Old thread died off ages ago. I let myself go a bit and gained weight and lost strength. 'tis terrible. I'm working on getting back into it and feth, it is is annoying lifting 75-80% of what I used to be able to do. I figured I would type up a bit of my knowledge and also open up a forum for other's to share their advice and experiences as well as motivating each other to achieve our goals.
Newcomers are of course welcome.
My thoughts on nutrition
Spoiler:
First thing you need to understand about nutrition is that calories are just energy. There's really no such thing as a bad food, with possibly the sole exception of completely empty processed crap like Poptarts or Twinkies, but even those can fit into a fat loss diet, though I wouldn't advise it simply for other health reasons.
The most important way to lose weight is reduce caloric intake or to maintain caloric intake and improve your metabolism by building muscle or increasing activity.
The number I see thrown around most frequently for maintaing weight for men is 11-12 calories per pound of weight. This of course will vary based on body composition and activity level. The more muscle and less fat you have, the more calories you need. The more active you are, the more calories you need.
Assuming you have a smartphone the Cals and Macros app is free and I love it for tracking my caloric intake.
Food is broken down into 3 macronutrients.
Protein: This is necessary for rebuilding damaged muscle. I typically see .75 grams of protein recommended per pound of weight and up to 1.25 grams recommended per pound of lean body mass. I'd recommend doing your own research into assessing how much protein you need. Personally. I think the above numbers are fine.
Carbohydrates: The most important carbs you can take in are fibers. You can find these in fruits, vegetables, and nuts as well as in fiber supplements. It is absolutely imperative you take in 20-30 grams of fiber (preferably 10 grams per 1000 calories) a day in order to keep your digestive system working in a healthy manner.
Fat: It is absolutely vital that you eat, in my estimate, 30-50 grams of healthy fats (preferably polysaturated and definitely not trans fats) a day for healthy brain and organ function.
Now, I stand by the belief that outside of fibers carbohydrates are not necessary to consume. A diet consisting in 70%+ of it's calories from fats and less than 30 grams of net carbohydrates (all carbs minus fiber) per day will lead to one entering Ketosis, where the body utilizes ketones from fats for energy.
However, making such a switch may not be an option for you, or perhaps you fundamentally disagree with this approach. If your goal is fat loss, I'd recommend restricting carbohydrates to no more than 150grams per day or even less than 100. Healthy fats ARE not evil. I know this isn't exactly the best evidence, but I consumed 100-125 grams of fat per day while dropping down to 9-10% body fat and I had excellent blood work.
Essentially you should eat the following:
.75 grams per pound of weight per day
50 grams of fat per day
20-30 grams of fiber per day
make up the remaining calories in whatever manner suits you.
As long as you're in a caloric deficit you will lose weight. I just find it easier to do so while eating a low carb diet, but my personal theory is that either I, or Scandinavians in general, are more carb sensitive than others.
Ideally, you shouldn't eat more than 500 calories below maintenance if you are trying to preserve muscle. Should you have minimal muscle and a high body weight to begin with than it's probably safe to eat up to 1000 calories below maintenance.
Eating healthy foods such as the following will do a lot to combat hunger pains:
Lean meats
Vegetables (at least 300 grams of leafy greens a day!)
Fruits (preferably apples or berries, other fruits are often high in fructose)
Whole Grains
Avoiding heavily processed foods (cereal, candies, soda) is very important to losing weight. Whether or not you choose to consume dairy is entirely up to you, but I did consume lots of cheese and ice cream while dropping weight.
Weightlifting
IMO, weightlifting is basically mandatory to improving your physique. It's common perception that there are two schools of thought to weightlifting, size (bodybuilding) or strength (powerlifting/Olympic weightlifting). I think that is beyond idiotic for the average, non competitive lifter. Especially if you refrain from taking PEDs.
Once you've developed a strength base doing a beginner program for linear gains (Stronglifts and Starting Strength being good ones, but I'd add in upperbody work for the shoulders and arms) you should basically do the following IMO.
Begin each workout with a heavy compound movement such as Overhead Press, Bench Press, Squat, or Deadlift.
If you can't squat or deadlift comfortably there are alternatives should you not want to do mobility work to reach that point. Personally, due to long legs and short arms, I can't really get into a comfortable deadlift position and ALWAYS overwork my lower back). In that case I'd recommend two exercises that nearly everyone should be able to do.
Box Squats
These won't generate as much leg development as regular squats, but I'd advise following up any squatting routine for an average lifter with leg press and leg curls for the quads to begin with.
Box Squat video!
Spoiler:
All you do for these is sit down on a bench, box, etc, pause momentarily, and stand back up. Really simple.
Trap Bar Deadlifts
These won't tax your lower back as much as conventional deadlifts and brings the quads more into play. Also, since many trap bars have handles your starting position will be more upright, again, this takes less stress off the lower back.
Decent enough video on trap bar deadlifts.
Spoiler:
Bench Press is pretty self explanatory. Just remember to not flare your elbows and bring the bar down around your nipples to avoid shoulder pain.
Overhead Press is slightly more complex. You'll want to squeeze the glutes and quads as you drive the bar overhead and behind your head. Lower it slowly and repeat.
A decent program that utilizes these 4 movements and supports them with various auxiliary work is 5/3/1. Personally, I'd recommend Matt Ogus's 7/5/3 instead, assuming you have the time and work capacity to handle that volume.
Either way, I believe it's best to start out any workout with a heavy compound movement and follow it up with lighter isolation movements for more targeted muscle growth.
Cardio!!! How I hate thee.
Spoiler:
I despise cardio and frankly don't do it. Well...I walk, probably 20 miles a week, but that's literally it. Unless you really enjoying running and actually run, none of this 8 minute a mile or slower slogging about, I'd skip running.
Walking and cycling are both great.
Another alternative is conditioning for developing work capacity and cardiovascular strength.
This could be any of the following:
High Intensity Interval Training
Sprint: Once properly warmed up (this should take a minimum of 10 minutes to avoid injury) sprint anywhere from 50 to 400 meters. Follow this up with walking an equal distance or up to twice the sprinted distance. Repeat for 10-15 minutes as your level of training dictates. However, I'd avoid sprinting since muscle tears are much more probable with this and I've injured my hamstrings numerous times sprinting!
Sled Push/Pull: Load up a sled and either push it or pull it a given distance, probably 20-50m. Walk 2 to 3x that distance to recover. Repeat for 10-15 minutes.
Weighted carriers: These can be done with dumbbells held in both hands, a trap bar, or a barbell held overhead. Pick up something moderately heavy, carry it a certain distance. Walk to your recover your wind. Repeat. Farmer Walk's are a great way to develop your forearms and grip strength! The oscillation caused by overhead carries can be beneficial to growing and strengthening the entire shoulder girdle.
That's all I have for now, feel free to question, critique, or add more.
Nice man. I've been gymming from junior year in HS and first year university kind of inconsistently. Picked up Muay Thai for a bit somewhere a long the way too. Nice squat weight there! Mirin amount of plates!
Current stats:
Bf: 15-16% ish
160lbs
5'8" manlet and proud
Squat
180 lbs for 5 reps
Deadlift: 225 for 3 or 4
Bench: 155 lbs for 5
Wide Grip Pull ups: can do 13 or 14 at maximum
Heres to a good summer and year of gains
Random question: Do you often lift with other gamers?
Also: What wargames do you play and what armies?
But seriously, nice opening post. but I mainly go in for running (I ran 21 miles today) p, speed training and cardio style workouts. I don't do much in terms of lifting weights but I do enjoy it- I prefer body weights though. For both me and Mrs deadnight one of our favourite toys is our chin up bar. Thst thing is horrible, but great.
I lit weights 5 days a week with deadlifts and squats on different ends. For squats and deadlifts I do 5 sets of 8 and the other workouts I do 3 by 8. And on tuesday through Thursday I do a mile of sprints (sprint on length walk the rest rinse and repeat).
I've been exercising since the military. I'm leaning towards functional fitness now. Problem is I don't know much about the training philosophy behind it. I gotta do some studying
I can't stand going to the gym or weightlifting, so I get around it by being active outdoors, hiking, working outdoors jobs, etc.
