Many thanks







thanks once again







Its possible to make gains naturally - steroids will not get you big unless you dedicate yourself to training and diet. Muscle is made out of huge amounts of protein in response to hardcore training. Don't train and don't eat, and all the steroids in the world won't do anything! They just accelerate whats already there.



The dedication I show/showed is the important bit!







I would combine some high weight, low rep sets with a couple of low weight high rep sets with that body type. Hit the fast twitch muscle to gain strength but also give your metabolic rate a good kick with the higher rep sets variation is key ! If your not training like i did purely for strength or purely for mass, then you want to vary it!







bodybuilding.com if your from the USA. Buy ON 100% (optimum nutrition) gold standard whey. much cheaper and tastier than anything from a supermarket.















I work in IT too. 10 hours a day on my arse.







read what I said above - steroids are not magic pills, hard work and food is still very much required!







I trained through tonsilitis, 102 degree temperatures, my exams, through the rain, the snow, depression, instead of going clubbing, missing out on many things to train. I was obsessed! Now i train less, but dedicated was required and i achieved some great things, i dont regret a day.



I gave up all TV watching.







This is a generalisation. The majority of the steroid users I have come across are more dedicated than I even at my height. They are intelligent, scientifically educated men who wouldn't miss a training session for anything in the world. They are people who are willing to risk everything for achievement in bodybuilding. Of course, there are a few who go against this stereotype, who ruin the idea of USE of steroids and turn it into ABUSE. Don't jump on the bandwagon to be so ANTI steroids people, they are merely tools used to speed up the process and when used by the right people, excellent ways to boost muscle mass. The idiots who don't already have a solid foundation in muscle-building and also dont understand the science are the people who are ruining it for the real users.









appreciate that, thanks.







UPDATE: I have taken a step back from bodybuilding. I have been diagnosed as body dysmorphic - and my dependence on the gym to try and stay happy was an unrealistic and inevitably doomed affair. I still train, maybe 2 or 3 times a week, but i am not that dedicated any more and eating more like a normal person. I am a more healthy 14 stone and trying to understand why it is that my personal shape afffects my mood so much.



I will always love bodybuilding but my big big days are now over



Keep training everyone.

Nick

.... not really ideal nutritionally is it?

why is this in the recipes section?



i have a history of terrible knee stuff too. 3 operations, hundreds of knee dislocations.



I recommend lots of slow and controlled leg extensions to build up the inner quadricep - this solves 90% of knee problems ! Its made my condition 'managable' - i still will never be able to be a runner or go skiing (which deeply saddens me, really) - but i can live day - to - day with no problems and life some heavy ass weights.



Nick

Looking great well done

Thanks all,



good luck with all your goals... i'm sorry i'm so busy these days and might not reply to private messages, but am likely to respond to any questions in this thread if i can help !!



cheers :P



Nick

hey been very busy, started my own little IT support company and now have a full time job ! hence didn't check traineo at all for ages !

you definitely seem to have the right approach to it,



i would recommend structuring your workouts around the 3 core exercises, bench press, squat and deadlift.



train 3 times a week as a beginner, doing (excluding a good warm up), 5 sets approaching failure in each of these exercises.



Then rotate on each day with a small muscle group, such as calves, biceps, triceps. Stick abs in twice a week.



If you don't really know how to do squat deadlift bench, i would recommend getting 1 personal training session to learn properly how to do these valuable lifts. I wish you all the best,



Nick

wrez



'i know some serius bodybuilders and they are slower and have worse cardio than my mother who has been a smoker for 20 years lol '



let me turn this round to you



'i know some serious runners that are weaker and are smaller than my mother who....'



you get my point?



you find speed and fitness important, i find strength, mass, size and condition important!



i find running stupid... but i dont diss it on people's threads!



Nick

Thanks for the comments as always. Sorry i don't check this site too often any more.



Kat, milk is not ideal after a workout because it is a slow release protein. You want egg whites or protein powder.



Also, 'not looking to bulk (that's hard for women anyway...), but I want to tone.' doesn't mean anything. The word 'TONE' has been invented by the personal trainer industry to avoid scaring women that really what they are doing is building muscle and losing fat.



Building muscle and losing fat simultaenously is almost impossible... if you want to achieve a 'toned look' then in my opinion, hit the weights hard, eat like crazy for 6 weeks, then 'cut' for 6 weeks. The only real variation in the diet should be the amount of carbohydrates. Protein should be very high always.



good luck !



Nick

It started off when I was younger just enjoying the fact that I was a strong kid - then I had massive troubles with my knees during my teens (14 - 19) - which meant that really the only thing that made sense and that was possible was to train weights - but i was always depressed and unhappy with my body because of the knee thing and my biggest regret ever is that I didn't learn about nutrition and diet back when I was training hard from 17 - 19. All those sessions in the gym and then practically starving myself to achieve a miracle body fat drop/ muscle gain programme.... what bull.



