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Fitness |OT8| Dad Bods, Bulge Swelfies, and Wait...Do you even lift bro?

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Azulsky

Member
5' 8"

The majority of that weight is fat.

Lol, I can resist pastries fairly well, but I do have bagels from time to time. It's a once in a while thing when it comes to eating sugary things.

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, and that's doing a mix of high resistance cardio and weight lifting.

Yeah if you can zero in your eating habits then its possible to lose 20 by the end of November. Thats 1lb every 4.4 days.

I would commit to going 5 days a week and make sure you get some solid cardio in to help.
 

BumRush

Member
:takes notes:

I have been adding drop sets for more things that I am currently progressing poorly on like triceps and squats. Between all the popular programs the way to break plateaus is to add volume, so drop sets does it for me

Although I need to start recommitting to eating more. The net effect of doing this for 8 weeks now has been -1 lbs. That will probably help.

I've always found that drop sets are most effective for smaller muscle groups. Biceps, triceps, deltoids, calves, etc. respond best to the added volume. Give shrug drop sets a chance!
 

BumRush

Member
I think I might have been cutting too long. Between that and some real life issues I'm having I'm getting really burned out. Finished my workout and couldn't get up off the sofa, just no energy at all. In half an hour I've got another really hard turbo trainer session and I just can't be fucked with any of it.

Maybe you should take a break from cycling for a few weeks / months, bud. You seem to not really be enjoying it lately.
 

M52B28

Banned
Yeah if you can zero in your eating habits then its possible to lose 20 by the end of November. Thats 1lb every 4.4 days.

I would commit to going 5 days a week and make sure you get some solid cardio in to help.
How does 35 minutes of cardio sound? I can knock out 25 minutes of inclined/resistant elliptical and I can get about 10 minutes of inclined treadmill walking.
 
Maybe you should take a break from cycling for a few weeks / months, bud. You seem to not really be enjoying it lately.

I love the actual cycling, it's the turbo trainer stuff I hate because it's brutal.

But I can't take a break from that until my event. Not unless I want to die anyway (this is a real possibility, in past years there have been serious accidents because people have been so wrecked they fell asleep whilst riding).
 

Kureransu

Member
5' 8"

The majority of that weight is fat.

Lol, I can resist pastries fairly well, but I do have bagels from time to time. It's a once in a while thing when it comes to eating sugary things.

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, and that's doing a mix of high resistance cardio and weight lifting.

you've about 9 weeks until nov 1. 2lbs a week is definitely doable at that weight and height (same height as me). If you haven't already been losing i expect he first week to be a little high from water loss.
 
Age: 28
Height: 160cm (5 ft6/7)
Weight: 139 pounds
Goal: More defined chest and abs is my primary goal with arms/legs secondary goal.
Current Training Schedule: None
Current Training Equipment Available: Attend a gym
Comments: I've just signed up for a gym, and whilst there are tons of information guides out there, it really is too much to filter. As I'm a beginner, will any of the recommended programs in the OP help me achieve my goal considering that I work 60 hour weeks (weekends are my only free time)?
 
Another Week gone, another 600-700 grams gone. Id estimate my bf at 14% now. Starting to see some muscle seperation or am I imagining things

Anyways,

Ultimate goal: 9% bf

Do you guys think its possible to get there in 2 months?

Current weight: 82,8 kg (at lowest)

I started it all at 86 kg, I was around 17% bf then
 
How does 35 minutes of cardio sound? I can knock out 25 minutes of inclined/resistant elliptical and I can get about 10 minutes of inclined treadmill walking.
That's fine. I do like 30-45 minutes of incline walking as my cardio when I cut, it's more than enough. If you want to shorten the time, look into HIIT. However you're good with that.

Also 20-30 lbs in 12 weeks is very, very, very doable at your height and weight. However hitting those higher numbers is going to require a lot of strict dieting. I'm referencing this from my own personal experiences though as we're the same height and I started out roughly at that same weight.

I went from about 245 to 190 in about 5 months.
 

M52B28

Banned
I went from about 245 to 190 in about 5 months.
How many calories did you take in during that period of weight loss? Also, if you don't mind me asking, did you have to deal with a lot of loose skin after getting to your goal
U got this

Thanks to you and everyone here that have given me advice so far.

I have a feeling that I can get this done. I'm going to incorporate IF into my diet from time to time to hopefully help the process.
 
As I'm a beginner, will any of the recommended programs in the OP help me achieve my goal considering that I work 60 hour weeks (weekends are my only free time)?
So are you saying you plan to only lift Sat. and Sun. or are you willing to put in 45 minutes during the week? If the latter, Starting Strength or anything will get you there. If the former, you're not going to get far, you need to lift 3x a week with recovery days in between.
 

Azulsky

Member
So I guess this is the closest to a 'health' thread I found, but I'm cutting soda and is this a good alternative to curb that soda addiction?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sam-s-Choice-Clear-American-Strawberry-Water-33.8-Fl-Oz/10452357

It's well..mostly water, has a taste, would it be safe to consume in the long run if I'm cutting?

