New Years Resolutions (Training / Fat Loss Ect)

[robblok]

Ok just for you guys who are always here in the im too fat forum. (Tropo, Tolly Latisla, and many others)

Last year i was 107 kg, the flooding and 2 months locked up in my home combined with alcohol and not being able to train saw me gain weight. Normally i was around 95-97 kg.. not fat no belly. Just muscular but not much muscle separation.

So 1 January this year i said this is enough im going to get a 6 pack, now almost 12 months later im 84.6 and got the 6 pack, not yet as great as professional bodybuilders / fitness models but getting there.

So its almost time for me to change my goals, after i got the right leanness ill try to find out how much calories i burn on a day (will take a few months) after that ill add 200 calories and will try to gain muscle again. This is something i haven't done in ages as i always concentrated (and failed) on fat loss. It will be fun.

Right now im lean and i never want to go back to not fat but not lean either. Its great to be as lean as those skinny guys but with muscle. Got a lot of attention before but it doubled for sure.

This year taught me one thing.. weight loss is a long term thing, you cant really do it in just a few months. Gaining muscle is even harder, i cant imagine to gain the same amount of muscle as i lost fat this year.

All this weight loss and rowing did have a good effect on my free diving this holiday i could stay under much longer and needed much less weight.

Anyway that was my new years resolution, just wondering what you guys will change this year. Its nice to write it down and then see how it worked. (look back at it after a year)

[Tolley]

How tall are you? What size frame are you? Do you know your body fat percentage? How much in Kgs of muscle mass are you carrying?

The answers to these sort of questions would be helpful for you to get to your next goals.

[Tolley]

I am around the same weight as you. Today weighed myself 84.2. I have medium frame and am 178cm. I am carrying according to the last test i did when i was few kilos heavier around 47k of muscle and my fat percentage was 20 percent. I think I have a bit more muscle and less fat than when last i tested but i would like to lose that bit of midriff fat which is very hard to shift. Waist is around 90cm so would like to get down to around 84cm ideally.

[robblok]

Heavy frame, more then enough muscle still to stand out. Think my fat percentage is around 10% (skin caliper test by myself so could be a bit off). Midriff fat almost all gone (meaning six pack is visible just the left side of the lower abdomen has a bit more fat). Always been lifting so the muscle is there. Not as big as Tropo for sure. (but i still got time )

I am like you around 178-180 cm. I must say im real lean and find my legs on pictures (not for real) too skinny.

Just checked my waist.. wow haven't been that low in ages its 80 cm.

But this topic was not all about me, it was more about what other people wanted to achieve. So you want to get the waist down a bit, i want more muscle and more stamina.

[tropo]

80cm! That's impressive for a guy your size. My minimum sucked in waist is still around 90cm, and considering my body fat percentage is already single digit, it isn't going to go down any further. That's my shape. The only way I can get a leaner waist is by increasing my chest size to create the illusion.

What's your chest/waist ratio?

I'm still in an adjustment phase after getting back from about 6 weeks of disrupted training. I haven't got a plan in focus yet, but I want to get rid a few injuries and improve my knees before I can focus on muscle building. There's no point continuously pushing through injuries as they only get worse. The break gave me a chance to stand back and reassess my program. I will be very mindful of which exercises are good and which are bad and can the bad ones.

Right now I'm pushing (light) weights 3 times a week and rowing 3 times a week, with one full day off.

[Tolley]

80cm! That's impressive for a guy your size. My minimum sucked in waist is still around 90cm, and considering my body fat percentage is already single digit, it isn't going to go down any further. That's my shape. The only way I can get a leaner waist is by increasing my chest size to create the illusion.

What's your chest/waist ratio?

I'm still in an adjustment phase after getting back from about 6 weeks of disrupted training. I haven't got a plan in focus yet, but I want to get rid a few injuries and improve my knees before I can focus on muscle building. There's no point continuously pushing through injuries as they only get worse. The break gave me a chance to stand back and reassess my program. I will be very mindful of which exercises are good and which are bad and can the bad ones.

