The get fit, stay fit thread

[Forfinn]

4 hours ago, Spain said:

Haven't posted about myself on here for a good few months but I hit another fairly major milestone today - my main real target at the moment is to hit 15% BF but I'd stagnated around the high 16's low 17's for a while. I took a break and upped my calories to maintenance for a few weeks and then got to it again. Today I've seen myself below 16% for the first time.

So overall that's 16st 10lbs & god knows what BF as I wasn't measuring back then, down to 12st 4lbs and 15.8% BF in around 14 months. Once I get to around the 12st mark and 15% I'm going to try and start a clean bulk. None of it feels like a hardship and I'm quite enjoying it still but I must admit I'm looking forward to that bit. I really enjoy cooking so I'm looking forward to experimenting with some higher calorie but still healthy recipes. I've got a couple of weddings and a festival over the next few weeks though so I don't see much progress happening in August!

I still think you look weird since you lost all that weight.

[mjw]

Had the annual health screening through my work last week, body fat percentage was down to 7.7%.

I had one at work recently.
The nurse weighed me in all my work clothes (boots and all) and then tells me I'm overweight cos BMI said so.

[Al B]

On 26/07/2017 at 08:16, Spain said:

Haven't posted about myself on here for a good few months but I hit another fairly major milestone today - my main real target at the moment is to hit 15% BF but I'd stagnated around the high 16's low 17's for a while. I took a break and upped my calories to maintenance for a few weeks and then got to it again. Today I've seen myself below 16% for the first time.

So overall that's 16st 10lbs & god knows what BF as I wasn't measuring back then, down to 12st 4lbs and 15.8% BF in around 14 months. Once I get to around the 12st mark and 15% I'm going to try and start a clean bulk. None of it feels like a hardship and I'm quite enjoying it still but I must admit I'm looking forward to that bit. I really enjoy cooking so I'm looking forward to experimenting with some higher calorie but still healthy recipes. I've got a couple of weddings and a festival over the next few weeks though so I don't see much progress happening in August!

Just a point to note, especially if you're taking advice from online sources etc, don't get mixed up about what a clean/dirty bulk is. You can clean bulk on pizza and dirty bulk on salad.

Most people assume it refers to clean foods/dirty foods, but it actually refers to how much over maintenance you have your calories. A clean bulk stays within around 500cals of your maintenance and is controlled, where as a dirty bulk is much less regulated. If you're eating chips but sticking around 400cals above maintenance that's still a clean bulk. If you're only eating salad and vegetables, but eating 1500cals above maintenance, that's still a dirty bulk.

[Spain]

On 26/07/2017 at 12:26, bunglebonce said:

Wow, well done.

I was up at 15st 2lb a year ago and goodness knows what body fat %.  I'm now at 13st 10lb and ~21%.  Using the gym's scales to measure the BF and muscle mass etc.

I feel fitter than when I was lighter, and my limbs have toned a lot, but I still have a big belly because I've paid little attention to diet in the last year.  I've only made minor changes and most of the benefit has come from exercise.  I used to play football twice a week but have glass ankles now so have given that up.  A typical week would be:

* Mon - weights
* Tue - body attack class
* Wed - day off
* Thur - body attack class
* Fri - weights
* Sat - treadmill/outside running
* Sun - body pump class + body balance class

I have no qualms about going to the classes and being the stiff idiot in the room full of yummy mummies   I genuinely enjoy the classes, the instructors are good craic and you get to know the regulars.  I react better when being told what to do. 

I shifted the first stone really easily and quickly but I hit a plateau a while ago.  I need to address the diet, eat a lot less pizza and takeaways etc.  The aim is to get to 13st, 17-19%BF and put a bit of muscle on the arms.

I've never really done any classes or anything, but you're certainly getting your money's worth! I don't even have a gym membership or a Highlife card... I think I would if I lived in Inverness but the timetables around here for stuff don't really suit, especially the swimming pool which would be the main thing I'd be interested in.

Instead I converted my garage into a gym - powercage with a pulley station, couple of benches, barbells, E-Z bar, dumbells, kettlebells, a treadmill, a rower and a bike. That way, I've never really got an excuse to give it a miss. I reckon I'm overtraining at the moment but I'm pre-empting the next month being pretty bad for boozing. Currently doing 7 days a week of HIIT cycling during my lunch-break (or just in the morning at the weekends) and 4 days of heavy lifting, normally in the evening. Plan on changing to the stronglifts 5x5 program soon though and only doing HIIT on the days in between.

On 26/07/2017 at 12:39, Forfinn said:

I still think you look weird since you lost all that weight.

You've just only ever known me as a lard-ass. I was thin in my teens, and even fairly thin in my early 20's. Everyone's still adjusting to my brother being the "fat one" in the family now... I take great pleasure in pointing this out to him as he always used to do towards me.

1 hour ago, Al B said:

Just a point to note, especially if you're taking advice from online sources etc, don't get mixed up about what a clean/dirty bulk is. You can clean bulk on pizza and dirty bulk on salad.

