Blonde will make you STRONG

[iRaise]

Interesting reading and sounds like you're well down the recovery path, I don't know you so was just interested to know how old you are ?

So I was 26 when it happened and I'm 28 now. Obviously a bit of an anomaly to get it so young, but also incredibly thankful it did happen. My recovery has honestly surprised me so much. It's a bit naive to base the feelings on the first 2-4 weeks as it was very soon after the operation, but considering where I was then and the emotions/fears I had, to where I am now its completely mental.

More than happy to answer any questions about it. I will try and find the photo of the scan post operation, its such an incredible image anyway to see the brain in that light, and then having a big square box where the bleed was hits home a bit.

[iRaise]

Interesting reading and sounds like you're well down the recovery path, I don't know you so was just interested to know how old you are ?

I'm sure he'll come on at some point with the exact answer but I believe he's mid twenties. Certainly too young to go through this sort of shit that's for sure.

As a related side note, shortly after finding out about Harvey's near miss there was a girl who I know via others who got the same thing and sadly didn't make it, she was about 30. From my research (not extensive, just wiki etc.) it's an incredibly fine line between making it and not. Such a horrible condition that there really is nothing you can do about. You can't predict it, just have to hope that if you're one of the ones who're afflicted that on the day it hits you happen to be having an otherwise lucky day.

It really is incredible what Harvey has done. Just to still be here is amazing but to be pulling 175kg off the deck is a borderline miracle.

Thanks matt and you're right.. Seems so young to have to get through something like this. Fantastically resillient

I still have my meltdown from it. I have always been very fortunate to not suffer any mental health problems, but whether its been psychological or physiological (I imagine its a mix of both) I have had some terrible days. I am so fortunate that I have two amazing parents and some very helpful friends. It often frightens/scares/upsets me thinking of those that have had to go through similar without it.

I have always been pretty fortunate in life anyway, so the thought of not being able to carry on isn't one that's been entertained. But I would love to read all this in 25 years and work out how it all changed me. I still think its too early to process it all fully, if that makes sense?

[iRaise]

After being injured and sad for nearly a year that my ankle is too fucked for running on consistently I joined a gym a couple of months ago and am really enjoying it. Been doing weights for about a month now and today I did;

Squat 60kg 3x5
Overhead Press 25kg 3x6
DB bench 16kg 4x6
Lat raises 6kg 3x10

I have been doing that followed by random core stuff, with a 6-10k run once per week at the weekend.

Goals:
Keep going to the gym
Learn to deadlift
Learn to bench press
Learn good form for compound movements
Get on nodding terms with the strong guys
Lose around 5-6kg

Ha, I love those aims.

[iRaise]

Sorry for the absence, annoyingly I seem to take ages to recover from anything now, so a mix of a few hangovers then a mere cold and I have been in autopilot a bit few a few weeks. There's a few really annoying after effects, but recovery is definitely one of them. I now feel so blessed to have been able to recover from pretty much anything within a day or two. Even migraines I could get back up within 48 hours. Now everything seems to take 5/6/7 days. I am only 18 months post everything, so hopefully I can work back up and get close to where I was.

I imagine your body has a lot going on in the background at the moment and struggles to prioritise a bit of a sniffle.

It took me years to get over the bit of nerve damage I had in my leg so given the way you described your leg pain I can't see it being much quicker especially given everything else.

I guess you have age on your side but just because you can't see it doesn't mean your body hasn't been through an insane amount of trauma.

Give it another 18 months and you'll be completely different again.

Yeah I definitely forgot that sometimes, and I assume and hope its always going to prioritise the important stuff first.

That's one thing I definitely struggle to 'measure' is the trauma side. Its also the most difficult to explain. I still have days where I will be doing something, fall asleep and wake up without realising I have fallen asleep. It's such a strange feeling to just lose 1-3 hours and have no idea how for those first few seconds as you piece it all together.

[iRaise]

So I am trying to stick to 3 times full body a week. And if I have the energy and can do it, the fourth is just an isolation day.

My main leg movements are

Smith machine Bulgarian split squats. So basically foot on the bench in the smith machine. Balance still fails me a lot so its the perfect machine for me
DL, obviously. I alternate weeks between and . Last week I felt so ill I went down to 3x3 140, but last year did peak at 3x3 175.
Leg Press all machines are so different so numbers are a bit stupid but aim for the 3x8 on week and 3x12 the other.

Pressing

BB OHP managed 3x6 55kg today which felt pretty good.
Flat DB 3x8 36kg today (I think that may even be a PB or close to for that rep range)

Pulling

Pull ups 3x8 BW. I mix it up and do eccentric and weighted at the end of the sets.
OAR 3x6-8 34-40 (really weird one, some days these feel easy at 40, others hard at 34).

