HORRORSHØW
Member
thinking of buying the bowflex select tech dumbbells. what say you fitgaf?
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Fitness |OT7| #Swelfies, Trap Lords, and Quadzilla
- Thread starter FallingEdge
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Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
Grimløck;155011990 said:
I'd go with powerblocks. I've had mine for over 10 years and still perfect.
High stress levels, extremely shitty diet, lack of work outs, pain that keeps me from sleeping well, too much work and more or less dying with the graduating thesis - summing up my week doesn't seem too appealing. I don't this weekend even have time to go to gym since it closes way before I can go home from work. I don't remember when I would have felt this bloated. The positive thing is that it can only go up from here. Also reading your posts
and looking at you awesome people work out vids makes me want to hit the gym as soon as possible.
I was thinking about posting some one year comparison pics (only couple days, eleventh of March), but I think I will postpone those till I actually have some progress to show. Till the end of April I am quite much crying next to computer typing utter nonsense since Santa has failed me numerous years in a row and haven't given me a virgin thesis for me to hand to my professor.
That only makes it a bit worse! I know I would eat one a day.
Now those poor babes are crying in your closet just hoping to be consumed so they would have a meaning in their miserable lives.
(Psychotext, splendid!)
I was thinking about posting some one year comparison pics (only couple days, eleventh of March), but I think I will postpone those till I actually have some progress to show. Till the end of April I am quite much crying next to computer typing utter nonsense since Santa has failed me numerous years in a row and haven't given me a virgin thesis for me to hand to my professor.
Looking great!
I've been eating a lot the past couple months.
Even though I admit that like everyone else, I have been staring that hod dog.
Nooooooooo!
That only makes it a bit worse! I know I would eat one a day.
Now those poor babes are crying in your closet just hoping to be consumed so they would have a meaning in their miserable lives.Oh, I am so waiting to see those glorious pics of FE!
Psychotext
Member
Update #10.
The important one. Turns out Angels can be conquered. All through that he made plans and pleas towards fatigue and agony, but despite all of it he came out swinging at the end. His only thought at getting over the next hill. Over the next challenge. To the finishing flag.
That finishing flag is guarded by a Lethal Weapon -
This is one picked out specifically for last. One of the hardest on his list. Left to destroy when there's no ammo left to shoot with.
Filled with well over threshold destruction ready to annihilate any last breath and hope you have of reaching the end.
But the end will be met with all six shots in the finishing line.
The important one. Turns out Angels can be conquered. All through that he made plans and pleas towards fatigue and agony, but despite all of it he came out swinging at the end. His only thought at getting over the next hill. Over the next challenge. To the finishing flag.
That finishing flag is guarded by a Lethal Weapon -
This is one picked out specifically for last. One of the hardest on his list. Left to destroy when there's no ammo left to shoot with.
Filled with well over threshold destruction ready to annihilate any last breath and hope you have of reaching the end.
But the end will be met with all six shots in the finishing line.
Grimløck;155011990 said:
Don't have any myself, but the SelectTech seem to be the recommended ones: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-adjustable-dumbbells/
Psychotext
Member
Update #11.
Some thought it stupid, some thought it insane. All thought it impressive.
But he's done it. Even after a disastrous start and a disaster at the end with the chain snagging and getting stuck he managed to pull through.
Managed to push himself and ride into complete victory.
This has been a gruelling challenge for him and it's been fantastic seeing people in person cheering him on and the support all across the internet in every way, shape and form. So for all of that, I thank you so much.
Some thought it stupid, some thought it insane. All thought it impressive.
But he's done it. Even after a disastrous start and a disaster at the end with the chain snagging and getting stuck he managed to pull through.
Managed to push himself and ride into complete victory.
This has been a gruelling challenge for him and it's been fantastic seeing people in person cheering him on and the support all across the internet in every way, shape and form. So for all of that, I thank you so much.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
I gotta ask, why do you keep referring to yourself in the third person?
ipitydatfu
Member
nobody told me snatch grip deadlifts would wreck me grip. I'm so weak
Coriolanus
Banned
Blaming the 10 hours of cardio for that meself. Mind gotta escape somewhere.
