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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

I've been using the so called 'bro split' with high reps for a while now, as recommended by people around me.
It seems to work for a lot of people, but not for me. Maybe it's not the program's fault, I don't know...

Is push-pull-legs with low reps a better option? Do I have to change it after a while or do I stick to it forever?
Do I have to change some of the exercises or the number of repetitions every month or so? (that was the case with the brosplit)

I did the "bro split" for years and can't say i didn't have success (i did low reps, high volume) but now I wouldn't recommend it. I mean it seemed to work for me, but studies indicate natural lifters will see better results hitting each part twice a week versus once a week... So i switched to a upper/lower split and have been doing that for a year or two now.

I now spend less time in the gym (4 days a week versus 5-6 days a week), workout time is around the same / less, and I still see great progress. I wish I would've done this sooner.

Push/Pull/Legs is great too and I've tried it, but I prefer hitting everything twice a week now and attending the gym less.
 
So I don't know if it's the same everywhere in the US, but holy shit is healthy food expensive in Leadville. Some of the things I bought cost me triple what they would have in the UK.
 
Hey, those gyro ball things-- never tried one. Can they work you or is it going to be too easy for someone who deadlifts?

Wrist-Power-Ball-with-Strap-Fitness-Body-Building-Equipment-Gyroscopic-Wrist-Exerciser-for-Sportsman-Computer-Typist.jpg
 
After a little over a year of squatting, with some setbacks along the way and even just a month and a half of time off for no good reason at all, I've finally made it to 200 on the squat. Getting excited about the prospect of soon being to 225, enough for 2 plates on each side. I'm still getting linear progression, so I don't suspect to have a problem getting there and going beyond. It should happen over the next couple of weeks, in all honesty. The most difficult thing about the squat is simply the will to do it. For me, it's the most mentally taxing lift.

If only my bench and OHP were getting the same results.
 

Marz

Member
After a little over a year of squatting, with some setbacks along the way and even just a month and a half of time off for no good reason at all, I've finally made it to 200 on the squat. Getting excited about the prospect of soon being to 225, enough for 2 plates on each side. I'm still getting linear progression, so I don't suspect to have a problem getting there and going beyond. It should happen over the next couple of weeks, in all honesty. The most difficult thing about the squat is simply the will to do it. For me, it's the most mentally taxing lift.

If only my bench and OHP were getting the same results.

Good job, how much do you weigh if you don't mind me asking?
 

Hypron

Member
I hurt my back during squats about 2 months ago due to a lack of flexibility and poor form, so I haven't been able to squat/deadlift since then. Since I had just started starting strength it's been quite frustrating. Since then I've just been doing the OHP/bench press part of the programme and some machine stuff to work out my legs without putting strain on my back...

But I should finally get the all clear from my physio next week. Quite excited to start doing squats and dead-lifts again. I've been stretching every day, so I'm more flexible now and I'll be extra careful about my form, hopefully it'll go well.
 
I had to take six weeks off due to surgery, and man, the numbers took a hit. Really frustrating. I was benching four sets of 225 three reps each and right now I'm at 190 doing the same after two or three weeks. Just want to be back to regular numbers.
 
Why don't you move to another gym?

Like I said, I'm living in a foreign country, I don't drive, there are not that many gyms that have the facilities I need to begin with, and the few friends I have here, mostly go to that gym.
Throw a girl into the mix and I guess you have your complete answer.

So, FitGAF sure seems to have a different crowd these days.
I am interested to hear how you would have reacted if lived in a foreign country, barely spoke the local language and you were publicly humiliated for what you believe in for 3 days in a row.
 
Also, while I'm here, can I get a bit of a critique on my numbers? I've been lifting for around a year and a half, though I didn't take it really, really seriously until a year ago.

I'm 29, started at 5'10, 158 lbs. I'm at 190 now. Tons of chicken and protein shakes. I've been told that my body is genetically a "hard gainer".

My one rep maxes six weeks ago (as stated in a post above, had to take time off due to surgery):
Bench: 250
Squat: 300
Deadlift: 325 - I stopped deadlifting for two months prior to this due to hurting it deadlifting (likely due to poor form in the lift), thought I was still doing other back exercises.
 