All the rest I'm not overly fussed about right now, just looking to slowly build again.

Food wise I am really lucky the habits have stuck so well. I eat intuitively everyday and my weight is pretty consistent at the 85kg. If it was to go above 88kg I would have a little word with myself and anything over 90kg happy to track again. Luckily alcohol melts my brain, so I can't really drink anymore which does save me a load of cals.

I guess the biggest difficulty this year is trying to learn to fit everything back in. Work/friends/gym etc are always hard to balance. I'm not too sure where my priorities lie nor how much energy I will have to give to each. I guess I will make that up and edit as we go along. I still love to train though, so I am positive it will still be pretty consistent over the coming months.

[Marky147]

Testing block started on Saturday so I've got 1, 2, 3 and 4 rep maxes.

Bench was good yesterday with a 130kg triple which felt really good and the third rep moved fast. Doubles next week and I'd love to get 137.5 or 140 to set me up for a shot at a PR attempt in 3 weeks.

Doubles for squats tomorrow with no set goal as they always depend how I feel on the day. I think I have 110kg there but will just play it by ear.

Should be an interesting 4 weeks to get some numbers and see how far I have to go to hit my optimistic goal.....

6 plates for reps coming!!

What's PR attempt 150?


I'm still suffering with this chest that makes me think I'm smoking 40 marlboro in my sleep every night... Think it's slowly dissipating now, and looking forward to getting back in there.

Chest infections are the worst. Seem to take ages to shift and really take it out of you.

I don't have a specific target. I'll settle for consolidating 145kg and if that moves okay will probably whack 150 on for japes.

The extra 5kg doesn't sound a lot but it's really tough when you're close to a max. Last time I did heavy singles I think I failed 147.5 but then got 145. Hard to believe 25 made such a difference but the final straw is the final straw.

Managed a 110kg double on squats today which was nice. It's 2 weeks to a single on those so I think 115 or 120 could be possible. Deadlift 1RM is on Thursday. I've a feeling they're going to be a long way off my year target. I have 160kg written down for some bizarre reason. God knows what made me think I could do that given I haven't moved more than 130kg for as long as I can remember.

I picked the right time to slip over the pond, as my mum had Bronchitis most of the time I was away, passed it to my dad, who passed some of it to me. Then I gave it back to her, and he caught it again as well. Almost 3 weeks to get rid of it, given I started going down with it Xmas day. Hopefully that's the last thing I see before summer, so I can get a reasonable run.

7 plates before Xmas it is, then

I know what you mean about it seeming strange, especially when you're moving such big numbers as those. It's weird how a few kilos can matter, when you're talking numbers well into the 100s.

I can't squat at all, other than using TRX ropes, as once I get below parallel I have no power to bring myself up. Going to really try and work on my legs as they're getting noticeably weaker over the last year, even though I've still been banging myself in the leg press.

That Max Chewning amazes me with the numbers he moves, when he weights about 12 stone soaking wet!

[Marky147]

So I am trying to stick to 3 times full body a week. And if I have the energy and can do it, the fourth is just an isolation day.

My main leg movements are

Smith machine Bulgarian split squats. So basically foot on the bench in the smith machine. Balance still fails me a lot so its the perfect machine for me
DL, obviously. I alternate weeks between and . Last week I felt so ill I went down to 3x3 140, but last year did peak at 3x3 175.
Leg Press all machines are so different so numbers are a bit stupid but aim for the 3x8 on week and 3x12 the other.

Pressing

BB OHP managed 3x6 55kg today which felt pretty good.
Flat DB 3x8 36kg today (I think that may even be a PB or close to for that rep range)

Pulling

Pull ups 3x8 BW. I mix it up and do eccentric and weighted at the end of the sets.
OAR 3x6-8 34-40 (really weird one, some days these feel easy at 40, others hard at 34).

All the rest I'm not overly fussed about right now, just looking to slowly build again.

Food wise I am really lucky the habits have stuck so well. I eat intuitively everyday and my weight is pretty consistent at the 85kg. If it was to go above 88kg I would have a little word with myself and anything over 90kg happy to track again. Luckily alcohol melts my brain, so I can't really drink anymore which does save me a load of cals.

I guess the biggest difficulty this year is trying to learn to fit everything back in. Work/friends/gym etc are always hard to balance. I'm not too sure where my priorities lie nor how much energy I will have to give to each. I guess I will make that up and edit as we go along. I still love to train though, so I am positive it will still be pretty consistent over the coming months.

Savage that you've even managed to get back in the gym regularly, given everything that transpired over the last few years, and to still be strong, too!

I'm the same food wise, unfortunately my habits are the other side of the coin

With regards to balancing, might take a while, but I'm sure it'll all figure itself out in time.