Ha. I promised myself no pics until June. And if I still look like shit, no pics till next year
I am curious what's your current plan and what are you trying to achieve in the short term?
I mean, what's "looking like shit" and what would be looking good? shredded and defined?
and why June?
my friends have been telling me I am increasing in size and the scale agrees so that's something I am currently achieving but a particular plan, like a certain date to have a certain body... mmmhh, maybe June for the pride week in Madrid... but still, I can't make up my mind how I want to look.. I'd rather look bulky but the bloat looks like ass so I guess I will try to use that as motivation to cut.
more than looks, I think it would be better for my spirit if I learned new exercises and shuffled things a bit,
I want to get more into bodyweight stuff as warmer days arrive. I will put back pistol squats and handstand pushups in the program. I know those are not as effective and count as wacky stuff but I feel like I need a change of air,. I remember my calisthenic days and I had joy, I want to get that feeling again.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
It's a bit weird.
Use straps for those. And I'd do them Romanian style personally.
I think the posts from him today have actually been written by his nephew or something like that. He wouldn't have the time or energy to write them himself in the few 10-minute rest periods.
You should start doing it too.
Your updates will read something like this:
The mighty warrior had to dig down deep to lift that log over his head but at last, after much struggle, the former soldier emerges victorious.
Why would you buy dumb bells that are so light? When it's time to do my home gym, I'm going to be sure my adjustable dumb bells go up to 120 or so. I have no plans of peaking anytime soon.
Seriously, great pulls. Very inspiring.
Seriously, great pulls. Very inspiring.
Brolic Gaoler
formerly Alienshogun
Lol
Psychotext
Member
Correct, he was worried that it wouldn't be allowed or something.
I can assure you that I wouldn't even come close to having the time or the energy to do all the posts whilst the event was ongoing. The time I had to switch to the next ride which was barely enough in a lot of cases.
Anyway, as you might imagine, I'm completely wrecked, so I'm not going to read through everything tonight.
100x respect Psycho. Inspiring stuff!
meitantei_conan
Member
Hi fitgaf I need some help finding a good quality bench to use in my squat rack. I have a bench press bench but the bench is too small and I keep pinching my hands between the bar and the rack itself when I finish a set(if that makes sense). So I was thinking of getting a normal flat or incline bench to use in my squat rack( squat rack does have a specific bench made for it but reviews say its crap). Would like some input from you guys. Any benches that are good quality and that wont break the bank. I did look online and there are so many to choose from.
That is an incredible endurance challenge to conquer. Very, very impressive and somewhat crazy. How did you train for this?
Coriolanus
Banned
Your problem seems primarily caused by bench size. If that is the case, before you even pick a brand, you should know exactly what kinda dimensions you're looking for. Could you share them?
Good news, men. Had a great workout today.
I mentioned last week that I was having some lower back problems which were preventing me from doing squats. I decided to lay off any strenuous activity just to be on the safe side, until today. I manged to lift 165 lbs. (my highest so far) with no back problems whatsoever.
But probably even better than that, I am at the moment a probationary member of the 200 lbs. club for deadlifts. I mentioned before that I tried 205 lbs. and I couldn't even budge the bar. Well today, while I wasn't able to do a whole set of 5, I did manage to do two reps! Yes, while I had quite a bit that needed to be done, the fact that I could actually lift something two times that I couldn't move even an inch before, is something I was totally ecstatic about.
Bought me two western bacon cheeseburgers at Carl's Jr. (some of you might know this place as "Hardy's", cause you hate America) to celebrate. Fuck. Yeah.
I mentioned last week that I was having some lower back problems which were preventing me from doing squats. I decided to lay off any strenuous activity just to be on the safe side, until today. I manged to lift 165 lbs. (my highest so far) with no back problems whatsoever.