Most people assume it refers to clean foods/dirty foods, but it actually refers to how much over maintenance you have your calories. A clean bulk stays within around 500cals of your maintenance and is controlled, where as a dirty bulk is much less regulated. If you're eating chips but sticking around 400cals above maintenance that's still a clean bulk. If you're only eating salad and vegetables, but eating 1500cals above maintenance, that's still a dirty bulk.

Good point to make. I did know this but kinda brushed over it. I'm not going to radically overhaul my diet again though, just eek up the calories and maybe throw in some extra carbs (I love bread and barely have it anymore).

[Jambomo]

I have a question about diet which I am hoping you guys can help me with. At the moment my boyfriend and I have been going to a personal trainer and he's very much of the clean eating mindset, no crap, just nice health veg and protein and carbs after working out which is generally fine.

We are really enjoying the exercise part of it but are a bit shoddy on the eating front and whilst we have managed to change a lot of our diet (i.e main meals are now veg based with lean protein, much fewer takeaways/ready meals etc) we struggle with not eating shite between meals i.e a bar of chocolate in  the afternoon at work or for him, a beer in the evening.

We both have a bit to lose so I wondered how much unhealthy eating habits hinder you in the short term and is the exercise pointless without the diet change as well? I did wonder if we could get used to the exercise and healthy main meals then down the line, once this becomes the new normal, try and cut out the crap or if it doesn't work like that.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Jambomo

[Shandon Par]

5 minutes ago, Jambomo said:

I have a question about diet which I am hoping you guys can help me with. At the moment my boyfriend and I have been going to a personal trainer and he's very much of the clean eating mindset, no crap, just nice health veg and protein and carbs after working out which is generally fine.

We are really enjoying the exercise part of it but are a bit shoddy on the eating front and whilst we have managed to change a lot of our diet (i.e main meals are now veg based with lean protein, much fewer takeaways/ready meals etc) we struggle with not eating shite between meals i.e a bar of chocolate in  the afternoon at work or for him, a beer in the evening.

We both have a bit to lose so I wondered how much unhealthy eating habits hinder you in the short term and is the exercise pointless without the diet change as well? I did wonder if we could get used to the exercise and healthy main meals then down the line, once this becomes the new normal, try and cut out the crap or if it doesn't work like that.

Everyone has their own thoughts but intermittent fasting is the thing I've always found most effective. To lose weight quickly, have just 500 cals (600 for man) two days per week. It's not miserable like a diet and you can feel the good it's doing you. Plenty of books/audiobooks etc on it. I really enjoy exercising on a fast day - especially fast cardio stuff. I find it easier on days when I'm really busy yet others find it easier on days off. 

[Jambomo]

19 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

Everyone has their own thoughts but intermittent fasting is the thing I've always found most effective. To lose weight quickly, have just 500 cals (600 for man) two days per week. It's not miserable like a diet and you can feel the good it's doing you. Plenty of books/audiobooks etc on it. I really enjoy exercising on a fast day - especially fast cardio stuff. I find it easier on days when I'm really busy yet others find it easier on days off. 

Cheers, I'll have a look into it.

[RiG]

On 27/06/2017 at 19:31, Scotty Tunbridge said:

Looking to join one of the 'franchise' gyms in the ml3 area. Does anyone have any experiences good or bad about the following gym brands:-

Xercise4Less
Pure Gym
The Gym Group

I go to the Pure Gyms in Edinburgh (Gorgie and Ocean Terminal and both are pretty good. I prefer the Ocean Terminal one as it's more spaced out and has more equipment and has a larger free weights area for #lifting but it depends on what you are after. The one in Gorgie is still perfectly decent just not as much equipment to use but it's not too busy even at peak times. There should be a 360 tour of the Motherwell one online so have a look at that and you can see what equipment is in there and you can always go in for a look around. One word of warning, you need to pay £5 for a padlock for the lockers at PG as they don't "lock". Save a bit of cash and get one out of B & Q for a fraction of the price.

Obviously a big appeal is the cost which is only about £20 a month and you can sign up for a few classes as well as part of the price. Now I've gotten into it I quite enjoy going again. Neither are as good as my old gym in Aberdeen (Aberdeen Sports Village) but in terms of value for money both are decent gyms, clean and tidy, decent kit, tough but enjoyable classes and being open 24 hours is good as well.

[Boostin' Kev]

2 hours ago, Jambomo said:

I have a question about diet which I am hoping you guys can help me with. At the moment my boyfriend and I have been going to a personal trainer and he's very much of the clean eating mindset, no crap, just nice health veg and protein and carbs after working out which is generally fine.

We are really enjoying the exercise part of it but are a bit shoddy on the eating front and whilst we have managed to change a lot of our diet (i.e main meals are now veg based with lean protein, much fewer takeaways/ready meals etc) we struggle with not eating shite between meals i.e a bar of chocolate in  the afternoon at work or for him, a beer in the evening.