[Ledders]

After being injured and sad for nearly a year that my ankle is too fucked for running on consistently I joined a gym a couple of months ago and am really enjoying it. Been doing weights for about a month now and today I did;

Squat 60kg 3x5
Overhead Press 25kg 3x6
DB bench 16kg 4x6
Lat raises 6kg 3x10

I have been doing that followed by random core stuff, with a 6-10k run once per week at the weekend.

Goals:
Keep going to the gym
Learn to deadlift
Learn to bench press
Learn good form for compound movements
Get on nodding terms with the strong guys
Lose around 5-6kg

Hi Ledders. Great stuff there and some very realistic goals. So many people want to run before they can walk so it's good to see that your goals initially are just to learn.

Have you made any diet changes to hit your weight loss goals? What you're doing in the gym will hardly burn any calories so you won't lose anything purely from that.

Would you happy with a body re-composition rather than just lose weight? You may find that you shift a few kgs of fat but gain the same amount in muscle.
 

I haven't made any big changes to diet, just aiming at a few less beers here, less carbs there. I get free lunch at work but it's all unhealthy so need to take the £ hit making my own simple meals. I think a body re-composition is what I'm after really. Natural state of a small calorie deficit without the crap and liquid calories, and gain some muscle as a beginner.

As I build a base and am able to do more, I aim to add more cardio in as I do enjoy running but I'm scared of re-injury. Being stronger will help mitigate that both physically and mentally.

Will be keenly following this thread and posting occasional updates myself. My mate showed me deadlifts and barbell rows at the weekend so pleased with that.

[EvilPie]

So I am trying to stick to 3 times full body a week. And if I have the energy and can do it, the fourth is just an isolation day.

My main leg movements are

Smith machine Bulgarian split squats. So basically foot on the bench in the smith machine. Balance still fails me a lot so its the perfect machine for me
DL, obviously. I alternate weeks between and . Last week I felt so ill I went down to 3x3 140, but last year did peak at 3x3 175.
Leg Press all machines are so different so numbers are a bit stupid but aim for the 3x8 on week and 3x12 the other.

Pressing

BB OHP managed 3x6 55kg today which felt pretty good.
Flat DB 3x8 36kg today (I think that may even be a PB or close to for that rep range)

Pulling

Pull ups 3x8 BW. I mix it up and do eccentric and weighted at the end of the sets.
OAR 3x6-8 34-40 (really weird one, some days these feel easy at 40, others hard at 34).

All the rest I'm not overly fussed about right now, just looking to slowly build again.

Food wise I am really lucky the habits have stuck so well. I eat intuitively everyday and my weight is pretty consistent at the 85kg. If it was to go above 88kg I would have a little word with myself and anything over 90kg happy to track again. Luckily alcohol melts my brain, so I can't really drink anymore which does save me a load of cals.

I guess the biggest difficulty this year is trying to learn to fit everything back in. Work/friends/gym etc are always hard to balance. I'm not too sure where my priorities lie nor how much energy I will have to give to each. I guess I will make that up and edit as we go along. I still love to train though, so I am positive it will still be pretty consistent over the coming months.

Numbers look good mate even for a fully fit person mate especially the OHP although you've always seemed strong on those. 36kg for 3 x 8 is solid, I'm going to have a go at these today for chest accessory, haven't done flat dumbbell for ages so will be interested to see what I can do.

You seem in a similar place to me with diet, just kind of know what you have to do to stay around a reasonable weight without any huge effort. Definitely makes life easier that's for sure.

I'm hovering around 16st at the moment which is a weight I feel really comfortable at. I've been monitoring calories for 6 weeks and 3100 average has kept me at around that weight with a swing of no more than about 1kg. It's an effort to get 3100kcals in so dieting is easy if I decide to go that way but bulking would be difficult.

Maintaining seems a good way to go for now as I really don't know what I want to do. I seem to be getting steadily stronger so no point rocking the boat before I need to.

[c4ught]

After being injured and sad for nearly a year that my ankle is too fucked for running on consistently I joined a gym a couple of months ago and am really enjoying it. Been doing weights for about a month now and today I did;

Squat 60kg 3x5
Overhead Press 25kg 3x6
DB bench 16kg 4x6
Lat raises 6kg 3x10

I have been doing that followed by random core stuff, with a 6-10k run once per week at the weekend.

Goals:
Keep going to the gym
Learn to deadlift
Learn to bench press
Learn good form for compound movements
Get on nodding terms with the strong guys
Lose around 5-6kg

Hi Ledders. Great stuff there and some very realistic goals. So many people want to run before they can walk so it's good to see that your goals initially are just to learn.