I have no idea what it is, but it feels like a massive waste of time. Within 20 minutes of getting there I get annoyed or bored and leave. Not really sure why, because it's proven that it's probably more efficient than just hiking or something, but that's how I am.
However, tell me to do a 10 mile dayhike to a local spot and I'm all for it, even with crappy weather. It's part of the reason I work outdoor jobs and prefer them, helps keep me in shape and happy.
MaxZ wrote:Nice man. I've been gymming from junior year in HS and first year university kind of inconsistently. Picked up Muay Thai for a bit somewhere a long the way too. Nice squat weight there! Mirin amount of plates!
Current stats:
Bf: 15-16% ish
160lbs
5'8" manlet and proud
Squat
180 lbs for 5 reps
Deadlift: 225 for 3 or 4
Bench: 155 lbs for 5
Wide Grip Pull ups: can do 13 or 14 at maximum
Heres to a good summer and year of gains
Random question: Do you often lift with other gamers?
Also: What wargames do you play and what armies?
Decent enough lifts for your size. I used to play 40k/WHFB and MTG. Sadly I've never met a fellow gamer that also lifted.
Deadnight wrote:Pfft! Weights! :p only for beefcakes!
But seriously, nice opening post. but I mainly go in for running (I ran 21 miles today) p, speed training and cardio style workouts. I don't do much in terms of lifting weights but I do enjoy it- I prefer body weights though. For both me and Mrs deadnight one of our favourite toys is our chin up bar. Thst thing is horrible, but great.
Good luck with your training
Incorporating light squats 50-60% of your max for high reps can help improve endurance and run times. Even if your focus is muscular endurance there is some benefit to lifting. Amazing endurance you have!
Ustrello wrote:I lit weights 5 days a week with deadlifts and squats on different ends. For squats and deadlifts I do 5 sets of 8 and the other workouts I do 3 by 8. And on tuesday through Thursday I do a mile of sprints (sprint on length walk the rest rinse and repeat).
Damn, your legs must be yolked.
yellowfever wrote:I've been exercising since the military. I'm leaning towards functional fitness now. Problem is I don't know much about the training philosophy behind it. I gotta do some studying
Eh, based on some numbers I've seen thrown around from MMA clubs, this is the basic standard they use for functional fitness.
0.75xBW OHP
1.25xBW BP 1.5xBW Squat
2.0xBW Deadlift
Pretty easy to achieve in a year or so, but you'll also need to do some form of medium distance running/sprinting for military work, as well as heavy rucking, and probably some HIIT style workouts to prep for combat scenarios. You can't just be fairly strong, you have to be fast, and have good endurance. Increasing strength relative to weight can help with those, but you actually have to train all 3 areas ideally.
Oh I know all that. I'm not in the military anymore. Here's some numbers from back then. I weighed about 194 pounds and I'm 5'8". I was around 10 percent body fat.
Bench. about 400 pounds.
Squat. About 300
Barbell curl. Around 160
pull ups. Around 35. (Correct pull ups)
the maxes are a guess as I never cared what my max was. For example on bench press my last set was usually 365 5 to 7 reps.
I used to run half marathons at that time. My 3 mile time was around a 17.10. For some reason my legs never got real strong.
You sound pretty functional to me then. It's not exactly uncommon for guys to be upperbody heavy in terms of strength, especially if they're distance runners.
A number of years ago (7ish I think) I dropped a chunk of weight. Went from around 230 to 175ish. No real exercise, just a few simple rules.
Get some exercise. I did a mile walk most every day. It’s burning calories.
Cut the crap out of your diet. Soda was the big one. Most prepared/fast food is really bad for you. And calorie laden. Alcohol is also bad.
Portion control. Look at the serving size on the bag/box. Measure it out. Be aware of how much you are eating. Even healthy snacks are bad when you eat a lot of them. A serving of pretzels might be 100 calories and be a good snack, but if you sit there with your hand in the bag, you are not going to stop at 100.
Your wight finds an equilibrium between calories in and calories out. Burn more, eat less, your weight goes down. But if you slip back into your old habits, you will resume your old weight. So you need to make some lifestyle changes. Not that you can’t have treats and make exceptions from time to time, just not all the time.
YMMV. I’m no health expert. But this worked for me. And didn’t require hitting the gym or anything like that.
After Falling into a deep depression and nearly flunking out of school and gaining alot of weight back that I lost Im feeling better and Im back to the gym and eating healthy. I currently go 4 times a week. Im hoping once I graduate this quarter I can bump it up to five or 6 times a week. And I started walking to all my classes but one. So yeah. Im back on the wagon after getting off. The good thing Is I actually lost very little muscle. I can still lift what I used to when I left off.
A balanced program of weights and cardio is, in my opinion (and experience) the best way to shed unwanted weight.
The weights can be free, machine, or even body weight.
When I had been eating less and working out, I did a circuit of free and machine weights on certain days.
On other days, I tackled the Spartacus workout.
Do not....I repeat...DO NOT try and do all 3 sessions at least for a week or two if you aren't in some semblance of shape (other than round). Unless you really enjoy puking after working out because it has totally kicked your ass.
Judt anout 2 years ago now I had lost 60lbs (239 to 179) in about 6-7 months managing my diet with MyFitnessPal, and working out 3-5 times a week.
Even ran my first 5k that year
I need to do this again....up to 213 as of this morning.
Spoiler:
Automatically Appended Next Post: HIIT is proven to burn more energy and help you shed weight the best.
Nevelon wrote:A number of years ago (7ish I think) I dropped a chunk of weight. Went from around 230 to 175ish. No real exercise, just a few simple rules.
Get some exercise. I did a mile walk most every day. It’s burning calories.
Cut the crap out of your diet. Soda was the big one. Most prepared/fast food is really bad for you. And calorie laden. Alcohol is also bad.
Portion control. Look at the serving size on the bag/box. Measure it out. Be aware of how much you are eating. Even healthy snacks are bad when you eat a lot of them. A serving of pretzels might be 100 calories and be a good snack, but if you sit there with your hand in the bag, you are not going to stop at 100.
Your wight finds an equilibrium between calories in and calories out. Burn more, eat less, your weight goes down. But if you slip back into your old habits, you will resume your old weight. So you need to make some lifestyle changes. Not that you can’t have treats and make exceptions from time to time, just not all the time.
YMMV. I’m no health expert. But this worked for me. And didn’t require hitting the gym or anything like that.
I did the same thing at one point. Biked 3 miles to and from work, did pullups and pushups, and counted calories. It's simple enough for losing weight, but I think improving body composition is a worthier goal.
Strength training has a myriad of benefits.
hotsauceman1 wrote:After Falling into a deep depression and nearly flunking out of school and gaining alot of weight back that I lost Im feeling better and Im back to the gym and eating healthy. I currently go 4 times a week. Im hoping once I graduate this quarter I can bump it up to five or 6 times a week. And I started walking to all my classes but one. So yeah. Im back on the wagon after getting off. The good thing Is I actually lost very little muscle. I can still lift what I used to when I left off.
Good to hear that you lost very little strength. Time to build on it! You can do it Hotsauce.
TheMeanDM wrote:A balanced program of weights and cardio is, in my opinion (and experience) the best way to shed unwanted weight.
The weights can be free, machine, or even body weight.
When I had been eating less and working out, I did a circuit of free and machine weights on certain days.
On other days, I tackled the Spartacus workout.
Do not....I repeat...DO NOT try and do all 3 sessions at least for a week or two if you aren't in some semblance of shape (other than round). Unless you really enjoy puking after working out because it has totally kicked your ass.
Judt anout 2 years ago now I had lost 60lbs (239 to 179) in about 6-7 months managing my diet with MyFitnessPal, and working out 3-5 times a week.
Even ran my first 5k that year
I need to do this again....up to 213 as of this morning.
Spoiler:
Automatically Appended Next Post: HIIT is proven to burn more energy and help you shed weight the best.
yellowfever wrote: I've been exercising since the military. I'm leaning towards functional fitness now. Problem is I don't know much about the training philosophy behind it. I gotta do some studying
The problem that I've personally had in searching for "functional fitness" stuff, is that I invariably come across a bunch of CrossFit bullgak. I've had a few doctors personally tell me to NOT do specific lifts already, and I don't need some ill-thought CF "workout" being thrown into the mix and making things generally worse.