Right now I'm pushing (light) weights 3 times a week and rowing 3 times a week, with one full day off.

I think it is the hip to waist ratio that is probably more important.

[robblok]

80cm! That's impressive for a guy your size. My minimum sucked in waist is still around 90cm, and considering my body fat percentage is already single digit, it isn't going to go down any further. That's my shape. The only way I can get a leaner waist is by increasing my chest size to create the illusion.

What's your chest/waist ratio?

I'm still in an adjustment phase after getting back from about 6 weeks of disrupted training. I haven't got a plan in focus yet, but I want to get rid a few injuries and improve my knees before I can focus on muscle building. There's no point continuously pushing through injuries as they only get worse. The break gave me a chance to stand back and reassess my program. I will be very mindful of which exercises are good and which are bad and can the bad ones.

Right now I'm pushing (light) weights 3 times a week and rowing 3 times a week, with one full day off.

I think it is the hip to waist ratio that is probably more important.

I agree, the slim skinny guys i seen on holiday were funny. I don't want to be like those skinny guys. My shoulders and chest and back are still ok. Less of course as when i had a higher fat percentage. Anyway ill come up with some numbers for my chest sooner or later. Right now i need to find a good tape measure this one is too small.

[tropo]

80cm! That's impressive for a guy your size. My minimum sucked in waist is still around 90cm, and considering my body fat percentage is already single digit, it isn't going to go down any further. That's my shape. The only way I can get a leaner waist is by increasing my chest size to create the illusion.

What's your chest/waist ratio?

I'm still in an adjustment phase after getting back from about 6 weeks of disrupted training. I haven't got a plan in focus yet, but I want to get rid a few injuries and improve my knees before I can focus on muscle building. There's no point continuously pushing through injuries as they only get worse. The break gave me a chance to stand back and reassess my program. I will be very mindful of which exercises are good and which are bad and can the bad ones.

Right now I'm pushing (light) weights 3 times a week and rowing 3 times a week, with one full day off.

I think it is the hip to waist ratio that is probably more important.

Hip to waist ratio in an average man is about 1:1 or near enough . It's only a consideration in females who want the hour glass figure.

Chest to waist ratio is what gives a guy the v-taper. Shoulders to waist ratio is another good one.

I've lost a few inches off the chest, but also lost on the waist more, so I've gained some taper. 35" is about as small as I can get there because I'm pretty solid in the trunk. I think I expanded my mid-section a lot over the last 5 years through heavy back work (squats, dead lifts and rows). I never use a belt.

Edited December 19, 2012 by tropo

[tropo]

. Right now i need to find a good tape measure this one is too small.

I thought all standard tape measures were 60 inches in length. You must be pretty big if that is too small to measure your chest.

[robblok]

. Right now i need to find a good tape measure this one is too small.

I thought all standard tape measures were 60 inches in length. You must be pretty big if that is too small to measure your chest.

You are right but the tape measure that i got here is not that size its only a meter. I do have some other metal ones for building stuff but that would be a bit hard to use.

[tropo]

. Right now i need to find a good tape measure this one is too small.

I thought all standard tape measures were 60 inches in length. You must be pretty big if that is too small to measure your chest.

You are right but the tape measure that i got here is not that size its only a meter. I do have some other metal ones for building stuff but that would be a bit hard to use.

We have tape measures in Pattaya. Would you like me to EMS one up to you for Christmas?

[Tolley]

80cm! That's impressive for a guy your size. My minimum sucked in waist is still around 90cm, and considering my body fat percentage is already single digit, it isn't going to go down any further. That's my shape. The only way I can get a leaner waist is by increasing my chest size to create the illusion.

What's your chest/waist ratio?

I'm still in an adjustment phase after getting back from about 6 weeks of disrupted training. I haven't got a plan in focus yet, but I want to get rid a few injuries and improve my knees before I can focus on muscle building. There's no point continuously pushing through injuries as they only get worse. The break gave me a chance to stand back and reassess my program. I will be very mindful of which exercises are good and which are bad and can the bad ones.