But probably even better than that, I am at the moment a probationary member of the 200 lbs. club for deadlifts. I mentioned before that I tried 205 lbs. and I couldn't even budge the bar. Well today, while I wasn't able to do a whole set of 5, I did manage to do two reps! Yes, while I had quite a bit that needed to be done, the fact that I could actually lift something two times that I couldn't move even an inch before, is something I was totally ecstatic about.
Bought me two western bacon cheeseburgers at Carl's Jr. (some of you might know this place as "Hardy's", cause you hate America) to celebrate. Fuck. Yeah.
rokkerkory
Member
First week back doing legs in last 5 months. Can't even squat 105 lol
Sigh road back to form will be awhile
Sigh road back to form will be awhile
An observation. Before I got into lifting, I kept hearing a running joke on how body builders dread leg day. After starting it myself, I have no idea WTF they're talking about because I can't wait for leg day!
Don't get me wrong, working out upper body is nice too. Doing arms is good for getting a pump going and checking yourself out in the mirror.
But after some heavy squats and deadlifts, I feel like a fucking silverback gorilla who could charge through walls!
Anyone with me on this?
Don't get me wrong, working out upper body is nice too. Doing arms is good for getting a pump going and checking yourself out in the mirror.
But after some heavy squats and deadlifts, I feel like a fucking silverback gorilla who could charge through walls!
Anyone with me on this?
So i've mentioned that i hit the 100lbs lost exactly mark, and i was going to take a few days off from cutting. Well, that first day off, i was given a salad that i was ASSURED was low carb, which wasn't. My body is a jerk and kicked me out of keto and i'm back in i think now. I gained 6lbs overnight (water weight), and i lost 5 of it by thursday and haven't checked back since. I am now doing strict 1400 calories monday-thursday and having a bit more leeway for the next 2 weekends. I honestly do not even care to eat the extra food, but i want to give my body a break for a bit so it isn't under so much stress. I'll be back on for 1400 calories 7 days a week again in a few weeks.
With that said, i was at sams club and this corned beef called out to me. 4 hours in the oven slow cooking later....
I was a leg day everyday kinda guy for a while. Then once the weight started getting up there, i was no longer in that mindset. It gets damn hard. Props to everyone here pushing so hard on squats, its really an amazing and difficult lift.
With that said, i was at sams club and this corned beef called out to me. 4 hours in the oven slow cooking later....
I was a leg day everyday kinda guy for a while. Then once the weight started getting up there, i was no longer in that mindset. It gets damn hard. Props to everyone here pushing so hard on squats, its really an amazing and difficult lift.
Labombadog
Member
deadlifts and squats are my favorite workouts so I fully agree!
ldcommando
Banned
Nah, fuck leg day. Everyday should be "work on your guns" day.
The problem with legs and leg days is that it is kind of unrewarding in the immediate term.
.- it can be incredibly taxing, just doing a couple of sets of squats nearing failure can beat you up. Add any accessory (for example leg extensions) afterwards and you'll be begging for mercy. And problem is, there's a shitton of accesory for legs (leg extension, leg curl, abductor, adductor, calves, stiff-legged DL, glutes, )
.- if you are into the vanity thing and like looking at the mirror, you'll be pissed the whole session cause the pump is in the lower body, you'll be looking at your smallest the hole time on your upper body. (I admit this is very childish, but it has happened to me. of course I get over myself)
.- in my personal case, my efforts regarding nutrition hardly pay off in my legs. All size, both on fat and muscle, goes to my upper body, maybe my age is a factor (37). My legs have always remained lean, I have a nice quad form but they never look bulky.
.- Most people don't care for your legs. Only guys actually serious about the discipline appreciate a balanced body. Most will think "good for you" and move on. Guns and chest though, it's "OMG you're so alpha, I wanna be you"
.- it can be incredibly taxing, just doing a couple of sets of squats nearing failure can beat you up. Add any accessory (for example leg extensions) afterwards and you'll be begging for mercy. And problem is, there's a shitton of accesory for legs (leg extension, leg curl, abductor, adductor, calves, stiff-legged DL, glutes, )
.- if you are into the vanity thing and like looking at the mirror, you'll be pissed the whole session cause the pump is in the lower body, you'll be looking at your smallest the hole time on your upper body. (I admit this is very childish, but it has happened to me. of course I get over myself)
.- in my personal case, my efforts regarding nutrition hardly pay off in my legs. All size, both on fat and muscle, goes to my upper body, maybe my age is a factor (37). My legs have always remained lean, I have a nice quad form but they never look bulky.
