Jack VK2CJC / MM0AXL wrote:
> Thanks to everyone who has replied.
You're welcome.
> I have not been counting the percentage of groups in my diet, just
> estimating that its a good 1:1:1 balance. I may start calculating exact %s
> as I get more "into" it.
To make it easier you can use a software program
or an online service like Fitday. I have a copy
of a diet and exercise journaling program in my
online briefcase; you're welcome to download it
if you'd like. There's also a metabolic typing
test that can help newbies discover what macronutrient
ratio might work best or at least as a place to start.
Here's the link:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/kd6tas
> I was always told I could not lose fat weight and do any good work
> muscle-wise at the same time. So decided to do one then the other.
That's a myth left over from the days when overtraining
was the norm. Some believed that overtraining wasn't
possible--only undereating. Using that philosophy,
long training sessions and dieting were incompatible.
And in any case, at the very least, muscle can be spared
by weight training while dieting--especially when
compared to the common yet misguided formula of dieting
and excessive aerobic work.
> I realise that nobody can predict muscle weight gain, but I've been working
> out for 2 weeks and gained 4lbs. That seems a lot to me.
You upped your calories significantly as well.
You may be experiencing an increase in stored
water and glycogen. If that's the case, it
will, or has already, tapered off. Based on
your stated level of activity, my original
estimate of your caloric need may have been
too low. Give it another 2 weeks and then
adjust as desired. By then you can be assured
that your water balance has stabilized. And
while we're on the subject of water, you may
want to record how much water (aka calorie-free
beverages) you consume each day and keep it
consistent. For example, I drink one gallon
of filtered water consistently each day.
Another thing that you may or may not know
is that ones dietary carbohydrate percentage
significantly effects bodyweight through water
and glycogen balance. Decrease carbs and
bodyweight decreases due to a loss of stored
water and glycogen. The reverse is true as
well. Also, water consumption itself effects
water balance and in turn bodyweight. The
more water you consume consistently the less
water is stored. These are some good reasons
to keep a record of macronutrient percentages
and water intake. That data gives you a better
feel for short term bodyweight variations.
And as a personal preference I prefer to weigh
myself daily rather than weekly. I used to
believe in weekly weighings, but now I prefer
having more data as I feel that it improves
my ability to make worthwhile adjustments.
> Appreciate the point on rest. I walk and cycle every day. But I'm taking it
> easier lately. Only using the bicycle as transport rather than excersise.
That's good. Steroids and growth hormone improve
gains by decreasing recovery time and increasing
aggressiveness. Without them you have to keep
a closer eye on the rest of your life if you expect
to make any sort of progress. Training has to be
efficient so as to not overtax your ability to
recover, diet has to be nutritious and not lacking
in protein, sleep has to be restful and plentiful,
and extra activity has to be minimized as it tends
to slow recovery. Those are undeniable basics, or
ducks, of bodybuilding. Many trainees make little
or no progress and it's because they don't have
those basic ducks in a row. Another analogy is a
seesaw or teeter-totter. On one side is your
recovery ability, and on the other is everything
that taxes your recovery ability (your life).
On the recovery side are time, sleep, diet and
drugs. On the other side is everything else: work,
weight training, aerobic activity, and social life.
Your job is to balance the two sides. Too much
emphasis on recovery and you won't progress as
fast (but you will progress). To much of everything
else and your progress will eventually grind to
a halt as you continually short-change the recovery
process and never allow your body to over-compensate
(get a little stronger and bigger than you were before).
> But my weight training is all concentrating on upper body, as I dont want to
> do high impact training to my leg which has a steel plate in it. And due to
> cycling, they are already quite muscular. I want my chest and abs to catch
> up 
) So my upper body is getting 72 hours between work outs.
Currently my training is somewhat similar as my
legs are out of proportion with my upper body.
I train 3 days a week and alternate between
pushing (chest, shoulders, triceps) and pulling
(back, biceps) workouts. So, over the span of
2 weeks each body part is worked 4 times. If
I added leg work to that, I'd have to cut the
upper body work in half in order to recover.
Some might say that leg work is required for
overall growth. I used to believe that, but
am not so sure anymore. My current philosophy
goes more toward number of intense, efficient
workouts versus recovery ability. In other
words, I see recovery ability as something of
a constant in that there's a limit to how much
weight training one can recover from consistently.
With that understanding the idea is to focus
the limited amount of training that can be done
on the areas that need it most (when there's an
imbalance).
One note on this is that as part of my back work
I still do heavy deadlifts which significantly
involve the legs. Even though I've lost faith
in the idea that leg work is required for upper
body growth, I still believe in heavy, multi-joint
(aka compound) movements like the powerlifts when
the goals are strength and size.
> Is 2lbs a week to much to gain as a beginner?
Without knowing the composition of that weight
it's hard to say. That's what makes the bodyweight
scale such a confusing tool. You're obviously
concerned about it--I would be too. Again, give
it a couple more weeks and see if it levels out.
If not, make a dietary adjustment. And in the
meantime seriously consider increasing your
journaling to include macronutrient percentages
and water. The more data you collect the better
you'll become at making adjustments and knowing
the specifics of what works best in your particular
case.
--
> cheers all
> Jack
>
>
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