Have you made any diet changes to hit your weight loss goals? What you're doing in the gym will hardly burn any calories so you won't lose anything purely from that.

Would you happy with a body re-composition rather than just lose weight? You may find that you shift a few kgs of fat but gain the same amount in muscle.
 

I haven't made any big changes to diet, just aiming at a few less beers here, less carbs there. I get free lunch at work but it's all unhealthy so need to take the £ hit making my own simple meals. I think a body re-composition is what I'm after really. Natural state of a small calorie deficit without the crap and liquid calories, and gain some muscle as a beginner.

As I build a base and am able to do more, I aim to add more cardio in as I do enjoy running but I'm scared of re-injury. Being stronger will help mitigate that both physically and mentally.

Will be keenly following this thread and posting occasional updates myself. My mate showed me deadlifts and barbell rows at the weekend so pleased with that.

This sounds exactly like me 9 months ago. My first recorded weights in the app I use is on the 29th April 19.

Weight - 66.2kg
Squat - 60kg to 85kg 5x3
OHP - 25kg to 37.5kg
Bench - 40kg to 52.5kg
Deadlift - 65kg to 80kg

Those numbers were up to 6th June then I went to Vegas and forgot about the gym when I got home.

Started back up again on 16th July and just went back to my starting numbers as the program had me increasing every week.

In November I started to hit my current limits and workouts were getting hard. I like pushing myself but going in knowing there is a 50/50 chance of failing the weight that day made me think about not bothering.

Weight - 68.3kg
Squat - 115kg 10x1
OHP - 50kg 10x1
Bench - 60kg 5x3
Deadlift - 120kg 10x1

So 1st December I moved on to 5/3/1 Boring But Big - 3 main sets and then lower the weight to 50-70% and do 5x10. Hopefully I can stick to this for a good 12 months as the progression is slower.

Current weight is 69.5kg eating 2000cals + the xmas food and chocolates. Plan from Feb is to cut down to 65.5kg.

Goal is to keep going the gym consistently.
Add some cardio.
140 squat? If I just cut then maintain weight I assume this would be hard to get by the end of the year?

[arbboy]

AMRAP at 44kg went pretty well managing to get 14 out. They weren't the prettiest reps ever and I definitely felt a bit wobbly although in my defence I haven't done flat DB for absolutely ages.

I'm pretty sure all the volume work I've been doing recently helped these a lot and it kind of gave me a hankering to have another blast at them for a while to see if I can perhaps go above 50kg. They have a set of 54s so that would be nice to go for a couple of reps at that in the next few months.

Got to stay ahead of Arby.

That behind the neck press is really strong by the way. Don't think I could get near that.

Changed my routine quite signficantly now i have moved to Nottingham and training with a full time training partner.  Pretty much doing the same core exercises across the body parts but instead of training each body part once a week in total.  Each body part is being trained twice a week but with half the sets on each day.  Allows you to be fresh and go more max out on the heavy part of each work out.  For example when i did chest and barbell flat/incline i was fucked for dumbells after and couldn't go max on them.   Now split the two up over two workouts to be fresh for both.  After a month going to rotate the work outs so each month you get to go fresh after two days rest on alternative exercises.  Core exercises going heavy 4-6 reps and the lighter exercises go for higher reps 6-10 reps.

Four day split Monday/Tues/Thurs/Fri.  Rest Weds and weekend off totally to suit real life social life.  Been doing it for two weeks now and it is working really well.  Basically split Chest/Shoulders/Arms in two work outs (Mon/Thurs) and Back/Legs (Tues/Friday)

Monday

Chest - Dumbell Flat (44kg)/Incline bench (40kg) - 3 sets of each  Dumbbell flies 2 sets (16kg)

Shoulders - Behind neck barbell press 3 sets (60kg).  Dumbbell front raises 2 sets (12kg)

Trcieps - Dumbell overhead press (44kg) rope machine extensions 3 sets of each

Biceps - Ez bar curls (50kg) and seated dumbbell curls (22kg)

Tuesday - Basically everything involving barbell for ease of logistics in the gym for back and legs

Back - Deadlifts (180kg), bend over barbell rows (110kg), t bar rows (100kg)

Legs - Stiff legged deadlifts (110kg) seated hamstring machine curls

Weds - REST

Thursday

Chest Barbell flat(95kg)/incline(85kg) bench.  Pec-dec machine

Shoulders - dumbbell overhead seating presses (34kg) dumbbell lateral raises (14kg)

Triceps - ez bar lying down presses to forehead (45kg) tricep machine push downs

Biceps - Standing dumbell curls (24kg) and hammer curls (24kg)

Friday

Back - One arm dumbell rows (50kg), upright row ez bar (55-60kg) machine long bar pull downs

Legs - Barbell cleans (70kg), seated leg press (450kg in plates) seated machine quad curls

Looking back 15 months it's interesting to see how things have changed.   Training wise/diet wise/weight wise and numbers wise. 

