84creative Member

Thanks, summer of probably the time I eat out the most and gain a few pounds. Looks like you’ve got back on track which is great! :-)

A bit about me... I’m 35, from the UK and haven’t trained consistently in over 10 years. In my 20’s I trained from January to June and then took 6 months off as summer was over. That stopped around 2009 and was replaced with 3 weeks of training before a beach holiday. Now I’m 18 weeks to making training a regular habit and…

My arms seems to be growing at the moment but I’m not so sure about my chest. The tape seems to be stuck at the same measurement :-)

What are your goals, strength or aesthetics? I work out from home with Dumbbells and a Barbbell, I don’t have a bench either :-)

How long have you being training like this for? I came across a Revive Stronger snippet on Instagram yesterday and they said that this type of training is quite gruelling and can affect your sleep and make you irritable and to weight up the pros and cons.

Im assuming this is normal as my legs, calves, arms, forearms are all smaller on my left side and I’m right handed.

Same here. My right arm is 15 3/8 and my left is exactly 15.

Only got a few minutes in but it looks good so far. I’ve always followed a linear progression adding weight then aiming to do the same number of reps as last week, then adding weight when I match the reps etc. I’ve never done this for longer than a 6 month period before taking half the year off as summer was over and I was…

Hey, how long have you been dieting for and how many calories are you eating a day?

@watts6151 Looks Impressive and you look Pretty lean too.

I lost about 7lbs and had a few remarks that I looked really giant from close family. I think after the 7 weeks of dieting I put it all back on again. Didn’t help that I hadn’t preserved much muscle mass during that time from not working out. Hopefully I’m just as fit in the next 10 years. Good work!

It’s funny when I created this thread I put “Goal to look better than your younger self” as I hadn’t imagined I’d be much fitter than I was back then and would have been really work for it being 10 years older. Reading everybody’s posts has actually changed my perspective a little on what I think is achievable.

@chieflrg at my biggest I had 15 5/8th inch arms. Training for 6 months on and 6 months off for years. 12 sets, 3 mins rest between sets. Now with 1 mins rest and utilising RIR I’m getting much closer to my goal and I’m 12 yeas older too.

I’m 5’9” and 12st/168lbs. I’m probably around 15% body fat if I had to estimate. I don’t store much fat around the biceps/triceps area but I can feel some just under my delts. I think as long as you’re not adding an inch of fat to your arms you’re making progress. To answer your question possibly sub 16% in my opinion.

I use MFP to track my calories and Bodyspace to track my progress (photos).

Haven't added the extra set that should have said.

That’s exactly what I’m referring too. I’ve taken the RIR concept working from 3/2/1/0RIR but I have added the extra set each week that Mike suggests working from MEV to MRV. I heard Mike say on one podcast that this advice is mostly for advanced bodybuilders and as I’m just starting out again and 18 weeks in, it may be…

I’m enjoying the feel of it too. Keeping reps the same and increasing the load each week to bring my RIRs down. Feels great.

15 to 20 lbs! I’ve set my bulking target at 6lbs as I’m scared of being overweight and creating extra fat cells that may make it easier for me to put weight on in the future. Not even sure if this is a thing that happens or just something my fear of being overweight has conjured. I’m 35 now though and have lost a fair bit…

@Chieflrg Thanks for the advice. I’m inclined to try a 4 week mesocycle were I take the second workout to failure each week for smaller muscle groups/ isolation exercises. First workout will be in the 10 to 15 rep range and second 15 to 20. So 4 sets for biceps on Wednesday and 4 sets for biceps on Friday. I can always see…

I hear it’s 1g per lb of lean body mass but not sure if the same rule applies to women. I can’t see why not.

Been on here for years but never noticed the forum. Started working out again 18 weeks ago after a 10 year break. Looking to get fitter and stronger and to make new MFP UK friends.

Good luck with your goals.

Good work!

@GaryRuns this is exactly the same conclusion I came to. At 35 I definitely don’t want to knacker myself out so I’m happy only going to failure every 4 weeks to see if my RIRs are correct. So far They’re spot on.

I’ve been hammering podcasts by these guys. I came across RIR in July which is the same time I found the Revive Stronger podcasts. Also came across Eric Helms when watching a Jeff Nippard podcast. The odd one out seemed to be Jeff Cavalier but I’ve been working with RIR for 18 weeks now and seem to be making good progress.…

Sounds fantastic! I’ve not worked out properly in years and I had a nagging. Feeling that I had to do something soon. Think I made the decision to work out again 2 months before my 35th birthday and committed to it. Now I feel better for doing so and I’m enjoying the process.

However I’ve not seen any of his training programs just his YouTube videos.

What do you guys think of Jeff Cavalier’s recommendations? (AthleanX). I’m pretty sure he mentions taking sets to failure often for hypertrophy.

Thanks for the reminder of the goal I’m working towards ;-)