Now I genuinely lift for the love of the sport - i love seein my weights/weight/muscle mass/fat % progressing, the kick I get out of breaking a personal record lift, or really feeling/looking big in the mirror, or seeing an extra bit of conditioning coming out is what I do it for. For me its a liftstyle that i've totally submerged myself in over the last 2 years and has given me the greatest sense of self-worth and purpose that nothing else has quite come close to.



Nick

cheers, i'll have a think about that

Josh P hit me up with exactly what you are eating per day and i'll see if I can spot any problems.

i think you look beautiful in all of your pictures, but especially the right side bottom-left and biggest pics







well done on your progress



Nick

More progress shots

I don't know whether this is appropriate to say on here, but if i really really want a cheat, i'll pop 300mg or 600mg of gemfibrozil fibrates 1 hour before that meal, guarunteeing that i will put on no fat in that meal, or the meal after.



For more information on fibrates (but please do not bug me on where to get them, please see a physician for that), see:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemfibrozil



They are widely used in bodybuilding for lean bulking, the harsher versions of fibrates have been tested - testers experiencing a 0% gain in fat even after a 10000 calorie binge...



Little to no side-effects either.



Nick

I fluctuate up to 7lbs from day to day.



If you are working out for 2 hours, I think you are doing too much. Perhaps your metabolism is slowing down so much from that much exercise vs the low calories you are taking in, meaning it is storing as much fat and water as possible..

I think there are 2 obvious things that need to change:



calorie intake for the day

macronutrient breakdown of those calories.



stop eating so much fruit (fructose sugar), increase the amount of lean meats you are consuming. Lower the amount of calories you are consuming each day by 500.



Go on the phentermine if you are happy with it!



Nick

Here are my new shots:



















Standing relaxed...

Fish, high protein pasta (carb options), soy milk is fine just not 10 litres a day ...



lol



Nick

K M, i don't really understand it. 850 will just cannabalise all your muscle as well as fat. I bet if you added 800 extra calories of pure protein (200 grams) per day, it would mean you lose no muscle, but continue to purely lose fat... and you'd feel a lot better. can you post up your diet? Its hard to believe you feel fine on 850

My god... i eat 850 cals as a snack amongst my 8 meals.



Niyati - veganism won't do you any favours in losing weight. BUT seeing as you already are, i'd say cut down on the fruits (fructose as Ron says) - stick to lots of green vegetables, lean beans etc

Thanks Brian, thats a kind thing to say.



I have a few update shots from the last couple of weeks:

excellent progress

2 rules to gain weight



From the moment you wake up, eat every 3 hours including hour 0.



After your workout, you MUST eat 40 grams of protein within 45 minutes of completing your last set. This is perhaps the most important rule. Ideally whey protein powder, or egg white, lean chicken. Bring it to the gym with you !!! Eat this with some white bread, or a sugary drink (Gatorade, not coca cola!)

i 'eliminate' 2 or 3 times a day



lol



Nick

I agree its good to eat small meals regularls but there are some vital flaws to your plan.



The macronutrient breakdown is probably 10/60/30 for protein/carb/fat. You should be aiming for about 40/20/20 ideally to lose fat. This means a hell of a lot more lean meats, less fruit, and good quality healthy fats.



Nick

What is wrong with diet coke? Sure, there are chemicals in it, but it will (if anything) help you lose weight because of the thermogenic properties of caffeine...



If your primary goal is fat loss then I saw get as much caffeine in you as possible !



Nick

You could try an ephedra fat burner... an ECA stack of some sort. It works pretty good. But given that you don't like taking things then you'll be unlikely to venture into the weird and wonderful world of bodybuilding drugs...



one thing is true: they work.



Nick

As KM said, not all calories are created equal.



'Can I eat fruits throughout the rest of the day and be OK? '



I would never recommend somebody on a diet to eat fruit throughout the day. Fruits are not suitable IMO for fat loss, they are laden with fructose sugars. The 'eat as much fruit as you like' idea is totally false when it comes to dieting and I think thats why many people fail.



Nick

4lbs overnight means nothing. Thats like the difference between taking a crap and not taking a crap, dude.



Forget the numbers on the scales and go by how you look. The fact that you still feel overweight at 61kg at 6'1 is beyond me, perhaps you need some professional help in overcoming warped self perception.



Surely you would rather be an athletic looking 75 - 85kg man at 6'1 (at the very LEAST) than a skinny sub 60kg guy? I don't understand that...



For me I feel tiny at <95kg at 5'9 !!



Nick