I've been following your blog for a while and really enjoy your writing. You're one of the few people that don't try and overcomplicate everything.
Anyway, I notice you track your workouts on here and thought I would offer you a link to Fitocracy. It's a online log that has points, levels, quests, achievements, and a large social component. It's got features for making graphs and it tracks PRs.
There are several well known athletes on it and the devs are making an effort to get more involved.
I've been using it for a while and I've found it enjoyable as well as motivating on days I feel lazy.
I remember you said before that you enjoyed gaming so I reckon you would like it. Moreover it will almost definitely bring some more traffic to your site. If you do join the devs will most likely announce that you're on it.
I know of fitocracy. I log my stuff here so everyone that follows my blog can see what I'm doing here. You know, to promote my training ideologies at my blog?
I was wondering if you could help provide me with a link to an article you have written on weight loss at some point. Like a beginners basic guide to weight loss and losing fat or something like that?
Ive got a mate asking me about it and it would help if I could have a link to send him with the relevant facts and info. He is looking to lose around a stone in a 3 month period.
As an added he is going to be doing a lot of cycling, really long bike rides. I was unsure to tell him what kind of amounts to eat on those days where he does a ride. For example if he burns 2000 calories on a ride would he basically be able to eat whatever the hell he wanted that day? Or is that poor advice?
Hey, Paul, just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I finished the conditioning phase of the Ultimate Beastdom/WCS program. Made great progess on all the conditioning drills, didn't miss on any of my lifts in the gym, and even set a chin-up PR. Looking forward to starting the Rep phase. Full write up of my results and impressions from the cycle, and also an idea of using it as a 531 template here: http://ontheapron.blogspot.com/2012/04/ub-conditioning-review.html
I would say probably, ha. One of the deals I made with myself when I started lifting last year was that I was not going to obsess about the mirror. All my previous forays into lifting had been about that, and I could never motivate myself to keep at it that way. What I can say pretty confidently, is that a few days every week I think I looked leaner, but that's the most I can offer. I did experiment with only having two food meals a day, and 2-3 shakes as part of this, so that may have contributed. I totally forgot to put this in my write-up, but something else I did that you inspired, was experiment with bringing a small muscle-group up on this phase. I chose biceps because I never do anything for them, and wanted to start doing curls to keep my elbow balanced. I did 4 high-rep sets of a curl variation on both lifting days, and I definitely have bigger biceps now than when I started. How's that for a body composition change!
Paul - I have a question about training frequency. My best lifts are 425 squat, 325 bench, 470 deadlift. This was a couple years ago. I am ramping up again now, as I was away from it for quite a awhile. I am probably 70-80% of this right now. Am I best served to train each lift multiple times per week at my level? I am currently training using the raw SQ/BP/DL templates that you posted awhile ago. I dedicate Monday to squats, Weds to Bench and Friday for Pulling. I want to make sure I am not missing out on anything by only training each lift 1x per week.
Don't rush anything. Just keep the big picture in mind. If you plan on keeping yourself dedicated this time around, don't worry about the destination. Enjoy the training journey and be mindful of learning valuable lessons along the way.
In other words, be consistent, train hard as fuck, and the chips will eventually fall into the right places.
Hey Paul, on those 6x10 with the curls and kickbacks, how long are you resting between sets? I ask because when I only rest 1 min, I cant even get to the third set without my reps dropping every set.
I guess I just dont understand how you can make progress on leaving 2-3 reps in the tank on every set. Does the volume work for size? Would I still get gains from doing just 2-3 sets close to failure and try to add reps or weight to the bar? Thanks! Nick
I pretty much don't rest. It's non stop for the most part the whole time.
I don't really think about progressing in weight for this small stuff. I just pick a light weight and go to work. The volume and frequency take care of that stuff.
Do you think younger guys should worry about progression on this? For guys who have been in the game for less then 5 years, there needs to be progress at some level. Do you think that should be from cycle to cycle, week to week, or even year to year?
No I think that younger guys should be far more focused on developing great technique until that is second nature. Because without it, you limit your ceiling severely.
I've been following your blog for a while and really enjoy your writing. You're one of the few people that don't try and overcomplicate everything.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I notice you track your workouts on here and thought I would offer you a link to Fitocracy. It's a online log that has points, levels, quests, achievements, and a large social component. It's got features for making graphs and it tracks PRs.
There are several well known athletes on it and the devs are making an effort to get more involved.
I've been using it for a while and I've found it enjoyable as well as motivating on days I feel lazy.