Last time i posted was September time and i had been training solo during the whole of 2019 (and still to this day currently).   Had a pretty shit year with a driving ban and family death so my training options were limited travel wise and my diet hadn't been the best but not terrible but i had been drinking too much with no driving hhaving a few beers was never an issue.  I had stayed pretty strong but gained weight.   1st October 2019 i had a weigh in and had ballooned to 21 stone bang on so decided to do stopober (drink free month) and get back to basics training wise.

Three months later as of 1st January 2020 i am bang on 19 stone,, haven't lost a great deal of strength given a 2 stone weight loss.   On the advanced scales at the gym 9kg of that weight loss is body fat.   They do an analysis of everything and you log in and can see your progress graph wise on every metric.   Pretty cool piece of kit to have when you are trying to stay strong but lose a lot of fat.   We have been at this 19 stone point before and its all gone tits up before but we are cracking on.  Think my body make up is a fair bit different to the last time i was sub 19 stone however.

I am doing 2 1 hour cardio sessions now a week (heart rate in the 130-150 zone constantly) and dropped the weight schedule back to my old basketball in season routline of mon/tues/thurs.   Cardio Weds/Fri.   Weekend total rest/Sauna/steam etc for full recovery.  At 45 you need it.  During this weight loss phase i have upped my reps to 4-10 reps mainly and not doing any one rep max stuff until i am down to 17 stone (thats the end game by the summer hopefully) then once the lard is gone we can focus on strength again.

My current weight schedule is as follows:  Push and pull reversing.   So chest(push) and biceps (pull) so the arms are getting a main work out once a week and a semi work out the other upper body session.

Monday - Chest/Biceps (chest numbers have really suffered as no spotter)

Chest

Flat/Incline Barbell/Dumbell press (alternate each week) 3 sets of each barbell press is 90kg/80kg x 8 reps Dumbbell 40kg and 36kg x 8 reps
Pullovers 48kg dumbbell x 8 reps
Dumbbell fly 20kg x 10 reps
Pec dec 110kg x 10 reps (don't take machine numbers too seriously)

Biceps (all 2 sets of each)

Standiing EZ bar curl 60kg for 4 reps then another 4 reps at 50kg instantly.   60kg is another 21st century pb i just did last week.   Only ever remember having 25kg plates either side of the ez bar once or twice in my prime.
Standing db curls 28kg dumbells 8 reps
Standing db hammer curls 28kg 8 reps
Seating db curls 24kg 8 reps

Tuesday Upper Back and triceps

Bent over barbell rows 125kg 3 sets of 8
T bar row 120kg 3 sets of 8
One arm db row 50kg db 3 sets of 12-15.   Need a bigger dumbbell really for this now but gym max is 50kg
Seated machine row 3 sets 8 entire stack (120kg it says but again i don't take much notice of machine weight levels)
DB shrugs 48kg 3 setts of 6-8
Upright row 60kg 3 sets of 6-8

Triceps

DB overhead press 50kg 3 sets 8-10
EZ bar lying press 55kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Tricep pushdown on pulldown machine 60kg 2 sets 8 reps
Rope tricep extensions on same machine 35kg 2 sets 8 reps

Weds

Cardio as detailed above. 1 hour total. 40 minutes cross trainer.  10 mins cycle. 10 mins steep incline walking to finish.  Staying constantly in the 130-150 HR rate for the entire hour.  600-700 calories burnt per the machine screen but that's all bollocks as it doesn't take your weightetc into account.

Thurs Lower back/legs and shoulders

Deadlift 140kg x 12 160kg x 6 180kg x 4
Leg press 350kg 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Stiff legged deadlifts 110kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Leg Extensions entire stack 120kg 3 sets to failure usually 10-12 reps
Hamstring curls 65kg 3 sets to failure

Shoulders

Front db raises 22kg 3 sets of 8
lateral db raises 16kg 3 sets of 6

Friday Cardio as weds

Saturday/Sunday - Recovery sauna/steam/stretch.   

Food wise is pretty similar to before during the week training wise.   At the weekends i am trying what Matt said about intermitting fasting for 16 hours from Saturday evening til Monday lunchtime.   So Saturday evening 7pm til Sunday 11am and sunday evening 7pm til Monday 11am.   I am finding this relatively easy because i play live cash on these two nights so as long as i don't eat at the poker table and go straight to bed after its fairly simple to do.   Doesn't affect my recovery from weights too much as i have had over 48 hours from my last weights session on thurs before i commence it.