I'm at a point right now where, I have a bunch of knowledge regarding lifting and getting/being fit... but I too easily find excuses to not do so. Right now, I have a gym membership, but with the end of semester a couple weeks away, my routine is to wake up, go to school, get the kids, cook dinner, eat, do homework/work on large assignments, go to bed hopefully before midnight.... and repeat 5 days a week.
If my job situation doesn't improve soon, I'll be ditching the gym membership, but I'll have more free time with my kids, so park time, setting my road bike up on a trainer and actually riding it will be much more down my alley.
If you don't mind me asking, what lifts specifically?
As far as functionality goes, if you can execute a correct body weight power clean+push press you've pretty much hit every muscle group outside of your chest and I would deem that pretty functional.
trexmeyer wrote: If you don't mind me asking, what lifts specifically?
As far as functionality goes, if you can execute a correct body weight power clean+push press you've pretty much hit every muscle group outside of your chest and I would deem that pretty functional.
Any kind of overhead press, dips, pullups, decline press. I "can" do bench press, but the weight I have to keep on a barbell, it's a pointless lift (I'd be doing like, I dunno 20-30 reps to feel a burn), so I tend to do dumbbell bench press. My shoulders are quite tore up from my 10 years in the army.
I used to have some issues with barbell shrugs, but then I got a set of Versa Gripps (they are fething amazing!) and now, with enough weight on the bar, I can flex my upper arms just enough to keep my arm from coming out of socket during the lift
MaxZ wrote:Nice man. I've been gymming from junior year in HS and first year university kind of inconsistently. Picked up Muay Thai for a bit somewhere a long the way too. Nice squat weight there! Mirin amount of plates!
Current stats:
Bf: 15-16% ish
160lbs
5'8" manlet and proud
Squat
180 lbs for 5 reps
Deadlift: 225 for 3 or 4
Bench: 155 lbs for 5
Wide Grip Pull ups: can do 13 or 14 at maximum
Heres to a good summer and year of gains
Random question: Do you often lift with other gamers?
Also: What wargames do you play and what armies?
Decent enough lifts for your size. I used to play 40k/WHFB and MTG. Sadly I've never met a fellow gamer that also lifted.
Deadnight wrote:Pfft! Weights! :p only for beefcakes!
But seriously, nice opening post. but I mainly go in for running (I ran 21 miles today) p, speed training and cardio style workouts. I don't do much in terms of lifting weights but I do enjoy it- I prefer body weights though. For both me and Mrs deadnight one of our favourite toys is our chin up bar. Thst thing is horrible, but great.
Good luck with your training
Incorporating light squats 50-60% of your max for high reps can help improve endurance and run times. Even if your focus is muscular endurance there is some benefit to lifting. Amazing endurance you have!
Ustrello wrote:I lit weights 5 days a week with deadlifts and squats on different ends. For squats and deadlifts I do 5 sets of 8 and the other workouts I do 3 by 8. And on tuesday through Thursday I do a mile of sprints (sprint on length walk the rest rinse and repeat).
Damn, your legs must be yolked.
yellowfever wrote:I've been exercising since the military. I'm leaning towards functional fitness now. Problem is I don't know much about the training philosophy behind it. I gotta do some studying
Eh, based on some numbers I've seen thrown around from MMA clubs, this is the basic standard they use for functional fitness.
0.75xBW OHP
1.25xBW BP 1.5xBW Squat
2.0xBW Deadlift
Pretty easy to achieve in a year or so, but you'll also need to do some form of medium distance running/sprinting for military work, as well as heavy rucking, and probably some HIIT style workouts to prep for combat scenarios. You can't just be fairly strong, you have to be fast, and have good endurance. Increasing strength relative to weight can help with those, but you actually have to train all 3 areas ideally.
Not super big I am only doing 225 on squats and deadlifts (but that is usually set 5 on a pyramid load regiment)
trexmeyer wrote: If you don't mind me asking, what lifts specifically?
As far as functionality goes, if you can execute a correct body weight power clean+push press you've pretty much hit every muscle group outside of your chest and I would deem that pretty functional.
Any kind of overhead press, dips, pullups, decline press. I "can" do bench press, but the weight I have to keep on a barbell, it's a pointless lift (I'd be doing like, I dunno 20-30 reps to feel a burn), so I tend to do dumbbell bench press. My shoulders are quite tore up from my 10 years in the army.
I used to have some issues with barbell shrugs, but then I got a set of Versa Gripps (they are fething amazing!) and now, with enough weight on the bar, I can flex my upper arms just enough to keep my arm from coming out of socket during the lift
Could you do close grip DB bench with your arms basically parallel to your torso?
A lot of people have shoulder issues...damn. I couldn't care less about bench, but if I couldn't push press I'd just quit life.
Could you do close grip DB bench with your arms basically parallel to your torso?
A lot of people have shoulder issues...damn. I couldn't care less about bench, but if I couldn't push press I'd just quit life.
Just about any kind of bench press I do, whether it's a "chest press machine" or DB bench, my main concern is what my elbow does. If the weight is too heavy, particularly on a machine, and my elbow drops close in to my torso to try and "cheat" a rep, I'm screwed.
I'm confused? You're supposed to keep your elbows close to your torso to protect the shoulder. It's not cheating a rep. It is bringing the triceps more into play though.
Benching with your elbows flared out is asking for an injury.
trexmeyer wrote: I'm confused? You're supposed to keep your elbows close to your torso to protect the shoulder. It's not cheating a rep. It is bringing the triceps more into play though.
Benching with your elbows flared out is asking for an injury.
Perhaps my description skills need work then, lol... I tend to go heavy on lifts, and as such, take a little bit of a wider grip. Because of this, ideally, my elbows should move in a straight line along the axis of movement...
Using that video as a guide... usually I'd put my middle finger in that gap on the grip.... by my elbows going in close, when they go into that vertical/top down camera angle... my elbows essentially go from being along the movement line, to rotating in towards my torso... if that helps the visuals any better, lol
Sadly, I'm rather oddly proportioned lol. I'm 5'10" to 5'11" depending on what day, and time of day... but like you, I have about a 6' wingspan. For me, narrow grips always felt weird... like I had a too long range of motion, whether it was pushups or more machine/weight based lifts.
I am almost 5'10" tall and I weigh 171 lbs (yes, I am a very big person), which is about 25% more than I'd like. A lot of the weight is muscle mass I've generated through heavy exercise in the past, as well as a naturally heavier than average build, but I have not exercised properly for way too long and between a period of depression, intensifying schoolwork and a love for food... Well, I am not fat - I am not a supermodel but I am not a hamplanet either - but if I go up any more I may well become.
My most intense studying time is almost over and then I intend to get going again. I am thinking of going back to my beloved Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu but, while it made me very smooth and agile while I did it, I may need something more intense.
Weightlifting? Maybe. I was never much of a weightlifter and I won't pull any impressive numbers. But maybe.
Nevelon wrote: A number of years ago (7ish I think) I dropped a chunk of weight. Went from around 230 to 175ish. No real exercise, just a few simple rules.
Get some exercise. I did a mile walk most every day. It’s burning calories.
Cut the crap out of your diet. Soda was the big one. Most prepared/fast food is really bad for you. And calorie laden. Alcohol is also bad.
Portion control. Look at the serving size on the bag/box. Measure it out. Be aware of how much you are eating. Even healthy snacks are bad when you eat a lot of them. A serving of pretzels might be 100 calories and be a good snack, but if you sit there with your hand in the bag, you are not going to stop at 100.
Your wight finds an equilibrium between calories in and calories out. Burn more, eat less, your weight goes down. But if you slip back into your old habits, you will resume your old weight. So you need to make some lifestyle changes. Not that you can’t have treats and make exceptions from time to time, just not all the time.
YMMV. I’m no health expert. But this worked for me. And didn’t require hitting the gym or anything like that.
Great job Nevelon!!!
I've done the same - dropped about 30 lbs and kept it off over the last year. Watching the documentary Fed Up was key - cutting out sugars and processed foods, being cognizant of how much sugar goes into "healthy" foods.
