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Fitness |OT9|...You looked better before

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.

Don't suppose you have a bike? Tbh it's going to be tough to do fat loss work without gym equipment if you have a bum knee.
 

crpav

Member
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.

What kind of knee surgery and age? I had knee surgery 12 years ago so was 27 and well things have changed. I had ACL replaced, torn meniscus and bone damage. Now I have some issues with the knee again and tore the meniscus on the outside of the knee so looks like surgery again. At least the ACL and other ligaments/tendons are fine.
 
The most important advice i can give is tracking your calories and being consistent. Use an online calc or even the myfitnesspal phone app to figure out how much you should be eating and stick to it. More than anything you wanna be eating at a caloric deficit. Cardio is a waste of time if youre eating too much - you cannot out-train a bad diet. Weight loss is also not linear as the other poster mentioned , some days you'll go up in weight for a day due to a number of factors even though you did everything right. Dont get disheartened and stick to it. Some days you'll wake up and not be bothered to eat right or to go train but you just gotta do it anyway.

Eating less is the hardest thing for me. I just woke up and I'm struggling right now. I want to eat but I'm not hungry. I need to find some low calorie food when I feel like this.

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.

Drinks aren't a huge issue for me. Like I said, Gatorades with 50 calories a bottle are the most I drink. I'm only getting around 115 calories a day from drinks. Food is a much bigger issue, which I'm going to look for lower calorie things to eat. As far as exercise, I am going to try to go to the gym every day, but it gives me some relief that I absolutely don't have to as long as I'm carefully watching my diet.
 
During the lift, immediately after, or at home post-workout?

My first guesses might be diet (eating too close to lifting) or the lift intense for you, especially if you're going heavy.

Do you have problems with nausea otherwise?

:(


As in ab doms? or cause bowel movements?

About an hour after working out i was sitting on the toilet for about 20-30 minutes, constipation like symptoms. It went away after that but this is the 2nd time its happened. (started doing deadlifts 3 weeks ago, so 2/3 times).

I eat an apple and dark chocolate almods about 90 minutes before working out, but i do that every day and its only happened after deadlifts so far. I didnt know if the strain of the workout could cause problems like that or if its just a coincidence
 

lenovox1

Member
About an hour after working out i was sitting on the toilet for about 20-30 minutes, constipation like symptoms. It went away after that but this is the 2nd time its happened. (started doing deadlifts 3 weeks ago, so 2/3 times).

I eat an apple and dark chocolate almods about 90 minutes before working out, but i do that every day and its only happened after deadlifts so far. I didnt know if the strain of the workout could cause problems like that or if its just a coincidence

It may be the effects of adrenaline, the hormone that helps your body do things it otherwise doesn't normally do. Too much of it causes those symptoms, and the deadlift engages all the biggest muscles of the body.

Make your lift less intense (fewer reps or lower weight).
 
The effects of the long workout yesterday are starting to affect me now. Went to the gym today but my legs were really stiff and I couldn't do a whole lot there. Now I'm home and I can barely walk right now. I'm still trying not to eat and so far today I've only had water and a little bit of juice.
 

lenovox1

Member
The effects of the long workout yesterday are starting to affect me now. Went to the gym today but my legs were really stiff and I couldn't do a whole lot there. Now I'm home and I can barely walk right now. I'm still trying not to eat and so far today I've only had water and a little bit of juice.

Rest, stretch, elevate, foam roll, and do very light physical activity if you have to be active. As in light yoga or light cardio (e.g. walking around the block).
 

Disxo

Member
After months of injury I could finally accomplish my fitness goal for the year.
Deadlifting my own weight + 15 pounds= 155!

;D
 

mdsfx

Member
Kind of a cross-post. Placed 152 of 1304 at the Triathlon yesterday, which is my best placement yet (top 12ish %). Focusing more on legs lately to get more power for cycling. I averaged 20.5mph this race which was a flat course but somehow managed 22.9 at the last race (wtf?).

I also finally got a pic of me on the bike from one of these things! They always miss me somehow :(

w7CdQCv.jpg
 
About an hour after working out i was sitting on the toilet for about 20-30 minutes, constipation like symptoms. It went away after that but this is the 2nd time its happened. (started doing deadlifts 3 weeks ago, so 2/3 times).