I had to take six weeks off due to surgery, and man, the numbers took a hit. Really frustrating. I was benching four sets of 225 three reps each and right now I'm at 190 doing the same after two or three weeks. Just want to be back to regular numbers.

That doesn't sound like that big a hit given the time involved.

On the subject of losing muscle... I currently weigh 130lb. lol
 
Also, while I'm here, can I get a bit of a critique on my numbers? I've been lifting for around a year and a half, though I didn't take it really, really seriously until a year ago.

I'm 29, started at 5'10, 158 lbs. I'm at 190 now. Tons of chicken and protein shakes. I've been told that my body is genetically a "hard gainer".

My one rep maxes six weeks ago (as stated in a post above, had to take time off due to surgery):
Bench: 250
Squat: 300
Deadlift: 325 - I stopped deadlifting for two months prior to this due to hurting it deadlifting (likely due to poor form in the lift), thought I was still doing other back exercises.

Understood on hurting yourself and having to step back on certain lifts, but the main criticism I'd make is that your squat and dl are too low relative to your bench.
 
Hit fitGAF, first time posting here.

I've always said I wanted to get in shape but never actually done it. I signed up to a gym again a few weeks ago and have going off and on, usually doing some weights and 10-15 minutes on the bike. Today was the first day I finally got serious. I didn't do any weights, but I did 30 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes on the treadmill (only going 3mph) and then another 30 minutes on the bike. When I got home, I ate a bit and showered. I weighed myself immediately after the shower and was down 1.4 pounds from a few hours earlier. I finally felt like I've made some progress.

I've been horribly out of shape since I first got diagnosed with depression when I was 14 and got put on medication for it and a couple other things. I gained 50 pounds in about 6 months and slowly went up from there before I stopped around 270 pounds. I am 26 now. Today was the first day I've weighed under 270 pounds in awhile. The exercises that work the best for me are the ones I forget I'm exercising. That's why I've always leaned towards the bike. I'm looking at something on my phone and it helps me lose track of time. Today on the treadmill I did the same thing, watching some Starcraft 2 matches.

At the same time with this, I've been trying to eat a bit healthier. I grew up on basically fast food and soda. One of my few accomplishments I'm proud of is getting over my caffeine addiction. U used to not be able to go 24 hours without caffeine before getting a headache. My drinks lately have mainly been water, some extremely low calorie and sugar juice, Gatorade (G2 specifically) and the occasional energy drink. I've also been drinking a vitamin nutrition drink after my workouts, although I'm not sure if I should drink it before or after. Food has been the bigger issue. There's very little healthy food I actually enjoy. One thing I've been having a lot lately is plain hotdogs (no bread or condiments). I doubt this is actually good for me to help me lose weight, but there's not much else I like.

In terms of goals, my dream is to get down to 200 pounds. I feel going below that wouldn't do much as I have a pretty large frame (I'm 6'3). My more immediate goal is to get down to 250 pounds. I feel like once I get there, I can really ramp up workouts. Another goal of mine is to run Bloomsday, a 7 1/2 mile marathon (in Spokane which is interesting timing with this discussion). My mom has done it for years and I want to be able to do it with her. It is not until about early May so I have plenty of time to plan for it. I do not have any specific weight lifting goals, although as I lose weight I'll come up with some.

Any advice is highly recommended.
 

It's good that you're taking steps, but I want to just make one point just so you have a realistic picture of what you're doing when you exercise. You're burning calories, yes, and that's a good thing, and you're getting your heart and lungs pumping, and that's a great thing, but that weight you saw come off the scale today was water. You're going to see your weight fluctuate up or down, and I don't want you to (a) think the drop is a direct result of the workout or (b) get discouraged when your weight fluctuates. It takes burning a lot of calories to lose 1.4 pounds of fat, and you didn't do that today. (Unless you worked out with Michael Phelps, in which case...)

One thing you'll want to do is get a handle on your caloric intake, which involves understanding how much you actually need. There are various calculators for that, here's one (which I don't know anything about) with your info already plugged in:

http://www.calculator.net/calorie-c...=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.2&printit=0&x=67&y=16

(You can adjust the activity level to that which you think you can follow.)