There really isn't anything physically bad about diet soda that we can pin down. The issue might be that you are still predisposed psychologically towards soda in general and would too easily go back to regular soda.

I've never stopped drinking diet soda and Ive lost plenty of weight.
 

BumRush

Member
Another Week gone, another 600-700 grams gone. Id estimate my bf at 14% now. Starting to see some muscle seperation or am I imagining things

Anyways,

Ultimate goal: 9% bf

Do you guys think its possible to get there in 2 months?

Current weight: 82,8 kg (at lowest)

I started it all at 86 kg, I was around 17% bf then


Short answer, no. Losing 5% BF is difficult enough but going 14% - 9% in 2 months is very difficult to do in a healthy and natural way. Just keep chuggin'...it's going to feel insane when you get there.
 

BumRush

Member
I love the actual cycling, it's the turbo trainer stuff I hate because it's brutal.

But I can't take a break from that until my event. Not unless I want to die anyway (this is a real possibility, in past years there have been serious accidents because people have been so wrecked they fell asleep whilst riding).

When's the event??
 
There really isn't anything physically bad about diet soda that we can pin down. The issue might be that you are still predisposed psychologically towards soda in general and would too easily go back to regular soda.

I've never stopped drinking diet soda and Ive lost plenty of weight.

Oh, the thing I linked isn't Diet Soda. It's more like a water derivative with some flavoring in it I think? I'm wary about changes like that. I wouldn't want to be drinking something that's known to be bad in the long run.
 
How many calories did you take in during that period of weight loss? Also, if you don't mind me asking, did you have to deal with a lot of loose skin after getting to your goal
Uhhh, I don't remember really as I didn't track my calorie intake heavily back then. I just cut out the junk (fried foods, soda, snacks) and it was enough to put me in a deficit. Sorry I can't offer more specific information.

Right now I do track my diet heavily on a cut and generally cut at around 2100-2500 calories at 5'9" ~200 lbs (190 lean). However my physique is completely different from when I was overweight.

And yeah, I have loose skin around my lower belly. It's pretty bad, but I think its due to genetics. I highly, highly, highly doubt losing weight extremely slowly would've made it any better. I seem to be a rare case though as most other people I come across that lose a bunch of weight don't have it as bad as I do.
 
When's the event??

October 10th / 11th.

It's 1am now and I've just finished 1h 45m at 150bpm. Gotta get my calories in now as fast as poss then up early for a proper ride tomorrow... which should hopefully be a lot more enjoyable.

And yeah, I have loose skin around my lower belly. It's pretty bad, but I think its due to genetics. I highly, highly, highly doubt losing weight extremely slowly would've made it any better. I seem to be a rare case though as most other people I come across that lose a bunch of weight don't have it as bad as I do.

Fucked up skin bros unite. :(

I'm going to see about treatment for mine, but I've got a house to buy in the meantime so it's going to be a while.
 
I've always found that drop sets are most effective for smaller muscle groups. Biceps, triceps, deltoids, calves, etc. respond best to the added volume. Give shrug drop sets a chance!

What exactly is a drop set? It seems like something that could help me with my difficulty with OHP if its useful for the smaller muscle groups.

I did manage to do 5X5 at 105lbs yesterday on OHP, I just had to rest 3min in between sets.
 

BumRush

Member
What exactly is a drop set? It seems like something that could help me with my difficulty with OHP if its useful for the smaller muscle groups.

I did manage to do 5X5 at 105lbs yesterday on OHP, I just had to rest 3min in between sets.

I wouldn't recommend doing it on OHP...I'll get that out of the way first.

Drop set: dropping the weight and doing more reps on each set. For example...I do shrug drop sets. My first set may start at 100 lbs DBs, for 8 reps. In the same set, I will drop to 80 and do another 6, 60 and do another 4 and 45 until failure. That's one set. You end up doing a higher volume of reps because you keep dropping the weight.

Great to do on accessory lifts...dangerous on compounds
 

ILoveBish

Member
Hit 17.3k steps today, walking pier to pier at the beach. It was freaking hot even at the beach. Did pull ups at the jungle gym in-between the piers, going to do more of that next time.
 

Xeinok

Neo Member
Hey guys I haven't posted in here before but I'm an active intermediate powerlifter on a full keto diet now for about 6 months.
 

SeanR1221

Member
Crazy. Even after eating pumpkin pancakes, a huge plate of sushi and a milkshake yesterday I stayed at 197 on the dot. Weight didn't budge at all. I know I ran the 5k but it's pretty crazy. Wife went up 3lbs 🙈 but she'll spring back in 2-3 days.
 

despire

Member
Crazy. Even after eating pumpkin pancakes, a huge plate of sushi and a milkshake yesterday I stayed at 197 on the dot. Weight didn't budge at all. I know I ran the 5k but it's pretty crazy. Wife went up 3lbs 🙈 but she'll spring back in 2-3 days.

