Congratulations PP - stunning waist shrinkage, well done!

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I think I struggled because of my stubborn refusal to count calories and work out macro-splits ( I still don't do either).

I just ate better, ate less and ate more often.

Which reminds me, it's time to go and pack tomorrow's lunchbox

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38lb/12 = 3lbs a week, a v good rate of weight loss! Well done proplus, you must be v chuffed. Are you going to take a week off?

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Hey PP, congratulations dude. Your results are fantastic and mine certainly dont overshadow yours at all.

PP total weight loss 38lbs or thereabouts
Gprim (me) weight loss 34lbs or just slightly under.

I believe it is you who overshadow me. Great work mate :-)
May it continue

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Thanks for all the comments and plaudits, they're much appreciated!
Am I chuffed? I'd say that I'm quite chuffed. I still want more. I'm not sure HIT suits me either. I still feel like I can do more at the end, no matter how knackered I am! I call this the 'Barcode Effect'!
So, in light of that, I'm going to try some HVT full bodies next! Any suggestions for a routine are welcomed!
I'm taking a week off now and then have 5 weeks before I go on holiday so that'll be 5 weeks of hard training!

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Well done PP! That is absolutely fantastic :)

It's addictive isn't it?!

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Don't get caught up in HIT and HVT. They are just labels. HVT generally describes anything that isn't strict HIT. It doesn't necessarily mean that it is horrendously high volume and frequency. It may be, but it may just be slightly higher volume.

My suggestion is this.

Keep whatever HIT routines you were using. But limit yourself to two sets per exercise instead of one.

Might not sound like much, but keeping the same routines, you've just doubled your volume.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to go back to doing 3 or 4 sets per exercise, with the same voume of exercises per workout. This will just tempt you to back off on the intensity to the point where it is pathetic.

The logical increase in volume should just be adding one more set to each exercise. You should still try and push yourself as hard as you can, but in the confines of two sets rather than one. Stick with the slower reps and try to work to failure, but don't worry if you can't push all the way to failure, that is what the second set is there for > > so that you don't feel guilty for not having done enough, and have another chance to push yourself hard.

Remember, the line between HIT and HVT, if you have to use those labels, is crossed when one starts backing off on the level of effort in order to do more, giving volume priority over intensity. Just don't go too far.

Think of intensity as your orange squash or your ribena, think of water as the volume. Add too much water and the ribena becomes so weak you can barely taste it. That is not what you want to happen. Then you'll end up doing about 30 sets, 4 days a week and going nowhere.

I have a theory that a person can only do justice to a maximum of 20 total sets per workout, regardless of the number of exercises or sets per exercise.

So clearly, more sets per exercise means fewer exercises per workout.

So you could have 5 sets of 4 exercises, or 4 sets of 5 exercises, or 2 sets of 10 exercises, or 1 set of 20 exercises etc etc. Or a combination of that. Just don't exceed 20 total sets per workout. That includes warm up and work sets.

I used to find that 3 sets of 4 exercises worked well. But 3 of them have to compound e.g. deadlift, dip, row or squat, bench press, pulldown.

Basically, do not jump to the polar opposite of HIT. Instead, gradually move away from HIT until you find the balance of volume and intensity that is appropriate for you.

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Thanks Gary. You've hit the nail on the head when you talk about the second set being there to make sure I can make up for a poor first set. I used 'HVT' because I just wanted to distinguish from traditional, one set HIT. I still want intense workouts. I'll give two sets a go and keep my movements slow and form spot on. Thanks again!

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Ok, I've renamed this thread Pro Plus' Pre Season Friendly! Why? Because I'm going on holiday in just under 6 weeks time so that's not long enough to have a decent stab at weight loss, but it is long enough to try out a different style of training and see how I do. All the while, losing a few pounds and working towards my Premiership challenge!
I ended the DD challenge with 24% bodyfat and my long term goal is to get to 14%. So, my starting point was nearly 30% which put me in the 2nd division, so I reckon I've reached the 1st now. And it's time for the pre season training! Bring it on!
So, how am I doing things this time? Well, the DD challenge is over. Whatever I achieved then is in the past. It's gone. It means nothing now. All the plaudits, congratulations and comments don't change the numbers one bit. So it's time to work. Hard.

The Diet

Calorie cycling's served me well so far so I'm going to continue with it. I'll start at 1800cals then take 100 away each week. So, over the 5 weeks it'll be:

Week 1 1800cals
Week 2 1700cals
Week 3 1600cals
Week 4 1500cals
Week 5 1400cals

A sample day for week 1 is as follows:

Meal 1 Porridge with Semi Skimmed Milk 384cals
Meal 2 3xRyvita with low fat cheese and Apple 249cals
Meal 3 Sandwich with Grapes and Apple 298cals
Meal 4 3xRyvita with low fat cheese and Yogurt 232cals
Meal 5 Sandwich, Apple and 3 Apricots 278cals
Meal 6 Low Fat Cheese on Toast 136cals

Also, if I feel peckish between meals, I have 25g nuts and 5 fish oil capsules.

In total this breaks down as:

Carbohydrate 234g (54%)
Protein 91g (20%)
Fat 53g (26%)
Fibre 51g

I reckon that's pretty balanced so I'm happy with it. After two weeks on 1400cals, that almost looks like a bulking diet to me!

The Workouts

These may yet be tweaked but so far I have two routines, A and B which I'll be doing alternately.

Routine A

Squats (Smith Machine)
Pullovers / Rows (super sets)
Leg Curl
Flyes / Incline Bench (super sets)
Military Press
Dumbbell Curls
Tricep Pushdowns

Routine B

Squats
Pullovers / Pulldowns
Leg Curl
Flyes / Dips
Military Press
Ab Crunches
Back Extensions

All of the exercise will be 2x8 except for the last two of each routine which will be only one (thinking about doing these HIT style).
Even though I'm aiming for 2x8, if I can do more, I will do. I won't just stop at 8 because that's what I'm aiming for!
So, any questions or recommendations?

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Three snacks a day on cheese isn't balanced !

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