Student Fitness

[Cat in the rack]

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening everyone. As I'm new here I figure I'll give a very brief background of my physical activity history.

Birth-2013: Any physical activity was virtually non-existent. I hate to single somebody out because of their weight, but in 2012 I began dating somebody who was incredibly "out of shape", and sufficed to say she brought me down with her. But this isn't a complaint, prior to 2012 I was your average guy that didn't exercise very often, when my year-long relationship ended in 2013 I had gained 3 stone, I was unhappy with my body and it was exactly the push I needed to do something about it.

2014 January-June: With a newfound incentive to increase my physical fitness and lose weight, but very little knowledge on how to do so, I set off on my adventure. At first it was gradual, I'd walk my dog for two or three times longer than I had in the past (he was a big old thing so he loved it). Weight began to shift, and I started paying more attention to my diet, removing most junk food and increasing the chicken, tuna, fruit and veg. When the weight loss slowed down I took up running every morning. Unfortunately I must admit I went too far the other direction, I lost all three stone I'd gained and then some, ending up too skinny.

June-Today: With a new newfound incentive to increase my physical fitness and gain weight, I started reading more into it, learning how to build muscle and the best methods for it. At the start I was so skinny I struggled with 2.5kg dumbbells, but the more I read the better became my techniques, I began to build back up my weight in largely muscle. By August I was doing compound lifts with equipment Id bought and stored in the shed, with my max lifting being around a 20kg barbell. In August I began seeing a personal trainer, who smoothed out the rough edges in my diet and exercise. Now I'm slightly heavier than I was in 2012 but much healthier, and lifting over 50kg in a lot of my exercises.

I may not be the most muscular or the fastest runner, but I shook off 4 stone in 5 months and then managed to gain a stone in muscle (and a little fat on the side) in 2-3 months. I'm healthier and stronger than I've ever been and improving.

Now that I'm at university I don't have a high budget, but I have managed to plan so that I can eat healthy and train regularly without getting myself a ton of (more) debt. If anybody's in the same boat I'd love to hear how your fitness has been going since moving to uni.

Thanks for reading, -SB

[Windranger]

That sounds so awesome Wish I'd have managed at least half of what you've reached so far ♥ 

 

Subbed. Could also use some tips according to budget and healthy living. Somehow I don't accomplish that although I'm a student for over three years now already.

 

What are you buying and cooking yet?

[Cat in the rack]

Hi Magnhild, at the moment I've been having http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/55360-paleo-muscle-building-cake-recipe/ for breakfast and post-workout, costing me £1.05 a day.

For dinner I cook in batches, so for example on Sunday I'll cook a big pot of chilli and then eat that for lunch and dinner until Wednesday or Thursday. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting some of my recipes as and when I cook them.

Food is costing me roughly £25 a week excluding any times I treat myself (I just have to buy a steak every now and then).

[SpecialSundae]

Hey,

Always nice to have another UK Nerd.

I know the joys of living on a student budget. Although my great pride was getting three large chickens for 43p each and pretty much living on them with a variety of cheap additions for a week.

These days, I'm rather more spoiled.

Are you still lifting? Which uni are you at? (PM me if you don't want to say publicly.)

[Cat in the rack]

Hi SpecialSundae, I just started at the university of surrey. Where on earth did you get a chicken for 43p?

The gym here is great, all the equipment I could need. So I manage to get there 5 times a week as I live just down the road.

[Nolondil]

Another UK student here... I'm quite lucky in that I get free gym membership for a month if I work more than 35 hours in the previous month... the problem is, I just don't know where to start and going into a gym as a newbie is pretty intimidating. 

 

I think I'm going to start cooking in bulk too, I only really have about 3 or 4 different meals anyway and eating the same thing doesn't really bore me, so what's to lose?

[Cat in the rack]

Cooking in bulk is definitely the easiest method for students, cooking a healthy meal every night is just a pain. If you have no experience in a gym it'd be a good idea to go down there and just observe, most of the equipment is fairly straightforward so the important thing is to figure out your routine.

[SpecialSundae]

Hi SpecialSundae, I just started at the university of surrey. Where on earth did you get a chicken for 43p?

The gym here is great, all the equipment I could need. So I manage to get there 5 times a week as I live just down the road.

 

Caught the cheap shelf at precisely the right moment. It was also a few years ago, though. I'm an old biddy these days. :-p

 

What sort of training programme are you on? 

[Cat in the rack]

What sort of training programme are you on?

It's a push pull legs split, but instead of assigning days of the week I do 3 days consecutively, rest for 1 or 2 days (depending on if my muscles are still sore or not after one rest day), then repeat. I posted an outline of it here http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/55364-studentbudget-my-current-programme/

I'll be sure to look out for cheap chickens in the future. What's your programme?

[SpecialSundae]

Whatever my coach tells me to do.

For the last few weeks, it has been three days a week with variations of the big three and accessory work every day, really.

Generally, I'm usually on a four day programme with three days of full body strength and one of accessory circuits.

It does vary a lot though, as I've got a lot to fix to meet my goals.

[MissoulaSquatch]

Cooking in bulk is definitely the easiest method for students, cooking a healthy meal every night is just a pain. If you have no experience in a gym it'd be a good idea to go down there and just observe, most of the equipment is fairly straightforward so the important thing is to figure out your routine.

This is definitely the way to go.  I cook one large pot of food every week, eat a few servings over several days then freeze the rest.  My freezer has tons of food to fall back on when money is tight.  I also do other meals so I don't go insane over the monotony of it all..but cooking in bulk is just the way to go imo.

Congrats on your work/achievements so far!