My work has a gym where I can do some free weights and cardio during lunch.
One side effect, my arms and such are more "veiny" now. But I'll take it
There is a lot of misinformation about diet. Much of what we have been told about healthy eating, for decades, was based on the Seven Countries study, which I believe has been largely debunked by more recent studies. The claim was that fat makes you fat and leads to heart disease. Advertisers jumped on it, and started offering "low fat" alternatives, which they pumped full of sugar to replace the flavour, and then people bought right into it, especially vulnerable people, such as young women, who were trying to watch their weight.
Sadly, it turns out that fat is actually important for maintaining a healthy weight, as it is one of the markers that suppresses appetite and regulates insulin levels. Without it in our diet, the real culprit: sugar, has been allowed to run rampant, which is why obesity is endemic now. Carbs get converted to sugars during digestion, and if you're insulin levels are off, those sugars get stored as fat, and then you still feel hungry because your muscles and organs didn't get the energy they were supposed to.
It makes me quite angry when I see so called "health experts" on television recommending low fat yogurts, and semi-skimmed milk as the "healthy option", perpetuating this fallacy that cutting fat will help people lose weight, when in fact the research indicates that the opposite is true.
Calorie counting is also a bit of a fallacy, as the connection between intake an expenditure is tenuous. The real advantage of exercise is not its capacity to burn calories, but the effect it has on your metabolism and hormone levels. It would take forever to burn off even a small meal through exercise alone, but if your metabolism is stimulated then you will tend to excrete what you don't need rather than storing it as fat.
I really wish I could eat healthier, but in my area the unhealthy junk is cheaper and as a student, I have to make my money last. Partly why I love going back home, I can start eating healthier.
Same for gym. I get out and about including walking to class, but I would love to spend £200 not including hidden costs on a gym membership.
High protein, lower carbs, healthy fats, lower sugar. That's about as basic as I think a person can get with their diet if they are looking to lose weight while building/maintaing muscle.
I used to eat breakfast cereal every morning, which often contains twice the RDA of sugar in just one serving. I switched to oatmeal w/berries and sliced almonds - it's great.
I drink a lot of coffee - little doses of sugar throughout the day. Cut all sugar from my coffee.
Bring fruits and vegetables to work to snack on - cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, Persian cucumbers, carrots. No more granola bars or rare cookie
yellowfever wrote: I've been exercising since the military. I'm leaning towards functional fitness now. Problem is I don't know much about the training philosophy behind it. I gotta do some studying
The problem that I've personally had in searching for "functional fitness" stuff, is that I invariably come across a bunch of CrossFit bullgak. I've had a few doctors personally tell me to NOT do specific lifts already, and I don't need some ill-thought CF "workout" being thrown into the mix and making things generally worse.
I'm at a point right now where, I have a bunch of knowledge regarding lifting and getting/being fit... but I too easily find excuses to not do so. Right now, I have a gym membership, but with the end of semester a couple weeks away, my routine is to wake up, go to school, get the kids, cook dinner, eat, do homework/work on large assignments, go to bed hopefully before midnight.... and repeat 5 days a week.
If my job situation doesn't improve soon, I'll be ditching the gym membership, but I'll have more free time with my kids, so park time, setting my road bike up on a trainer and actually riding it will be much more down my alley.
At first I had that same problem. That's where researching came in. I love guns. In a gun magazine I bought there was an article by an ex delta guy by the name Pat McNamara on functional exercises. I think it was a three part series. What he teaches is what I was looking for. I've found others but can't remember the names. You could that and see if it's what you are after.
TheMeanDM wrote: This was also an "adage" that I lived by during my healthier time...
Breakfast like a king
Lunch like a Lord
Dinner like a Pauper
To go along with this, one of the things I read in another of my books, was to essentially "front load" your protein for the day. Basically, get 80-90% of your protein at breakfast/lunch, with a very small amount of protein at dinner, if any. Of course, this comes down to each person individually, how they process foods, when they workout, etc.
The basic premise, according to the medical dude who wrote that section of the book, is that if you have most of your protein intake in the latter half of the day, especially at the evening meal, when you sleep, your body uses that protein which triggers an "I'm fething hungry!!!" response to the brain when you wake up, thus leading to a higher likelihood of overeating the next day.
I've just started a 6 week cut on Monday, after being a greedy SOB since Xmas. I've been lifting for years, so I know my way around a room full of weights.
It's the diet that I have a problem with. I just can't seem to shift that last 15lbs. Chicken, turkey, lean beef, brown rice and vegetables is pretty much 80% of what I'm eating during a cut.
Question; I know alcohol is calorie heavy, and cutting out the beers is basically what makes me lose weight, but is a small glass of brandy a couple of nights a week really going to mess things up that bad?
Hard liquor/e.g. "spirits" give you a little more bang for your calorie buck.....you can drink less, get fewer calories, and have a higher alcohol content.
I suppose this is the place to ask... what's the best way for a teenager to get stronger in the arms without going to a gym? I've got 4 and 8kg cattlebells and some resistance bands.
I've just started a 6 week cut on Monday, after being a greedy SOB since Xmas. I've been lifting for years, so I know my way around a room full of weights.
It's the diet that I have a problem with. I just can't seem to shift that last 15lbs. Chicken, turkey, lean beef, brown rice and vegetables is pretty much 80% of what I'm eating during a cut.
Question; I know alcohol is calorie heavy, and cutting out the beers is basically what makes me lose weight, but is a small glass of brandy a couple of nights a week really going to mess things up that bad?
TheMeanDM wrote:Hard liquor/e.g. "spirits" give you a little more bang for your calorie buck.....you can drink less, get fewer calories, and have a higher alcohol content.
If you want to, you can always adjust what you eat during the day before going out to enjoy some alcohol.
Often the problem becomes eating/snacking while drinking.
IMHO it’s ok to break the diet from time to time, as long as you compensate elsewhere. When you know you are going off the wagon run a few more laps, do a few more reps, eat a healthier lunch, etc. But sticking to a draconian diet with no flex is just going to make you unhappy. Note: IIRC some diets work but only allowing certain types of food, I’m just talking calorie counting here.
I never reached my ideal target because I wasn’t willing to make all the lifestyle changes needed to maintain my weight there. I was not willing to cut out the occasional pizza or beer that added up to those last 10 pounds. But I accepted that, and am happy at the current weight.
On the topic of targets: Another thing that helps is competition. If you are loosing weight with someone else at the same time, you can help keep each other honest. My running joke when I was loosing weight was that my target was "5lbs less then my brother”. He was swearing by WeightWatchers, and claiming that if I didn’t join or do something similar, I’d never loose anything.
I'll reiterate, there's no such thing as a bad food. All that matters is the big picture, and how much protein and calories you are taking in. However, alcohol is a bit problematic in that it is a fat burning suppressant. I seriously doubt a pint of liquor spread out over the course of a week would do much damage, Problem is that amounts to an extra 1000 calories to burn or more.
Maybe I'm crazy or lucky, but I got down to probably under 10% BF (my goal) without ever completely cutting out ice cream or pizza from my diet. I was eating like a whole pizza by myself every two weeks as a cheat day...
TheMeanDM wrote: This was also an "adage" that I lived by during my healthier time...
Breakfast like a king
Lunch like a Lord
Dinner like a Pauper
I have not eaten a real breakfast for years. Oops?
I've never eaten a very large breakfast. My biggest meal is typically post workout. I think not eating at least 25g of protein/10g carbs/10g fat or more in the morning is setting yourself up for dietary failure though. Your body needs some immediate nutrients.
SUgar is by far the biggest cause of weight gain in the world right now. Even if the tag says sugar free go look for any ingredient with "lose" at the end and its a sugar substitute. 35 grams a day for an active male is the FDA recommended intake. Check the carbs and if it has a high number yet only 1 or 2g of fiber and maybe no sugar, they snuck something in. 35g is less than one can of coke and that's for an active male, the normal sedentary male which is the vast majority of the population, especially gamers, is 28-30g. I quit playing in game stores, partially because I see overweight people eating and drinking massive amounts of garbage and find its disgusting how little they care about themselves. Doesn't help that the stores usually have a fridge of coke and energy drinks and horrible snacks. Not being elitist, I just cant stand there and watch people committing suicide while I game. Once in a blue moon pizza or sweet is ok, that's a cheat meal, but not soda after soda after soda and a whole medium pizza each.
