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Monday, 30 August 2010

The basics

Weather you want to get bigger, stronger, leaner, or all three, you need to start somewhere. It doesn't matter if you're 5 stone overweight, or as skinny as a rake, you have to start somewhere. 

The most rapid way you can change your body composition is by a combination of diet, weights and exercise. Lets say you're a complete beginner, what can you do to make fast changes?
  • Weigh yourself once per week, ideally first thing in the morning. This is when you weight is most consistent, and weighing weekly avoids the day-to-day weight changes that can happen. 
  • If you want to lose weight, reduce daily calorie intake by 500. If you want to gain weight increase daily calorie intake by 500. 
  • Exercise 3 times a week. Thats enough to start with. Even a 20 min jog is better than nothing, and after a few weeks you'll really notice the difference. 
  • Lift weights. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, weight lifting is very effective at burning calories and making you look good. Pick a weight that feels heavy after 8-12 reps, and do 3-4 sets of repetitions. I'll list basic exercises and movements soon.
  • Stick at it. This is probably the most important point. Consistency is everything. There is a reason people with great figures turn heads - because they're uncommon, but loads of people work out - they simply don't stick at it!

A little about me.

I am a med student, with over 5 years of experience in the gym. I work out most days, and employ a split-type routine. I focus mainly on power, strength and size. I am 5'10'' and weigh about 15 stone.

I like to think that I have a fairly detailed understanding of exercise physiology and nutrition. I don't buy in to any diet or exercise fads, and prefer to stick to understood principles and simple rules to reach goals.

The aim of this blog is to supply information related to exercise, supplements, nutrition and physiology. Some stuff will be basic, other stuff more detailed. I'll also post my workout log so others can follow or post their own.

emyyhh,