.- Most people don't care for your legs. Only guys actually serious about the discipline appreciate a balanced body. Most will think "good for you" and move on. Guns and chest though, it's "OMG you're so alpha, I wanna be you"
entremet
Member
Genetics play a role. Bigger than we think. I've alway had tree trunks even before training seriously.
I like squatting 2x per week myself with deads in the middle.
Once week legs always seemed to little for me.
HisshouBuraiKen
Member
This post makes me miss my youth
Psychotext
Member
Thanks everyone.
Just a quick update on yesterday. Firstly, a massive thanks to everyone that donated, it's much easier to go through that level of pain when you know you're doing it for a reason.
Secondly, I want to publicly thank my wife and my nephew who without which I wouldn't have come close to being able to get this done, and that's no exaggeration.
My nephew Keiron was the one spamming this thread and others with my updates and is basically to thank for the levels of donations we got to as if it wasn't for his work I doubt we'd have got nearly as much interest. I'm humbled by a number of the people who donated who can really barely afford to, they're an inspiration to me. On the subject in general, if you haven't yet, please consider donating. What I went through is nothing compared to what cancer sufferers and their families have to go through.
http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/2015knightofsufferlandria
As for me you'd think I would have, but I really didn't sleep well at all. Everything hurts, and then some. Unsurprisingly I can't sit down (my butt is visibly bruised), I feel like I've dislocated a hip (I haven't but that's how it feels to walk), both my shoulders are giving me stabbing pain, I suspect I've torn a muscle in my right ankle, and my left hand is still numb, so I'm guessing I've compressed the nerve in the palm of my hand.
The event itself was about as hard as you might imagine it to be, and then some. I'll be honest, there were numerous points where I wanted to quit, and at times just getting on the bike again was agony. If I get the chance later I'll try and get some completion stats together for everyone, but I'm feeling a little frazzled so I can't guarantee it.
I never want to do anything like that again. Ever.
Well, I've been training for months for general endurance alongside my standard weights routine (which is basically 5x5, but with some mods to make it better suited for the strength required for mountain biking. Thing is though, short of spending 6 hours+ on a bike it's hard to really train for 12 hours on a bike. Sadly due to work I can't really get rides like that in these days so I just did what I could when I could.
The real keys were the battery of stretches I had ready for switchover, and the nutrition. I've been doing endurance events for a long time now and I know pretty much exactly what I require and when to take it. Yesterday went a bit like this.
Calories: 300kcal an hour, almost entirely carbs, switching low GI and high GI.
Drink: 750ml per hour, 10g BCAAs, salt / mineral tablet
Caffeine: Usually I'd do this with specific drink at specific times, but yesterday I had coffee twice (advantage of being at home), then spiked the shit out of myself with caffeine enhanced gels and drink for the last hour and a half as I knew I wouldn't crash until right at the end.
Funnily enough, the biggest difference yesterday was a new saddle. Usually you don't use anything new before an event, but I had been suffering groin numbness for ages on the trainer and it was a huge concern to me. The saddle I used yesterday ended my ass... but not my groin. This is a win for me (and any man!).
Wait, why? There are a ton of befits to doing reverse grip everything as supplementary work.
FallingEdge
Member
Looking like shit to me would be not having acceptable progress in a 3-4 month cut. I am not trying to be shredded but hovering around 10-12% bf seems perfectly reasonable. Basically, if I don't get down to that level, I would be really embarrassed. And June because it is summer time. Just something that I always tried to aim for.
I'm sure it's just standard carb cycling like pretty much every other paid online coach. It works though.
I can give you one that I paid for that got me from 260 to 235 ripped in 10 weeks.
