Don’t forget muscle memory. If you were big before, you’ll be able to make those gains again quicker than if you were doing it from scratch.
Good point. I was big when younger. Very fit too. Not much fat. Legs like tree trunks... but that was 15 years ago. Not sure if muscle memory stretches that far.
Anyway, I started tracking my calories last few days and was surprised to see how much more calories I ate when bulking comparing to what I thought. I thought I was eating between 2500 and 3000 calories per day. Turns out I was eating around 3500-3600 calories per day. No wonder my weight was going up like crazy. Just shows how little I really know https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/joypixels/[email protected]/png/64/1f923.png
Typical training day was 3600 calories, 480g of carbs, 90 g of fat, 225g of protein.
Now I went down to around 2500 per day. Yesterday I had 2470 calories, 233g of carbs, 75g of fat, 214g of protein. It will be slightly more today, because it is a training day, but not much. Plus 100-200 calories I think.
I plan to keep that diet for a week and check again on Tuesday if BF went down a bit. I don't care about weight. Just want the BF to go down a bit. If not, I will have to reduce that further. Something which I would like to avoid really https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/joypixels/[email protected]/png/64/1f923.png If yes, even a small percentage then it is just a question of keep going.
I was going to reply to MJN's comment to say muscle memory also lasts upto 15 years so you may be in luck...but as you get older, the longer you rest then the harder it is to get back into it..! even 1-2 weeks for me and I struggle..!
Yes, I still remember from when I was younger how difficult it was to go back to it after any break. This time, so far, I am not giving myself a choice. Training means training. No ifs or buts https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/joypixels/[email protected]/png/64/1f601.png
What I have been doing and it helps me stay motivated, is on the training days I watch a bunch of training videos on YouTube. Usually during breaks at work. It helps. I did not have that option back in the days. There was no YouTube then and internet was still very primitive. Now I can take advantage of thousands of training videos on the net.
yep, there's some great people on youtube...
and what got me through last night (when doing 100 burpees as a finisher with a 20kg vest) - was my kettlebell / bootcamp instructor at the place I train, as he got me into the mindset of pushing yourself past what would your normal limit (tho, perhaps to some it's not?) and keep going... I could have easily stopped after 20, but managed the full 100.. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
also, I work from home of a Wednesday and don't think I ate enough too... data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Great stuff! I will annihilate my shoulders today https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/joypixels/[email protected]/png/64/1f601.png
I'm a little confused about the numbers. This week my weight went down to 106.1, but my body fat went up by almost 2% data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Very strange.
I'll check again next week.
How are you measuring it? (Body fat)
My gym has a machine which measures your height, weight and body fat. You put a pound coin in, go on scales and grab two metal handles on each side when it tells you. I suspect it measures it by sending an electrical pulse through your body.
I thought about buying scales which can also measure BF, but I suspect they are even less accurate.