Cliffs - Back and arms have never been stronger.   Chest is weaker than it used to be.  Deadlifts/legs similar mainly because of weight loss/diet i assume.   Not too bothered as i really want to shift the lard by the summer.

[EvilPie]

Looking back 15 months it's interesting to see how things have changed.   Training wise/diet wise/weight wise and numbers wise. 

Last time i posted was September time and i had been training solo during the whole of 2019 (and still to this day currently).   Had a pretty shit year with a driving ban and family death so my training options were limited travel wise and my diet hadn't been the best but not terrible but i had been drinking too much with no driving hhaving a few beers was never an issue.  I had stayed pretty strong but gained weight.   1st October 2019 i had a weigh in and had ballooned to 21 stone bang on so decided to do stopober (drink free month) and get back to basics training wise.

Three months later as of 1st January 2020 i am bang on 19 stone,, haven't lost a great deal of strength given a 2 stone weight loss.   On the advanced scales at the gym 9kg of that weight loss is body fat.   They do an analysis of everything and you log in and can see your progress graph wise on every metric.   Pretty cool piece of kit to have when you are trying to stay strong but lose a lot of fat.   We have been at this 19 stone point before and its all gone tits up before but we are cracking on.  Think my body make up is a fair bit different to the last time i was sub 19 stone however.

I am doing 2 1 hour cardio sessions now a week (heart rate in the 130-150 zone constantly) and dropped the weight schedule back to my old basketball in season routline of mon/tues/thurs.   Cardio Weds/Fri.   Weekend total rest/Sauna/steam etc for full recovery.  At 45 you need it.  During this weight loss phase i have upped my reps to 4-10 reps mainly and not doing any one rep max stuff until i am down to 17 stone (thats the end game by the summer hopefully) then once the lard is gone we can focus on strength again.

My current weight schedule is as follows:  Push and pull reversing.   So chest(push) and biceps (pull) so the arms are getting a main work out once a week and a semi work out the other upper body session.

Monday - Chest/Biceps (chest numbers have really suffered as no spotter)

Chest

Flat/Incline Barbell/Dumbell press (alternate each week) 3 sets of each barbell press is 90kg/80kg x 8 reps Dumbbell 40kg and 36kg x 8 reps
Pullovers 48kg dumbbell x 8 reps
Dumbbell fly 20kg x 10 reps
Pec dec 110kg x 10 reps (don't take machine numbers too seriously)

Biceps (all 2 sets of each)

Standiing EZ bar curl 60kg for 4 reps then another 4 reps at 50kg instantly.   60kg is another 21st century pb i just did last week.   Only ever remember having 25kg plates either side of the ez bar once or twice in my prime.
Standing db curls 28kg dumbells 8 reps
Standing db hammer curls 28kg 8 reps
Seating db curls 24kg 8 reps

Tuesday Upper Back and triceps

Bent over barbell rows 125kg 3 sets of 8
T bar row 120kg 3 sets of 8
One arm db row 50kg db 3 sets of 12-15.   Need a bigger dumbbell really for this now but gym max is 50kg
Seated machine row 3 sets 8 entire stack (120kg it says but again i don't take much notice of machine weight levels)
DB shrugs 48kg 3 setts of 6-8
Upright row 60kg 3 sets of 6-8

Triceps

DB overhead press 50kg 3 sets 8-10
EZ bar lying press 55kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Tricep pushdown on pulldown machine 60kg 2 sets 8 reps
Rope tricep extensions on same machine 35kg 2 sets 8 reps

Weds

Cardio as detailed above. 1 hour total. 40 minutes cross trainer.  10 mins cycle. 10 mins steep incline walking to finish.  Staying constantly in the 130-150 HR rate for the entire hour.  600-700 calories burnt per the machine screen but that's all bollocks as it doesn't take your weightetc into account.

Thurs Lower back/legs and shoulders

Deadlift 140kg x 12 160kg x 6 180kg x 4
Leg press 350kg 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Stiff legged deadlifts 110kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Leg Extensions entire stack 120kg 3 sets to failure usually 10-12 reps
Hamstring curls 65kg 3 sets to failure

Shoulders

Front db raises 22kg 3 sets of 8
lateral db raises 16kg 3 sets of 6

Friday Cardio as weds

Saturday/Sunday - Recovery sauna/steam/stretch.   

Food wise is pretty similar to before during the week training wise.   At the weekends i am trying what Matt said about intermitting fasting for 16 hours from Saturday evening til Monday lunchtime.   So Saturday evening 7pm til Sunday 11am and sunday evening 7pm til Monday 11am.   I am finding this relatively easy because i play live cash on these two nights so as long as i don't eat at the poker table and go straight to bed after its fairly simple to do.   Doesn't affect my recovery from weights too much as i have had over 48 hours from my last weights session on thurs before i commence it.

