My week one photos

Just thought that I would post some of my week one photos. Sorry about having to mask my face but I don’t want my girlfriend finding out and taking the mic. As you can see I am carrying a bit of weight around the gut, this is mainly due to the booze. I am more concerned with gaining muscle but I don’t want to gain any more bodyfat so I am going to be careful not to overeat or booze. My thoughts on protein powder at the mo are good. The last few days I did not feel like the eating the eggs so I have had protein powder throughout the day seems to be going ok. I put a shirt on Saturday that I had not worn for a while and found that the arms were really tight which is great news. So far it seems to be going OK. Training each body part only once per week seems to be the thing to do. What I find by training this way is that the next time I come to train I actually am stronger, the muscle seems to be fully repaired so all this logic seems to be working.

Here is a very important training fact for all those who impatient. Muscle breakdown while training happens at a microscopic level. This means that the repair also happens at a microscopic level. You can kind of see the time that needs to pass in repeating g this process to make any kind of significant gain. But I have got my head around this fact and before training I take a moment to remember that this workout has to be better than the last. I may even print something out or right something on the wall to remind me.

But could you imagine doing all this and then the protein powder being a waste of time, surely this stuff works. All I want to do at the moment is grow and find out what actually works so I don’t have to waste my time in the future.

Of course the other big question and this is one that I must find the answer to is how long does it take for muscle to repair so I can hit it again.

I am also looking to try a few different brands of protein powder to find one that I really like.

Have a good weekend.

Microscopic changes- muscle breakdown on a microscopic level not megascopic

Here is something for all natural bodybuilders to get to grip with. Muscle breakdown occurs on a microscopic level. I take it from that that the repair is also on a microscopic level. This is quite a comforting thought when you realize that your arms aren’t growing an inch per month and you wonder why. There must be some serious work put in to get an inch of solid muscle on your arms, perhaps two or three years worth. So if you are not seeing massive results in gains don’t worry you are only normal and not one of these hard gainers. The truth seems to be that gains are hard if you are training naturally. It is easy to see why so many people have turned to steroids over the years; they may get six years results in one year.

The risk is just not worth it. I am seeing some gains with this little training idea I have. I ill also post some more pictures this week for week one.

 

Boozy Weekend

Had a family party this weekend! Plenty of protein powder and a good chest workout on the Sunday! This notion of bettering the last workout seems to be sticking in my mind and is almost becoming second nature. I am recording the weight or rep that I need to beat and I am using small increments in weight or reps. I am also seeing definite signs of improvement in terms of muscle gains and will take a few measurements this coming Thursday. Body fat seems to be the same the readings are staying the same but total body weight is rising. In two weeks time I will take an official reading This will give me a good indication as to whether I am really gaining muscle or not.

I have also bee doing some reading on protein powders and how they are made, which I would like to discuss in a later post. This has led me to looking at the quality and value of some protein powders ……………. If they even work!

There seem to be an enormous rage of producers and suppliers of bodybuilding supplements and protein powders in the UK and for that matter all over the world. But there are technical quotes and claims about products that I will be looking at. If protein powder is successful for me I will be looking for the best value one. There are many to choose from and this program I am undertaking will be going on for at least two years I think.

Here is what I am looking for in order should protein powder actually work. ( should it not I will be looking at natural foods only )

• Value
• Quality
• Delivery
• Customer Service
• Taste

Ta ta for now, Biceps tonight

Protein Powder: Bicep measurement

Got to say as stated yesterday I put the tape on the old bicep and found they were 15 and 1/4 inch, smaller than I thought but I do appear to be carrying less body fat so all is not lost. The eating I am finding very difficult, 160 grams of protein in mainly natural food is a heck of a lot for me to eat but carrying on.

Found an interesting fact about biceps peak for anyone interested. Your bicep connects to your arm bone by the elbow. The nearer it joins to the elbow the lower your peak will be. My biceps are long but not high, can this be changed?

also have found that yet again i was using the skinfold callipers wrong ( was looking at about 13% bodyfat not 14%). this has made quite a bit of difference to the lean body mass reading. I will amend this soon.

Protein powder: Any signs of gains yet?

Well I have got to say I feel more solid. I don’t think that my bodyfat has reduced but I do feel fairly strong. I am not expecting big gains. Natural muscle gaining is a very slow process it seems and this is something that stands for just about all people. I would expect some gain in lean body mass but probably a marginal say about quarter to half pound maybe. I am still on 160 grams of protein powder per day, an almost impossible amount for me to eat as natural food. Here is a picture of my bicep pretty small as they go and could do with a nice peak but a lot more size would be nice. I did read that that about ten pounds of overall lean body mass gain will give the average man quarter of an inch on the arms. I will measure my arms tonight to see if this little theory is true... just for the record. I also think that I have the skinfold caliper measuring nailed now. Tomorrow I will take another reading and weigh myself, this should give me a base from which to work from, I do feel my body has gone through a bit of an adjustment over the past few weeks and may have settled now, but if I have gained then maybe I should just give myself the credit. Shoulders tonight and I have to admit mine are pretty weak, so going hard.

Does protein powder work? Factoid

Fact!

" If you do not increase the weight or get the extra rep from the last time you did the exercise your muscles will not grow"

Something worth remembering