept:    15st 10lb
 6th Oct:      15st   9lb
13th Oct:      15st   8lb

Loss this week:    1lb
Total loss:           6lb

Arm has healed but not done any gym work. Have been very active every day though as got keys to a new property Tues so been busy ripping out kitchens etc and cutting the jungle of a garden down to a neat outdoor space.

Easily as good as going to the gym. To be honest, even though I might claim to lift, literally fuck gardening man that's too much like hard work

Glad to hear your arm's better. Solid 1lb/week loss mate, keep it up.

[zerofive]

Didn't manage to get to the gym yesterday so no weigh in for me this week.  I'm not too worried about weighing myself all the time but should be getting weighed next week to update the team.

Today is one of my "fasting days" & its been a tough one, i'm very tired but managed to keep within the 600 cal's.  Looking forward to peanut butter on toast tomorrow morning!

Gym tomorrow with the new routine so will let you know how i get on.

Actually this is a really good outlook for a couple of reasons.

First of all, even top athletes would look horribly out of shape if all you could see was their height and weight statistic. According to BMI, I am "obese." Muscle is pretty fucking dense, so if you're looking to work out and get in shape, then you might not be losing weight as quickly as someone who is just dieting, but you're going to be burning fat at the same rate - if not more rapidly. The most important measurement you get is not the one from the bathroom scales, it's the one from the hallway mirror.

Second reason is the "Marshmallow Test." To summarise: they gave a young child a marshmallow, and if he/she could go 15 minutes without eating it, they would be rewarded with another. The test was designed to study self-control and delayed gratification, but what was interesting was the children who managed to wait out the 15 minutes did so by filling their time doing something. The children who caved in were the ones who sat and stared at the marshmallow until they couldn't hold on any longer. So the moral of this experiment is that the more you think about food and diet and constant weighing and monitoring, the more likely you are to fuck it up.

[RED-DOG]

How's everyone else doing? Not heard from Lee in a while, or Reddawg.

I'm still fat.

[sovietsong]

Day one at the gym done.

Loved the new chest work out, went heavier with the 6 reps & enjoyed it. Push hard on the cable flys & ruined myself on the dips! Sit ups - failed did 3x10 & burpees 2 x 10 (I hate you).

Looking forward to back tomorrow... Sort of.