Whilst you don't need a complex program to put on muscle you can still go wrong if you're not careful.

I feel that 2 exercises per session is too few to stimulate lots of muscle intensively enough, but strangely, provided you pick the right exercises and work them hard enough with correct form, just 3 exercises can be enough to cover the vast majority of muscles in your body.

Squat
Dip
Row

Deadlift
Bench Press
Pulldown

Each workout starts with a hip/thigh movement that involves the quads, hamstrings, glutes, hips and lower back.

Then it moves on to an upper body pushing movement that involves the front/middle shoulders, triceps and chest.

It finishes off with an upper body pulling movement that works the traps, lats, rear shoulders and biceps. Forearsm will be taxed through gripping in these movements as well.

Do those 2 workouts on something like a Sunday and a Wednesday frequency for 2 or 3 work sets on each movement and you will grow.

But, as others have already said you will only grow if you get the EATING part of the equation nailed.

5 and 8 sets per exercise is too much. If you can't get the job done in 3 working sets or less, then you need to be working harder. In my own training I am now ditching the 3rd set as I am spent after 2 sets.

Doing so many sets per exercise will encourage you to back off on the effort side of things and you will be using up your training volume on an exercise selection that still leaves much of your body untouched. By simply including another movement and cutting back on the sets you will work more of your body and work it lot harder.

Sets of 3 or 4 reps will are not going be long enough to stimulate growth. I know there are people out there that push these programs, but I don't care. OK you do 8 sets of reps, but I'd rather see something like 2 sets of 10 with reps 7, 8 and 9 being tough and 10 being a proper killer.

Use any rep range you like as long as it falls between 6 and 12. You don't have to count rep cadence or anything like that, just make sure you're keeping your reps smooth and controlled, free of jerking, bouncing, yanking, throwing and dropping.

Try and keep your rests between sets to no more than 2 minutes. If you feel you need more rest, then take it. The last thing a workout should be is a pointless sprint around the gym trying to get the session over and done with as quickly as possible.

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You say weight gain is .5 kg. Is that per day, per week, or the few weeks? You need to be specific.

3,200 calories sound good - and the weight should be piling on. (Talk to some of the guys on here - sorry, lads - but a bad couple of weeks and it's the best part of a stone).

Even if your diet is similar most days, why not tell us about it. And toast and cheese - is that one slice of thin bread with 14 g of grated cheese - or six slices of thick granary with 330 g mature cheddar with side order of mustard, mayo and Branston?

Come on, Oscar, 'fess up.

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weight today is 57.8kg
Body fat is 8.9%

so i gain 2kg since starting thislog, and my body fat has gone from an unhealthy 5.7 to 9% (still cant see much on my body i think its all gone on my internals (my knees seem to be much more "mobile"), and just feeling more stronger i.e. not feeling like an old man, i'm only coming to 25!

Ok will get more into diet posting more-

today- pre swim - banana, 1/4 grapefruit. some 60g of oats with raisins/figs/dates and enought milk to cover(semi-skim)

~20 mins swim (low intensity) i just do it to relax and have a think about the week past and ahead...it clears my mind i end up thinking about all sorts of things whilst breast stroking!

post swim- protein shake (20g protein mixed to 250ml of frijj milkshake). 2x toasted pancakes with another banana and honey on top. Two slices (about 1cm thick each) of olive and walnut bread with some cottage cheese in between.

Lunch with be meat free burger with cheese slice on top/grilled tomato slice and onion between another 2x slices of olive bread with lashings of red sauce and mayo (the half fat one not the extra lite). and half tin of cream tomato soup and some olive oil crisp bread.

Just marinading my 1/2 chicken with yougurt and tandorri paste to put in oven later with 1/2 a butter nut squash, 5 brussel sprouts, roast 1/2 red pepper and carrots with roast new potatoes.

I dont actively weight food i dont wanna be that fussy, i.e. what happens when one goes out to the pub or something! i just get a rough idea of portion sizes using hand fulls and maybe cups (the lazy Usa method of weighing things)

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Good progress Oscar - glad you are feeling the health benefits :-)

Sounds like you getting well into your cooking too.

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Workout 1 for this week,

2sets of
Squats
Bench

1 set of
DB one – arm rows
DB SLDL
Lat pull downs
Tricep pull downs
Chin
Pull up
Reverse flye

Was in a hurry as I had to take a detour almost to where I work then back again cos the road that links the dualcarriage way to gym was closed so had to do a loop d loop…annoying.

The All important diet- yesterday was----

B- banana with 2x oatbix and SSmilk.1/4 grapefruit and tea.
ES- apple, 2x ryvita slice with baby bel, 250ml shake
L- Italian soup thing (rice/potatoes in tomato soup), small WM bagette (about ½ size of normal stick).
MS- hand ful of nuts, and dried fruits. Cereal bar (alpen normal type) 250ml shake
Tea- cuppa with 2x toasted pancakes with peanut butter melted on top.
Diner- noddle stir fry with diced game meat (venison/partridge/rabbit), and red cabbage and carrots.
LS- ¼ pot of yogurt, mixed with ½ cup of custard, some magon jelly and some fruit salad and sprinkles of mixed cereal- almost like a home made tiffle! Ummm

Today
Pre gym- ¼ grapefruit, handful of alpen
Post gym- banana, WM roll with chicken and tomato (filling was left overs from my lunch) cuppa milk and sheddies.

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Oscar that stir-fry sounds lush.

I love game and cabbage is perfect with it :-)


Do you have friends who shoot/trap?

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nah, i shoot my game at the butchers!, it was an interesting mix, one type of meat was quite tough, so maybe i might not get a mix next time, just stick to one meat. Its also good for pies, quick beef stock and ale/red wine, in a oven dish, pan fry meat, chunk i with some mushrooms and toms, and either put mash on top or the unhealthier pastry. I got some bussels as well, i love those little things! everyone seems to hate them but i think of them as baby cabbage, just a nice bite size chunk!

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you seem to really like food, which makes me wonder how you got yourself so thin in the first place!

well done on the weight gain so far. keep it up.

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Tough bits = probably venison. Tends to be of very variable quality

I like rabbit and love pheasant.

I would eat it a lot more if had a ready source of fresh game - free range meat, and a swift stress- free despatch for the animal.

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Workout 2 today

-Squat 2x
-DB bench (1x flat, 1x incline)
-BB Deadlifts 2x
-dips
-lat pulldowns/low row machine
-chins 2x
-reverse flye

Diet- as normal
Today will be-
Pre Gym- banana, ¼ grapefruit and bowl of alpen with little milk
Post gym- banana, alpen with cottage cheese, glass of milk (SS).
Snack- apple, crisp bread with peanut butter (crispy yet smooooth)
Lunch- 6x spicky chicken dumplings, I will stream them then litey fry in pan so the bottoms go crispy. Chocolate digestive bar (tesco value which are nice!)- dipped in cuppa coffee.
-Picking up rents from LHR so after I don’t really know what I’l be eating-
But
Got some malt loaf to use up so with toast that with marmite and cheeeese
Diner will be some M&S southern fried Chicken (already out of frezzer) and some rice and cabbage.

Got the PM off to pick up the Rents from LHR T5 so that’l be fun on the m25 at 4! Work is getting really depressing but I’l see how it goes.
Just heard the DFS Xmas ad with the Christmas music on the radio—sick. Dam Christmas in October!

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