I eat an apple and dark chocolate almods about 90 minutes before working out, but i do that every day and its only happened after deadlifts so far. I didnt know if the strain of the workout could cause problems like that or if its just a coincidence

Sorry man, don't have much advice for you beyond what lenovox said. Drop the weight or reps and see if it helps next week.
 
I've never gotten that serious into weights because I've never had a partner at the gym to help me. The amount I can lift for my size is embarrassingly bad. When I gained a ton of weight, a lot of that fat went to my forearms. The stretch marks from that nearly 12 years ago are still visible.
 
I've never gotten that serious into weights because I've never had a partner at the gym to help me. The amount I can lift for my size is embarrassingly bad. When I gained a ton of weight, a lot of that fat went to my forearms. The stretch marks from that nearly 12 years ago are still visible.

Dude, don't even worry about that. If you want to get stronger, just start. Many programs literally say just start with the absolute minimum -- the bar.

I'm not going to say there aren't some douches in the gym judging other people, but they're a very small minority. Most people are focused on their own stuff, and are happy to give some help if and when you need it.
 
Kind of a cross-post. Placed 152 of 1304 at the Triathlon yesterday, which is my best placement yet (top 12ish %). Focusing more on legs lately to get more power for cycling. I averaged 20.5mph this race which was a flat course but somehow managed 22.9 at the last race (wtf?).

I also finally got a pic of me on the bike from one of these things! They always miss me somehow :(
Congratulations! Now on to more training :)
 
Oh by the way, I discovered that I can bench the olympic barbell with the support hooks. Started with 30kg(20kg bar, 5kg weights), 3 sets of 15.
 
I've been mostly watching my calorie intake today but the one thing I didn't check beforehand has a ton. Went to McDonalds and got two Quarter pounders (plain) and some chicken mcnuggets. Chicken mcnuggets aren't that bad but the quarter pounders are about 500 each. So far today I'm up to ~1735 calories today. If I'm going to the gym everyday, I need to limit myself to around 2800 to start losing weight. I'm going to try to limit myself to 2500 a day though.
 
So the gym I work at just bought something called an "Escape Octagon" and I have to do a two day seminar on how to use a "Bulgarian Bag" to perform lifts instead of a barbell. Am I just an old man yelling at a cloud or does this bag actually add anything useful?

I teach a barbell only class mostly for older people and don't want to have to sell them on new gimmicks.

Here's a video of a workout I found with it and my shoulders hurt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kd4Dnfei24
 
So the gym I work at just bought something called an "Escape Octagon" and I have to do a two day seminar on how to use a "Bulgarian Bag" to perform lifts instead of a barbell. Am I just an old man yelling at a cloud or does this bag actually add anything useful?

I teach a barbell only class mostly for older people and don't want to have to sell them on new gimmicks.

Here's a video of a workout I found with it and my shoulders hurt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kd4Dnfei24

You know what would be way more effective and also not stupid? Actual grappling. I mean, if you're going to be in an octagon sort of thing anyway.

Oh, if your clients are the elderly, they shouldn't be near any of this.
 

JCX

Member
I recently hit a big personal milestone - finally deadlifted 300lbs for 1 rep!

Unfortunately, my other two big lifts have stalled. My bench 1RM is stuck around 185, and my squat 1RM is only about 155. Can't figure out why my DL is so much stronger than the others. Might just be a mental block preventing me from actually lifting heavy on the others.
 
I recently hit a big personal milestone - finally deadlifted 300lbs for 1 rep!

Unfortunately, my other two big lifts have stalled. My bench 1RM is stuck around 185, and my squat 1RM is only about 155. Can't figure out why my DL is so much stronger than the others. Might just be a mental block preventing me from actually lifting heavy on the others.

squat is probably setup most likely but mainly descending.
 

Mrcapcom

Member
Don't suppose you have a bike? Tbh it's going to be tough to do fat loss work without gym equipment if you have a bum knee.
Nope Just moved to Florida so the Bike didn't make the cut lol I'll buy a new one though.

