aj_rock

Actually, the first thing I tell people trying to get rugby ready is to start cardio off easy. You need to build your stamina until you can move for 40 minutes straight... so you need to run for that length of time. Once you can maintain that at a 6mph pace, you're ready to start looking at HIIT and circuit stuff. Unfortunately for you though, flankers and 8man run. A lot. I mean, they're the fastest forwards Squats and deadlifts are important, but if you have the time to learn it, cleans are a wonder to behold as well. Of all the lifts, cleans parallel the technique needed to tackle the closest. And make sure you do LOTS of shoulder stuff... rotations, presses, everything. As a forward, they'll be taking a lot of punishment. Regarding the medium/high rep stuff, that's only recommended because that's what the internet used to always recommend... ruggers aren't exactly on the up and up with the latest greatest workout methods. Hypertrophy training IS needed, because it deals mostly with energetic growth, so some high-rep training is warranted. I currently just do a circuit once a week and that gets that area taken care of.

How did I not see this one!? Good on yah for picking rugby up! I don't believe this question has been asked yet, so... back or forward? Your workout plan seems decent for general fitness but isn't really slated towards one position or another!

Kats: you forgot America America. JEEEEEEZ

And here I was expecting you to be one of the most unlikely NFers out there Care to lay out your program for us?

You weren't kidding! Everyone else's threads disappeared Now I have to go find them all again. PS YAY FOR TRAFFIC CONES

What msuroo said. If you aren't in the newbie gains phase, I highly doubt that you'll be increasing your lifts while also losing fat. There's simply too many systems in the body that oppose this. What LG (and other micro cyclical programs as well) does really well is prevent that strength/muscle loss while losing fat. That, or you'll be doing both at such low low rates as to essentially be spinning your wheels, which is what I cautioned against in my first post Just... given the time frames you've specified, I feel like you would benefit more by macroing one way for a period before switching into a separate phase. If all your goals revolve around being the next He-man, then that's cool too man, just try to keep the fat levels in check with a misery inducing cut once in a while.

You need a good coach to give you biomechanical cues. That'll do a ton more for you than anything we could blather at you via teh interweb.

*Cracks knuckles* Alrighty Cory m'boy. Let's look things over. First off, starting at that sorta BF% means you can definitely go a lot more aggressive on the fat loss without having to battle muscle loss. Honestly, I think a pound a week should be totally doable. Even IF there's some muscle loss, you just lost it TWICE as fast, meaning you have six months to repair damage. At your current strength capabilities + on a long-term deficit, 10lbs of muscle gain sounds unrealistic. Have you had problems previously with heavy lifting recovery? Remember, one of the cardinal rules of cutting is to also cut back on work out volume. 2-3 sets twice a week is plenty to maintain adaptations. I feel like approaching this from the angle of valuing fat loss over attempting to spin your wheels trying to build muscle simultaneously could facilitate everything. Re conditioning: Depends how you calculate your intakes really. If you try to figure out your varying caloric output every day, then yes replace with carbs. Or moar protein. Can't go wrong with moar protein. If you go by average output though, just do your macros the way you do any other day. I recommend going with a single number because daily numbers fluctuate based on lots of things; stress levels, sleep quality, TEF, etc can all vary daily output by a lot without you realizing. Generally speaking, it's easier to simply break your fast later in the day rather than telling your body to stop eating half way through. I personally don't think fasted vs non-fasted training will make much difference at your level.

Fair enough, just wanted to double check.

Hmmm your waist size and body caliper measurements don't quite sync up... have you done caliper testing before? Regardless, looks like you're starting from higher than mid-teens, so you can afford to go aggressive on the fat loss. Just remember that you WILL probably need to tweak things every couple weeks until you find something that works for ya. Re: brotein intake, the more aggressive you go on fat loss, the higher you should push it. However, the -30/-10 split still ain't that aggressive, so I'd say go for 1g/lb LBM. As before, adjust to taste

Hobbit: Right in the feels eh?

Slight suggestion? Re: spring cutting (because EVERYONE wants to look good at the beach!) generally starts around april, when MOST people would benefit more from starting around mid-February. So, I'd try to get an idea for what your current BF% and what you think would be best come spring time. Figuring in your usual fat loss rates (so whatever you did last time), leave time to get back to that point and then + however many weeks to work off the pound or two of flub that also comes when bulking. So basically, find a date you wanna be bikini body ready for, and work backwards Post it though! So we can all tell you if we think you're being silly.

You'll just look THAT much more impressive when it bends. Even if it's 10kilo plates.

I enjoy seeing the photo progression Re: your face. You go from looking like a sourpuss to that smug grin that says "yeaaaaah dem iz abs"

Massive amounts of cardio suck on a cut. Trust me on that one. It also absolutely wrecks havoc on energy levels, mostly because they just aren't there. A bulk would be difficult to hit the correct calorie intakes, mostly because muay thai just represents a huge calorie sink. It'll probably also slow bulk progress in general. IMO, it would be a nice change for a while, and the conditioning will have great cross-training effects.

How much of the Australia tax goes towards fending off ravenous, monstrous insects? be honest now.

Oi, I couldn't imagine paying more than ... half what you pay! No seriously, $40 is my limit

$80 for a month? Yipes!

You mean Tom Brady day I'd like to see how the BW translates to BB as well. You probably won't get it the first time you walk in though. It'll take a couple weeks of going just to get the movements down pat. I've had lower back soreness from running before as well. If you're really pushing a run, some of the glute n hamstring muscles start getting lazy and the lower back assists more to make up for it. Only ever seen it on relatively long distances.

Heehee that's where I am now! Last year now... fifth year UTAPS is a godsend!

I took a year off after third year to work, so its technically five years... works out to my benefit SO much. Turns out the Canadian government starts throwing money at you if you've been out of high school for 4 years...

We need to catch up to the Men Only thread.

I don't see the body of a verging-on-overweight-woman here cats. Remember, most of the people we would call in this world are technically 'overweight'. You're doing a great job.

The number one rule of spring cuts is that you always start too late. February is a better start term, as it always takes longer than you think. The thing I noticed back when I was still mid-semester and re-feeding on alcohol is that it is indeed a very poor source. Does very little to curb the negative side effects, even though it slows fat loss.

Hey man, I saw at the start of the challenge you were just doing a solid -500 deficit. You thought of ever trying some small re-feeds? Really does wonders for resisting those negative side effects.