Convinced by now with the Training, Nutrition , Rest - Trinity... all of which have to come in at the right amount for the whole equation to work/ be optimized. While not counting grams or calories to 3 decimal places, I do have a pretty good grasp of what goes in and out in terms of food, making things work out more or less.
As for training, combining it with a self-imposed minimalist style in terms of equipment-- I still have not gone to any gym. That means no insane amount of weights lying around, which would be hard to work with without a spotter anyway.
But what's gleaned from all the reading and videos online is the importance of intensity -- and yes all the rapid gains of these few months I would say is due to intensity training- Drop-sets and any sets, with weights or body-weight exercises by working to failure each time or as much as possible. Recalling from the past when young, could see now all the mistakes I made back then. Age may not be on my side but experience and maturity certainly has a decided advantage re-picking up higher resistance training once again- in knowing and preparing oneself on what to do.
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| Just these, the floor... and my teak daybed armrest for movements needing a raise or incline |
The muscle mass gain from Apr- Jun is more or less slowing (would be surprised if arms start filling up my shirt sleeves further at the same rate as the last 2 months) but from Jun to Jul the noticeable thing now is strength gain.
Early Jul, was still only managing ~4-5 pull ups in the first fresh set of each day. By 24-27th Jul it was consecutively breaking all the intermediate goals in my daily pull up session... first double digit set pulls in the first set, then followed by a "20 in 2" sets and "25 in 3"...
Today I'm ready to move on to the next target of 15 clean pulls in 1 set and aimed another new daily exercise of 10 before each major meal every day. Theoretically apart from the usual pull up training -- I would have to add at least another 20 more per day for breakfast and lunch...
While the normal pull up training can count as the one before dinner which is my usual workout timing. But this means on rest days with no training I will still have 30 pullups to do...
One month ago I would never even have thought up such routines or thought it's possible without another 3-4 months of gradual increase. Yet... once past the "sticking" point... all it took was less than 4 weeks to set new heights every week or so.
Diamond pushups to failure immediately after bench press dropsets in Jun/ early Jul was still around 11-14. By now its all standardized to 20. Failure usually comes around 22 while...
...Dumbbell bench press-- have consistently moved up to 53lb per side with up to 12 reps and multiple set in the last session. Later today, will try to repeat the multiple 53lb weight but move from flat to incline bench presses... Back in Jun it was still just one set of 53lb and I was struggling to finish 8 reps sometimes...
Random dip sets in office then was ~15 reps... now in office or with the dip bar set up again at home are all 20 or more each time...
Added weight vest this month but haven't really utilized much. However, the few sessions of pullups. dips and runs with it can definitely feel the impact of just 5kg more...
Just too many things to train each day but will continue to focus on pullups, dips and pushups daily while working in more core work.
Much that is going through my mind are addressed in this video
and a user comment below summarizing it
1. Over training 2
2. Under training
3. Balance 1 & 2
4. Exer-phobia (avoid hard exercises)
5. Nutrition (empty eating)
6. Under Eating
7. Rest -- added by me
In my own journey since re-starting this bout of resistance training in Apr:
1. Over training -- this is not an issue. I learn to listen to the body and taking a rest when necessary. No fixed and hard rule like train 6 days, rest 1 day etc. But looking back at my Jul log I have 6 days out of 28 which works out to an average of 5.5 days per week of training. The only problem is that everything looks rather random... still working out on a more organized program but I'm thinking that may not actually be the best kind of training routine for me. More to observe and mull...
2. Under training... Given the kind of gains so far, I don't think its an issue. But yes for some body parts and exercises I'm starting to run out of weights to push harder and or should start getting in more exercises-- eg like bench press which I have no access to now if I don't go to a gym. Also with so many body parts to train, some are lacking over others. Maybe its time to reduce the timing dedicated to chest and triceps and focus more on biceps and traps...
3. Balance 1 & 2 .. This I reckon is now at a pretty balanced point for me apart from what's mentioned in 2. Also resistance training is not just weights but calisthenics and other body weight exercises which I feel is developing more (explosive) strength than just weights alone can achieve.
4. Exer-phobia (avoid hard exercises) ...This was and I guess is still a little problem. I don't intentionally avoid hard exercises but maybe the mind simply gives some a slip as I am exploring so many different ones these days.. and certain ones even if I'm doing them, is always at the back of my mind. Eg Planking Rows... because I know how hard it is on the cores while working the back muscles this way... having to psyche myself up each time before a back workout session and there is always a sense of hesitation and reluctance each time before getting ready to blast it off.
5. Nutrition (empty eating) ...circumnavigating away from this this has to be my forte now and thanks to the wife's cooking and also her looking into all the nutritional factors/ proportions in each of our meal. Yes its important to eat the right amount and the right things-- otherwise all the training is for nought. Calories is not everything. Consider where the calories come from from each major food group, carbohydrates, proteins and fats in each and every meal. A certain amount of healthy fat is really crucial to gain lean muscle mass while trying to cut off the deposited fats in the body.
6. Under Eating... this can sometimes happen. But by and large that is where the supplementation with protein powder, BCAA and creatine comes in handy. Of course there is a whole ton of other supplements out there but I learn to live with the simplest and needed ones. Like everything else these days there is an information overload which sometimes can kill your decisions to select the right/ effective ones. For eg given the amount of fruits and vege we eat and the addition in protein and BCAA powders-- there is just no need for me to take additional Vit B complexes or even Vit C... Albeit soluble but you can actually have too much of a good thing, esp Vit Bs. But a word on supplements is that ypu already need to have a good nutrition plan.. not necessarily a 100% but at least one that has been planned with knowledge and been consistent. Because as the word supplement means.. they supplement. If the main meals is junk or something that doesnt pan out to be good... all the supplement is just going to waste.
7. Rest... I used to be one of those that goes with insufficient sleep since young... but apart from eating well, must say that this time around I realize the importance and the effect of being well rest that helps recovery and muscle growth observable in very significant ways in the short span of these few months. My average sleep time these days is 7 hours as compared to the 4-5 hours when younger. The apparent difference now on occasional days when I only get 4-5 hours of sleep is very telling. But what's most important is that as the training now is all natural and drug free-- it is all the more important to have sufficient rest as the body takes longer to recover AND GROW together with the proper nutrient input on a constant basis.