Four months of training

**chump1979** · 27-04-2011 07:53 PM

Hi All,

Been following this forum for sometime rarely posting. I started (properly) training in Jan. I'm 6ft 3 and aged 32. I was around 96kg so a bit over weight. Could barely do 3 chin ups and out of shape. I had a belly and felt like crap. Ate a terrible diet. Didn't exercise at all except my job which is pretty active. This was the only thing stopping me from getting seriously over weight as all i ate was crap.

I invested in a Power Rack, a proper bench and olympic weight set. I have been gradually adapting my diet and now eat clean. However I've since realised why my training is stalling. I'm under eating. Seems that with my job and the training i do (3-4 weight sessions a week) means i should be eating about 3600 cals a day just for maintenance. I'm lucky to get in 3200 and struggle to eat this. So i'm gruadually trying to up my cals.

Anyway I'm now 90kg. I know that I'm a LOT stronger as I'm now Squatting 95kg (3 sets at 8 reps) fairly easily. When i started i could barely do half this. All other exercises have, for the most part, doubled in weight with the same amount of reps and sets as when i started.

I always workout to failure on every exercise (on the 3rd set) to try for progression.

The most important thing i've learnt is to drink LOADS of water. At first i thought it was all a load of rubbish drinking 3-4 litres a day. Then i re-read it and still thought it was rubbish. Then re-read and re-read and after a while gave it a chance. It really is the difference between a good pumped session or feeling light headed and weak.

I've had my body fat calculated at roughly 10-11% which i'm happy with. I'm pretty happy with my progress in only 4 months.

My next goals are to eat more and put on more lean mass over the next few months. After 6 months move from a total body workout which i'm doing 3-4 times a week to a split.

Would appreciate any advice where you think i can improve. I know i'm not exactly Mr Universe but I know that this game takes time and patience which I'm willing to give

Oh and apologies for the 'posing'. I really don't do 'posing'

**MoonBoots89** · 28-04-2011 08:14 PM

Looking strong! Its fantastic that you've doubled your lifts in such a short time frame. Biceps and shoulders are looking very impressive but legs may be a little behind...if you keep up your progress on the squats then they are bound to catch up though.

Great stuff.

**g00ber** · 28-04-2011 09:34 PM

looking thick and strong, keep up the good work

**chump1979** · 29-04-2011 11:25 AM

re: legs - i think the problem is that i've been losing weight pretty steadily whilst doing the weights. So in fact while i may have actually put on some lean muscle - i'd suggest that mainly i've just lost a lot of fat and merely tone up existing muscle. So with me upping my calories i should now be able to start to gradually put on lean weight. I'm going to take it slowly making sure that i'm not putting on more than 1lb a week and see how things go. Hopefully then my legs should get a bigger and there rest of me should 'volume up' at the same time. Even if i only puy on say 2lb of lean mass per month i'll be happy

Thanks for the comments so far.

**chump1979** · 23-06-2011 08:33 PM

just a quick update. i've been consistently eating a minimum of 4000 cals a day now and have managed to put weight on. I'm up 2kg to 92kg. I think that 80% of it is muscle and inevitably a little fat. I feel much stronger again. EVERY session i'm adding weight to my squat. Last update i was doing 95kg 8 reps x 3. I'm now up to 115kg 8 reps x 3 and to be honest this is EASY. I add 2.5kg every session. Dont want to add too much - gradually build up.

All my other exercises are still building. I've added weight to every single exercise since my last update - some quite substantially.

So i think i'm doing something right. I feel a lot 'thicker' (not in the mental sense!

) now. My arms are bigger but my chest is my biggest improvement. It is starting to looked pumped up. In my last pics it is almost flat. My legs are also improving albeit at a slower rate.

I'll not bother posting pics until after 6 months as then i hope it will be easier to see any improvements.

But i'm sticking with it - loving training - and loving trying to max out on every exercise each time

**Waterfield** · 13-07-2011 05:24 PM

Good job mate!

Have you fixed your bench press? Your shoulders are/were bigger than your chest which means you could be pressing slightly too high.

**chump1979** · 13-07-2011 06:13 PM

hi - since i've been eating more i have put extra mass on my chest yeah. legs getting bigger as are arms. Its all steady progress which i'm happy with

i've been concentrating on making sure my form is 100% correct and that i get the most out of every rep. As i said last month i'm adding weight to most exercises almost every session which to me says i must be doing something right. i'm getting stronger and stronger. I'm not as defined (not saying i was defined as such - just in comparison to what i am now!! lol) as my original pics above as i have inevitably added some fat despite being careful. but i fully expect this as part of my bulking cycle so am not put off by it at all.

i dont deal in 1RM at all so have no idea what i could lift but at a glance i'm currently doing

Bench Press 75kg x 8 reps - 3 sets

Over Head Press 50kg x 8 reps - 3 sets

Squat 120kg x 8 reps - 3 sets

Bicep Curls 22.5kg (per arm using dumbell) x 8 reps - 3 sets

Barbell Rows 70kg x 8 reps - 3 sets

to list a few....are these figures reasonable? I've been training now for around 7 months.

Thanks

**MissVanda** · 15-07-2011 09:16 PM

Legs, legs, legs, legs, legs. That is all!

**chump1979** · 04-09-2011 04:13 PM

as of this morning im up to 96kg. So thats 6kg in just over 4 months (13lbs). I dont know what to make of it really.

I'm way stronger than 4 months ago. For instance in my first post i was squatting 95kg at the end of April (8 reps x 3). Today i'm on 140kg (8 reps x 3) and also squatting to parallel which i wasnt doing. I am definitely bigger and feel bigger but not at all fat. Tshirts and shirts that used to hang off me are getting tight. One short sleeve shirt that i wore a week ago was nearly splitting on the arms it was so tight. I guess with my low self esteem it is difficult to keep a positive and balanced outlook on my progress.

I also know that it isnt possible to put on that much lean mass in such a short space of time so im resigned to the fact that i will have put on fat too.

However as was my original plan I want to continue to bulk right through the winter and then in around March/April start to lean out a bit. Would love to hit over 100kg and still feel slim. I think i have it in me.

Thanks for reading