That said, I was one of those guys a few years back before the military started threatening to boot me out for my waist, 40inches. So after that reality check I started p90x3, then Combat and passed the next PT test with a much better 33 inch waist. Then I did Beast and wondered why I wasn't in the gym. So about a year ago I started going to the gym and lifting. I figure I had to work out like a bodybuilder to do well, might as well work on being one. So 420 in the morning I am up and out the door to hit the gym by 5am til 730 and off to work. I started taking some testosterone boosters(not steroids or PEDs) recently and not only do I sleep so much better at night(with wild ass dreams every night) I have noticed a massive change physically in my upper torso. I also shoot for my weight in grams of protein every day although I rarely get there and I cant afford the 3500 cals of food I should be eating so I haven't gotten massive, but I look good in a tank top so I am not too worried
I am not a sedentary person in my opinion. I sit in front of a computer at work but once off I go home and usually work in my yard for several hours before maybe spending 30-45 minutes working on minis. I have a 2 acre fruit orchard and it takes a lot of physical work, especially when I clear more land by hand or plant new trees. This during certain seasons provides a decent and massively varied amount of fruit which obviously is pretty good for the diet.
I usually work out 6 days a week. Ill get a workout program from somewhere, typically I follow bodybuilding.com and get plans off there that are workable in a busy gym and rotate out plans every 8 weeks or so. Next week for example I am starting the Rock's Hercules program, looks to be a ball buster, did the legs this morning coming off an injury just to do it since I have a PT test this weekend I am not doing the run on. Yeah I feel it, cant wait until tomorrow. Especially on leg day which is probably the most important work out day of the week, I side with the Arnold quote where if you don't feel sick doing leg day, you aren't working it hard enough.
I suck at squats so am only doing around 160. Bench I have improved in the last six months from 150 to 265 with a working weight in the 220s. On arm day I do about 40 chin ups after my warm up. My deadlift is only about 200.
Found a functional shoulder exercise I really enjoy that smokes the hell out of me. Get a barbell, either the 35 or 45 and start slowly paddling a kayak. Make sure you have space and aren't right next to a mirror. Wow it is a smoker for ending should day. Good compound exercise, works your shoulders all around and works your core.
My biggest pet peeve and I totally blame my co-worker who used to be a professional body builder is chicken legs. You see all these guys working their upper torsos every day, benching massive weight, then they stand up and have tiny legs and are so out of proportion it looks silly. I see this a lot in the afternoons, especially at an army gym I was working out in. For some reason chicken legs abound in the army. Then again most of these guys go in and just do chest and arms and chit chat with each other on how much their biceps hurt(true story). Then they go home. The only genuinely big muscular guys I saw in my time there were actually on the leg press and squat racks. Go figure.
Tips I abide by
-No cell phone, leave it in the car. Buy a stop watch if you need a timer or an MP3 player if you need music. Phones are too tempting a distraction.
-Not there to socialize-yeah all the regulars say hi, fist bump, and maybe carry on a quick casual conversation in between sets, but the point of being there is to work out. If you have time to talk, you aren't working hard enough.
-Don't work out in a group. Its too slow and too easy to socialize.
-Warm up- I start every workout with 200 strokes as fast as I can on a rowing machine on medium difficulty. Its not an exercise, its a warm up, and a good total body one at that.
Just about 2 years ago I had been coming out of a few years of depression, and finally had had a job where I could afford going to the gym and being able to afford the supplements. Went from 155 lb to 195 lb in 5 months of lifting. Then, last January I ended up tearing my labrum in my left shoulder, and had to go through 2 orthopedists before I got anything beyond "it's just tendinitis". Finally got surgery in October, and I'm still recovering. If things keep progressing and healing, I should be able to start easing back into lifting around September. And I broke my foot last June, so that had taken out the ability to run/hike/outdoor activities all last summer. In the mean time I've lost almost all of the weight I had put on, and haven't been able to do any decent amount of painting since the injury.
Well, I've decided to join the dark side and run a couple cycles of prohormones to aid in fat loss. Mainly because I'd rather not spend 8-10 months cutting down to 175. I need to be a minimum of 200 before I get my half sleeve done to avoid stretching. Please note, prohormones are not steroids, and they are legal to some extent. They still do have potent effects that can aid in both muscle growth and fat loss.
Looking at it mainly because at least 30lbs I've put on can be accounted for due to medication side effects. Complete bs.
I plan to, cut normally over 60 days with a calorie and carb restricted diet. Use said prohormes for 6 weeks, tapering up and then off. Cut again normally for 120-150 days. Use prohormones again for 6 weeks with a taper. Entire program will run roughly 8-9 months to achieve a finished product of hopefully sub 8% body fat. Hopefully will be able to increase strength to my goals of 365 bench, 440 squat, 540 deadlift at under 180lbs. Well, only the bench portion of that should be hard. With any luck I'll hit 495 squat and 635 deadlift since I'm only 40/50lbs away from those numbers already.
I'd like to reach this level of definition by January 2017 for my next birthday
Spoiler:
I was probably only 1-2% body fat away here. I really want those lower abdominal veins to pop and I have a few in my upper abs that were on the verge of emerging.
Spoiler:
My arms, chest, shoulders, and quads will all look absurdly vascular if all goes well.
I hate going to the gym, all the exercises suck and feel like being on a hampster wheel.
What did it for me was getting into mountain biking. I enjoy being outside and the challenge of a trail as motivation to get fit. The last two years of intense mountain biking have helped me drop 30 lbs, but I'm plateauing at ~190lbs right now, probably due to diet. I'll typically ride 7-15+ miles a day of hard trail riding at 8500-10000ft elevation, which is hard work and man I'll be sweating and tired after riding like that. According to my fitbit and MapMyRide app, I'm burning between 600-1200ish calories per session.
The effect has been noticable, my lungs and heart can go for miles now, and I can climb grades that in years past I'd have had a hard time walking up. It's the only time in my life I've ever felt like an athlete. It really is a great feeling, my quads and legs are like iron now instead of the doughy sticks they were a few years ago. I recently completed a 63 mile ride with over 4000ft of climbing, so all the hard work has definitely paid off in terms of strength and stamina. I'm also really into hiking and snowshoeing during the winter months.
Also gave up alcohol 100%, and that helped me lose 15 lbs right there over the course of a year. Beer has a staggering amount of calories, especially high quality craft beers, all that adds up real fast into a huge gut. My gut has slimmed down considerably since getting sober, but I'm nowhere near having a six pack.
Diet is the next thing holding me back I think. I really eat a lot of junk food, love sugary drinks (ginger beer, root beer) and other garbage fast food.
Felt like I was plateauing with squats so I ended up increasing my load by 20 pounds and was able to do 5 sets of 8 at 165 185 205 225 and 245 (7.5 reps got an assist on the last one)
Ustrello wrote: Felt like I was plateauing with squats so I ended up increasing my load by 20 pounds and was able to do 5 sets of 8 at 165 185 205 225 and 245 (7.5 reps got an assist on the last one)
Just as a suggestion, you may want to try variations on the lift... Drop a bunch of weight and do a workout with super-sets, do some workouts by upping the weight a ton, and going for 3-5 reps, etc.
Ustrello wrote: Felt like I was plateauing with squats so I ended up increasing my load by 20 pounds and was able to do 5 sets of 8 at 165 185 205 225 and 245 (7.5 reps got an assist on the last one)
Just as a suggestion, you may want to try variations on the lift... Drop a bunch of weight and do a workout with super-sets, do some workouts by upping the weight a ton, and going for 3-5 reps, etc.
Also, how low are you going on your squats?
Very deep, but that is a decent idea switching up the weight.
Very deep, but that is a decent idea switching up the weight.
Good, lol... I used to be a "parellel" guy myself, but once I was trained on the proper motion to allow full range squats, it made all the difference in the world.
Very deep, but that is a decent idea switching up the weight.