I remember you said before that you enjoyed gaming so I reckon you would like it. Moreover it will almost definitely bring some more traffic to your site. If you do join the devs will most likely announce that you're on it.
http://ftcy.co/shjPEN
I know of fitocracy. I log my stuff here so everyone that follows my blog can see what I'm doing here. You know, to promote my training ideologies at my blog?
DeleteShould make sense.
Hi Paul
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you could help provide me with a link to an article you have written on weight loss at some point. Like a beginners basic guide to weight loss and losing fat or something like that?
Ive got a mate asking me about it and it would help if I could have a link to send him with the relevant facts and info. He is looking to lose around a stone in a 3 month period.
As an added he is going to be doing a lot of cycling, really long bike rides. I was unsure to tell him what kind of amounts to eat on those days where he does a ride. For example if he burns 2000 calories on a ride would he basically be able to eat whatever the hell he wanted that day? Or is that poor advice?
Thanks in advance
J_C - Basic weight loss just comes back to cleaning up your diet and monitoring your caloric intake.
DeleteCut out all processed foods and sugars.
If it's not the following.......
lean meat (chicken, fish, turkey, lean red meat)
veggies
fruits
nuts
.....don't eat it. It's really that simple.
Eat 4-5 solid meals/snacks a day and do work. It's not any more complicated than that.
Thanks Paul, just keep it dead simple got ya.
ReplyDeleteHey, Paul, just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I finished the conditioning phase of the Ultimate Beastdom/WCS program. Made great progess on all the conditioning drills, didn't miss on any of my lifts in the gym, and even set a chin-up PR. Looking forward to starting the Rep phase. Full write up of my results and impressions from the cycle, and also an idea of using it as a 531 template here:
ReplyDeletehttp://ontheapron.blogspot.com/2012/04/ub-conditioning-review.html
Great write up! And awesome fucking progress.
DeleteMy question would be did you notice any body composition changes?
I would say probably, ha. One of the deals I made with myself when I started lifting last year was that I was not going to obsess about the mirror. All my previous forays into lifting had been about that, and I could never motivate myself to keep at it that way. What I can say pretty confidently, is that a few days every week I think I looked leaner, but that's the most I can offer. I did experiment with only having two food meals a day, and 2-3 shakes as part of this, so that may have contributed.
DeleteI totally forgot to put this in my write-up, but something else I did that you inspired, was experiment with bringing a small muscle-group up on this phase. I chose biceps because I never do anything for them, and wanted to start doing curls to keep my elbow balanced. I did 4 high-rep sets of a curl variation on both lifting days, and I definitely have bigger biceps now than when I started. How's that for a body composition change!
You took care of a lot of things during this block. Seems like it was highly productive for you in many ways.
DeleteAnd all in 6 weeks......
Paul - I have a question about training frequency. My best lifts are 425 squat, 325 bench, 470 deadlift. This was a couple years ago. I am ramping up again now, as I was away from it for quite a awhile. I am probably 70-80% of this right now. Am I best served to train each lift multiple times per week at my level? I am currently training using the raw SQ/BP/DL templates that you posted awhile ago. I dedicate Monday to squats, Weds to Bench and Friday for Pulling. I want to make sure I am not missing out on anything by only training each lift 1x per week.
ReplyDeleteCan't go wrong with the squat, bench, dead split.
DeleteDon't rush anything. Just keep the big picture in mind. If you plan on keeping yourself dedicated this time around, don't worry about the destination. Enjoy the training journey and be mindful of learning valuable lessons along the way.
In other words, be consistent, train hard as fuck, and the chips will eventually fall into the right places.
Hey Paul, on those 6x10 with the curls and kickbacks, how long are you resting between sets? I ask because when I only rest 1 min, I cant even get to the third set without my reps dropping every set.
ReplyDeleteI guess I just dont understand how you can make progress on leaving 2-3 reps in the tank on every set. Does the volume work for size? Would I still get gains from doing just 2-3 sets close to failure and try to add reps or weight to the bar? Thanks! Nick
I pretty much don't rest. It's non stop for the most part the whole time.
DeleteI don't really think about progressing in weight for this small stuff. I just pick a light weight and go to work. The volume and frequency take care of that stuff.
Do you think younger guys should worry about progression on this? For guys who have been in the game for less then 5 years, there needs to be progress at some level. Do you think that should be from cycle to cycle, week to week, or even year to year?
DeleteNo I think that younger guys should be far more focused on developing great technique until that is second nature. Because without it, you limit your ceiling severely.
Delete