Cliffs - Back and arms have never been stronger.   Chest is weaker than it used to be.  Deadlifts/legs similar mainly because of weight loss/diet i assume.   Not too bothered as i really want to shift the lard by the summer.

Hi mate.

2st of lard isn't going to move much weight so no surprises that your strength hasn't dropped too much. Are you looking to actually be lean or just a bit leaner? Unless you're packing an insane amount of muscle you be surprised how far you still have to go when you hit 17st. I'm at 16st now carrying a reasonable amount of muscle and I reckon I'd need to drop to 14st to see visible abs.

If you're looking to build some muscle you really need to increase the rep ranges especially on your isolation movements. The main one that stands out to me is your side laterals for shoulders. These should be a much higher rep range and much lighter. If you're only getting 18 reps in per week you're not working your side delts anywhere near enough. If you can only get 6 reps out on side laterals I'm guessing the weight is too heavy and you're using more rear delt than side. I watched a great video on these and it completely changed the way I do them. I'm now using 6kg but dropping down to 2kg until my arms literally will not move. The shoulder development I've got from them though is insane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE80Ri3HnVY

Were you posting for feedback by the way or shall I just f**k off right now??

[arbboy]

Looking back 15 months it's interesting to see how things have changed.   Training wise/diet wise/weight wise and numbers wise. 

Last time i posted was September time and i had been training solo during the whole of 2019 (and still to this day currently).   Had a pretty shit year with a driving ban and family death so my training options were limited travel wise and my diet hadn't been the best but not terrible but i had been drinking too much with no driving hhaving a few beers was never an issue.  I had stayed pretty strong but gained weight.   1st October 2019 i had a weigh in and had ballooned to 21 stone bang on so decided to do stopober (drink free month) and get back to basics training wise.

Three months later as of 1st January 2020 i am bang on 19 stone,, haven't lost a great deal of strength given a 2 stone weight loss.   On the advanced scales at the gym 9kg of that weight loss is body fat.   They do an analysis of everything and you log in and can see your progress graph wise on every metric.   Pretty cool piece of kit to have when you are trying to stay strong but lose a lot of fat.   We have been at this 19 stone point before and its all gone tits up before but we are cracking on.  Think my body make up is a fair bit different to the last time i was sub 19 stone however.

I am doing 2 1 hour cardio sessions now a week (heart rate in the 130-150 zone constantly) and dropped the weight schedule back to my old basketball in season routline of mon/tues/thurs.   Cardio Weds/Fri.   Weekend total rest/Sauna/steam etc for full recovery.  At 45 you need it.  During this weight loss phase i have upped my reps to 4-10 reps mainly and not doing any one rep max stuff until i am down to 17 stone (thats the end game by the summer hopefully) then once the lard is gone we can focus on strength again.

My current weight schedule is as follows:  Push and pull reversing.   So chest(push) and biceps (pull) so the arms are getting a main work out once a week and a semi work out the other upper body session.

Monday - Chest/Biceps (chest numbers have really suffered as no spotter)

Chest

Flat/Incline Barbell/Dumbell press (alternate each week) 3 sets of each barbell press is 90kg/80kg x 8 reps Dumbbell 40kg and 36kg x 8 reps
Pullovers 48kg dumbbell x 8 reps
Dumbbell fly 20kg x 10 reps
Pec dec 110kg x 10 reps (don't take machine numbers too seriously)

Biceps (all 2 sets of each)

Standiing EZ bar curl 60kg for 4 reps then another 4 reps at 50kg instantly.   60kg is another 21st century pb i just did last week.   Only ever remember having 25kg plates either side of the ez bar once or twice in my prime.
Standing db curls 28kg dumbells 8 reps
Standing db hammer curls 28kg 8 reps
Seating db curls 24kg 8 reps

Tuesday Upper Back and triceps

Bent over barbell rows 125kg 3 sets of 8
T bar row 120kg 3 sets of 8
One arm db row 50kg db 3 sets of 12-15.   Need a bigger dumbbell really for this now but gym max is 50kg
Seated machine row 3 sets 8 entire stack (120kg it says but again i don't take much notice of machine weight levels)
DB shrugs 48kg 3 setts of 6-8
Upright row 60kg 3 sets of 6-8

Triceps

DB overhead press 50kg 3 sets 8-10
EZ bar lying press 55kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Tricep pushdown on pulldown machine 60kg 2 sets 8 reps
Rope tricep extensions on same machine 35kg 2 sets 8 reps

Weds

Cardio as detailed above. 1 hour total. 40 minutes cross trainer.  10 mins cycle. 10 mins steep incline walking to finish.  Staying constantly in the 130-150 HR rate for the entire hour.  600-700 calories burnt per the machine screen but that's all bollocks as it doesn't take your weightetc into account.