Right now I'm pushing (light) weights 3 times a week and rowing 3 times a week, with one full day off.

I think it is the hip to waist ratio that is probably more important.

Hip to waist ratio in an average man is about 1:1 or near enough . It's only a consideration in females who want the hour glass figure.

Chest to waist ratio is what gives a guy the v-taper. Shoulders to waist ratio is another good one.

I've lost a few inches off the chest, but also lost on the waist more, so I've gained some taper. 35" is about as small as I can get there because I'm pretty solid in the trunk. I think I expanded my mid-section a lot over the last 5 years through heavy back work (squats, dead lifts and rows). I never use a belt.

What i was getting at I suppose is that some people are wider across the hips so being a little big larger in the waist is only natural ....so I am around 90cm hip to hip and similar for waist so more difficult to get that waist figure down i reckon. I was much narrower hip to hip when I was younger and waist size was correspongingly less. Not sure how big across the chest but since I have been training regularly the last few months finding it hard to fit into all my shirts XL western size.

[robblok]

Ok i did my first training session again, ill be back training hard soon. I figure i just need to loose a few more kg to be in the single digits of fat percentage. It will be fun once i reach that, i will be building again then, it will give a nice change.

On a different note i ordered some peptides for weight loss fragment 176-191 to aid me a bit with this. Not sure i need it as it seems weight loss is going easy for me now. But its stuck in customs at the moment waiting to be cleared by the Thai FDA. Fed ex, at it again wish it was send by normal mail. Anyway will see if this works or not. Its a fragment of HGH. I heard some good things about it. I did not order much of it about a month supply maybe longer at lower dose.

Just wanted to test it out, but if it wont comes through ill see.

I do know one thing all that rowing and those other exercises have helped me a lot when i went freediving. Normally i never stayed under more then 1 minute. Now i did a 1 minute 40 at the top and in general 1.15 to 1.30. I will be doing special breathing tables for it a few montsh before my next trip. Its a great sport, and there are some Thai island suited for it. I don't mean to go real deep but more like 12 meters or so and just swim around there. as long as there are rocks.

I found that there are nice spots for it at ko lipe and koh ngai right from the beach off.. Best is of course taking a long tail to nice sports. But did encounter a shark and a turtle just off the beach.

Being in great shape does have its advantages energy wise and power wise.

[tropo]

So what is your resolution then Rob? You want to grow the muscles, or continue to lean up?

It is hard to do both at the same time, but my theory is that when you get to a target bodyfat level and you're held that level for quite awhile, that becomes your body's new "fat point" and maintaining it is not difficult. I've found that despite adding a lot more carbs at times and not being as dedicated with my nutrition has not influened my bodyfat level over the past 2 months. Because I took it off very slowly at less than 1kg per month over the year, my new level feels perfectly normal.

This is in contrast to what a lot of bodybuilders do. They diet very rapidly for contests and then put quite a bit of fat back on during bulking cycles. This type of dieting puts a lot of stress on the body and the fat will pack back on quickly.

Sure, it's easier to put on muscle if you force feed, but is there any point in having more muscle if you cannot see it because it is covered by a thick layer of fat?

Currently I'm experimenting with a new program for me - German Volume Training. This is going to be a way to gain muscle using light weights, thereby allowing me to grow in a very joint friendly way. It feels really good.

Edited December 28, 2012 by tropo

[TexasRanger]

I have recently started doing a weird new routine where I do 100 reps of each exercise, usually 5 sets of 20. obviously I had to drop the weight right down but I am loving it and feel better than I have in ages. Inevitably I will go back to heavy compound exercise but for now I feel fantastic. I am having my first kid this year and quite late in life so my goal is to turn back time so I don't look old. Maybe impossible but you have to try, right? I wanna look like Dave Draper when I'm 60.

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[tropo]

You must be fairly close to 60 then because Dave Draper is 70 and I don't think too many young guys would know him.

Do you want to look like Dave Draper when he was 60, or Dave Draper when he was young?