That plan also had me drop weight pretty quickly. Its definitely effective.
I'd like to try this too
I'll take a look too, please pm, always curious to learn more.
Cosign what the other guys said. Want to see what the hubbub is about.
Coriolanus
Banned
Wanna hate leg day super quick?
Do it on machines.
That's a large part of the reason why so many people intensely dislike leg days. One made with isolation exercises is fiendishly annoying. Whereas they tend to find the leg press kinda fun cuz huge weights.
Still rare to see people doing free squats down here. Heck, it was difficult to find a gym with a squat rack. Smith machines everywhere, on top of trainers not even bothering to teach how to rest the bar on your shoulders. People using two layers of foam, ffs.
Can I have it too?
meitantei_conan
Member
I have something similar to this. ^^^^
I'm actually looking for something to fit into my squat stand, So a bench like this(Something more basic though, I don't need the fancy leg extension attachments).The squat Stand I have adjusts in width so the width of the bench shouldn't be a problem. I need a bench somewhere around 22.5 inches in height. The pics used aren't the same equipment I have. I just pulled them from Google as an example.
Carb cycling isn't that hard? Just do keto for 5-6 days and then 1-2 days of carbing up (I prefer one day, generally 8-10 hours).
Eat less than 30g carbs, 0.8-1.0g protein per lb of bodyweight, and fill the rest with fat (play with the amount depending on how much of a deficit you want to run) on the non-carb days.
On the carb up days, you're supposed to eat something like 3.5-4.5g carbs per lb of lean body mass which should make up 60-70% of your caloric intake. Start during/immediately post-training. Split the rest of the calories between fat and protein.
Voila.
Edit: I should say I'm describing a CKD, which I think is the most effective form of carb cycling anyway. But you can also carb cycle without limiting yourself to 30g carbs on non-carb days.
How to CKD: http://thinkmuscle.com/nutrition/cyclical-ketogenic-diet-carbing-up/
Eat less than 30g carbs, 0.8-1.0g protein per lb of bodyweight, and fill the rest with fat (play with the amount depending on how much of a deficit you want to run) on the non-carb days.
On the carb up days, you're supposed to eat something like 3.5-4.5g carbs per lb of lean body mass which should make up 60-70% of your caloric intake. Start during/immediately post-training. Split the rest of the calories between fat and protein.
Voila.
Edit: I should say I'm describing a CKD, which I think is the most effective form of carb cycling anyway. But you can also carb cycle without limiting yourself to 30g carbs on non-carb days.
How to CKD: http://thinkmuscle.com/nutrition/cyclical-ketogenic-diet-carbing-up/
Coriolanus
Banned
Something like this?
Tried looking into getting one used? Should be able to get a sturdier one for not very much money. Gyms close all the time.
meitantei_conan
Member
Ya something like that but with a higher weight capacity.
Sir Rugdumph
Member
Hello, FitGaf!
New here, please be nice :x
Guess I'll start with the first post thing:
Age: 23
Height: 5'10"
Weight: Fluctuates between 180-190
Goal: Lose weight/lean up
Current Training Schedule: 3/4 days, I guess? Explained below
Current Training Equipment Available: Gym
Comments: v
I've kinda been waffling about poking my head in here for the last week and a half or so, which pretty much sums up my fitness habits for the past few years. But, I've decided I want to actually commit to getting into a routine and make something happen. Figure posting here could help keep me motivated to keep going, if nothing else.
To sum things up, I've worked out for brief stretches over the past few years, but the hard part's always been hitting that point where I want to go consistently. Part of that is work being mentally draining or just time consuming (I'm a still fairly fresh-out-of-college journalist at an understaffed small-town paper, so calling my work schedule hectic would be an understatement at times). And part of that is that I'm just self-conscious and don't like working out around a lot of people because I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.
