Behold a pair of questions from a customer who bought one of my books:
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“Hi my friend,
I read the book again, it’s much clearer now.
However, I still want to pick your brain about a couple of things:
* Let’s say I do a full-body workout a couple of times a week (paired with a couple of days of cardio). Would you advise an additional micro workout to target an area that is lagging (like your example with the shoulder micro workout)?
* This might be a bit off topic, but I believe you are the right person to answer this – how often do you outgrow your suits? Based on the photos you occasionally post on LinkedIn, you seem to be always immaculately dressed. I’m supposed to go to a wedding soon, and since I don’t wear suits that often, I have to buy one. So, I wanted to know how long it’ll take, or better yet if I’ll ever outgrow it so drastically that I can no longer wear it?”
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Answer number one:
That is one approach you can take, yes — so long as you are mindful of your recovery and balance. For example, it’s silly to do, say, three Micro Workouts focusing on the same area as you’ll not only burn out but also potentially begin developing imbalances that can cause all sorts of issues (e.g. too much chest and not enough back will pull the shoulders forwards, messing with your posture and grossly raising your risk of injury to the back, neck, shoulders and even the chest itself).
Furthermore on imbalances, I generally recommend people do two things:
1) Limit the time spent bringing up the lagging body part to not more than 12 weeks, and,
2) Invest equal time in bringing up the “opposite” muscle group to the one that was lagging immediately afterwards.
So, if you wanted to bring up your chest, you’d add in a Micro Workout for, say, 8 weeks. Then, you’d do the same except this time the Micro Workout would be designed to bring up the muscles of the mid back (rhomboids, traps, lats, rear delts).
For the shoulders, you’d do broadly the same although you’d emphasise vertical pulling exercises (pulldowns, pullups) versus the horizontal pulling exercises (rows) you’d primarily use to counteract the work you did for your chest.
It’s much the same for the lower body. If you want to bring up your quads, do extra work for your hamstrings after and vice versa.
Answer number two:
I have only truly outgrown one suit — a lovely wool blend number I purchased from a gentleman’s outfitters in 2016. That one lasted me only a couple of years (which stung a bit because it was very expensive) because I bought it at the tail end of an unintended weight loss regime involving a tonne of cardio and veganism (both the product of my being broke at the time) that stripped a load of muscle off of my frame. I will never be able to wear it again because I don’t like the way I look with so little muscle, but I’ve stored it carefully with a view to giving it to Marcus when he is old enough.
My only other full suit is my wedding suit that I’ve owned since 2018. I can’t wear it at the moment because the trousers are too tight over my quads and the jacket is too tight over my arms. However, it’s fine to wear for at least the part of the year, every year when I pursue fitness goals conducive to leaning out (as I am currently with my laser focus on General Physical Preparedness — commonly called GPP).
That said…
I don’t generally recommend men worry too much about getting a suit. Much better, in my opinion, to purchase a high-quality jacket off the rack and get it tailored and then buy a selection of trousers and waistcoats that complement it. I say this because provided the sleeves are the right length and it fits well over the shoulders, you can get away with a bit of room about the belly and chest enabling you to grow and shrink a little (and it will be a little if you don’t take drugs/eat like a degenerate) without it looking silly.
A simple blue blazer is your best bet to start, as it’s easy to match colour-wise (grey and khaki being most common, but you can potentially get away with stuff like red if you want). Decent trousers and waistcoats are easy to come by very cheaply (I get mine from charity shops).
If you’re worried about wearing a non-matching suit to a wedding, don’t.
Most guys don’t know how to wear a suit properly anyway, so you’ll most likely be the best dressed man there by a mile if you put even a modicum of thought into your outfit (and get your jacket and, potentially, waistcoat tailored to fit).
There is probably more useful information in the first answer than in the second, but usefulness is in the eye of the beholder and for all I know there’s a small army of men reading this who are interested in my views on fashion as well as my views on getting strong and in shape.
Anyway.
If you want the book that prompted those questions, it is called “The Muscle and Strength Building Manual for the Natural Trainee”, and you can get it very inexpensively from Amazon via the below link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Muscle-Strength-Building-Natural-Trainee-ebook/dp/B0DL4G6C1B
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman
P.S. The book has, I think, one review so if you’re worried about wasting money on a book you may find naff, I recommend you don’t buy it.
But if you do buy it, I’d appreciate it if you’d help me solve my little “review problem” by leaving your honest thoughts or just your honest star rating.