Good, lol... I used to be a "parellel" guy myself, but once I was trained on the proper motion to allow full range squats, it made all the difference in the world.
No I try to go deep every time (though I was so tired on the 245 I got two parallel squats in by mistake) but I try and go as deep as possible without hitting the ground.
Thanks for this thread. Working on returning to my former slightly below average level of performance. My home gym is also the game room (garage), and I have about a 5 person group. We are thinking of punitive exercises during 40k. Havent really put it together yet, but I am thinking ITC based. Anyhoo, read a Crossfit journal (issue 6, 2003) about how they formulated their workouts and I kind of dig it. 3 day cycles tgen a rest day. Where each day is a single or combo of Cardio (C), Weights(W), Gymnastics(G). Single element days are focused on the task and technique. Dual element days are 3-5 Rounds for time. And Triple Days are as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) for 20 min. Tabata can be thrown into any.
Day/Elem
1. C
2. W+G
3. C+W+G
4. REST
5. W
6. C+G
7. C+W+G
8. REST
9. G
10.C+W
11.C+W+G
12.REST
I dig it.
Today day2 I went easy.
300 Jump rope warmup.
For Time:
20-15-10-5-1
-65lb Thruster
-Jumping Pullup
Embarassing 16:10
Well, this is something I need to start paying attention to. I started a desk job, which means being stuck in one spot, despite the 4 miles I walk a day to get around.
I've always been scared off doing exercising at home due to having a surgically fused spine (neck to waist), guess it's time to learn what I can and can't get up to. :s
Cycling is so damn good for losing weight. I don't do it (because I'd need to buy a new bike, and new ones - better ones - cost around 600+ euros here and that is like 1/3 or how much Warlord titan costs ), but a friend of mine keeps posting his cycling 'achievements'. So for 80ish km (~3 hours cycling) you can burn liek 2000 kcal. Not to mention all of them cardiovascular bonuses.
One thing I realized is my problem is that if the food is readily available, I will eat more of it. But If I purchase the food myself and ration it I do better.
For example. I live on campus. I get 1 meal a day from the dining hall, typically lunch and I will tend to binge and eat sweets I normally do not. If im home and my family buy sweets, I eat it. But if they dont, I normally dont crave sweets. Like, none at all. If I shop on my own, I will buy healthy stuff, but not if someone stuffs my fridge with bad stuff.
I prefer biking to running but I have damaged feet and ankles. Biking is far less jarring than running and better for your joints and bones. That and saying you just rode 30 miles sounds far more impressive than saying you went and ran a 5 miles.
I am on my second week of the Hercules workout. I usually rotate my workouts every 8-12 weeks so I had gotten used to my old 3 days and repeat split. This workout is pretty tough after having gotten used to the old one.
I usually will add a few exercises and modify a few things that I feel work better. Like I did arms today and instead of spider curls, I did pyramid one arm preacher/spider curls and pyramid tricept pushdowns. I added seated curls and bench dips to take up more time. I try and spend 2 hours working out and the base workout is too short in my opinion.
But overall the workout is no joke. I fear leg days. I usually am not even halfway and I am already saying "Make the bad man stop."
Apparently I am making visible improvements now as I have had multiple people come up to me and commented on me looking better. I was at 13%body fat last time I checked. Trying to get to 10-11% by the end of summer.
Matthew wrote: Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.
IIRC, you burn less calories for the same distances, but you take less physical impacts on the bike. As Col. Dash points out, because you can cover so much more ground by bike (unless you're riding a BMX bike, or maybe a mountain bike, tires dependent) than you can via running, when you tell people how far you've ridden it does sound much more impressive.
How much you get out of it also depends on where you're riding.... If you have a ton of hills in your regular ride, you're gonna get more out of it than a much more flat route.
Matthew wrote: Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.
Matthew wrote: Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.
What kind of biking? What are you riding?
I'm... Not sure. All I know is that I bike at around 15-20 km/h and run at around 5-6 minutes per kilometer.
Matthew wrote: Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.
Hey dude you asked about being a teenager and gaining muscle at home. I'm 19 now and lifted since I was 17. Try doing your basic lifts with the heaviest ones you have. This means bicep curls and front and side lateral raises. If you can do 3 sets of 10 for each exercise with 90s rest between sets, the first time you attempt the workout and feel like you have more energy, its too light. Let us know how this goes.
Anybody else got recommendations for him? This is pretty much what I started out doing, I got decent bicep and shoulder beginner gains from it.
Matthew wrote: Does anyone know how well biking compares to running? I love running, but since I've started biking to school I'm too tired to go running.
Hey dude you asked about being a teenager and gaining muscle at home. I'm 19 now and lifted since I was 17. Try doing your basic lifts with the heaviest ones you have. This means bicep curls and front and side lateral raises. If you can do 3 sets of 10 for each exercise with 90s rest between sets, the first time you attempt the workout and feel like you have more energy, its too light. Let us know how this goes.
Anybody else got recommendations for him? This is pretty much what I started out doing, I got decent bicep and shoulder beginner gains from it.
Thanks for the advice! A routine I've started is to do 12x3 reps of bicep curls with a 4kg dumbbell, and following that up with 10-20 push ups. I do this twice a day usually, once in the morning and once before bed. Although I've noticed I am getting stronger, I can't find any weights in my home that are heavier. I do have 8kg bells, but they're too heavy, and I have a bar weighing 1.5kg with 4 1.25kg weights. Any more tips?
I watched a video a while back of Arnie giving tips and one was he would put weight on a dumbbell so that he could only do one rep, then take off a weight and do two reps and so on. I've given that a try and it does work.
Typically, do people include the weight of the bar in the total weight they are lifting? I'm pretty sure mine is about 10Kg so it seems silly not to include that weight.
Only time you wouldn't count the bar is (potentially) with loose dumbbell weights.
You definitely do with barbell otherwise my squat would be even sadder.
Haha, yes, this was kinda why I was asking. I was using a very light hollow bar because it came with my bench but then I needed more weights and invested in a proper solid bar so I didn't need as many plates on even thought it was a bit heavier overall.
Typically, do people include the weight of the bar in the total weight they are lifting? I'm pretty sure mine is about 10Kg so it seems silly not to include that weight.
Lol, unless you're using anti-grav technology, the bar still weighs something
For the free weights obviously count the bar. For machines its not worth looking up the TARE weight of each machine and then adding the weights unless you are really that OCD about it. I just add the weights I put on it.
Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.
MaxZ wrote: Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.
size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.
Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.
edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.
MaxZ wrote: Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.
size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.
Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.
edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.
I've heard the meal timing is important, have you any experience with this?
MaxZ wrote: Looking for some advice.
For a while I have been doing 5x5 but I want to add some bodybuilding onto that, looking to add size in the most aesthetic areas e.g. chest, triceps/biceps, lats, traps. Advice for a way to conveniently add/change my current program to include exercises for these? I prefer compound, but beyond "use higher reps" I have no idea what to do.
size is, according to the body builder who was training me, much more about how much and how often you eat than it is how much you lift.
Triceps/biceps are gonna be your curls and extensions on the arms.
Chest is gonna be bench and chest press, flies and that sort of thing.
Traps is gonna be shrugs for the most part.
Lats you're gonna want lateral pull-downs, and another exercise that I have no real name for, but is a lat killer. I forgot till I went to google for the last exercise: seated rows are another good exercise.
edit 2: that lat killer was a bent over, straight arm pulldown. probably best done via cable machine. But, get the form down right and keep the reps nice and slow and under control, and it's a great exercise.
I keep on flaking out on back (besides deadlifts and pull ups) and I really need to start doing it again.
Also I never mentioned it here but I got a PR of 365 last week on deadlifts pretty easy so I may shoot for 405 in the coming weeks.
I've heard the meal timing is important, have you any experience with this?
I have not heard that myself, but I can see it making sense at the elite levels. The only exception to this is in regards to the timing of when I eat after workouts. And that was a "hard cap" of 30 minutes (as in, you'd better start eating within a half hour after finishing a workout)
For me, when I tried doing the 6-7 meals a day diet, with fairly strict meal plans, I was fething hungry all the fething time. I was told that once my body got used to that diet, things would get better.