What kind of knee surgery and age? I had knee surgery 12 years ago so was 27 and well things have changed. I had ACL replaced, torn meniscus and bone damage. Now I have some issues with the knee again and tore the meniscus on the outside of the knee so looks like surgery again. At least the ACL and other ligaments/tendons are fine.
I had osgood schlatter disease, I got it way back when I was 13 but they said don't do anything unless it really bothers me. Back in Nov my leg got really swollen and I couldn't walk. Turned out the bone spur hit my knee cap and caused it.
 

Szu

Member
Kind of a cross-post. Placed 152 of 1304 at the Triathlon yesterday, which is my best placement yet (top 12ish %). Focusing more on legs lately to get more power for cycling. I averaged 20.5mph this race which was a flat course but somehow managed 22.9 at the last race (wtf?).

I also finally got a pic of me on the bike from one of these things! They always miss me somehow :(

I expect you to look like this by next year.
tour-de-pharmacy-john-cena.jpg
 

-SG

Member
I recently bought some equipment and started my homegym. Since we got the dog, it's been so difficult finding the time to get to the gym, but this way, it's always right there. So convenient. I'm basically starting over with my lifts, but progressing rapidly. Bench has always been my weakest lift, but hopefully now I can finally make some real progress.
 

Mrcapcom

Member
I recently bought some equipment and started my homegym. Since we got the dog, it's been so difficult finding the time to get to the gym, but this way, it's always right there. So convenient. I'm basically starting over with my lifts, but progressing rapidly. Bench has always been my weakest lift, but hopefully now I can finally make some real progress.

What did you get first for your home gym? I was thinking of getting some equipment but what should be the first thing to get? Bench?
 
What did you get first for your home gym? I was thinking of getting some equipment but what should be the first thing to get? Bench?

I bought my home gym earlier this year, got a half rack and adjustable bench.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ack-16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu/16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...duct_PageElement_product_rr_1_3141_&rrec=true
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...set-16fgeu300lbstwth7brb/16fgeu300lbstwth7brb

Granted, putting that together would have paid for a few years of gym memberships, but the convenience of working out from home is well worth it for me.
 

Mrcapcom

Member
I bought my home gym earlier this year, got a half rack and adjustable bench.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...ack-16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu/16fgeufgprhlfrckxgmu
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...duct_PageElement_product_rr_1_3141_&rrec=true
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...set-16fgeu300lbstwth7brb/16fgeu300lbstwth7brb

Granted, putting that together would have paid for a few years of gym memberships, but the convenience of working out from home is well worth it for me.

Nice I was thinking of going with a bench, Olympic bar and two 30 or 40lb dumbells and a pull up bar. I like your setup I might pass on the half rack for a bit but nice to know they have them thanks for the links.
 

Laekon

Member
First day at the gym didn't go as planned. At sign up they set an appointment with a trainer for an orientation at 8 this morning. When I get there I'm told the trainer doesn't work mornings and all the other trainers are booked. My key card doesn't work as they didn't enter it into the system. Oh and I'm late on first month dues even though I gave them payment information. This had me flustered so any thoughts of a plan just disappear from my mind. I end up just doing shoulder press, lat pull down, dumbbell row, and seated cable row. I threw in some squats with just the bar as I've never really done them and wanted to just think about form. I haven't every really lifted but I've done some of these exercises before and I couldn't believe how weak I am. Press was 60lbs 5x5 with about a minute rest between.

I'll go back friday with a friend and hopefully have my shit together a little better. Dealing with feelings of intimidation will be the biggest issue besides form at first.
 
Need some advice FitGaf

I hate the gym. Lifting weights, the smell, unghh just a turn off, I just don't like the entire deal lol. But I'm still about my health and fitness. I run 2-3 times a week, 2.5-5 miles depending on mood. I do body weight workouts like uppers, dips, rows, pull-ups etc...

My problem is legs, I want them to grow, see my abs more defined, and sculp my chess a bit. I've been on Keto and loss some fat, down to about 163 lbs. I'm 5:7 so I'm thinking I really don't need to lose much more weight, just fat loss. Is Squats and Deadlifts with barbell really the only way to grow your legs? I just don't like doing them ever. They feel great after a set because I'm exhausted, but there's so much technique and stuff to learn (especially when you lift heavy) they feel like a chore to me. I would much rather run hills and use kettlebells. But I'm worried that won't be a good enough replacement for barbell workouts.

