BennyC's Intermittent Fasting & HST Journal

BennyC said:
What's worse is that when people using the treadclimbers or treadmills on an incline, or ever a flat walk hold the ******* handles! It does my head in so much! removes all the effort, lowers your energy expendiature and thus lowers the amount of calories burned. Swing your damn arms!/rant.
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FFFFUUUUU this gets me good. Makes me rage with the fury of the devil himself. The ones that treat the stepper cardio machines as if they are holding a tricep dip at the top, along with the peak of a shrug (shoulders at the ears) and then just moving their legs as little distance as possible.

On a happier note, hows it going Benny? Body composition changing much?
 
ergonomics said:
FFFFUUUUU this gets me good. Makes me rage with the fury of the devil himself. The ones that treat the stepper cardio machines as if they are holding a tricep dip at the top, along with the peak of a shrug (shoulders at the ears) and then just moving their legs as little distance as possible.
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Don't get me started on people who row like retards!

On a happier note, hows it going Benny? Body composition changing much?
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Yeah it's going good. I've upped my carbs slightly as I was on about 160grams a day 1 or 1 + 1/2 scoops of oats, 2 slices of bread and then veg in the evening. Now 2/3 scoops of oats.

Training fasted has been tough, I'm not going to lie I also think the ingestion of amino's in the morning leaves me feeling sick 20/30 minutes later as they don't taste very pleasant. Also the volume and number of exercises with such a taxing rep range adds to this but I've got the final 15's tomorrow. Hopefully with a bit more glycogen I'll make it through.

Failed a few reps short on bench yesterday and pull ups but as previously mentioned I'm not too worried especially as I was on quite low carbs.

Tuesday saw a incline walk for 55 minutes burning 600 cals approx, and today 35 mins on the x-trainer a slightly higher intensity burning 500 cals. So on my off days I up my fats with some extra olive oil in my eggs in the morning but generally tend to end up with total calorie intake around my MBR. So say on an off day I eat about 2400/2500 - 500/600 calories burned from CV = 1900/2000 and my MBR when I last worked it out was around 1900.

This isn't ideal for growth and I'll be stopping this when I begin the 10's. Generally I'm quite inactive during the day both at work or when I'm at home so don't really expend large amounts calories elsewhere than in the gym. Training days calorie intake tends to be around 2500-2700 calories at the moment with no CV work.

I read this:

http://www.leangains.com/2009/12/fasted-training-boosts-muscle-growth.html

And another article which basically explained greater fat burning properties to fasted training after a group being over fed by about 800 calories per day after six weeks had only gained 1.8KG of weight where as a group on the same diet but not training fasted gained much more. I'll see if I can find it.

Weight this morning was 89.2KG (pre morning poo), so almost 4KG difference since starting this log with little change to my diet except meal timings. Vascularity is up with the cephalic veins more visible, water & fat and down most noticably on my legs and over my abs. Not bad going considering new years! Ended up breaking my fast last night for a cheeky half pint at 9:30ish but nothing worth crying over, still got to live!

Think I'll deffinatley be sticking with IF for quite sometime.

I'm looking foward to how my body responds to the 10's and 5's seeing as these loads will actually be stimulating muscle growth.

Edit: Here it is:
http://www.leangains.com/2010/09/fasted-training-insulin-sensitivity.html

a lot of that goes over my head but the sub-heading 'Body composition' is the part I mentioned. Worth reading as much of it as you can though.

Edit 2: For the 10's I have my Jury Service so will not be training fasted, following this I return to work so my fasted training will only take place for the 15's. Training will move to around 5PM in the afternoon before my last and largest meal.
 
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Can I just say good luck to you first of all.... you ARE going to need it! :)

Having more experience with HST than your average bear Id say you could not have picked a worse program to use for this sort of eating regime. I've tried in the past to perform HST style routine whilst cutting or low carbing and it doesn't really work.

Chances are you will end up not finishing the full 8 weeks because you either became ill or picked up an injury. Either that or you will finish it but half heartedly... so using such a brutal regime was pointless anyway. By half hearted I mean without the progress you would normally experience on a first run of HST.

Sorry for the doom and gloom post mate, I hope I'm wrong but in my experience HST works better the more calories you eat. Trying to train like that when you haven't eaten for 15 hours is not wise if you ask me.

HST when done properly is just too demanding. Like I said though, good luck! ;)

EDIT - Can I just give you one bit of advice that might help you survive this.... Forget any cardio you might have planned completely, just do your training, keep the volume as low as you can and rest as much as possible, sleep like the dead! Keep what you do eat as high quality as possible.
 
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I appreciate the input :)

As mentioned training fasted in the morning was temporary for the x-mas period. Due to jury duty and returning to work training will be in the afternoon/early evening and no longer fasted.

I agree it is very demanding and wouldn't dream of doing the 10's or 5's fasted as the 15's were tough enough but manageable. Don't worry, I listen to my body and adjust my diet/rest as necessary :cool:
 
Quick question RE the HST Benny, so do you do all the lifts in one session or is it split into workout A + B or something ?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18060060&postcount=20

Your 15s calculations ^, just seems like a lot for one session. But then I guess it is 1/2 sets per lift ??


Seem to be making really good progress with the IF, I don't think I'd ever be able to do that !
 
crunchman said:
Quick question RE the HST Benny, so do you do all the lifts in one session or is it split into workout A + B or something ?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=18060060&postcount=20

Your 15s calculations ^, just seems like a lot for one session. But then I guess it is 1/2 sets per lift ??