You've found the Cooter zone.
 

Joey Fox

Self-Actualized Member
# of workouts by month:
Jan - 10
Feb - 1
March - 2
April - 5
May - 13
June - 4
July - 13
August - 15

WTF at me in June. Feb - March was a black hole, but that problem is solved.
 
I wouldn't recommend doing it on OHP...I'll get that out of the way first.

Drop set: dropping the weight and doing more reps on each set. For example...I do shrug drop sets. My first set may start at 100 lbs DBs, for 8 reps. In the same set, I will drop to 80 and do another 6, 60 and do another 4 and 45 until failure. That's one set. You end up doing a higher volume of reps because you keep dropping the weight.

Great to do on accessory lifts...dangerous on compounds

I see, thanks for the info. Since I'm on a program nearly all the lifts are compound lifts, so this doesn't look like it'll be a good fit for me.
 
What program are you doing? I'd never substitute out compounds BUT you can throw some assistance lifts on top of them.

I'm doing Stronglifts 5X5, I've added bicep curls, wrist curls, calf raises, and ab exercises as assistance lifts since I felt they weren't going to get enough use. Are there any other assistance lifts I should be adding, maybe for the chest since I'm not yet at a heavy enough benching wt to get the benefits out of it.
 

BumRush

Member
I'm doing Stronglifts 5X5, I've added bicep curls, wrist curls, calf raises, and ab exercises as assistance lifts since I felt they weren't going to get enough use. Are there any other assistance lifts I should be adding, maybe for the chest since I'm not yet at a heavy enough benching wt to get the benefits out of it.

I'm not sure how they fit in with SL5X5 but incline bench cable flies are my favorite chest exercise by a mile. Go high volume with great form and reap the rewards.
 
It's so expensive which is a shame. I really have like zero thoughts about it anymore though. It's just a part of me, lol.

Yeah, I just can't get there. Depresses the crap out of me. Maybe if I was bigger, but for my build I need to be ripped, and I look good everywhere else and utterly terrible there.

I doubt I'll ever take my shirt off in public.
 

M52B28

Banned
Yeah, I've lost a bit of weight and I'm starting to notice around my stomach there is more loose skin.

A solution to this would be dropping body fat percentage and bulking up muscle, right? Or am I missing a point?
 
Not really. It either tightens up, or it doesn't. If your young then odds are it'll happen at some point though, unless you have stretch marks, in which case your odds aren't good.

I mean theoretically you can build enough muscle to force it to tighten... but the odds of doing that on your stomach are pretty damn slim.
 

M52B28

Banned
Not really. It either tightens up, or it doesn't. If your young then odds are it'll happen at some point though, unless you have stretch marks, in which case your odds aren't good.

I mean theoretically you can build enough muscle to force it to tighten... but the odds of doing that on your stomach are pretty damn slim.
Yeah, I think I'm screwed.
 
I'm not sure how they fit in with SL5X5 but incline bench cable flies are my favorite chest exercise by a mile. Go high volume with great form and reap the rewards.

Alright, I'll add this to my workouts, I can add assistance lifts to the Stronglifts app including sets/reps and whatnot. It's been great having something that I can look at to track my progress, keeps me motivated.
 

ILoveBish

Member
I'm still not sure if I'll bother with fixing loose skin. It's gotten a lot better after the long fasts, but there is plenty left. For me it starts right below the third row of abs. If I have shorts high enough I bet I could hide it well.
 
I'm still not sure if I'll bother with fixing loose skin. It's gotten a lot better after the long fasts, but there is plenty left. For me it starts right below the third row of abs. If I have shorts high enough I bet I could hide it well.

geek.jpg
 
Yeah, I just can't get there. Depresses the crap out of me. Maybe if I was bigger, but for my build I need to be ripped, and I look good everywhere else and utterly terrible there.

I doubt I'll ever take my shirt off in public.
I am still very reluctant to being shirtless in public, especially in scenarios where people are more likely to judge your appearance (gay clubs and events).

I actually had a small break down last year because a bar required you to be shirtless and my friends really wanted to go there. I just got super self conscious the entire time we were there and it made things worse to see all these guys with great bodies around me. I had a bit of panic attack and just left everyone. It was awful.

What's funny is I was at the same bar the night before, but I was drunk enough to not care, lol. Never going to that place, or anything like it, sober ever again.

I'm still not sure if I'll bother with fixing loose skin. It's gotten a lot better after the long fasts, but there is plenty left. For me it starts right below the third row of abs. If I have shorts high enough I bet I could hide it well.
Yup same here. I actually used to hide it by lifting my shorts over it, lol.

It's weird cause under the skin I have a crazy "V" with veins snaking up my lower abs, but they're completely hidden by the skin. :(

Another thing I've noticed is if I put on any weight, whether water or fat, A LOT of it goes to that area. It balloons pretty bad and makes me look much fatter than I really am. Hate it.
 
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