Help!
 
If you want big legs, you have to squat and deadlift. There's just no other way to get that much intensity. You have to make them stronger, and legs are very strong. Guys with big legs squat twice their body weight or more. If you can find another way to move three four or five hundred pounds, you will be the first.
 
Need some advice FitGaf

I hate the gym. Lifting weights, the smell, unghh just a turn off, I just don't like the entire deal lol. But I'm still about my health and fitness. I run 2-3 times a week, 2.5-5 miles depending on mood. I do body weight workouts like uppers, dips, rows, pull-ups etc...

My problem is legs, I want them to grow, see my abs more defined, and sculp my chess a bit. I've been on Keto and loss some fat, down to about 163 lbs. I'm 5:7 so I'm thinking I really don't need to lose much more weight, just fat loss. Is Squats and Deadlifts with barbell really the only way to grow your legs? I just don't like doing them ever. They feel great after a set because I'm exhausted, but there's so much technique and stuff to learn (especially when you lift heavy) they feel like a chore to me. I would much rather run hills and use kettlebells. But I'm worried that won't be a good enough replacement for barbell workouts.

Help!

Heres some anecdotal advice. Ive been lifting for close to 2 years, im 6 ft 185 and i can bench press 260 lbs. but i can only squat 275 lbs because i didnt like doing squats and deadlifts, the result is that my legs are about 30-50% weaker than they should be. I just recently started taking those exercises seriously and i can already tell the difference.
 

lenovox1

Member
If you want big legs, you have to squat and deadlift. There's just no other way to get that much intensity. You have to make them stronger, and legs are very strong. Guys with big legs squat twice their body weight or more. If you can find another way to move three four or five hundred pounds, you will be the first.

I mean, I don't squat, but I've been doing yoga, dance, a little cheer, Pilates, etc. since I was 12.

Or you can squat for a single year and get to where I'm at. Which one seems more efficient and effective?
 

Gin-Shiio

Member
Hey, guys. I've been meaning to get ripped for a Tekken cosplay I plan on doing early next year. I've got my workout routine set, but wonder how many protein supplements I should reasonably take.
I already consume Impact Whey Protein in shake-form during/after my workout, which comes down to 32g of protein if my calculations are right. Now I am looking at adding even more, and wanted to know if that is a sensible thing to do.

Thanks for all of your advice, I really appreciate it.
 

lenovox1

Member
Hey, guys. I've been meaning to get ripped for a Tekken cosplay I plan on doing early next year. I've got my workout routine set, but wonder how many protein supplements I should reasonably take.
I already consume Impact Whey Protein in shake-form during/after my workout, which comes down to 32g of protein if my calculations are right. Now I am looking at adding even more, and wanted to know if that is a sensible thing to do.

Thanks for all of your advice, I really appreciate it.

Read post #2 in the OP. Most importantly:

Calories
People need calories to stay alive, even the laziest couch potato does. The barest minimum of calories that you need to stay alive—without any exertion whatsoever—is called your BMR.

Now, if you exercise, you need to take in more calories than your BMR, of course. How much more? That depends upon the amount of calories burned, e. g. your activity levels. Add together that amount, with the BMR, and a couple of other things that burn your calories, and you get the so-called TDEE - which is your total daily energy expenditure.

How do I calculate all then?
There are numerous complicated calculations out there, but really no one needs to manually calculate anything when there are sites that calculates everything for you:

http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

Input height, weight, age, gender, and (optional, but helpful) bodyfat percentage (BF%) and/or waist. The calculator will give you both the BMR, TDEE, as well as an estimation of your muscle/fat mass.

Remember that all of this is blanket estimation of exacting processes going on in your body - incorrect estimations can be corrected, but the important thing is that you are consistent in your measurement and approach so you are always moving towards your goals.

Before we move on to the next step in the calculator supplied above, let's take a lot at the all-important "macros".

Protein, Carbs, Fat
Proteins are essential in the anabolic (muscle-building) processes in the body. The opposite of anabolic is catabolic (muscle-burning). If you’re interested in gaining muscle, you should make sure your protein intake is sufficient. In general it is recommended to eat around 0.6 to 1.0 grams of protein per lbs of bodyweight daily.

