[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
[quote]renatus wrote:
Current bodyweight is 163 pounds, I lost some weight (2 pounds) because of stress regarding moving house for work.[/quote]
So, zero weight gain in six weeks, if not longer. That’s entirely nutrition-related. It’s good that you’ve regained what you lost, but dial in and be consistent seven days a week with quality protein and ample calories to move the scale.
I wouldn’t overfocus on losing two pounds. That’s within normal daily fluctuation. I can go up or down two or three pounds from breakfast to bedtime based on what I eat or how much/little i’m moving during the day. Week to week trending is more important.
Glad to hear. (P.S. - PMs don’t work on the site, so I didn’t get whatever you sent. Don’t sweat it though.)
That’s a start, but specific goals get reached, vague goals remain ideas.
In your “five month progress” thread, you said you’ve gained minimal fat with the 20 pounds so far so, like I said then, you should be in a fine place to really push the calories. As long as you’re lifting hard consistently, and exercise common sense (no ice cream buffets four days a week), results should get going.
You’ve got a just-about-bodyweight bench, more than 1.5BW squat, and almost 2xBW deadlift, so I’d say a base level of strength is in place and that’ll carryover in whatever direction you go. Almost any program should be fine.
If your schedule is still a little hectic with moving and starting a new job, training 3 or 4 days a week will be fine. There are plenty of solid programs that fit the bill. 5/3/1 being just one of them. The Boring But Big challenge might be worth considering, taking a straight 3 months to really push for some size while keeping the heavy lifting at the core of the training.
But, again, it all comes back to food. If you don’t deliver the calories, you’ll stay going in circles. Check this for some ideas:
[/quote]
Been reading those articles and particularly the one on food and wow… this quote surprised me a bit:
“Finally, recurring muscle soreness has a calorie cost itself. Did you know muscle soreness on a whole-body level carries an element of hypermetabolism not totally unlike some injuries and even minor surgeries? Big eating can lead to big lifts and thus big soreness. It’s yet another calorie drain that the magic formulas don’t account for.”