Losing weight is a matter of running a caloric deficit. If you take in less than you burn, then your body burns fat, and you lose weight. Not a pound a day, and sometimes not even a pound a week, but the trend will be in the right direction. When you exercise, you're burning calories. When you're sitting still and when you're sleeping, you're burning calories. The goal is to take in less, and exercise is a good and healthy part of that, but the main input into the equation is diet.
 
Eating less is a pretty big mental struggle with me. I have to constantly tell myself that just because I haven't eaten in awhile, doesn't mean I have to eat unless I'm hungry. Looking at the calories in things, the hotdogs are 140 per hotdog. The nutrition drink 220. Gatorades 50 per bottle. The juice 5 per serving (I drink 2-3 servings a day). I see bananas are listed which I eat about 2 a day as well. Using just these things, 6 hotdogs (3 meals of 2), 2 bananas, the nutrition drink, 2 gatorades (one I drink during workouts) and ~600 calories of something seems like where I should start.

In terms of burning calories, I am not an outdoor person at all. Almost all of my activities to lose weight will be at a gym. I have no idea how accurate exercise machines are, but each time today it said I lost about 200. 90 minutes of workout is not something I want to do daily though. I have a habit of sometimes overworking myself and it leaves me exhausted for days. I keep track of my heart rate regularly while I'm doing machines, and anytime I get it over 170bpm it leaves me wiped out for awhile. Today while doing the bike and treadmill it hovered around 158, which I felt is a sweet spot where I'm constantly keeping a decent sweat but keeping a pace where I can keep going for a long time.

Edit: Ok one side effect I was not expecting from that long workout is the horrible chafing im feeling right now. I'm awful at doing anything in moderation. I'm always at one end of the extreme or the other. X_X
 
Is it possible to burn body fat (not go on a hardcore cut, but lose some tummy fat) while building muscle mass at the same time?

It is, but i personally found it easier to just focus on either losing fat or gaining muscle to keep things simple.

If you want to try though i would check out the Athlean-X channel because thats what his program tries to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3AG-oCXTE He explains his process in this video.
 

Szu

Member
I'm fighting what feels like a bout with pneumonia. I'm taking a break from the time being.

On the plus side, my inability to retain water has resulted in my lowest weight for this summer.

So, hurra-cough, cough, wheeze, cough, hack...

yay.
 

linko9

Member
Eating less is a pretty big mental struggle with me. I have to constantly tell myself that just because I haven't eaten in awhile, doesn't mean I have to eat unless I'm hungry. Looking at the calories in things, the hotdogs are 140 per hotdog. The nutrition drink 220. Gatorades 50 per bottle. The juice 5 per serving (I drink 2-3 servings a day). I see bananas are listed which I eat about 2 a day as well. Using just these things, 6 hotdogs (3 meals of 2), 2 bananas, the nutrition drink, 2 gatorades (one I drink during workouts) and ~600 calories of something seems like where I should start.

In terms of burning calories, I am not an outdoor person at all. Almost all of my activities to lose weight will be at a gym. I have no idea how accurate exercise machines are, but each time today it said I lost about 200. 90 minutes of workout is not something I want to do daily though. I have a habit of sometimes overworking myself and it leaves me exhausted for days. I keep track of my heart rate regularly while I'm doing machines, and anytime I get it over 170bpm it leaves me wiped out for awhile. Today while doing the bike and treadmill it hovered around 158, which I felt is a sweet spot where I'm constantly keeping a decent sweat but keeping a pace where I can keep going for a long time.

Edit: Ok one side effect I was not expecting from that long workout is the horrible chafing im feeling right now. I'm awful at doing anything in moderation. I'm always at one end of the extreme or the other. X_X

Easiest thing you can do to cut calories is to only drink water and other zero calorie beverages. Another easy thing you can do: whenever you're going to eat, drink a glass of water first, and then wait five minutes before you eat. Helps to curb your appetite, and you'll feel more satisfied after eating less. Adjusting to a new diet is always difficult, whether it's more or less than you've been eating. But after a few weeks your body gets used to it, and comes to expect that amount of food each day.