Hormones play an important role speeding up and slowing down anabolic and catabolic processes. Insulin is one of the hormones that tells the body to store stuff—both in the form of muscle and in the form of fat. This insulin spike is why there is near-unaminous support for consuming carbs after training! Cortisol is one of the hormones that tells the body to use its storage—again, both muscle and fat.

Go back to the calculator now, and you'll see on the right-hand side of the screen a big pie chart of the carb-fat-protein ratio that you can alter through a set of slides. Some people swear by a 40-30-30 diet. This means that 40% of your daily calorie intake comes from protein, 30% from carbs, and 30% from fat (this was popularized under the name ‘The Zone Diet’), and for a beginner this is a great start unless you're interested in a more specialized diet for various reasons.

Do remember to ensure that you have at least 0.6-1.0g of protein per pound of bodyweight, even if this means you get more than 40% of your daily calorie intake from your protein.

Example: We have a 160 lb individual who would like to be 180 lbs. Ignoring everything but protein, we can safely conclude he should eat between 96g (0.6x) to 160g (1.0x) of protein a day.

How to hit your calorie and macro guideline

You might have noticed that you can select your activity level under the calculator, so let me explain to you what that's all about.
Normally, you'd essentially guess what your activity levels are (as they're quite vague and really not that reflective of the exercises most people do), but we're going to do something altogether different that will give you a much more accurate calorie guideline to hit each day you're working out or resting.

First of all, you'll need to use the following food diary site (or any other food diary site, so long as it allows for input of exercise), in which you can input what you're eating to see how many calories/carbs/fats/protein it contains - so you know whether or not you're hitting those calories and macros:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ with the net carb script (computer only).

Next I want you to select "Sedentary" under activity levels in the first calculator. Then, as you do actually go to the gym or go for a jog, you input that activity into Myfitnesspal (Tab: Exercise, click on Add Exercise under the Cardiovascular section, and search for "Strength training",) and it'll automatically give you extra calories you can consume on those days you're actually working out.

Just remember not to trick either yourself or the calculator - if you're consuming a snicker bar, then it will go into your food diary. If you're cooking a lot at home, you'll get a lot more accurate calorie/macro estimates of what you eat by using a food scale to weigh everything that goes into your belly.

Protein is not a steroid, as in you won't magically gain muscle by consuming more of it. It's just food. You need to track and calculate how much of it your body actually needs. Otherwise, it's just going to be extra body fat.
 
I mean, I don't squat, but I've been doing yoga, dance, a little cheer, Pilates, etc. since I was 12.

Or you can squat for a single year and get to where I'm at. Which one seems more efficient and effective?
I've been chasing my best friend's legs for YEARS. She's been dancing since elementary school. Her thighs and calves give me massive envy.
 

Gin-Shiio

Member
Read post #2 in the OP. Most importantly:
Protein is not a steroid, as in you won't magically gain muscle by consuming more of it. It's just food. You need to track and calculate how much of it your body actually needs. Otherwise, it's just going to be extra body fat.

Thank you for that. My current weight is 148lbs, meaning I should consume anywhere between 89 and 148g of protein a day. That's a lot more than I currently do, and I will find ways to up my intake accordingly.
 

Tidalwave

Member
So I've been working on my weight lately. My focus has been eating healthy and cardio with a splash of weight lifting. I'm almost at a weight I don't mind mainting, so I shifted gears. On Sunday I went hard trying to improve my progress. I was pleased with the results but the next day I was hurting. I figured that was fine and took a rest day. But, now I'm two days later and hurting even worse. Is this a sign I pushed myself too hard? Should I take it down a notch? I really don't want three days in a row of doing nothing but I can hardly even raise my arms without hurting..
 
So I've been working on my weight lately. My focus has been eating healthy and cardio with a splash of weight lifting. I'm almost at a weight I don't mind mainting, so I shifted gears. On Sunday I went hard trying to improve my progress. I was pleased with the results but the next day I was hurting. I figured that was fine and took a rest day. But, now I'm two days later and hurting even worse. Is this a sign I pushed myself too hard? Should I take it down a notch? I really don't want three days in a row of doing nothing..

If you've done something you haven't done before, or haven't done in a while, you're going to hurt for an extra day or three. That's normal. The next time will better.
 
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