[TexasRanger]

Nah I'm 43 but ill need the extra 17 years to get close to the bomber

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[tropo]

Yeah, but are you talking about the bomber as he was at age 60, or how he was as a young bodybuilder in his 20's?

He competed when I was not even a teenager. You'd have been a newborn by the time he retired.

[tropo]

I have recently started doing a weird new routine where I do 100 reps of each exercise, usually 5 sets of 20. obviously I had to drop the weight right down but I am loving it and feel better than I have in ages. Inevitably I will go back to heavy compound exercise but for now I feel fantastic. I am having my first kid this year and quite late in life so my goal is to turn back time so I don't look old. Maybe impossible but you have to try, right? I wanna look like Dave Draper when I'm 60.

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I should have mentioned, you're doing something along the lines of what I'm trying, except my program is 10 x 10 reps at 60% of 1RMax on key exercises and 3 - 5 x 10 - 15 on supplementary exercises. I've never tried anything like this before. It is quite intense because I time my rest periods at exactly 60 seconds, except on squats where I rest 90 seconds between sets. The weight stays the same for all 10 sets.

Edited December 28, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

@ tropo, first lean out a bit then ill build muscle but not the traditional way just adding a lil bit more food. I want to stay lean. I don't see the point anymore in getting too much fat on the muscle.

I think i dont need much time to lean out more. So it will be a building year. I have done GVT too it was a nice change.

Back to sleep now

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[Tolley]

I have recently started doing a weird new routine where I do 100 reps of each exercise, usually 5 sets of 20. obviously I had to drop the weight right down but I am loving it and feel better than I have in ages. Inevitably I will go back to heavy compound exercise but for now I feel fantastic. I am having my first kid this year and quite late in life so my goal is to turn back time so I don't look old. Maybe impossible but you have to try, right? I wanna look like Dave Draper when I'm 60.

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I should have mentioned, you're doing something along the lines of what I'm trying, except my program is 10 x 10 reps at 60% of 1RMax on key exercises and 3 - 5 x 10 - 15 on supplementary exercises. I've never tried anything like this before. It is quite intense because I time my rest periods at exactly 60 seconds, except on squats where I rest 90 seconds between sets. The weight stays the same for all 10 sets.

I take 60 seconds rest between reps when i am doing my normal training ie 5 sets of 10 reps at 80 percent max. I have to reduce the weight or lower the reps sometimes as I run out of puff.

I thought this was normal?

More reps at lower weights should produce greater endurance but less strength?

[robblok]

I have 90 seconds on heavy compound exercises 60 on the rest. But 60 seconds is the rule for GVT i believe, on compounds it can be killing especially because you are doing many reps and sets.

Yes more reps at lower weight usually produce greater endurance but less strength. They say 5 reps and lower is for strength and at 5 you build mass too, i personally prefer 5-10 reps with 8 as usual.

[robblok]

My goal is simple.. first shed a few more kgs 2-4 to max i guess. Then im sure to be in the single digits if im not there already. But i don't care too much about the numbers just want my abs even better defined. This should take 1-3 months.. then a month of finding my maintenance food intake, after that increase it with 200 calls a day and start building on a clean diet.

[tropo]

I take 60 seconds rest between reps when i am doing my normal training ie 5 sets of 10 reps at 80 percent max. I have to reduce the weight or lower the reps sometimes as I run out of puff.

I thought this was normal?

More reps at lower weights should produce greater endurance but less strength?

I never rested long even in my old routine and often way less than 60 seconds, but then I was only doing 3 or 4 sets per exercise and the heavier I went the longer I would rest - but that was never to a clock. This new program requires a stop watch and precision timing.

This program focuses only on the big compound exercises. It's easy to do something like curls or other isolation exercises with short rests, but try squats on 90 seconds rest, or bench press, chinups or military presses with 60 seconds rest for 10 sets. You'll find that a challenge at 60% 1RMax. All reps must be done in very strict form too with 4 seconds on the essentric phase.

Edited December 29, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

I take 60 seconds rest between reps when i am doing my normal training ie 5 sets of 10 reps at 80 percent max. I have to reduce the weight or lower the reps sometimes as I run out of puff.