Hey guys! Just wanted to say I'm doing progress: Lifting doesn't feel heavy anymore! I've adopted a program I read online though: 12x3 bicep curls (8kg bar), 10x3 hammer curls (4kg dumbbells), 12x3 shoulder presses (4kg) and 15x3 tricep extensions. I try to do this once a day, sometimes twice. Any advice?
Do that for too long of a period of time and you might end up over training. If its just arms you are going for, then do that 3 times a week instead of every day.
I have done targeted workout programs like that where I would add that on to my normal workout plan. Currently doing a Lat program along those lines. After I finish my normal workout I go back and do barbell rows, cable pull downs with pauses, one arm pull downs with my body back at about 30 degrees with pauses, and chin ups with pauses at the top and bottom. All of these I do 4x10. I do not go heavy on weights so I am far from my max on them.
On back day I actually do them heavy. But since they aren't the primary muscle group of the day working them light does the trick. Seen improvements for sure.
Just remember to be drinking your weight(in pounds) in grams of protein per day.
Started working with a medical doc last Thursday, who gave me phentermene for appetite control and energy.
Started tracking all my stuff again.
Started working out again.
Started eating more protein vs carbs again.
Started at 220.2 Friday morning
Started at 216.0 Tuesday morning
Back on track!!!
Goal is 170/180
Automatically Appended Next Post: Even did a 15 min mile this morning. Which for a fat old fuy like me...I was impressed to do. Especially when it was already 80 some degrees at 0930...and crushing humidity!
Sorry for the necro, I'm hoping to start another discussion here.
I started going to a gym in december, back then I benched 20kg max, could do 15kg curls and 13kg lat pulldowns.
Now I'm pretty proud of myself! Yesterday I did 61kg lat pulldown, 42,5 bench and 35,5 bicep curls.
I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.
I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.
Generally speaking, what I've done in the past would look a bit different, but here's how I would break down a lift:
example: Bench: 1 "warm up set" (very light weight, easy to hit my rep number), then 3-5 working sets. So on a week where each set is 10-12 reps, I should be hitting a spotter at about the 8-9 rep mark on each set. If you hit your first set where you hit 12 reps with no spot help, then I bump up the weight a tiny bit (usually the smallest plate for bench, a 2.5 lb plate in the US; or the next plate (a 5lbs. one) larger for a lower body set). Do 3-5 of these working sets, with roughly 1 minute of rest between sets. Back when I was in school, we were "assigned" working groups of 3 people, and the 1 minute rest would be when you'd knock out curls/auxiliary lifts).
So generally speaking, I would suggest 3-5 working sets for all primary lifts.
I have a question regarding time spent: I usually go three times a week: biceps/stomach/back, shoulders/triceps/chest and then legs/stomach. How many sets should I do per session? I usually do 12-15 sets per session, but I've reached 40 in longer sessions.
However many you feel like and however much time you want to put in?
Sets of how many? Count total reps not sets. Since your days are split on a push/pull split already, as a rule of thumb I would organize your push day (shoulders, tris, chest) to have roughly the same number of total reps as your pull day (bis, abs, back), then hit squats and/or dead lifts on your leg day. Back is a huge muscle group and tends to be under trained. Adjust accordingly on areas you're lagging or want to focus on.
As for repXset schemes, I found better success in getting my numbers up with low reps/high sets. But pick whatever works for you, most people have around 6 months of guaranteed 'newbie' gains before their lifts plateau.
I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.
Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?
ZergSmasher wrote: I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.
Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?
Lifting is, not ironically, even better for cutting weight than cardio is, when done right. By this I mean that you should be fething sore when you walk out of the gym. If it's leg day, you should be dragging the soup form of yourself out of there, your legs should feel rather like jelly and unable to support your weight.
Now, if you are of a size where you cannot do a lot of freeweight lifts, then yeah, I would definitely say you need to be active and cutting what weight you can until you can doing lifts.
As for diets, yeah, cereal (and grain in general) is pretty bad. There was an article I read a few years back now that said we Americans tend to eat our nutrients backward. What they meant is that you should be loading up the bulk of your proteins during breakfast, and your final "big" meal of the day (dinner/supper) should have little to no proteins. If sweets tend to be a problem, maybe try dehydrated fruits as an alternative?
As for being too tired and/or lazy for preparing real foods, I hear ya, and I think if we're honest, it's a struggle for most of us who are proper adults (meaning school and/or work, family obligations, etc.)
ZergSmasher wrote: I am extremely overweight (like, well over 300 lbs.) and have just started cutting down my calorie count and doing like 30 minutes a day of cardio at my local gym. I'm breaking myself of my bad habit of grazing on snacks while playing video games and watching TV, which was probably the biggest contributor to my current sad condition. Is it enough to get some cardio in and cut calories, or is there more I should be doing? I eat cereal for breakfast most mornings; is it really as bad for you as they say? I know to avoid the obvious deathtrap foods like candy, ice cream, and non-diet soda, but eating healthy is hard because I'm often too tired and/or lazy to prepare good meals.
Also, does lifting burn a lot of calories? I sometimes put in some time on the exercise machines at the gym, usually doing a few reps on several of them to work all the muscles a little bit. Is this a good idea for me, or should I wait with this until I get skinnier?
I use to be a personal trainer, like 7 different certifications deep. Here's my advice, don't other think things, and don't think of food as bad. One of the biggest problems people often have is they have a negative relationship with food. So what they'll do is go on a diet and then they'll eat like one cookie and feel like a total POS and say fudge it, then fall back into old eating habits. And really the word HABITS is the key, you don't really choose what you eat believe it or not, it's a behavior just like breathing. So here is my advice, choose one or two habits to change about your eating or exercising and keep a calendar. Can you do it 90% of the time for one month, yes? Then add another habit. No? No problem, break it down to something even simpler. Add little habits over time and your behavior will adjust. Here are the five habits I recommend people try to build
1. Eat every two to four hours, note this has nothing to do with nutrient timing or stoking the fires of the metabolism. That's not really backed by science. However if you break your meals up into 6-8 meals a day you will feel more satiated reducing the amount of hunger pangs you get.
2. For guys eat two servings of protein with each meal, so about 10-12 servings a day. For gals eat one serving. Note this is mainly because guys are on average bigger than gals. A serving of lean protein is a portion of meat about the size of your palm.
3. Eat 2 servings of fruits and veggies with every meal. A serving is about a baseball sized fruit or a cup of veggies. If trying to lose weight do a ratio of 10:1 veggies to fruit.
4. Eat 1 serving of healthy fats with each meal. Fat is super important to your diet and despite the name doesn't make you fat! 1 serving is about the size of your thumb or a tablespoon. Healthy fats include things such as nuts, avocados, oil and vinegar dressing.
5. Save starchy carbs such as breads, pastas, and potatoes for after you've worked out for the day. And try to keep it to one serving per meal.
There's five great habits that don't require too much thought like calorie counting or going on a crazy ketogenic diet that's intended for bodybuilders prepping for the stage. Lastly remember the 90/10 rule, do it right 90% of the time and who cares about the other 10%!
As far as lifting goes, do what feels comfortable. You need to enjoy working out, it shouldn't feel like a chore or dreaded task. So lift what you can and do what feels comfortable. It's better to under do things then over do them. As far as calorie burn, without going into a bunch of science mumbo jumbo lifting whether done with weights or body weight builds lean mass. Something cardio really can't do. The more lean mass you have the more calories you burn at rest, basically that means you are burning calories sitting on your couch! That's pretty awesome.
One last thing I want to leave people with is this site. This place is run by Dr. John Berardi, this guy is friggin amazing! Really smart and has helped a lot of people. You don't need to sign up for his system, there's lots of free info on the site and you can sign up for his newsletter which has some fantastic articles.
Best of luck mate but you don't need it, you'll do just fine!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And just so people can see I'm not talking out my ass, this was me at a pretty low bodyfat. According to the caliper test 6%, not sure how accurate that was, but I weighed around 170lbs. I'm kind of fat now due to some struggles with PTSD, but my mind is getting right and soon my body will be right again as well!
lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X
Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?
I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.
My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.
lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X
Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?
I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.
My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.