As far as exercise, other people can chime in, but for just losing weight there's no reason to do any activity you don't enjoy. You don't want to come to resent exercise. You definitely don't need to do 90 min a day, when I'm in weight loss mode I'm doing 30~45 min three times a week. Feeling exhausted doesn't necessarily mean you're burning more calories.
 
Some time this summer I think my legs got enough EXP and leveled up. Biking up hills is a bit easier and my quads feel firmer.

That could also just be a completely mental thing

Since I've been losing weight... I've really hit that stage where some of my old clothes really don't look good on me.

time to go shopping and donating all your old shit
 
Deadlift Monday!

On deadlift, did sets of 3 at 445, 465, 495, 545.

Incline bench, did 225 x 8, 245 x 8, 275 x 5, 295 x 5.

Did some other shit too. Team old, baby!
 

Mrcapcom

Member
Recent I just made a huge move to another state with my family. I used to do around 30 minutes or so M-F at the Gym my job paid for. New job however does not have a gym and I'm still figuring out who to go with Gym wise.

So my question is there any good workout videos or daily exercises I can do to continue to loose weight/build muscle? What equipment should I buy first if any. Just trying to find something new to help until I get a Gym or just do this instead.
 
Any input on Myprotein versus ON Whey? I've been using the ON Gold Standard Whey for years (double chocolate) but deals on Myprotein making it insanely tempting to switch. ON always seemed to have a better taste than others I've tried and it dissolves with ease... but the price is starting to really annoy me.
 

Mrcapcom

Member
Honestly, if you go to the park and run 40 yard sprints 3 or so times a week, you'd be away ahead of most people who belong to a real gym.

I had knee surgery back in Nov I'm not huge on running right now. I could try doing it, but honestly its going to be a huge huge "getting used" to period.
 

KillerBEA

Member
Recent I just made a huge move to another state with my family. I used to do around 30 minutes or so M-F at the Gym my job paid for. New job however does not have a gym and I'm still figuring out who to go with Gym wise.

So my question is there any good workout videos or daily exercises I can do to continue to loose weight/build muscle? What equipment should I buy first if any. Just trying to find something new to help until I get a Gym or just do this instead.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweight...or_gym_map_20_new_submission_feature_and_new/
 

ACE 1991

Member
Any input on Myprotein versus ON Whey? I've been using the ON Gold Standard Whey for years (double chocolate) but deals on Myprotein making it insanely tempting to switch. ON always seemed to have a better taste than others I've tried and it dissolves with ease... but the price is starting to really annoy me.

I literally just got an 11lb pouch of chocolate brownie from myprotein and paid only $50. It's tasty and dissolves easily. Keep an empty protein tub to fill from the bag.
 
I literally just got an 11lb pouch of chocolate brownie from myprotein and paid only $50. It's tasty and dissolves easily. Keep an empty protein tub to fill from the bag.

I hate switching because i do like ON, but I'm placing an order now. Running low and I'm seeing the same deal for 11lb for $50, just too cheap to ignore.

Fingers crossed! Thanks!
 

ACE 1991

Member
I hate switching because i do like ON, but I'm placing an order now. Running low and I'm seeing the same deal for 11lb for $50, just too cheap to ignore.

Fingers crossed! Thanks!

Honestly, it's all the same shit. There's really very little variation that matters between whey brands. Going with the cheapest is definitely the smart move.
 

DOWN

Banned
Do you guys go after Whey Isolate or just whatever Whey protein and don’t care about the extra carbs or whatever it has by not being an Isolate blend?
 

lenovox1

Member
Do you guys go after Whey Isolate or just whatever Whey protein and don’t care about the extra carbs or whatever it has by not being an Isolate blend?

Are you very lactose intolerant or sensitive? If not, don't worry about it.

You specifically are thin enough to be able to get most of your caloric and protein needs through food, but the specific macros and the absorption rate that an isolate has over a concentrate don't mean much for a beginning weight lifter, if that's what you're doing.
 
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