Seem to be making really good progress with the IF, I don't think I'd ever be able to do that !
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I dropped the last exercise (Skull crushers) as I found these didn't feel necessary so swapped them for some direct/core ab work.

If you wanted to I don't see any reason why you couldn't train twice a day as long as you account for recovery. Or as you mentioned you could pick say 12-16 exercises in total and split them into an A & B workout as shown on the HST website so you get a bigger variety. I'm contemplating doing this SLDL's and regular deadlifts and reducing dips to twice a week but will see how I go. 2 sets per lift though you can do one set for the 15's if you wish :)

As long as you use the principles of high frequency, low/moderate volume and progressive load you should see progress.

I really do rate IF. I didn't notice any difference with energy levels with training after having fed, my appetite is supressed and I don't have to watch the clock or worry about timings so much.

The best thing is that all the claimed benefits have been backed up with proof in the form of studies that are provided.

IF in itself isn't a 'cutting' diet, it's merely a set of principles of which to diet by in regards to meal timings. I fully intend to use this to gain mass as well as drop bodyfat where possible. It's not like Keto in that you can only really bare 6-8 weeks of it.

For me it seems to be working and as I've said wouldn't hesistate to recommend it to anybody, irrelevant of your goals. Deffinatley give it a go, once you've adjusted to your new meal times which took me all of 2 days it's a walk in the park.
 
Thanks for the info as always mate, I've worked my rm's and I think I'm gonna give HST a go tomorrow.

I don't think my job really suits IF (shift work), so I'll be sticking to low carb evenings for now at least :)
 
Be sure to have a few days rest. I took a weekend off before working out my RM's on a Mon, Weds, Fri with a days rest inbetween. Then had another weekend off before starting. Make sure you come into it fresh :)
 
Well I'm gonna see how I am in the morning, I was rather conservative with my 15rm estimations. But if I feel at all sore in the morning I'll postpone starting out.

HST is gonna kill my MMA training though !
 
Chong Warrior said:
Can I just say good luck to you first of all.... you ARE going to need it! :)

Having more experience with HST than your average bear Id say you could not have picked a worse program to use for this sort of eating regime. I've tried in the past to perform HST style routine whilst cutting or low carbing and it doesn't really work.

Chances are you will end up not finishing the full 8 weeks because you either became ill or picked up an injury. Either that or you will finish it but half heartedly... so using such a brutal regime was pointless anyway. By half hearted I mean without the progress you would normally experience on a first run of HST.

Sorry for the doom and gloom post mate, I hope I'm wrong but in my experience HST works better the more calories you eat. Trying to train like that when you haven't eaten for 15 hours is not wise if you ask me.

HST when done properly is just too demanding. Like I said though, good luck! ;)

EDIT - Can I just give you one bit of advice that might help you survive this.... Forget any cardio you might have planned completely, just do your training, keep the volume as low as you can and rest as much as possible, sleep like the dead! Keep what you do eat as high quality as possible.
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Ah there you are! Just wanted to say I read your posts about HST a few yeas ago on here and MP and found them really useful. Ended up basing my routine on yours and have used it a few times, so thanks! :)
 
Is this basically sticking to your 3 meals per day [Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner] and training on an empty stomach? I've been thinking about resorting to that again.
 
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BennyC said:
Be sure to have a few days rest. I took a weekend off before working out my RM's on a Mon, Weds, Fri with a days rest inbetween. Then had another weekend off before starting. Make sure you come into it fresh :)
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...

And I've decided I'll be starting tomorrow now ! :p
 
'Wes said:
Is this basically sticking to your 3 meals per day [Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner] and training on an empty stomach? I've been thinking about resorting to that again.
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Effectively, but a little more complex with that (in an 8 hour window with your largest meal PWO). You don't have to train on an empty stomach but I chose to for the first two weeks of my HST as I was off work and in the position to. There are 4 protocols. Check out the leangains guide.

crunchman said:
...

And I've decided I'll be starting tomorrow now ! :p
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Fair enough!

Did my first 10's workout today, so much less aerobically taxing than the 15's!
 
Are you doing 2 sets for each lift now you're on the 10s, and any idea how long the session took you ?

Sorry for all the questions !
 
crunchman said:
Are you doing 2 sets for each lift now you're on the 10s, and any idea how long the session took you ?

Sorry for all the questions !
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S'alright.

I started just after 3 squatting at home. Then had to call work and then headed to the gym. Was back home just before 4:30. So allow 15-20 minutes walk/locker room time. I also had to wait for a few bits of equipment and did bump into a friend. About an hour for the 10's I found. Nearer to 70/80 minutes for the 15's as I was so gassed, though that was fasted. 90 second rests for both 10's and 15's, exercises like laterals, curls and calves I just rested till recovered around 45-60 seconds.

Training not fasted was much easier and quicker too.
 
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I understand it now, i think i'll follow it as my training times are pretty much the same as your training times.

16 hours without food will be challenging.
 
'Wes said:
I understand it now, i think i'll follow it as my training times are pretty much the same as your training times.

16 hours without food will be challenging.
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When you spend 7-10 of them asleep, 3 of them after having eaten lots in the evening. You've only 2-5 hours to wait in the morning after waking. If you're keeping busy it flies and you'll barely notice it.
 
'Wes said:
I understand it now, i think i'll follow it as my training times are pretty much the same as your training times.

16 hours without food will be challenging.
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One of the reported claims of IF is that you really don't get hungry in the fasted period. You might be initially when you start but you quickly adjust and I find that I get hungry at exactly the same time everyday, which tends to be the same time I break the fast!
 
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