Well, my gym switched to being a 24-hour place a few months back, so that helps with both of those. The other part to overcome was just laziness. Decided to get over that, and I've been going more consistently over the last 2.5-3 weeks. Hardest part is usually getting my ass out the door, when I have a day when I'm tired and just want to stay home, but I find that I really do feel better when I go. I even enjoy the soreness afterward, oddly enough. Makes me feel like I did something.
That brings me to where I am now. For the most part I've just been trying to take things slowly while I'm getting used to going. I'm not concerned about blowing the doors of the gym, I just want to get into the habit of going regularly and getting comfortable without hurting myself, then pick thins up in steps, I guess.
I try to go at least three times a week, though I'd prefer four, I think. Still learning to bounce it around my scheduling. I usually go late at night.
I'd like to cut some fat and just get a bit leaner (yes, I'm starting to eat better as well). I'm not particularly overweight or anything, but I want to get fit, rather than my current status of 'overwhelmingly average'. I'd like to get down to 165ish, if that's a reasonable goal, and gain some strength. I tend to workout alone, and tend to use dumbells or machines for most of my exercises outside of some presses, so I've shied away from trying to do too much with too much weight to avoid hurting myself (as in I do enough to challenge myself, but I'm not trying to impress anyone, if that makes sense?). Though I started doing a bit of squatting when I did legs this past Thursday. They're harder than they look. Might try to suggested routine in the first post now that I've seen it.
Aaaanyway, I'm not sure if that rambling's of use to any of you, but I feel like I needed to actually put that up somewhere ha. Open to any tips you guys might have to offer a new guy. Got a baseball game to go watch, but I'll poke around later this evening.
New here, please be nice :x
Guess I'll start with the first post thing:
Age: 23
Height: 5'10"
Weight: Fluctuates between 180-190
Goal: Lose weight/lean up
Current Training Schedule: 3/4 days, I guess? Explained below
Current Training Equipment Available: Gym
Comments: v
I've kinda been waffling about poking my head in here for the last week and a half or so, which pretty much sums up my fitness habits for the past few years. But, I've decided I want to actually commit to getting into a routine and make something happen. Figure posting here could help keep me motivated to keep going, if nothing else.
To sum things up, I've worked out for brief stretches over the past few years, but the hard part's always been hitting that point where I want to go consistently. Part of that is work being mentally draining or just time consuming (I'm a still fairly fresh-out-of-college journalist at an understaffed small-town paper, so calling my work schedule hectic would be an understatement at times). And part of that is that I'm just self-conscious and don't like working out around a lot of people because I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.
Well, my gym switched to being a 24-hour place a few months back, so that helps with both of those. The other part to overcome was just laziness. Decided to get over that, and I've been going more consistently over the last 2.5-3 weeks. Hardest part is usually getting my ass out the door, when I have a day when I'm tired and just want to stay home, but I find that I really do feel better when I go. I even enjoy the soreness afterward, oddly enough. Makes me feel like I did something.
That brings me to where I am now. For the most part I've just been trying to take things slowly while I'm getting used to going. I'm not concerned about blowing the doors of the gym, I just want to get into the habit of going regularly and getting comfortable without hurting myself, then pick thins up in steps, I guess.
I try to go at least three times a week, though I'd prefer four, I think. Still learning to bounce it around my scheduling. I usually go late at night.
I'd like to cut some fat and just get a bit leaner (yes, I'm starting to eat better as well). I'm not particularly overweight or anything, but I want to get fit, rather than my current status of 'overwhelmingly average'. I'd like to get down to 165ish, if that's a reasonable goal, and gain some strength. I tend to workout alone, and tend to use dumbells or machines for most of my exercises outside of some presses, so I've shied away from trying to do too much with too much weight to avoid hurting myself (as in I do enough to challenge myself, but I'm not trying to impress anyone, if that makes sense?). Though I started doing a bit of squatting when I did legs this past Thursday. They're harder than they look. Might try to suggested routine in the first post now that I've seen it.
Aaaanyway, I'm not sure if that rambling's of use to any of you, but I feel like I needed to actually put that up somewhere ha. Open to any tips you guys might have to offer a new guy. Got a baseball game to go watch, but I'll poke around later this evening.
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