Thurs Lower back/legs and shoulders

Deadlift 140kg x 12 160kg x 6 180kg x 4
Leg press 350kg 3 sets x 6-8 reps
Stiff legged deadlifts 110kg 3 sets 6-8 reps
Leg Extensions entire stack 120kg 3 sets to failure usually 10-12 reps
Hamstring curls 65kg 3 sets to failure

Shoulders

Front db raises 22kg 3 sets of 8
lateral db raises 16kg 3 sets of 6

Friday Cardio as weds

Saturday/Sunday - Recovery sauna/steam/stretch.   

Food wise is pretty similar to before during the week training wise.   At the weekends i am trying what Matt said about intermitting fasting for 16 hours from Saturday evening til Monday lunchtime.   So Saturday evening 7pm til Sunday 11am and sunday evening 7pm til Monday 11am.   I am finding this relatively easy because i play live cash on these two nights so as long as i don't eat at the poker table and go straight to bed after its fairly simple to do.   Doesn't affect my recovery from weights too much as i have had over 48 hours from my last weights session on thurs before i commence it.

Cliffs - Back and arms have never been stronger.   Chest is weaker than it used to be.  Deadlifts/legs similar mainly because of weight loss/diet i assume.   Not too bothered as i really want to shift the lard by the summer.

Hi mate.

2st of lard isn't going to move much weight so no surprises that your strength hasn't dropped too much. Are you looking to actually be lean or just a bit leaner? Unless you're packing an insane amount of muscle you be surprised how far you still have to go when you hit 17st. I'm at 16st now carrying a reasonable amount of muscle and I reckon I'd need to drop to 14st to see visible abs.

If you're looking to build some muscle you really need to increase the rep ranges especially on your isolation movements. The main one that stands out to me is your side laterals for shoulders. These should be a much higher rep range and much lighter. If you're only getting 18 reps in per week you're not working your side delts anywhere near enough. If you can only get 6 reps out on side laterals I'm guessing the weight is too heavy and you're using more rear delt than side. I watched a great video on these and it completely changed the way I do them. I'm now using 6kg but dropping down to 2kg until my arms literally will not move. The shoulder development I've got from them though is insane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE80Ri3HnVY

Were you posting for feedback by the way or shall I just f**k off right now??

Always open to some advice from a decent judge like yourself.  Wasn't posting for any other reason than because everyone else has recently and its nice to have a record.   Still got loads of lard to shift nowheere near a 6 pak and doubt that will ever happen again and i am not reallly bothered about that anyway.  Be nice to get down to 17 stone ish and hang around that area.  Lets shift another 2 stone and get to sub 18 for thee first time in 18 years before we worry about six paks!

[arbboy]

my current body fat is 42kg and the machine said the ideal amount of body fat for my size is 22-33kg so got another 15kg of lard to shift to get in the middlee of that range.  Not sure how reasonable that ideal level is.   15kg is roughly 2.5 stone which would take me down to 16.5 stone.

[EvilPie]

my current body fat is 42kg and the machine said the ideal amount of body fat for my size is 22-33kg so got another 15kg of lard to shift to get in the middlee of that range.  Not sure how reasonable that ideal level is.   15kg is roughly 2.5 stone which would take me down to 16.5 stone.

You can usually work out if the figures seem anywhere near reasonable if you apply a bit of logic to it.

You're currently 121kg and it's saying that if you lost 42kg you would have zero bodyfat and be 100% lean mass.

That makes 79kg of lean mass that you're carrying now.

If you were to be at 10% body fat you'd probably see a visible 6 pack as that's really lean.

If you were 88kg you'd be left with 9kg of fat to be at that 10%

Now you have to try to think how you'd look at 88kg or about 13st 12lb. Would you be ridiculously lean and have a proper 6 pack? That's going to depend on how tall you are and how much of your lean mass is muscle but if you're 6ft or more carrying a bit of muscle I'd say it falls in to the 'feasible' category.

There are hundreds of variables not included in the above but it shows that your machine isn't completely wrong and is probably worth feeding your money in to to monitor progress especially if that helps you to stay motivated.

That ideal level seems a touch high to me. Going by your mid-range target you'd be down to 106kg carrying 27kg of fat which is 25%

To quote from t'interwebs: "For men, a percentage of body fat greater than 25% defines obesity, with 21-25% being borderline. For women, over 33% defines obesity, with 31-33% being borderline."

Obese doesn't seem ideal so you probably need to be at the low end of that target range.

Still seems reasonable figures though and not overly far fetched.