Where there is a limiting factor there is a solution! Here is my suggestion, get yourself a kettlebell, it's the only piece of equipment you will need. Get up about 30 minutes earlier than you would normally and perform a workout with your kettlebell or keep a kettlebell in your office and work out on a break. I don't suggest saying you will do it when you get home, that's when you are obviously least motivated, so find the time when you would feel the most motivated and pick that time. Here's a link to some sample Kettlebell workouts
1. If your office will let you, get a standing desk instead of a sitting one. They even make treadmill standing desk so you can walk while you work.
2. Start an office fitness club, this is really good if you do workout on breaks. You can perhaps convince highers to make a special break for workouts. Higher ups love community building and having people to do things with you is so much more fun.
3. Create a work, fit, push, play weekly calendar. In the work section put your three top work priorities, in the fit section put something you can do each day that involves some type of fitness. Doesn't have to be a workout, playing a sport or yard work counts!. In the play area put some leisure time in there, having leisure time is important. Too much stress can cause you to hold onto body fat. Lastly in the push section put something each day that will get you out of your comfort zone.
lost another 20 pounds from that last post. so now from 220 to 150 from just dieting alone. i think its time for me to start actually working out :X
Holy crap, that is amazing. What did you do different?
I hit 240 and realized that even at my height, it was too much. I haven't made huge changes, just watching portions and trying to steer to the "healthiest" choices (IE no/small French fries if fast food, chicken sandwich, no cheese or mayo), including heavily cutting carbs. It dropped me to 215 pretty quick, but then it kind of flat lined and I am struggling to hit 200.
My job is sedentary and requires long hours, but I have been trying to include more physical activity such as taking stairs when I can (7 flights in garage + 4 more in office). I know I need to be more physically active, but when you leave before sunup and don't get home until 6-7 pm and have to burn weekends with housecleaning, laundry, yard etc. as well as frequent weekend office tasks, working out is pretty much a no go.
Sad to say i simply eat less.
small snack for breakfast, a regular portion lunch, almost never any dinner.
and while i dont track it, its usually a lot of veggies and meat, less grains.
this was a choice of mine as like a year and a half a go i destroyed my back. wasnt able to work out like i used to and was getting fat. its improved soooo much after losing weight.
oh also i also work at the PC 24/7 in an office setting. embarrassing or not i usually do like 30 quick squats every time i go to make some coffee (one of those kurger machines)
I've manged to lose somewhere in the rage of 20-35 lbs in the past two months without any real plan, so that's nice. I still need to loose about 80 more to be a good weight though, but I've started biking again.
If my erratic scale is to be believed, I’ve been dropping on average a pound a week for the last ~2 months.
Started a new job. It’s pushing a mouse around a desk all day. No activity. But one of the perks of the job is a health incentive program. (Vitality). Free fitbit, healthy activity earns points. Rack up enough points and you get a discount on your health insurance. So I’m a gamer, and I’m going to game the heck out of this system. All I need to do is set a goal and click a button once a week for 30 points? Sure. Click through informational lessons and answer a dozen idiot questions? Yup. Banged out gold status in under a month. Halved my insurance premium.
But you know what? It actually impacted me. The stupid goal I selected to punch in once a week was to eat more fruit and vegies. And damn if that didn’t stick into the back of my brain when I’m packing my lunches. Those stupid courses I powered though on things like eating healthy? Impacting my grocery shopping. It’s not that I’m adverse to things like whole grains, but I just didn’t give them much thought. But when I’m grabbing a box of cereal to start my day, I’m not getting something based on white flour. Go fiber, nutrients, etc.
Logging 5,000 paces a day on my fitbit counts as a light workout and gets me 5 points. Walking up and down the hallway on my breaks and lunch gets me close enough to that for my normal movement to break the threshold. 10k steps takes actual effort, so I only rarely hit that. But I actively work to hit that 5k.
One thing the points get besides insurance discounts are Amazon gift cards. I’m currently assembling a Start Collecting: Skeleton Hordes box I earned by being healthy.
I thought I was gaming the system, but in truth we were gaming each other.
I guess the take away from this for other people is two fold. If your job offers health incentives, take advantage of them. You use less sick days and are healthier, and might get some perks out of it. The other is to harness your competitive gamer side. I pursue 5,000 steps on my fitbit with the same vigor I apply to getting achievements, levels, and badges in games. Treat your health like a game, and embrace your inner WAACTFG.
Ive lost 44 pounds since i started going to the gym in August. Hoping to hit 60 pounds by the time this August rolls around.
Eating a little better, too, but i still enjoy life. Though i have been the anti junk food Nazi in our house - you know, saying things like: do we need it? If you absolutely want it, get the smaller bag. Why are you thinking of getting chocolate, we just had chips a week ago?
It feels good. Uniform fits for work better than ever, going from popping buttons to things just hanging and being loose. Have more energy, feel more confident, etc.
Crazyterran wrote: Ive lost 44 pounds since i started going to the gym in August. Hoping to hit 60 pounds by the time this August rolls around.
Eating a little better, too, but i still enjoy life. Though i have been the anti junk food Nazi in our house - you know, saying things like: do we need it? If you absolutely want it, get the smaller bag. Why are you thinking of getting chocolate, we just had chips a week ago?
It feels good. Uniform fits for work better than ever, going from popping buttons to things just hanging and being loose. Have more energy, feel more confident, etc.
Grats!
When I was doing my big push to shed pounds I was a bit draconian about junk food in the house and things like that. It was hard enough to keep focused on what I needed to do without temptation at every corner.
Getting results you can see brings it all home. It’s one thing to wonder why you are doing this to yourself when the only results you see are a slightly lower number when you step on the scale. But once you get the tangible results, it gets so much better! That is why you gave up all the junk and treats. To look sharp and feel good!
Crazyterran wrote: Ive lost 44 pounds since i started going to the gym in August. Hoping to hit 60 pounds by the time this August rolls around.
Eating a little better, too, but i still enjoy life. Though i have been the anti junk food Nazi in our house - you know, saying things like: do we need it? If you absolutely want it, get the smaller bag. Why are you thinking of getting chocolate, we just had chips a week ago?
It feels good. Uniform fits for work better than ever, going from popping buttons to things just hanging and being loose. Have more energy, feel more confident, etc.
Grats!
When I was doing my big push to shed pounds I was a bit draconian about junk food in the house and things like that. It was hard enough to keep focused on what I needed to do without temptation at every corner.
Getting results you can see brings it all home. It’s one thing to wonder why you are doing this to yourself when the only results you see are a slightly lower number when you step on the scale. But once you get the tangible results, it gets so much better! That is why you gave up all the junk and treats. To look sharp and feel good!
Its funny after like the first 2 weeks of hard core dieting, i honestly stopped getting hungry and had absolutely no cravings for junk food or grazing. its odd i dont feel hunger anymore. am i going to die?
Its funny after like the first 2 weeks of hard core dieting, i honestly stopped getting hungry and had absolutely no cravings for junk food or grazing. its odd i dont feel hunger anymore. am i going to die?
We are all going to die. The question is if we die well.
I’m trying out a trick to see if it helps stop me grazing. When I reach for a snack, take a drink of water instead.
That's great, Nevelon! I agree that copious water intake makes a huge difference, I also noticed less general hunger, though, and that I got full with less food. That was one of the biggest shifts for me.
I dropped another 5 lbs since the last post, so am pretty excited since I am now close to my goal to 200 lbs from 240 lbs. It has made a huge difference in clothing- my shirt necks don't feel tight ( was at a 17 1/2 neck size, but now a 16 1/2 fits fine), my pants are much looser at the waist ( moved 2 belt holes tighter), and my t-shirts now hang loose over my stomach.
I also feel much more energetic and less sluggish. Dr. was impressed since my BP dropped from around 150/100 to 110/70. The only downside was that I was in with sinusitis....
I have one of these under my desk at work. I'm starting to notice a difference in both leg strength and losing a few pounds. I have been bumping up the resistance every 2 weeks.
kronk wrote: I have one of these under my desk at work. I'm starting to notice a difference in both leg strength and losing a few pounds. I have been bumping up the resistance every 2 weeks.
Looks like something out of Skymall
But hey, if it looks stupid, and it works, it isn't stupid. . . So good on ye for finding something that helps
