Eventually I have some direction!!

[jonny1885]

Hey everyone, my name is Jonny from bonnie Scotland! Haha

 

Found NerdFitness just last week after searching online for information on measuring body fat. Read that article and then started to have a look around the site, read a lot more information, and decided that it all seems to make sense! 

 

I've been going to the gym and training both weights and cardio for a couple of years now, but due to not having the best diet (more to do with high quantities of food, rather than the food being absolute rubbish) I haven't made the improvements I should have in that time. I am six foot two, and weigh approximately 220lbs. From the pictures on the body fat article, I would estimate my BF% to be somewhere in the region of 20-22%. My aim is to get this down to a far more athletic build - possibly around 12-15%. 

 

In the last week or so, I have changed my diet drastically - trying to stick to many of the Paleo principles. I am struggling to cut out bread and dairy, but the main improvement has been snacking. Rather than in the past reaching for the biscuit tin or a bag of crisps, I have been eating more fruit and veg (even developing a love for nectarines and strawberries that never existed before!). In terms of liquids, I have never drank many fizzy drinks, but have increased my water intake and staying away from diluting juices. 

 

The biggest changes though have been in the gym. Previously I would spend a long time in there, focusing on a particular body part each day. Now I am focusing far more on compound exercises. Bicep curls, shoulder shrugs, calf raises and tricep pull downs have been dumped. 

 

Now my workouts are made up of:

Bench press

Incline bench press

Overhead shoulder press

Deadlifts 

Squats

Seated row

Bent over row

 

Is there anything else I should be focussing on? Or anything that should also be dumped?

 

I have noticed increases in the weights that I am lifting, which surprised me since I have been - where possible - working out in a fasted state. 

 

Now onto my proudest achievements. I had never really realised the importance of pull ups, chin ups and tricep dips. I have never really been able to do them, so had discarded them altogether from my workout. Recently I had began to work towards completing my first pull up / chin up / controlled tricep dip. After reading the article on here about them, I improved my technique and started focussing on them. I can now perform 3 sets of 5 tricep dips - with good form - and am working on increasing this. 

 

Today though, something great happened. For a few weeks I have been attempting to complete a full chin up / pull up, but never completing the range well enough. Today, I attempted a chin up.... and completed it properly. My face must have been a picture when I realised what it looked like to see over the frame at the top! I was so carried away that I completed another one. 

 

My next goal is to complete a pull up! 

 

If there is anything that you think I may be doing wrong, or any advice you could give me, I would love to hear it!!

 

Really enjoying my workouts now (where they had been becoming stale and repetitive) and it's all down to this website! I look forward to learning more!

 

Jonny

[Laureleye]

Actually, it looks like most of your adjustments were great.  If I would recommend adding anything, it would be a plank - gotta work that core!  Congrats on the chin-up!

[jonny1885]

Ah yeh forgot to mention that! Planks are certainly the part of my workout that I just have to grin and bare, so didn't even want to say the word Haha

 

Thanks very much Lauraleye