We both have a bit to lose so I wondered how much unhealthy eating habits hinder you in the short term and is the exercise pointless without the diet change as well? I did wonder if we could get used to the exercise and healthy main meals then down the line, once this becomes the new normal, try and cut out the crap or if it doesn't work like that.

Would be interested to see what kind of shape this guy is in and whether he practises what he preaches.  Starting up a new training regime and overhauling diet all at once is a lot to ask for imo.  Keep going with the exercise and chip away (no pun intended) with your diet e.g. gradually cut down the crap whilst introducing good things like green veg.  You'll get there in time and if you're not actually competing for anything there's no rush.  Have a look at high fat/high protein/low carb diets as well, tasty and good for cutting body fat if done the right way.

The idea of dirty/clean bulking/cutting is pretty prehistoric imo. The body isn't a machine and there's smarter ways to manipulate fat loss/lean gain.

[Stellaboz]

When starting off, don't try do everything at once. Introduce something or take something out of your diet first. Then, a week or two later make another change.

I regularly binge on cookies and sweets an evening where I feel a bit down, I honestly wish I had the will power to keep saying no as I'd be in great shape instead of OK shape if I did.

[Jambomo]

Would be interested to see what kind of shape this guy is in and whether he practises what he preaches.  Starting up a new training regime and overhauling diet all at once is a lot to ask for imo.  Keep going with the exercise and chip away (no pun intended) with your diet e.g. gradually cut down the crap whilst introducing good things like green veg.  You'll get there in time and if you're not actually competing for anything there's no rush.  Have a look at high fat/high protein/low carb diets as well, tasty and good for cutting body fat if done the right way.
The idea of dirty/clean bulking/cutting is pretty prehistoric imo. The body isn't a machine and there's smarter ways to manipulate fat loss/lean gain.

He certainly does seem to practice what he preaches and in fairness I've probably made him sound worse than he is! I don't think he is expecting instant change from us but yeah, I get the impression that the things are like are very things I should not be currently liking [emoji20][emoji23]

[L. Brilliant]

Keep going with the exercise and chip away (no pun intended) with your diet e.g. gradually cut down the crap whilst introducing good things like green veg.  You'll get there in time and if you're not actually competing for anything there's no rush.  Have a look at high fat/high protein/low carb diets as well, tasty and good for cutting body fat if done the right way.

I had very pleasing and pretty painless progress going down this route.

Ditch potatoes. They are doing nothing for you.

Peanut butter with no sugar eg meridian, nuts in general, cheese - dive in. Dinnae even count calories.

Half the amount of bread you eat, you won't miss it.

Avoid sugar especially early in the day - what it does to your appetite is arguably worse than the calories.

Vodka soda if you need to booze. It's actually fine with a bit of lemon or lime.

Metafit classes really beast calories off you - recommended.

[die hard doonhamer]

I did my first leg day in a long while yesterday. So much pain today!

[The Chlamydia Kid]

I had very pleasing and pretty painless progress going down this route.

Ditch potatoes. They are doing nothing for you.

Peanut butter with no sugar eg meridian, nuts in general, cheese - dive in. Dinnae even count calories.

Half the amount of bread you eat, you won't miss it.

Avoid sugar especially early in the day - what it does to your appetite is arguably worse than the calories.

Vodka soda if you need to booze. It's actually fine with a bit of lemon or lime.

Metafit classes really beast calories off you - recommended.

Nothing wrong with potatoes. Just depends how you cook them. Far far worse sources of carbs. White mashed potato could be good post work out and sweet potato is very low GI.

[L. Brilliant]

Agree about sweet potatoes but i prefer to leave white ones alones. I'm not a nutritionist but i lost weight with relative ease.

[Honest_Man#1]

Signed up to run a half marathon so will need to start doing some running as I've never even attempted a 5k. Only thing is I feel it'll be a struggle to keep up with my usual gym routine now. Anyone got any advice/tips?

[Stellaboz]

Make time to run more. You'll fucking break yourself if you try a half without even doing some 5ks as training.

[Honest_Man#1]

6 minutes ago, Stellaboz said:

Make time to run more. You'll fucking break yourself if you try a half without even doing some 5ks as training.

Yeah I'm basically thinking for the next two months I'll ditch weights etc and focus on running. But worried I'll go back to being stick thin though.

[Stellaboz]

Pish. Do weights one day, then running the other and once a week do a longer run than normal (minimum).

[Guest bernardblack]

Signed up to run a half marathon so will need to start doing some running as I've never even attempted a 5k. Only thing is I feel it'll be a struggle to keep up with my usual gym routine now. Anyone got any advice/tips?

Two month training plan is ideal for a half marathon tbh. It's crazy the development from how you may struggle to do a 5k but will quickly be up doing 10k.

I like to have a full week rest beforehand and have a 15k under my belt by then, but that's just me.

Good luck