I thought this was normal?

More reps at lower weights should produce greater endurance but less strength?

I never rested long even in my old routine and often way less than 60 seconds, but then I was only doing 3 or 4 sets per exercise and the heavier I went the longer I would rest - but that was never to a clock. This new program requires a stop watch and precision timing.

This program focuses only on the big compound exercises. It's easy to do something like curls or other isolation exercises with short rests, but try squats on 90 seconds rest, or bench press, chinups or military presses with 60 seconds rest for 10 sets. You'll find that a challenge at 60% 1RMax. All reps must be done in very strict form too with 4 seconds on the essentric phase.

I agree, done GVT for a while... its a killer, but i liked the change.

Just finished my second training since my holliday, tomorrow rowing again. I feel great, my wide pull ups went better as ever probably because of the lower weight that i am now. Still not 4 x 8 but 4 x 7 with great form the first 2 1/2 set. Then the form degrades as i near the end of the set. But wow i will get that better too. I feel that wide grip pull ups palms facing away is a major builder of the back (width). anyway seems i got a lot more back now because of my slim waist *LOL*

[Tolley]

I take 60 seconds rest between reps when i am doing my normal training ie 5 sets of 10 reps at 80 percent max. I have to reduce the weight or lower the reps sometimes as I run out of puff.

I thought this was normal?

More reps at lower weights should produce greater endurance but less strength?

I never rested long even in my old routine and often way less than 60 seconds, but then I was only doing 3 or 4 sets per exercise and the heavier I went the longer I would rest - but that was never to a clock. This new program requires a stop watch and precision timing.

This program focuses only on the big compound exercises. It's easy to do something like curls or other isolation exercises with short rests, but try squats on 90 seconds rest, or bench press, chinups or military presses with 60 seconds rest for 10 sets. You'll find that a challenge at 60% 1RMax. All reps must be done in very strict form too with 4 seconds on the essentric phase.

Most people do their reps far too quick and with poor form just so they can put more weight on too impress people.

Today I tried to do the reps as slow as I could on the release. It does make a big difference. Had to lower the weight after a few sets.

[tropo]

Most people do their reps far too quick and with poor form just so they can put more weight on too impress people.

Today I tried to do the reps as slow as I could on the release. It does make a big difference. Had to lower the weight after a few sets.

It certainly does make a difference. You can do many more reps if you bounce and use poor form. I'm looking at 4 sec negative phase and as fast as possible on the positive phase (about 2 sec average). It will get slower as the set progresses. Always a momentary pause at the bottom of a bench press to eliminate the stretch reflex and momentum.

When you don't have to impress anyone you really can do some decent work.

Edited December 29, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

I agree about the impressing part. When i first started working out we were real competitive.

Now i only care a bit about weights and that is mainly on a few exercises. Today while doing pull ups i went for form. It feels better too. But i admit that with flat bench i am a bit weight orientated.

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[tropo]

. But i admit that with flat bench i am a bit weight orientated.

And why is that? Because when anyone wants to know how strong you are they will ask you how much you can bench. They don't ask you how much you can press, curl or squat.

You'll get over it. Sooner or later the shoulder joints will tell you when to cut back. RC injuries are the most common injuries in the gym and they usually come from benching - too much weight, too many sets, too often and usually done with bad form.

Regarding wide-grip chins for back width.... a wide grip shortens the range of motion, puts a lot more stress on the shoulders and elbows and places you in a weaker position. You're far better off with a narrower grip.

My absolute favourite upper back exercise these days is the Life Fitness assisted chinup station. You can concentrate on perfect muscular contraction the whole way through the movement and you have a choice of 4 very good hand positions. It's perfect for 10x10.

Edited December 29, 2012 by tropo

[robblok]

Im doing both wide and narrow grip.

As for benchpress i dont get people asking me. But its the exercise that i always did so its a good gauge of where i stand strength wise at a point in time.

Will show if i might have lost muscle through diet. So it has its uses for me.

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